Hello! I have to tell you I am still recovering from my trip to Vermont last week – it was SO much fun but my internal clock is completely broken. And there’s lots more unusual time zones in store for us very soon.

Of course, I’m totally going to use this as an excuse to drink tons of coffee. And I’m probably going to have some more of these with it!

Biscotti are kind of funny. They’re baked twice, and they’re not very fun to eat unless you’ve got something to dunk them in! Otherwise they are too dry and hard. So don’t be alarmed if your dough is quite stiff and dry. Once you have it mixed together, you’ll have to use a rolling pin pretty much from there on out.

1.5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. cream
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/6 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use your mixer to cream the butter and sugar together. When light and fluffy, add the egg and cream, and mix just until combined.

In a separate bowl, lightly stir together the flour, nutmeg, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add in batches to the butter/sugar mixture. It will take a few minutes, but leave the mixer on medium-low until the cocoa permeates the mixture and the whole mix becomes brown in color. At this point, you should be able to pinch some of the dough together between your fingers, and it should stick together when you release it.

Add the chopped almonds and continue mixing for a minute more. Then it’s time to work with your hands. You may want to spray your hands with nonstick spray before working with the dough. Again, remember – this dough will be quite dry. That is OK.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into one piece. This may take a small amount of “kneading.” Place the dough onto a Silpat or a sheet of parchment paper and roll out into a bar about 1 inch thick. For me, this was about 6×8 inches.

Bake the dough in loaf form for 40 minutes, and then remove from the oven (leave it on!) and allow to cool completely. Use a serrated knife to slice into 3/4-inch-thick, finger-shaped pieces. Place the pieces on their side and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Again, allow to cool completely. The biscotti will get their trademark crunch as they cool.

This cookie is quite hard and is not meant to be served on its own! Serve with coffee, tea or hot chocolate for dunking.