Making anise biscotti.. have question

[SueBear]

Hello everyone..

Okay I have a question about a recipe I want to use but not sure if I can get away with doing it. Here are the ingredients..

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons anise seed

What I want to know is do I have to put the brandy in or can I leave it out? I don't have any right now and don't really want to pick up any because I won't use it for further cooking in the future. Neither my husband nor I drink either. It's a shame to pay for something that would be put to waste.

I would greatly appreciate ideas on this. Thank you everyone!

 

[jkath]

You can easily sub out something else for brandy, such as white grape juice, apple juice, even water. Just google "brandy substitution" and you'll get a lot.

 

[VeraBlue]

put in another liquid...

 

[SueBear]

You can easily sub out something else for brandy, such as white grape juice, apple juice, even water. Just google "brandy substitution" and you'll get a lot.

thanks! I didn't think about that.

 

[Andy M.]

The others are correct. Another time, you can usually buy airplane sized bottles (nips) of a lot of different boozes and brandies. Often just the right size for a recipe.

 

[AMSeccia]

You can also get flavored extracts ... I am not a brandy fan, so I'd use Kahlua or Amaretto (but probably not with anise). If you are not a drinker, you could do as Any suggests and pick up a sample size in the 99 cent bin, otherwise just substitute something else. It's partly a preservative, as well as for underlying flavor. Eruopeans are famous for preserving with alcohol because in some parts there used to be no refrigeration.

 

[AMSeccia]

sorry for typo ... *Europeans* was spelled incorrectly. I should really go to bed!

Good luck with your biscotti, the recipe sounds good -- I would love to sample for you with a rich cup of espresso! My great grandfather started every day of his life with espresso and biscotti.

 

[SueBear]

I used to have them a lot myself as my great grandmother used to make them as well, fresh every week. When I moved out here to the mid west all of that went out the window and I haven't been able to find a decent cookie like that yet so I figure the only way I can do it is making them myself. *sigh*

You can certainly sample the recipe. here it is in full.. ENJOY!

Anise Biscotti

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 1 1/2 teaspoons anise extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons anise seed

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine brandy, anise extract and vanilla in a small bowl or measuring cup. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Alternately add dry ingredients and brandy mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stir in the almonds and aniseed.
3. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto prepared sheet, forming two 2 x 13-inch long strips on each sheet. Smooth dough into logs with moistened fingertips.
4. Bake about30 to 35 minutes or until golden and firm to the touch. Place cookie sheets on racks and cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
5. Cut cooled logs on the diagonal into 3/4-inch thick slices using a serrated knife. Place slices on cookie sheets.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, until dry and slightly brown. Remove to a rack and cool.

 

[AMSeccia]

Thank you for sharing your grandmother's recipe. I am making these THIS WEEKEND!

 

[SueBear]

Actually the recipe that is listed is something I stumbled across when I did a search on google. I can't recall where I found it but I saved it as it seems to be as close to something that would be close to what my grandmother would do for ingredients.