Chocolate Pecan Biscotti

Hey guys! Today we’re doing biscotti because in the world of making breakfast at home, biscotti is the kind of thing that you can bake on the weekend and eat every morning throughout the week. I won’t claim that it’s a healthy breakfast, but it’s pretty delightful no matter what!

This version is sweetened with molasses, and it has a touch of cinnamon along with the dark chocolate and pecans. I’ve never been a big fan of biscotti, and I think it’s because it can often be bland. So when I set out to make this version, I wanted to be sure it was packed with flavor, and flavors that would be seriously amazing with coffee or tea. Let’s get to it!

How to Make High-Altitude Biscotti

These cookies, if you didn’t know, are double baked, which is kind of a fun process tbh. So let’s start with the dough- it’s oil based, and it comes together pretty easily in a stand mixer or with an electric hand mixer. The dough will be glossy, thick, and very sticky.

We’re going to split the dough in half, and shape each half into a large log on our baking sheet. The dough is super sticky, so you want to use wet hands to form it into a log that is almost the length the baking sheet, and about 3 inches wide. It should be about 3/4-1 inch tall. It doesn’t have to be cute (and won’t be haha), because it’ll puff out as it bakes!

This first bake is to let the dough puff and mostly set, and it takes about 30 minutes to get there. Then, just let it cool for about 15 minutes on the counter, and start slicing. You want to slice the cookies at an angle to get that classic biscotti shape

Line them up on a baking sheet for the second bake- you can pretty much put these right next to each other for this bake. They won’t spread or puff any further, so they can be very close together and you should be able to fit them all onto one sheet pan. Then it’s off to the oven, and you can finally enjoy them!

Tips & Tricks for Making Chocolate Pecan Biscotti

Biscotti is a little tricky to get used to making, but once you get used to it, the method is simple. Here are my tips to help you along the way!

• Make sure the dough is fully mixed with no pockets of flour or anything unincorporated. I like to give it a few good stirs with a spatula after mixing it in the stand mixer to get any spots that the mixer missed.
• Use wet hands to form the dough. I mean actually wet. I usually will run my hands under water, give them a little shake off, and then go for it. The dough is really sticky, but it’s totally fine if it gets a little wet during shaping!
• The logs come out of the oven often slightly misshapen but don’t worry! You’re going to slice the cookies, you’ll never even know that it was wonky.
• No need to space them out for the second bake as the cookies will have already done all the rising and puffing that they will do. You can pretty much put them right next to eachother on the pan!
• The cookies will continue to firm up as they cool so don’t worry if they aren’t crunchy right out of the oven, and don’t over-bake them!
• I am at about 5,000 ft above sea level and I typically find that most people who are about 3,000 ft to 7,000 ft do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes!

I think I’m about to go on a long winded biscotti recipe journey on this blog in 2021, so get ready. Enjoy!

4.5 from 2 votes

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Chocolate Pecan Biscotti

Servings 25 cookies

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp espresso powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 tbs milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 4 oz. finely chopped dark chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and espresso powder. Set aside. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the oil, brown sugar, molasses, milk, vanilla extract, and eggs until just combined and fairly smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until a dough forms. Then, stir in the chopped dark chocolate and pecans until well distributed. Make sure there are no pockets of flour or sugar lurking at the bottom of your bowl- stir it to make sure it's very well combined!

3. Divide the dough roughly into two halves, which will be formed into long logs on the baking sheet. The dough will be glossy and very sticky, so you need to wet your hands to help form it into two long logs that are about the length of the baking sheet (with a few inches on each end of space), about 3 inches wide, and about 1 inch tall.

4. Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the logs are puffed, golden, and look dry on the outside. Cool on the counter for 15 minutes, or until they are cool enough to handle for slicing. Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

5. Slice the logs at an angle, creating that classic biscotti shape. They should be about 1/2-3/4 inch thick. Place each cookie back onto a parchment lined baking sheet. You don't need to leave room between the cookies as they will not spread or puff during the second bake, and you should be able to fit all the cookies onto one sheet. Return the cookies to the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until they look golden and feel firm. They will harden as they cool, so don't over-bake them! Cool and enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!