If you don’t have a baking sheet large enough to hold the two loaves of dough side by side with a little room between them, use two sheets. Position the oven racks in the lower and upper thirds of the oven before preheating it, and rotate the pans from shelf to shelf and front to back about halfway through baking.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 48 cookies
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 15 × 11–inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Beat the butter with a handheld electric mixer until creamy. As you continue beating, add the sugar gradually, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the anisette. Pour the dry ingredients and almonds into the bowl, switch to a wooden spoon, and stir until the dough is smooth.
Step 2
Divide the mixture into two equal portions. Shape each into a loaf 12 inches long by 3 inches wide, making the sides and top even and smooth. Place the loaves side by side on the parchment-lined jelly-roll pan, leaving at least 2 inches between them and 1 inch between each loaf and the side of the pan. Bake until loaves are golden and the tops spring back when lightly poked with a finger, about 30 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300° F. Cool the loaves until barely warm but still soft enough to cut, about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Slice the loaves crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide cookies. Lay the cookies on their side and bake until evenly golden brown and very firm, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Biscotti can be stored in a covered container for up to 2 weeks.
