Easy Anise Biscotti Recipe - Mangia Bedda (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for anise seed in biscotti? ›

No problem. Use a tiny drop of anise oil instead.

Because the dough can be sticky and hard to form, it's important to chill the batter for a good 30 minutes before baking the first time.

A: Overbaking the logs of dough during the first baking can make the slices crumble as you are cutting them. Also, even if the logs of dough are perfectly baked, they will crumble if they are sliced while still warm, so be patient. The logs crumble when you use a dull knife, too.

Biscotti dough is inherently sticky. I recommend adequately flouring your hands before working the dough, and if it's still too sticky to handle, add a little flour at a time but just enough so you can work with it.

Star anise is stronger than anise seed, so if using anise seed as a substitute for star anise you'll want to use ½ teaspoon of anise seeds in replacement for one whole star anise.

If you don't have anise seed available for a recipe, the best substitution would be fennel seed, a few drops of anise extract, or star anise. Any of these would add the licorice flavor.

Despite their centuries-old heritage, there is no one perfect way to make biscotti. Some recipes call for eggs only, which is the traditional method, while others swear by butter or oil. The choice is yours; just keep in mind that those made with butter or oil will have both a softer texture and a shorter shelf life.

Most baked goods need a leavening agent to make them rise, and if you leave it out, your cake or your cookies will fall flat. Baking powder makes dough rise because it contains both a base and an acid in dried form.

The trickiest parts of making them are the mixing and the shaping and baking. Just like biscuits, you can't overmix the dough. I found that if the dough is mixed too much, the biscotti becomes dense and heavy.

Do you need to sift flour for biscotti? ›

In summary, to produce a consistent crunch in your biscotti, it is necessary to measure and sift the ingredients. It may take some trial and error before you find out what ratio of flour-to-fat that works best for you, but remember that sifting and measuring your ingredients helps create perfect crispiness!

If it feels firm but still gives a bit when you poke it, take it out for rather soft-textured but still crunchy biscotti.

If you stand up your slices on the baking pan, with a little space in between, they crisp up better. The thing that makes biscotti biscotti is baking them in a log, slicing them on the diagonal, and then baking them a second time so they are crispy all the way through.

First, always use a serrated knife! Then, you can either gently saw through the cookie loaf, or you can saw halfway, then rock chop.

If you are all out of anise extract, you can substitute for it with the following: Use 1 teaspoon of licorice flavoring/extract for 1 teaspoon of anise extract.

Swap in ½ teaspoon of ground cloves and ½ teaspoon of ceylon cinnamon powder for one teaspoon of ground star anise or one whole star.

They have a strong, but not overbearing licorice flavor to them that makes them stand out from the normal butter or sugar cookies. If you don't think you or your family or friends would like anise flavored cookies, feel free to substitute the anise extract with almond extract or vanilla extract.

Star anise works especially well in brines or marinades where the spices are left whole; use one star anise pod per teaspoon of whole fennel seed. Anise seed can also be substituted for fennel seeds; just use half as much anise seed as fennel seed.