Cinnamon and hazelnut biscotti

In an unprecedented twist to my dinner out last weekend, I finished my meal with a coffee. Now, whilst this might be a standard trait for many of you I simply cannot drink coffee after 6pm. If I even *look* at a caffeine filled beverage in the evening then rest assured I'll be awake until the wee hours.

But I was shattered by the time dessert came around and decided to opt for a Baileys coffee, I think the alcohol kinda cancels out the caffeine so I figured I was on safe ground. And with my coffee came a micro piece of biscotti - which turned out to be an amazing compliment to my hot drink.

I always find Biscotti a bit lacklustre, the stuff you buy in coffee shops is usually teeth breakingly crunchy or lacking in flavour so it's not a biscuit I indulge in often. But then I got to thinking, why haven't I made these before? Biscotti literally means 'twice baked biscuit' so whilst I knew it'd be a timely bake, I knew a cookie dough of any description can carry flavour well so I decided to do a little research and find myself a recipe.

Making these is exceptionally simple. I whacked all of my ingredients into the kitchen aid and then just had to shape the dough and bake. The most time intensive part of this recipe is drizzling the melted chocolate!

I added cinnamon and hazelnuts to my biscotti but the flavour combinations seem to be endless. I think I'll try it with almonds next time and maybe just a hint of vanilla bean paste to compliment the coffee.

Biscotti also has an amazingingly long shelf life so as long as you keep these in an airtight container than you'll be munching on them for the next couple of months. I think they'd also make nice baked gifts as you can jazz them up by dipping them in chocolate or drizzling over a seasonally coloured candy coating.

Cinnamon and hazelnut biscotti

• 90g unsalted butter, at room temp
• 180g caster sugar (I used 150g caster and 30g light brown sugar)
• 2 eggs, at room temp
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 80g-100g chopped hazelnuts (add more according to your preference, alternatively use a different nut!)

1. Preheat oven to 350f/180c/160c fan. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar until combined. Add vanilla. Slowly add in eggs and cinnamon.
3. Then fold in baking powder and salt, flour and chopped nuts until a dough forms.
4. On a parchment paper lined baking tray, shape dough into a rough rectangle approx 12-14" by 4-6" and pat gently to flatten your Biscotti. They don't rise much so consider how you want them to look whilst you're shaping the dough. Bake for 22-25 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool 10mins. Decrease oven temp to 150c. Slice biscotti into approx 12 slices 1-1.5" thick and arrange them on their sides on the baking sheet. Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove and turn them to opposite side, bake another 10 minutes but keep your eye on them.
6. Remove biscotti and cool completely.
7. Once cooled, drizzle them with melted white chocolate and store in an airtight container.