Biscotti (Cantucci)

Ingredients:

300g   Plain flour (or 200g Plain flour + 100g Almond meal)

220g   Caster sugar (or 200g for recipes with chocolate chips)

2         Eggs (lightly beaten)

½ tsp  Baking powder

150g   Whole almond with skin (or Whole peeled pistachio, or peeled walnuts)

Optional:   Finely grated orange zest, chopped dried cranberry, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 160c, place baking paper on a baking tray (Do not grease the baking paper!)
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix at low speed for a few minutes until the dough comes together
Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface, divide into two halves and roll each half into a log about 30cm long
Place the logs on the baking tray and bake for 25 minutes or until firm
Cool on the tray at room temperature for a few hours
Preheat the oven to 100c
Use a very sharp knife to cut the logs into slices about 1cm thick
Place the sliced biscuits on the baking tray and bake for another 20-25 minutes

I personally like the combination of almond + dark chocolate chips + orange zest or pistachio + white chocolate chips + dried cranberry. If you are going to add chocolate chips, just replace half the amount of your preferred nuts with chocolate chips e.g. 75g almond + 75g dark chocolate chips.