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Two Tone Coffee Biscotti

Two Tone Coffee Biscotti

I was always a fan of the Caramel Macchiato Biscotti from Starbucks. They were inexpensive (less than $1) and made a great snack with a cup of coffee. I also really liked their unusual two-tone look. These cookies were recently discontinued by the coffee company in favor of some more traditional looking biscotti, so I decided make up a batch of two tone biscotti myself as a nod to them – and so I could have some freshly baked biscotti with my coffee at home!

These biscotti have two layers, one coffee flavored and one vanilla flavored. To get the two layered effect in my biscotti, I made up one big batch of dough and added a homemade coffee extract to a portion of the dough. The coffee extract is made by dissolving a generous amount of instant coffee/espresso powder in hot water, to make a very concentrated and flavorful brew that is strong enough to flavor the dough. I layered the vanilla dough on top of the coffee layer and the two baked together beautifully.

You can really taste both the vanilla and the coffee layers in the finished biscotti. These biscotti are very crunchy and are perfect for dipping in coffee, as they don’t break up too fast when they hit the hot liquid. I like a slightly thicker cookie that will soak up a lot of coffee, but you can cut these into thinner cookie crisps when slicing your dough if you prefer a more delicate cookie. The biscotti from Starbucks that inspired these have a caramel flavored coating that they are dipped in. I opted to leave these cookies plain, but they could easily be dipped in chocolate to add yet another layer of flavor to these already layered treats.

Two Tone Coffee Biscotti
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tbsp instant coffee/espresso
1 tbsp hot water

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with a mixer at medium speed until they become fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add in the sugar gradually, beating until the mixture becomes very light and creamy, 2-3 more minutes. Eggs should be very thick and fall from the beaters in ribbons. Beat in vanilla extract. At low speed or by hand, stir in flour mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk together instant coffee and hot water until coffee is dissolved.
Divide biscotti batter into two parts. Add the coffee mixture to one portion and stir until well combined.
Drop big spoonfuls of the coffee batter onto a prepared baking sheet and spread to form one long, rectangular log dough about 4 inches wide. Drop big spoonfuls of the vanilla batter on top of the coffee batter, and carefully spread to cover the coffee layer.
Make your logs longer and thinner of you prefer short cookies, wider if you prefer long cookies (dough can also be divided into two shorter logs). Use more than one baking sheet, if necessary.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until logs are a light golden color and are fully set (they will spring back slightly when touched with a finger, like a cake).
Using a sharp, serrated knife, slice logs into 1/3 inch thick slices (1-1.5 cm) and arrange upright (on the flat base) on the baking sheet.
Lower oven temperature to 300F. Bake sliced cookies for 20-30 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen.

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7 Comments
  • Jolene
    May 14, 2012

    Yum! I love Biscotti – must give this a try!

  • ArabianCoffees
    May 15, 2012

    YUUUUUM!!!

    So simple, yet they look so cool. Going to give these a go and try them with a cardamom loaded Arabic coffee.

    Shukran! (Thank You)

  • Nisha Jain
    July 12, 2012

    HI,
    Very nice recipe, I will be trying this , but while reading this and other recipe, this question always keep poking me – why both baking powder and baking soda? Can’t I just add baking powder? Please suggest. Thanks.
    Nisha

  • Amy
    November 15, 2013

    Why does this recipe not require butter? Does this affect the finished product in any way? Thank you! And despite my questions, your recipe looks amazing and I am definitely giving it a try. 🙂

  • Nicole
    November 15, 2013

    Amy – Good question! The recipe doesn’t use any butter to produce a drier cookie that will have an especially long shelf-life, even though no extra preservatives are added. You can store these in an airtight container and keep the crispy for weeks. They’re fantastic holiday gifts!

  • Lisa
    October 16, 2014

    Hi, the first baking phase is in the oven. Just to confirm I’m on the right track – the batter is sticky & gooey?

  • Nicole
    October 18, 2014

    Lisa – Yes, it sounds like your’e on the right track!

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