These delicious Italian anisette toasts are light and airy with a subtle crunch. No oil or butter is used making these a guiltless pleasure to enjoy for snacking or dunking.
I love all types of biscotti, but these anisette toasts are one of my favorites. These are simple to make requiring only seven ingredients. The fragrance of the anise is enticing.
The texture of the cookie is crunchy yet soft and chewy. These bring back memories of my childhood and I'm so happy to share them with you.
IT'S ALL IN THE WHIPPING
Eggs are whipped with the sugar for five minutes until they're lightened in color and form a ribbon when the beater is lifted. Lots of air is incorporated into the eggs and sugar and that is key.
A little cornstarch is added to the flour to lighten the texture. By adding the cornstarch, you are basically turning this into cake flour. The flour mixture is folded into the whipped eggs to keep the batter light and airy.
Baking these twice is the key to the crunchy texture. Biscotti in Italian means "twice baked". Baking them twice is what dries them out and makes them crunchy.
When you take a bite, the ends will be crunchy and towards the center will be slightly chewy. It depends on how long you bake them. Underbaking a minute or two will result in a chewier texture.
After the whipping and the folding, pour the batter on a parchment lined baking sheet to reach the length of about 12 inches or so. That's a good length, don't you think? It will spread wide, but that's perfect because the result will be beautiful long toasts.
After 20 to 25 minutes of baking, remove from the oven and set it to cool for five minutes on a cooling rack. Peel off the parchment paper from the bottom and place the paper back onto the baking sheet.
Transfer the baked dough onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut into ¾" wide slices.
Place slices back onto the baking sheet on middle rack of your oven and bake for 6 - 7 minutes on each side to crisp up. They should be light golden brown.
These anisette toasts are wonderful to serve and dunk with coffee, latte, or espresso. They also keep well stored in an airtight container but don't count on them lasting that long.
When I was baking these, my family grabbed a third of them before I could do the second baking. Which reminds me...
DO YOU HAVE TO BAKE THE ANISETTE TOASTS A SECOND TIME?
No, you don't. As I stated above, my family tends to grab these as I slice. These are already cooked and perfectly fine to eat after they're sliced. They will be soft without the slight crunch (obviously), but they are still delicious!
I love the long length of the anisette toasts. They look spectacular and elegant when placed on the tray.
If you want a more consistent outcome, you can use a biscotti pan which will result in a slightly thicker toast. You may have to adjust the baking time by adding a few minutes, but you will end up with anisette toasts consistent in size.
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ANISETTE TOASTS
PRINT PIN SAVEIngredients
- 2 large eggs room temperature*
- ¾ cups (150 g) sugar
- 1 tablespoon anise extract**
- 1 cup (130 g) flour
- 2 tablespoons (20 g) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use a nonstick biscotti pan.
- Combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Using a mixer, beat eggs and sugar on high speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Beat in anise extract.
- Using a spatula, fold in the flour mixture with the egg mixture until combined.
- Pour batter onto the baking sheet to the length of about 12 inches. The dough will spread but don’t worry.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then peel off parchment from the bottom and transfer the dough onto a cutting board. Place parchment paper back onto the baking sheet. If you prefer, you can slice each toast in half lengthwise. I find the long toasts to be elegant.
- Using a serrated knife, slice biscotti into ¾" slices and place cut side down back onto baking sheet..
- Bake for 6 - 7 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 6 -7 minutes.
- Let cool and enjoy as is or dunk in your favorite coffee.
Notes
Nutritional Information
I don't post the nutritional value because I don't trust the accuracy of the nutritional apps. I’m not a nutritionist and don't want to post misinformation.
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