parmesan black pepper biscotti
Please, take us both to a cocktail party, stat!
Other sugar-free, therapeutic and refreshing crumbs:
- Sick With Excess of Sweetness: In early 19th Century London, sugar became the world’s first consumer boycott. [Via Megnut]
- A woman who makes more subversive, and therefore cooler, snowflakes than I, bowls me over with a therapeutic assortment of 26 cookies. My favorite is the note on the last one.
- “Long ago I learned that if I wanted to find recipes that fit a healthy lifestyle I did not need to turn to cookbooks so designated. They are often boring. They frequently include a formula that doesn’t interest me. Sometimes they are too rigid.” Marian Burros speaks my mind.
[Update: My darling Jocelyn, still hospital-bound after nine days, asked me to guest-blog about her favorite comfort food. I, of course, obliged.]
Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti
Adapted from Gourmet, December 2006
Makes 5 to 6 dozen biscotti.
1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
Special equipment: an electric coffee/spice grinder
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups cheese, and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart.
Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Carefully transfer 1 warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.
Do ahead: Biscotti keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks.
Wow- these look delicious! Even though some of my hordes of guests may scoff at the thought of drinking red wine in the heat of the Australian summer, I’m pretty sure these will be gobbled up! And to ensure the integrity of the recipie – I’ll have a glass of red to fortify me through the cooking process.
Thanks for inspiring me.
Deb, those look awesome. Oh, today someone gave me a Rachael Ray casserole dish for Christmas. Now, I can and can not stand RR but this pot looks awesome. It’s heavy with deep sides and looks like it will be great for small batches of soup and stews. I’m excited to try out my new kitchen equip but I probably won’t open the box until after I move.
I think you need to open a gourmet food shoppe, a la Barefoot Contessa. These look incredible.
I did a post on these several days ago. Yes, these are really excellent!!
Deb – What a terrific blog you have! I confess that I, too (despite my cynical leanings), have become seriously addicted to Smitten Kitchen, checking in with you every morning as I sip my first cup of coffee. Beautiful photos, great prosey style, links to places I’d never have found myself. You’re what makes the internet the greatest damn thing to happen to humanity since the printing press.
Truly lovely, Deb. And very Italian and easy, just the perfect combination. Plus, I can think of 100 different things to add to the basic dough… this would be lovely with chopped confit tomatoes. I´m gonna give them a try soon.
ohh and bravo to that quote by Marian Burros, it´s as if diets and formulas are designed for people who don´t like food, don´t like to cook and can´t tell between something natural and something plastic without any flavor.
Why is Joc in the hospital?
Yes, I’m with you on the variations. I like the idea from Marce of the confit tomatoes above. I’m thinking sesame would be a natural addition.
This is the perfect choice for my husband – he doesn’t like sweets (crazy, I know) and loves cheese. I’ll be making these, that’s for sure!
mmm these look SO good.
Those look great Deb! I love the ka-pow of black pepper :)
Anything that is better with wine is fine by me. Those look great.
I made these last night, and my generally picky boyfriend, Wine Guy, said, “Wow! These smell great! These taste exactly how they are suppposed to taste!,” which, coming from him, is high praise. So, thank you for the recipe :)!
Yum! Those look delicious. My mom makes a similar dish, but with oregano instead of black pepper. They are the perfect companion for a simple soup. I’ll have to try this recipe and see how it compares. thanks!
Biscotti, my favorite snack with my lattes. What a divine recipe. :)
Congratulations on 9rules!
Hey, Deb
Congratulation on getting into 9rules.
You really deserve to get in to the community. I am so jealous. :)
You’re one of my favorite food bloggers.
Merry Christmas.
I saw this in Gourmet and totally wanted to make it! I’m glad it turned out so well for you. They look fantastic!
Mmm, those look delicious.
Excellent recipe, this will go into my cookbook. I’ll be serving these with marinara sauce for Christmas Eve, and I’ll give you the credit you deserve! Merry Christmas!
Okay, I just have to say, that when these come out of the oven still in “breadstick” form, before they’re sliced and made into the lovely biscotti, they are almost dead-on for consistency for those amazing garlic-paremsan biscuits they serve at Red Lobster. I’m going to experiment a bit with different cheese and maybe a bit of garlic, but this recipe is quite multi-purpose!
Yummy, that’s my kind of biscuits, I love savoury bits! allthough I sell mostly sweet specialities. Recipe, posted to me this morning, from a very dear German friend of mine, I’ll be making them……….. TONITE!!
Thank you
P.S. Fab web site, I’ll be back for more
anna
Oh these look deeelish. Going to make them tonight to go with my homemade creamy tomato soup. Great site, love the recipes and fabulous photos.
Most delicious! I am doing them right now and will take them with hummus as a small “Mitbringsel” for the birthday party of a good friend. Thanks for the recipe! I am sure it’s going to be a huge hit this evening.
I made these biscotti yesterday afternoon so my boyfriend and I will have an easy breakfast to grab before running out the door this week. I decided to amp up the flavor a bit and add garlic. They seemed to take longer to cook than the recipe suggested, but perhaps my over is a bit slower. They are delicious and addictive!
I made these today and am sipping some Pinot and nibbling on one of these as I review them here. I love these. You were so right about them being perfect with a glass of wine. The pepper leaves just a nice warmth in the aftermath making them perfect to accompany alone with a good hearty red wine. They were simple (a big biscuit, really), easy to slice and have outstanding flavor and texture. Thanks again..it will be great to have available over the holidays.
these are delish. i made them to accompany the pumpkin black bean soup. my kids really liked them. absolutely wonderful.
Just made these– must say they were a HIT. And, I definitely accidentally put too much Parm (is there such a thing??) but wow were they amazing. My roommates, who generally only eat Lean Cuisine and Light Soup, have eaten so many of these I’m afraid I won’t have any for the week.
Paired with my Nonny’s simple but delish lentil/sausage soup and wow. Yum.
I <3 this blog!
I made these as a pre-dinner nibble when the in-laws came for Easter and they were a hit – my sister-in-law couldn’t believe they weren’t shop bought! I’ll definitely be making them again.