Grandmother’s Italian Biscotti Cookies (now with recipe)

Just the thing for dunking in hot coffee for breakfast, these anise-flavored Italian treats really hit the spot

We all have at least one treasured family recipe that’s been handed down through generations and the source of many a family story.  One of mine is my grandmother Amalia Branciaroli’s Italian biscotti cookies.  As a kid, my family lived a few states away from her home, so when we visited it was a great treat to descend on her stocked-up cookie jar and devour these crumbly treats.  In fact, it was my habit to set the alarm for early o’clock and join her in her warm kitchen while she baked these. 

The benefits of this were two-fold – a one-on-one visit with her and the first taste of the cookies hot from the oven.  My grandmother cooked by feel, not by recipes, so at some point I had to force her to stop her process as she added each ingredient so we could measure and I could write things down.  It was the same thing with preparation.  She did it all by muscle memory, so getting her to explain what she was doing and why was somewhat tough.  But we persevered and the results were and are YUM.

During this pandemic lock-down, I’ve been revisiting a number of family recipes including this one as a way to refresh my memory of them and also to pass the time making them.  When I posted simply a photo of the biscotti, the reaction was astounding.  Any number of extended family members living in other states sent comments and reactions, along with friends and total strangers. 

A cousin in Ohio recalled her own great-grandmother from the old country’s recipe.  This relative of hers came to the US about the same time as my own grandmother immigrated from Giulianova, Italy in the early 20^th century.  In her family’s case, the cookies were baked in long narrow loaf pans with embossed designs on the sides which sounds lovely.  My grandmother simply shaped the dough into loaves and placed them on a baking sheet for the twice-baked process which is how I make them today.

For all these years, I’ve been holding on tightly to this recipe, keeping it to myself and only making it for family. But, in order for it to live on, the right thing to do is to share it.  Following are the instructions I wrote down in the early 1970’s.  Anise seed is a key ingredient so don’t fail to include it.  Please enjoy and pass it on!

Italian Biscotti Cookies
Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp anise seed
3 ¼ - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Set aside a greased baking pan.  Pam or some kind of cooking spray works great for this.

Best the eggs till bubbly with a hand beater (I use a hand mixer intermittently on very low speed).  While continuing to beat, add the sugar gradually and then the vegetable oil and anise.  Set aside.

On a baking board or counter-top, pour out the flour and baking powder which should have been mixed and make a well in the center.  Add the egg mixture to the well and using a large knife, fold over the sides till the egg mixture is completely incorporated.  I do this in the bowl containing the egg mixture by adding the flour mix gradually, using a large spatula to do the incorporating.

When mixed well, divide dough into 4 portions and shape each into a loaf, placing them fairly separately apart on the greased baking sheet. 

Here’s where you will need to use your judgement.  Grandma’s instructions say bake for 10 minutes, but I’ve found that the loaf centers are still raw at that point.  I’ve baked as long as 20 minutes to get the centers completely done depending on the oven.  A good way to check is to take a serrated knife and cut one of the loaves in the center to check doneness.  The loaves should be golden brown on top.

Remove the loaves from the oven and while still hot, slice each one into ¼-1/2 inch slices.  Place slices on their sides on the baking sheet including the heels.  You may need more than one baking sheet.  Bake another ~10 minutes till golden.  Please be watchful.  You don’t want them to actually brown.  Remove and let cool. 

These cookies keep well and others tell me they can be frozen.  My batches never last that long.