I remember eating these biscotti as a child, sitting at my grandmother’s kitchen table but, I never had them with a glass of milk.
She always gave me a coffee in the same pretty cup with flowers painted on it (that I now have in my cupboard with the rest of the set). She filled the cup half with milk and then added a little coffee. I suppose you could say it was my first latte. I always felt quite grown-up enjoying my biscotti this way (as grown-up as one could feel when your little feet don’t even touch the floor).
This is a lighter cookie than the traditional twice-baked harder biscotti. They are the perfect companion to your coffee … with or without a special cup.
Ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
In a large bowl, mix the flour baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat the butter a couple of minutes, add sugar and beat until creamy.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Mix in lemon zest.
Gradually mix in the flour, creating a soft dough. Form it into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
When the dough is ready, divide it in half and then in half again. You should get about five or six cookies from each portion (depending on the size you want). If the dough is sticky just dip your fingers in flour and shape into 3-inch pieces.
Dip the top side of each cookie in milk, then gently press in sesame seeds.
I ran out of sesame seeds and used sparkling sugar (you could use plain). Dip in milk, then sugar.
Place cookies on parchment-lined cookie sheet, bake in a 400* oven for 20 minutes or so until light and golden.
If you want a smooth edge all around, place the cookies twice as far apart as the picture above. As you can see in the image to the left the first cookie had spread out in the pan while baking, resulting in having to separate them after they baked. Not a big deal to me, (they taste the same) but if you are giving them to someone, you may prefer the smoother edge.
These came out very good as well! I think from now on I will do half coated in sesame seeds and half sugar.
