Ingredients:

2 cups sugar; 1 cup butter, melted; 4 tablespoons anise seed; 4 tblsps. anisette; 3 tblsps. whiskey; 2 cups sliced almonds; 6 eggs; 5 1/2 cups flour; 1 tblsp. baking powder.



Directions:

Mix sugar with butter, anise seed, anisette, whiskey and nuts. Beat in eggs. Mix flour with baking powder and stir into the sugar mixture. Blend thoroughly. Cover and chill for 2-3 hours. Grease baking sheets. Shape dough into flat loaves that are 1/2-3/4 inch thick and 2 inches wide and length of the baking sheet. Place two loaves on one sheet parallel and well apart. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 min. Take from oven and let loaves cool – just until you can touch them. Cut in diagonal slices about 1/2 inch thick. Lay slices on cut side, close together on baking sheets. Return to 375 degree oven for 15 minutes more or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks and store in airtight containers.

Nuccia,
Every year for a quite a number of years now my wife bakes several batches of biscotti around Christmas to sell at a fundraiser for a retirement facility where she works. The residents of the facility anticipate the annual bake sale and some even want to put in orders for the following year when they make their purchases for the present year. Fortunately she makes a little extra for a few friends including her most special one

Would carraway seed do instead of anise seed?
Emmy

No, no, no. The flavor of anise is irreplaceable in biscotti, at least in my opinion, unless you are attempting to make a kind of savory biscotti As home remedies go, I've found a nice cup of anise tea is just the thing when one is battling a cold or just feeling low.

Emmy,
Actually we call this "Cantuccini" or "Cantucci" in Italy and it's typical of Tuscany.
The traditional recipe doesn't include anise seeds or anisette but of course there are lots of variants and it depends on tastes.

Ada

Ada,

Can you post the traditional recipe please? I have only ever seen it like this so I am curious. And post any other recipes you might like to share. I love to cook..(I'm not very good at it but I am always willing to try).

I have a cookbook by Lorenza De Medici, Tuscany The Beautiful Cookbook, that contains a recipe for Cantuccini, Almond Cookies of Prato but I'll have to try to scan it. The cookbook is one of those table top sizes. Several years ago Lorenza De Medici--she has/had a working estate in Tuscany--had a cooking show on PBS. Unfortunately, it was broadcast on Sunday mornings so I ended up skipping meeting (I'm a Quaker) so I could watch her show--it was a short series. I've made several of her recipes including the Cantuccini. Others I've tried were Torta della Nonna, Ossa Di Morto, Torta Di Mele. We also make our version Tiramisu--we first tasted Tiramisu in Venice, I thought I was in heaven--but we can't duplicate that! I've also used Lorenza's recipes to prepare a few special anniversary dinners for my wife: one required three days of preparation
I'll see if I can wedge this book on my scanner

Awesome Tom! Thank you. And you must love your wife very much. I hope she realizes how lucky a lady she is. I think I will show my wonderful husband this post to see if he gets any ideas..I should say GOOD ideas..

Nuccia,
I just emailed you the recipe. Imageshack's server is having problems, or busy at the moment.
In the interest of full disclosure, a lot of that time involved marinating; however, it wasn't the sort of marinade that you could make and forget, it did need attention.

nuccia wrote:

Ada, Can you post the traditional recipe please? I have only ever seen it like this so I am curious. And post any other recipes you might like to share. I love to cook..(I'm not very good at it but I am always willing to try).

Nuccia,
I found this page on Wikipedia and it's in English, there are also other recipes that you can click on. The best way to have Cantuccini is with Vin Santo. It makes you think you are not committing a sin (you are absolved as Vin Santo means Holy Wine). The only problem is that afterwards you feel like you got nothing beetwen your knees and the floor, your feet are there but you cannot get any control on them....

Cantuccini/Biscotti

The Italian version gives the traditional recipe which doesn't mention anise.

Cantuccini Ricetta Tradizionale

Have a nice day....

Ada

Nuccia,
there are a lot of recipes that I could post. As I'm Piedmontese in origin I will give you a very easy recipe. I couldn't find a picture with recipe. In Italian they are called Brutti e buoni or Ossi da mordere. In Piedmontese dialect they are:

Brut e bon (Ugly and good) or Oss da mord (Bones to eat)

for 4 persons (may be less)

200 grams almonds (or peanuts)
200 grams sugar
200 grams flour
1 beaten egg white

Blend all ingredients together. Cut in pieces and give them a bone shape. Grease with butter the oven plate or use oven paper. Cook at 180° for 15-18 minutes but keep an eye on it as temperature and time vary a lot with different ovens. If you don't eat them all at once these biscuits can last for months if kept in a closed tin (I'm sure someone will say that there were no tins available around)

Anybody interested for recipes of Bunet, Margheritine di Stresa, Zabaione, Torcetti or, out of Piedmont, Limoncello liqueur, Tiramisù, etc., etc. ?

Wicked Ada

Ada,

Thank you so much for all of this! So if I drink the Holy Wine, then am I forgiven for all my sins? It may be worth it you know so I will have to make this small sacrifice and risk falling to the floor. Hope I am not being to selfish..

Ada..I think you and I are going to get along just fine!

nuccia wrote:

Ada, Thank you so much for all of this! So if I drink the Holy Wine, then am I forgiven for all my sins? It may be worth it you know so I will have to make this small sacrifice and risk falling to the floor. Hope I am not being to selfish.. Mmm! Only sins of gluttony are forgiven I'm afraid..... Ada..I think you and I are going to get along just fine! Sure! .... singing to the moon, walking along and avoiding to fall into the sea from my yacht!

Ada