FUEL2: PARMESAN AND CRACKED BLACK PEPPER BISCOTTI

6 tablespoons softened butter
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons Vermont cheese powder, optional, for flavor
1 cup, firmly packed, freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups diced pecans or walnuts, toasted
additional grated Parmesan for topping the biscotti, optional

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.
Combine the butter, sugar, cheese powder, Parmesan, black pepper, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl after each addition.
Stir in the flour, and the nuts (if you're using them).
Transfer the sticky dough to the prepared baking sheet, dividing it in half as you do so and plopping the halves so that they're about 2" from each short edge of the pan. You want to leave plenty of space between them.
Using your wet fingers and/or a wet spatula, shape each piece of dough into a log about 9 1/2" long, and 7/8" thick. If you've used nuts, the log will be about 3" wide; with no nuts in the dough, it'll be about 2 1/2" wide. Do your best to smooth the tops and square off the corners. If desired, sprinkle the tops of the logs with additional grated Parmesan.
Bake the logs for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're beginning to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and carefully lift them off the pan; if you've used parchment, simply lift the parchment off the pan and set it, biscotti and all, on a work surface.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Using a sharp serrated or chef's knife, carefully cut the biscotti into 1/2"-wide slices. It helps to start cutting not at the top, but at an outer edge; this seems to lessen any crumbling. For long biscotti, cut on the diagonal; for shorter biscotti, cut crosswise.
Set the biscotti, on their edges, back on the baking sheet; no greasing or parchment is necessary. Space them fairly close to one another, so you can get them all onto the same pan.
Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they feel dry and are just beginning to brown. If you pinch the center of a biscotti, it may feel just slightly soft; that's OK, as it'll continue to firm as it cools.
Remove the biscotti from the oven, and let them cool right on the pan. If you're not sure if you've baked them enough, turn off the oven, crack the door open several inches, and let the biscotti continue to dry out right in the cooling oven.
When biscotti are completely cool, store them airtight at room temperature; they'll stay fresh for several weeks.
Yield: about 32 biscotti.

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Reviews (1-10 of 17) Write a reviewSort by:
04/01/2018
Mariefrom The Midwest
This recipe is a keeper. I didn't have any cheese powder so I weighed out an equal amount of additional grated Parmesan. I used a microplane to grate the cheese as finely as possible and a mortar and pestle to get a not-too-fine grind on the peppercorns. I think the flavor improves with each bite. Next time I'd like to add some minced fresh rosemary and/or toasted pinenuts.
12/12/2017
Hollyfrom Richmond
Great recipe! I used fresh grated parmesan, fresh cracked pepper, and romano cheese in place of the cheese powder, and the flavors came through fine. I measured in ounces rather than by volume and only got about half of the expected yield, so next time I will double everything. I also added an extra egg because my dough was not at all sticky. It would have been nice to have the eggs measured by weight also.
12/10/2017
Joifrom Texas
Just finished baking this recipe. Did not have the Vermont Cheese powder, next time I will definitely use it to enhance the flavor. I recently made the vanilla biscotti and thought this was going to be a snap lol .... it was a little difficult getting the dough onto the baking pan and shaping it. My kitchen was covered in pieces of dough! That being said it is delicious, I will definitely make it again and again. Maybe my skills will improve with practice.
01/09/2017
AmyInNHfrom New Hampshire
Not looking right for a biscotti when being mixed up. Not tasting good or good texture when eaten ASAP. Overnight, the flavors blended and bloomed. Fabulous. Good with a bisque, tomato/pasta dish, or salad. Next use, I may roll this out flat and try it as crackers.
12/14/2016
Jenfrom Hartford MI
Very disappointed. Bland, flavorless and way too hard and dry. I just started making biscottis not long ago. Sweet ones. This was my first savory one but the procedure should be about the same. I didn't use nuts. Everything else I followed to the letter. Even ordered the Vermont cheese powder just to make these. I think the cooking instructions are to blame here. Every other recipe I followed for biscattis are all basically the same regarding baking. Roughly a half hour, cool, cut up, then 5-10 min on one side, flip repeat for the other. I should have followed my instinct when I saw the instructions calling for a second bake time of 50-70 min. They smelled so good after the first baking but that extra 50 min in the oven pretty much killed any cheese taste they might have had. All I can taste is flour and pepper and instead of crispy toasted bread, these are rocks. (I used fine ground pepper, all I had. At least that much I can taste a little. Course might have been lost too.) And SO hard and dry, I laid one at the bottom of a bowl, poured my home made hot chicken soup over that and it was still rock hard by the time I got to the bottom. Someone really needs to review the cooking instructions here. Again they smelled great after the first half hour. Might not have been too bad if they only got another 8-15 min. NOT 50.

Jen, while we're sorry to know that this recipe didn't turn out to your liking, we appreciate the detailed feedback provided here. As a result, we did put this recipe through the retesting process and have made a couple of adjustments to the instructions. We are now suggesting that the second bake time is reduced to 35 minutes (for a bit softer biscotti)to 40 minutes (for a more traditionally crunchy version). We found that this helped to achieve the desired texture and preserve the flavors of the individual ingredients. Mollie@KAF
12/11/2015
Katherynefrom Upstate New York
I made this recipe today and was extremely disappointed. The texture is good, but the flavor is very bland. The most pronounced flavor is walnut, I can't taste the cheese or pepper at all. I followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of not using cheese powder and used Asiago instead of Parmesan.
11/12/2015
Barbarafrom York, PA
I made these last year at Thanksgiving for appetizers. My guests raved about them and one even suggested I sell them.
12/21/2014
Pamfrom Connecticut
This will be perfect as a holiday appetizer. Though I think if I made these again, I would use an even courser grind than I had for the pepper, and I would add an additional 1/4-1/2 cup shredded parm cheese (loose, not packed) to the dough and then sprinkle shredded parm cheese on top before baking, rather than grated. That said, I left out the nuts, shaped the dough into about four logs (though I could have easily gone to five or six), narrower than specified, so when sliced diagonally, the result is "mini biscotti". I also only baked them the second time for 20-30 minutes (to keep them a little bit softer since these won't be dunked like the cookie variety). They are good! These will be served with a schmear of homemade yogurt cheese, and topped with fresh roasted garlic and/or sun-dried tomato pesto on Christmas eve...with some other yummy appetizers of course. Thanks KA. It's a keeper!
12/02/2014
Tishfrom Rotonda Florida
These are fabulous! Can they be frozen?

You certainly can freeze those Tish and we are so glad you enjoyed them. I would double wrap them for freezing and thaw them overnight in the fridge before bring them to room temperature for service. Then enjoy! Happy baking! Jocelyn@KAF
01/17/2012
Anonymous Baker
Very good recipe. I made a gluten free version, and substituted feta cheese for the cheese powder. Easy to make and a wonderful addition to my cookbook!

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