Remember the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? If you recall, our heroine tastes Father Bear’s porridge and finds it too hot; Mother Bear’s porridge is too cold, but Baby Bear’s porridge is just right. Similarly, Father Bear’s bed is too hard; Mother Bear’s bed is too soft, but Baby Bear’s bed is so comfortable that… well, you get the point. If you peruse the vast reaches of the Internet for biscotti recipes, they seem to fall into two distinct classes: Father Bear and Mother Bear Biscotti. Father Bear biscotti do not use butter, resulting in a hard, dry product. Definitely crunchy (and arguably a more genuine option), but sometimes leaving you with the impression that your teeth have broken off with each bite. On the other hand, Mother Bear Biscotti use about 4oz of butter for every 2 cups of flour; these tend to be softer, almost cake-like and not unpleasant by any means – but somehow lacking that satisfying dense texture and crunch.
With this in mind I set out to make Baby Bear Biscotti – crunchy, but not rock hard. I wish I could say that there is some subtle, clever trick to these, but it turns out to be pretty obvious: if you use just 2oz butter to every 2 cups of flour, they turn out fine. So here is the recipe for reduced (but not zero) fat biscotti. You can, of course, adapt this to use your favorite flavorings; I took inspiration from a very tasty pear tart with anise that we made a few months back.
Ingredients
2c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 oz butter
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs
1 cup dried pear, diced (about 6-8 pear halves)
1 tsp anise, ground in a mortar and pestle or spice mill
Preheat the oven to 350 ºF. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and ground anise in a bowl. Soften the butter and cut into small pieces. Using a stand or hand mixer, combine the butter and two sugars and cream together until smooth. Beat the eggs, mix them with the vanilla essence and gradually add to the butter/sugar, stirring continuously to incorporate the egg. Keep mixing on slow speed and add the flour mixture, about 1/4 cup at a time, until well incorporated. Mix in the pear (using a spatula or by hand; the dough will be quite stiff), then turn out the ball of dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into two, then shape each half into a long bar, each about 12-14” long and 2” wide.
Place the bars on a large (nonstick or buttered) cookie sheet at least 3” apart and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 ºF. After a few minutes, move the bars to a board and cut diagonally into ~1/2” slices. Return the sliced biscotti to the cookie sheet (cut side down) and bake for 8 minutes, then turn them over and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Enjoy!
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