Coffee and biscotti

Last weekend, I finally got to relive one of my favourite childhood shopping moments! When we were living in Thoiry, we did our big shop over the border in Meyrin (Switzerland) where they had a huge Migros! I rememeber isles of chocolate, loads of fishtanks with a vast array of fish and crustaceans and a checkout as far as the eye coud see (probably slightly exaggerated due to my little size at the time).

But the real treat would come after the checkout if mum had bought coffee. This was bought in beans and then either my brother or I would get to put the beans into the machine, place the bag into the hold and move the lever...then after a few seconds a loud bbbzzzrrr would sound and out came wonderful ground coffee. Even though it still took me a long time to drink coffee, I always loved this smell. So as my parents bought me a lovely coffeemaker for my birthday and my first jar of pre-ground coffee was empty I went to the shop. After selecting this lovely yellow bag, I went through the checkout and walked over to the machine. There, I started the familiar procedure and a few bbbzzzrrrs later I had my bag of lovely smelling coffee. To enjoy this to the fullest, I baked some biscotti to go with it from a recipe I got from my Norwegian friend Anne. She is an amazing baker and this recipe was no different as it delivered on all fronts. The biscotti were very easy to make, crunchy and packed lots of flavours that came out even more when dunked into the fresh coffee. I can't wait for the next bag (of both!!)

Biscotti Toscani
1/2 cup whole almonds
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond essence
2tsp grated orange zest
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Roast the almonds at 160°C for 8-10 min, leave to cool. Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract and the orange zest. Combine the dry ingredients and add this to the wet mix. Finally, cut the almonds in half and fold them in. The dough is quite sticky but divide it in half and shape it into logs on floured baking trays. Bake at 160°C for 25 min or until golden brown. Place on a rack to cool for 5 min, cut them at a 45 degree angle about 2.5 cm thick. Lay slices flat on the baking sheet and return to the oven for 10 min turning them over midway. Cool on a rack or eat while still warm.