Chocolate Pecan Pie Biscotti with Bourbon
Extremely crunchy biscotti made with chocolate chips and toasted pecans.
Servings 35
Cost 5
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups pecan halves 120 grams
- 2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour 250 grams (measured after sifting)**
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon. baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus a pinch
- ¾ cup sugar 150 grams
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 350 grams
- 2 large eggs Keep a third egg nearby just in case
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or corn syrup (or just use more sugar)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or use a combo of vanilla and almond
- ¼ cup bourbon plus more as needed
Instructions
- Toast the pecans. Spread them on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 7 to 10 minutes or until they start to release their oil and appear shiny. How long it takes will depend on the type of pecans and your oven, so keep an eye on them. Let them cool, then chop
- Mix flour with baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
- Place about ½ cup of the flour mixture in a food processor. Add ½ cup of the toasted pecans and process until pecans are finely ground. Add the processed mixture to the rest of the flour mixture and stir in the remaining chopped pecans and chocolate chips.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and bourbon. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber scraper until the ingredients are moistened. The dough will be very dry at this point.
- If you have a pastry mat, you might want to turn the not-quite-mixed dough onto the pat and use your hands to get it to come together. Again -- it is dry, and it is supposed to be. If for some reason you can’t get all the flour mixed in, crack another egg, mix it in a cup and drizzle in a little or just enough to get it to stick.
- Divide the dough in half. Dampen your hands with a little water and shape into two logs each about 10 inches long, 2 ½ inches wide and a little under and inch tall.
- Arrange logs 8 inches apart on a large parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F. for 25 minutes.
- Let the log cool for about 25 minutes/
- Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.
- Carefully slice each log diagonally into slices about ½ inch wide. If you want thicker biscotti, slice them wider. Use whatever knife works best for you. In my experience with this recipe, a sharp chef's knife and a swift up and down motion works best.
- Bake in a 275 degree oven for another 25 minutes, turning the slices over midway through baking. Let cool completely.
Notes
If you'd like to make Maida's original almond version, use almonds instead of pecans, use ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar and omit the maple syrup, reduce alcohol to 2 tablespoons and stick with the bourbon or use brandy.
FLOUR NOTE: If you have a scale and can weigh out your 250 grams of flour, you can skip the sifting. If you are measuring by volume, you need to sift or at least fluff up and aerate the flour before measuring.