In which I bake walnut and cheese biscotti and make a dead Italian baker proud.

This walnut and cheese biscotti was the first biscotti I ever attempted to make, but I realized last night that I'd never blogged about it. Then I looked back through my pictures and realized why--I took very few pictures of the process, AND it was after dark when I was baking. After dark = super bad pictures. I'm not a great photographer, but I take bad food photographs very personally now, like I'm the Ansel Adams of biscotti photography. (Which would be amazing, by the way.)

But I think homemade biscotti should become a thing in the U.S. because it's perfect for home bakers who want to bake something from scratch but who don't have four hours to make bread. (Don't tell me to use a bread machine. I've got a big problem with bread machines, and that problem is in regards to the 1/2-inch-thick, super-hard crust. Oh, the crust isn't really a 1/2" thick, you say? Tell that to my molars. People look like dogs gnawing on bones when they're eating bread machine bread.)

Every recipe is a little awkward the very first time you make it, but these biscotti recipes aren't even very awkward to make the first time. I found the entire recipe (from the Great British Bake Off Celebrations cookbook) on Google books, so I think it's okay for me to include the screenshots here.

I took no pictures of the biscotti-making process because Teddy, our son, was "helping" me and because I'm sure he had my phone to go live on Facebook while he was sitting on the counter. So, the only pictures I have are of the completed biscotti, and the pictures are pretty bad because the lighting was so bad. (And the biscotti turn out kind of orange, anyway.) Hopefully, though, you'll be able to get the feel for their texture and general appearance.

The picture from the cookbook:

The finished product:

I made this biscotti for my husband, and he . . . got his money's worth out of them. He piled them high with various toppings and polished them off in 2-3 meals (and Instagrammed them):

I picture these with with melted cheese on top or with some sort of cream-based spread, but sky's the limit. Go out there and spread your biscotti wings, people! Make Antonio Mattei proud! (He's the person who developed the original biscotti recipe. He's dead, but you can still make his spirit proud unless you're an atheist. Then, you should just bake biscotti for the experience of it before you die and your light is extinguished for all eternity.)