Earl Grey Biscotti

Apr 15 2010

Earl Grey Biscotti

About a month ago, I excitedly copied this recipe down from a friend's copy of Tea Cookbook by Tonia George.

I love the idea of cooking with tea and, in fact, own a different tea cookbook, Tea Cuisine. The biscotti recipe drew me in because there were so few steps: baking at its easiest? I could only hope! I set aside 2 heaping tablespoons of our favorite Rishi Earl Grey tea and got started!

30 minutes later, I was completely done (well, except for cleaning the kitchen). It was half an hour from first preparation to first bite. As you'll see in the recipe, as long as you are careful with your measurements, it's impossible to make a wrong turn. I don't own a food processor, so I made use of the 'pulse' setting of our blender and kneaded with my hands.

The biscotti leaves a lovely earl grey taste in your mouth that is further enhanced by the apricots and almonds. My biscotti aren't as hard as a traditional biscotti--the edges firmed up, but the interior is still soft. If you're looking for something crisper, simply keep the biscotti in the oven longer.

Earl Grey Biscotti

Makes 24 mini biscotti

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons Earl Grey tea leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened and cubed
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons whole milk
3 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped
3 1/2 oz dried apricots, roughly chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the flour, baking powder, tea leaves, and salt in a food processor and pulse until the tea leaves are finely ground. Add the butter and sugar and pulse or mix with your fingertips until the mixture resembles bread crumbs.

Pour in the eggs and milk and pulse or mix until the dough comes together Take out and knead in the almonds and apricots. Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 flat logs (about 10 X 2 inches). Space them apart on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Remove the biscotti from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange the slices cut side up. Bake for a further 12-15 minutes, or until edges are brown and crisp.

Remove from the oven and let cool. Store up to 7 days in an airtight container.