I am not a big fan of italian biscotti which is served along side of a cup of coffee because they are so hard.

But this recipe makes a softer  biscotti with chocolate chips & a sugar crusted top! Yum!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

Ingredients

280 gr flour

70 gr cocoa  powder

2 c. à s powdered coffee or almond extract

3/4 c. à c. baking soda

1/2 c. à c. baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

170 gr soft butter

360 gr sugar

2 eggs

1 c. à c. vanilla extract

150 – 200 gr  hazelnuts lightly grilled and chopped into halves or big pieces

100gr chocolate chips

½  tsp  cinnamon

Sugar to sprinkle on top of dough before cooking

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Cream together the butter and sugar; the mixture may be crumbly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and vanilla, and beat for a minute or two; don’t worry if the mixture looks curdled. Mix in the dry ingredients just until they disappear. Mix in the chopped hazelnuts and cacao nibs.

Divide the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, pat the dough into logs 12 inches long and 1/2 to 1 inch high. Either do this on the baking sheet (like I did), or shape on the counter and then carefully transfer to the baking sheet. Sprinkle each log with a little sugar.

Bake the logs for about 25 minutes, or until they are just slightly firm. The logs will spread and crack – and that’s just fine. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, put it on a cooling rack, and cool the logs for about 20 minutes.

Working with one log at a time, using a long serrated knife, cut each log into slices between 1/2 and 3/4 inch thick. Stand the slices up on the baking sheet – you’ll have an army of biscotti – and bake the cookies again, this time for just 6 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool.

Makes about 40 cookies.