Espresso Biscotti

These biscotti were prepared with the coffee lover in mind! Prepared with coffee extract, coffee liqueur, and espresso powder, Espresso Biscotti not only pack a caffeine kick, but they have a crunchy texture, and taste delicious!

For some people, there’s such as thing as too much coffee. I have yet to feel that way! Because of the espresso, coffee extract, and coffee liqueur, you might think there would be too much coffee flavour in these Espresso Biscotti, but I think it’s just the perfect amount!

I thought so too initially, but to be perfectly honest, I thought the coffee flavour was quite subtle. And, it worked so well in contrast to the sweetness of the biscotti and the chocolate dip. Coffee extract is not easy to find in stores. Although, on many occasions, I have found it at Walmart and Target. I always use the Watkins brand, because it’s the easiest one to find. You can buy it online too, if you can’t find it in stores.

If you don’t have it or if you want to use something else, you can most certainly go right ahead and use vanilla extract. Vanilla, chocolate, and coffee all work very well together. If I did not use coffee extract, I would have most likely used more of the coffee flavoured liqueur in its place.

ESPRESSO – THE ULTIMATE PICK-ME-UP!

The first reason is espresso. I’m not sure about you, but life for me is extremely busy during the Christmas season.  Between the baking, the decorating, the shopping, the wrapping, the events around the city, and visitors, my days are filled to the brim with excitement.

Now, because I love each and every one of those things, I don’t want to find myself missing out on any.  Espresso, you see, gives a jolt of energy when needed.  And, as you know, coffee makes everything better.

And do you know what’s better than coffee?  Drinking coffee with biscotti that have been dipped in a delicious melted milk chocolate!

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting. Also, we have a vacation booked in what would have been the middle of the series, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the volume of the batter and to add texture as well.
• Salt
• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature!
• Sugar
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Coffee Extract – This is a coffee flavoured cookie, so coffee extract makes sense. If you don’t have coffee extract, use coffee liqueur or substitute it with vanilla extract.
• Espresso Powder – It sounds fancy, but it isn’t. I got mine at Walmart.
• Coffee Liqueur
• Milk Chocolate Chips

HOW TO MAKE ESPRESSO BISCOTTI

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and melted butter until well combined and creamy. Next, add the eggs, espresso powder, coffee extract, and coffee liqueur. Beat into the batter until well mixed. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and beat in until just combined.

Turn the dough out onto a prepared baking sheet and form it into a log. (Dough is a bit sticky!) Form log into a rectangle shape that is roughly 5″ wide and 16″ long. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the baking sheet on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate around the baking sheet. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Using the parchment paper, slide the log onto a large cutting board. Slice into 1/2″ slices across the width of the log. Place slices back onto a baking sheet cut side down. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove the biscotti from the oven and turn each one over. Bake for an additional 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Transfer the milk chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl. In increments of 30 seconds at half power, melt the chocolate, stirring well between each increment. Once the chocolate is fully melted and silky smooth, it’s time to dip the biscotti. Dip the bottoms of each biscotti into the melted chocolate and set them on a baking sheet with the chocolate dipped side up. Allow the chocolate to firm and set up before storing.

STORING AND FREEZING

These biscotti will last in the freezer for three months. Be sure you have a good container with a tight seal. Whenever I’m freezing biscotti, I always double up on the seal action. Before I place the lid on, I always drape a sheet of plastic wrap on top. Then I push the lid on. I just feel that the lid fits more tightly. Any little thing I can do to keep the frost out, I’m going to do it! I like to use containers like this.

Like I always say, if you freeze any baked goods, remove only the amount you want when you decide to thaw them. Fetch the container from the freezer and remove only what you need. Put the lid back on and get the container back in the freezer.

To properly thaw baked goods, place them on a plate or a wire cooling rack. Don’t pile them. Spread them out and give them some space. Let them sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. They will taste fresh and perfect every single time!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!