Almond Biscotti

I don't know how many of you know this about me, but I'm Colombian. My family's from Colombia (South America) so I've been raised to be 100% Colombian. I was never brought up with any American rules. I was never able to sleep over other people's houses, I still have a curfew, and baking American-style cookies and cakes are still relatively new to me. I really started to get into baking American desserts like in 2004, back when I was in the 10th grade. Before that, the only desserts I knew were Colombian. Well, not only desserts. Soups, sandwiches, cookies, arepas, a lot of things were made with Colombian flavor. We made sancocho, sopa de arroz, empanadas, tamales, bandeja paisa, arequipe, natilla, manjar blanco, buñuelos, pandebonos, and bizcochuelos. I know a lot of you may be thinking that all of that sounds like some other language, and a lot of it is relatively unknown in this country, but one of things that you all may have tasted is the Italian version of bizcochuelos: biscotti. I never even knew what biscotti were 'til probably a year ago. Bizcochuelos is what I grew up with, and I'd eat them after being dipped in chocolate caliente (hot chocolate). I would see how my mom would make them, and how the ladies back in my hometown of Titiribí would make, and I'd just be amazed. Then, a year ago at Starbucks, I saw a similar looking thing called a biscotti. It tasted different, but it had the same texture. Finally, I got around to making them after finding a recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book. The process is completely different than the bizcochuelo process, and these have nuts in them, which bizcochuelos don't, but if I feel like having a quick bizcochuelo fix, these definitely hit the spot.

Almond Biscotti
*makes about 84 cookies*

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
1 cup coarsely chopped almonds

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets; set aside. In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Place eggs and egg yolks in the well and stir into the flour mixture. Add butter and orange peel; stir until dough starts to form a ball. Stir in almonds.
2) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; divide into three equal portions. Shape each portion into a 14-inch-long loaf. Place loaves about 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets; flatten loaves slightly until about 1 1/2 inches wide. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm and light brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 15 minutes.
3) Transfer baked loaves to a cutting board. Use a serrated knife to cut each loaf diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over; bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until crisp and dry. Cool completely.

If you want to print this recipe or either of the three variations out, go here to their link on the Better Homes & Gardens site.