CHOCOLATE-ESPRESSO-PISTACHIO BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease a large rectangular baking pan with a light coating of olive oil.
• Sift all dry ingredients together.
• In small bowl, dissolve espresso powder in 1/3 cup water.
• Add eggs and olive oil and beat with a whisk until well-combined.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry, add pistachios and (yes, I do this by hand) start mixing the flour gently into the liquids until all the ingredients have been incorporated and you have a malleable dough.
• If the dough is a bit sticky, sprinkle over 1 tablespoonful of flour and turn dough into the flour to coat.
• Knead the flour in.
• The dough should now be malleable without being sticky.
• If it is still sticky, repeat with another tablespoonful of flour.
• Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and shape into logs that are about 12 inches long and 2 ½ inches wide (every person’s logs are slightly different – they will spread while baking so have a good distance between them).
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• The biscotti will have risen only slightly, spread out some, and have a cracked surface.
• Cool completely.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• With a serrated bread knife and a straight, downwards motion, cut biscotti at just under ½ inch intervals on the diagonal.
• (this will leave you with 6 not-so-nice-looking end pieces that you can munch on there and then) Place the pieces, cut side down, back in the baking pan.
• Not all the pieces may fit, in which case you’ll have to bake a second pan's worth after the first.
• Staggering two pans is not suggested unless you have a convection oven and can use that feature to make sure there is even heat distributed within the oven.
• Bake 15 minutes, turn pieces over, bake 15 minutes longer.
• Cool completely and keep in an airtight container.