How To Toast Hazelnuts

1. 350* oven (note: the biscotti will bake at 325* so don't forget to reduce the oven temperature when you finish toasting hazelnuts).
2. Toast hazelnuts for 8 minutes (you'll be able to smell the hazelnuts toasting). Other nuts will take 10 to 12 minutes to toast, Susan shared.
3. If the hazelnuts have skin on them, wrap them in a towel to steam them for a couple of minutes. Then rub them to remove the majority of the skins. Chop.
4. The hazelnuts I purchased didn't have much in the way of skins and were already chopped.

How To Make Triple Chocolate Nut Biscotti

1. 325* oven.
2. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. You will reuse the baking sheet and parchment paper for both bakes.
3. Combine the dry ingredients: mix together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Give it a whisk if there are any clumps.
4. In the large bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together. Susan says it should look like a paste. I included an image above so you can see what I did.
5. Then, beat in both eggs, the 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and the almond extract (or hazelnut extract).
6. Using a low speed on your electric mixer, pour in the dry ingredient flour mixture, chopped nuts, and the chocolate chips at once. Beat ONLY to combine.
7. Then, take the dough and form it into a ball. Is the biscotti dough too sticky? Add in a little more all-purpose flour.
8. With floured fingers, divide dough in half.
9. Roll each dough half into a log 13" long by 1 1/2" wide by 1" high.
10. Set the biscotti dough logs 2" apart on the baking pan.
11. Gently flatten the tops of the logs so they become 13 1/2" by 1 3/4" by 3/4".
12. Bake at 325* for 30 minutes or until the logs appear dry on the top and semi-firm if you gently press them. Use a cake tester (or a toothpick) and test near the center of the log. If it comes out almost clean with just a smidge of chocolate on it, take the baking pan out of the oven, and reduce the heat to 275*.
13. Let the biscotti logs cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer them to a cutting board (a long spatula or fish turner works well).
14. You can use a serrated knife and a sawing motion to slice the still-warm biscotti logs on the diagonal 1/2" thick. I use an electric knife with a serrated knife attachment.
15. Set the sliced biscotti cut side down (so you have flat biscotti) right on the same baking sheet. Use two pans if you run out of room.
16. Bake the biscotti for 15 to 20 minutes or until they are dry and crisp. The longer you bake them, the harder they become. Don't forget — they will harden when they cool, too.
17. Move the biscotti to a wire rack to cool. If you are using a chocolate drizzle, then you may want to place a length of wax paper underneath the wire rack to catch the drips.

For the chocolate biscotti topping

1. Melt the chocolate until smooth. Drag a fork through the melted chocolate and drizzle it in thin lines over the biscotti. Cool the biscotti completely before storing them between (new) clean wax paper in a reusable plastic airtight container.
2. Biscotti may be stored in the container for up to two weeks at room temperature or double-wrapped and frozen for up to two months, Susan wrote.