Banana Nut Biscotti

Banana bread and biscotti are two faves of mine, so combing the two seemed like a no brainer! This biscotti tastes exactly like banana bread, but is crunchy and perfect for dipping in a hot cup of coffee!

Making the Dough
The dough for biscotti is quite similar in consistency to that of room temperature cookie dough and even made using the same process (creamy method). At the end of the day you really just want it to be right at that point of holding it’s shape when spread out on a pan.

Forming Your Log
After making your dough, you will need to spread it out on a lined baking sheet. The shape/size you make out of your dough is going to be important when considering your final product’s size. I personally like a long piece of biscotti so I make one log that is about ¾ the length and width of a large baking sheet. If you prefer something smaller, you’ll want to use two baking sheets. Divide the dough between the two sheets and make the log about ¾ the length and 1/3 the width.

Baking Your Biscotti
The word biscotti is derived from a Latin term meaning “twice baked.” It is aptly named because that’s exactly what you are going to do! After baking your shaped logs, you will then slice the log width wise to make individual cookies. At this point they will have a dense cookie consistency so you will bake them a second time to get them nice and crunchy.

What you’ll need:
– 1/2 cup butter, room temp
– 1 cup white sugar (200 grams)
– 1 ripe banana, mashed
– 1 egg
– 2 teaspoons vanilla
– 2 1/2 cups flour (300 grams)
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
– 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

What you’ll do:
– Preheat your oven to 350F and line a 12×16 baking sheet with parchment paper.
– Cream together your butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
– Cream in your banana, egg and vanilla until smooth and fully incorporated.
– Combine dry ingredients (except nuts) and slowly add until fully combined.
– Fold in your nuts of choice.
– Spread your mixture out on your parchment lined pan to form a rectangle.
– Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.
– Cool until you can easily handle it and slice into 16 pieces.
– Arrange cut side down on the baking sheet (you may need a second sheet for this) and bake for 10 minutes.
– Flip pieces over so that the other cut side is down and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
– Allow to cool and ENJOY!

Here are a few more biscotti recipes!
Chocolate Iced Caramel Biscotti (this recipe also includes some step by step pictures!)
Cherry Almond Biscotti
Gingerbread Biscotti
Chocolate Chip Biscotti