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Chocolate Biscotti

By browneyedbaker · From Open Recipes · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cocoa powder and chocolate match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,587 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

The recipe

2 dozen biscotti
Prep25 min
Cook35 min

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

  2. In a large bowl, beat the room-temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.

  3. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until just combined. Fold in the chopped almonds (or the chopped white chocolate, as noted in the ingredients) and the bittersweet chocolate or mini chocolate chips.

  4. Divide the dough in half. On a baking sheet, shape each half into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide, spacing the logs well apart.

  5. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the logs are firm to the touch and set. Let them cool on the sheet for 10 minutes.

  6. Lower the oven heat to 325°F (163°C). Transfer the logs to a cutting board and slice diagonally into pieces about ½ inch (1 cm) thick.

  7. Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, flip them over, and bake for 8 to 10 more minutes until dry and crisp.

  8. Cool the biscotti completely on a rack, then dust the tops with sugar before serving.

By browneyedbaker. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Cocoa powder + chocolatetop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,587 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together10,018 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlaplow
    Mentioned together35,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Flour + almondtop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together8,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Almond + chocolatetop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together1,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the almond

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, chocolate):

  1. Almondthe original
  2. Cocoaabout as good a flavor fit
  3. Hazelnutabout as good a flavor fit

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, cocoa powder, butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).