Biscotti is so great with coffee...or tea, hot chocolate, or alone.  Homemade biscotti leaves store bought biscotti in the dust.  I've had this recipe for years, and I make it each year at Christmas to give as gifts and to enjoy some for myself.  It's delicious.  If you like Nutella, you will love this one for its nod to the hazelnut-chocolate combination.  I actually like giving biscotti more than other cookies/homemade candy because it's kind of unique.  It's twice baked, so it keeps longer than other candies and cookies.  That is, if it lasts that long, which in my house, it doesn't.

Shaping the "logs"

There are a couple steps involved in biscotti, but it's still easy.  Make this for yourself and the coffee lovers in your life!

Instead of makin' it rain...makin' it snow!

Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
courtesy of Food Network/ Gourmet Magazine, circa 2006

Makes approx 30 biscotti

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
6 Tb (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup blanched hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tb. confectioner's sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F and butter and flour a large baking sheet, or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl with an electric mixer, beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs and beat until combined well.  Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.  Stir in hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

On the baking sheet with floured hands, form dough into two slightly flattened logs, 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.  Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar, if using.  Bake logs for 35 minutes, or until they are slightly firm to the touch.  Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.

On a cutting board, cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4 inch slices.  Arrange the biscotti, cut sides down and up, back on the baking sheet, and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes.  Cool on a rack.

The biscotti will keep in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week and frozen up to a month.

Notes

• I've made these with very few tweaks, but the one small tweak I know I've made is to not blanch the hazelnuts.  Do you know how much trouble it is to remove the husks off hazelnuts?  I prefer to save the time- I have made it both ways, and I can't tell a significant enough difference.