Double Chocolate Biscotti

This is one of my favorite cookie recipes, even after (with the help of my mom) baking 378 of them for favors at my wedding!  They are very low in fat and calories, but very chocolatey...who could ask for any more of a cookie?  I love mine dipped in tea or coffee!  Since they are already hard and crunchy, they freeze easily and last forever, making great gifts.  I am already a little nostalgic for all of the months where I couldn't open my freezer without being hit by a flying biscotti!

I adapted the recipe very slightly from Cooking Light, in that I like bigger chocolate chips so that you get a real chunk of chocolate now and then.  Be forewarned that this is a thick, dry batter and challenging to stir.  I had a strapless wedding dress, and baking the favors was a big part of my work-outs in toning down my arms!

Double Chocolate Biscotti

  Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1 large egg white
cooking spray

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all of the dry ingredients (including the sugar) in a large bowl, and stir with a whisk.
3. Beat the eggs, egg white, and vanilla in a small bowl. 
4. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir well.  A wooden spoon helps here. 
5. Divide dough in half.  Then turn the first half out onto a baking sheet covered by parchment paper, and sprayed with cooking spray.  Shape each half into a 12-inch long roll, and then pat into a 1/2 inch thickness.  Cooking Light recommends you flour your hands to do this.  I found that slightly wetting my hands with water helped even more, though my mom preferred the standard flour technique. 
6. Repeat the shaping with the second half of the dough.
7.  Bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes.  Then remove from the oven, and remove each log to a cooling rack for 10 minutes.  (Using two spatulas to lift the log helps here.)
8. Cut each roll diagonally into 1/2 inch to 1 inch slices.  I usually get about 13 or so biscotti from each log.  Save the ends for nibbling on.
9. Stand up the slices on a baking sheet, and bake for an additional 15 minutes.  They can be a little soft when you first take them out of the oven, but they harden as they cool.  Remove the biscotti from the baking sheet and cool them on a wire rack.