Savory Cheese Biscotti Food

SAVORY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, herbes de Provence, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and goat cheese together until smooth. Beat in the sugar and eggs. In batches, add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. With damp hands, form the dough into a 13-inch-long, 3 1/2-inch-wide loaf. Bake until light golden, about 30 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
• Transfer the loaf to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the log on the diagonal into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake until pale golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and cool completely, about 30 minutes.

SAVORY TWO CHEESE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheeses, baking powder, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder (if using).
• In another container, combine the milk, oil, and eggs, and whisk to combine well.
• By hand (recommended) or with an electric mixer with paddle attachment (on low speed), gradually add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing until well blended and the dough is dry and crumbly (do not overmix!).
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured board and knead 8 times, then divide the dough in half.
• Form each half into an 8-inch long roll and place them at least 6 inches apart on the sprayed baking sheet.
• Carefully flatten each roll to a 1-inch thickness.
• Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, then remove from oven; let the rolls cool on a wire rack.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Slice the rolls into 2/3-inch (approx) slices, diagonally; should make about 12 slices per roll.
• Place the biscotti slices back on the baking sheet, cut side down, and bake at 325 degrees F for another 10 minutes; turn biscotti over and bake an additional 10 minutes."
• Remove the biscotti from the sheet and allow to cool on a wire rack.
• Store in an airtight container.
• Makes approx 2 dozen biscotti.

SAVORY CHEDDAR BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the eggs and cheese in a food processor and process until yellow and thick, about a minute. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne and pulse three or four times, just to integrate the dry ingredients; you don't want to overwork the gluten in the flour.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead it until it holds together - it may be a bit crumbly at first. Shape the dough into an 8- to 10-inch log, transfer to the prepared baking sheet and gently flatten.
• Bake until the log begins to color and is firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes, then cut on the bias into half-inch slices. Lay the biscotti flat on the baking sheet and bake until crisp and toasted, 15 minutes; turn and toast the second side for another 10 to 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

SAVORY CHEESE BISCOTTI

Steps:

• *Pecans, walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts can be toasted. Pistachios don't need to be toasted. Pine nuts -- if you can afford to use them, they're wonderful -- toast very quickly, so reduce the oven time and keep a sharp eye on them.
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter, shortening, sugar, tomato powder or paste, cheese, herbs, baking powder and salt till well-combined and fairly smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl midway through. Mix in the flour till you have a cohesive dough. Add the nuts, mixing till they're well-distributed throughout the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a work surface (we don't bother to flour the surface; the dough is sticky, but is easily scraped up with a bench knife or dough scraper). Divide it into three fairly equal pieces, and shape each piece into a rough 10-inch log. Transfer each log to a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches between each log; you may need to use two baking sheets. Wet your fingers, and pat the logs into smooth-topped rectangles 10 inches long x 2 1/2 inches wide x 7/8 inch thick.
• Bake the logs in a preheated 375°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're beginning to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.
• Gently transfer the logs to a cutting surface, and use a serrated knife to cut them on the diagonal into 1/2-inch wide slices. Because of the nuts and the nature of the dough, the biscotti at this point are prone to crumbling; just be sure to use a slow, gentle sawing motion, and accept the fact that some bits and pieces will break off. (It's the privilege of the cook to eat these warm, tasty bits and pieces as they're created.) Carefully transfer the slices, cut sides up (and down) to a parchment-lined (makes cleanup easier) or ungreased baking sheet. You can crowd them together, as they won't expand further; about 1/4-inch breathing space is all that's required.
• Return the biscotti to the 300°F oven, and bake them for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, quickly turn them over, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until they're very dry and beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, cool completely, and store in an airtight container. Yield: about 60 biscotti.

SAVOURY MEDITERRANEAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat eggs and sugar.
• Add olive oil until smooth.
• In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and basil and oregano.
• Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture until blended.
• Stir in cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and olives and combine thoroughly.
• Divide dough into 2 pieces and shape each into a log about 10 inches long.
• Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet and flatten tops slightly.
• Bake in preheated 325°F oven for 30 minutes or until pale golden and not quite firm to the touch.
• Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 3 minutes.
• Transfer to cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch diagonal slices with serrated knife.
• Place pieces on baking sheet and return to 325°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until firm and dry.
• Turn over partway through cooking time.
• Cool on rack.
• Makes about 3 dozen.
• Store in airtight container.

SAVOURY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, 1 tsp salt and a grinding of black pepper in a large bowl, then mix well. Stir in the eggs until the mixture forms clumps, then bring together with your hands into a dough. It will seem dry at first, but keep kneading until no floury patches remain. Add the olives, thyme and parmesan, kneading until they are well distributed.
• Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. With lightly floured hands, roll each into a sausage about 30cm long. Place two on each tray, well spaced apart. Put in the oven for 25-30 mins until the dough has risen and spread (it should still be pale). Remove, then cool on a wire rack for a few mins and turn down the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas 1.
• Cut into slices about 1cm thick on a sharp diagonal, then lay the slices flat on the baking sheets. Bake for 20 mins more, turn over, then bake for another 20 mins until dry and lightly golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight tin for up to one month.