Nutella Biscotti

It's been a busy week here in the Mmm... household.  Our little girl came down with a nasty cold, the kitten has reached the 'Hell on Paws' stage, we had our first big snowfall, and of course all of the regular day to day stuff.  Thanks to lots of coffee, I chugged on and did actually get in some quality kitchen time too.

So, I definitely need to put Nutella back on the ol' grocery list, because another bottle is now gone.  About a month ago I had gotten an invite to a Christmas Cookie Exchange (yay!), and I had decided to make Nutella Biscotti.  I'm a recent convert to Biscotti-ism and hadn't even had a Nutella version, but I just knew it would be the best ever.  I found a recipe on Food.com and added a bit, tweaked it a bit and dipped them in chocolate and hazelnuts and the rest... is in our bellies.

My Nutella Biscotti

Inspired by Food.com, Makes 3-4 Dozen

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground ginger

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup Nutella

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Additional milk chocolate chips to melt and dip/drizzle

Sliced hazelnuts

Measure flour, baking powder, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and ginger into a sifter or fine mesh strainer and sift into large mixing bowl.  In another large bowl (I did this part in the KitchenAid stand mixer with paddle attachment), beat eggs until light in colour and beat in sugar and Nutella until well combined.  Add dry ingredients all at once and beat until a soft dough forms.  

Form dough into two logs on a parchment or Sil-Pat lined baking sheet.  The dough is soft, so flour your hands or work quickly (chilling would work too, but I have no patience).  Flatten tops so that logs are about an inch thick and leave at least 4 inches between the logs, I didn't and they did start to grow together when baking.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so, and turn the oven down to 300 degrees.  Move logs to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, cut into 1/2 inch slices.  Place biscotti cut side down on the original lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes, flip and bake on the other side for an additional 15 minutes.  Allow to cool on baking rack.

When biscotti are cool, or just about, melt some additional chocolate (I like to use a double boiler... I don't have great luck melting chocolate in the microwave).  Dip the ends in the melted chocolate and then roll in sliced hazelnuts.  I left the nuts off of some of the finished biscotti and put some melted chocolate in a small plastic bag and snipped the corner and drizzled it over them.  Store in an airtight container... I find that tins work better than bags for keeping the biscotti's crunch.

These are super crunchy and super addictive and I can't wait to make more to share.

Enjoy!