Peanut Butter Chocolate Biscotti

Peanut butter and chocolate were meant to be together, right? Or so my boyfriend frequently tells me anyway (I can bribe him into almost any back massage with a simple Reese's peanut butter cup or two).


That's why I decided to try making this recipe that I found:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter (I use Teddy but Jiff has a natural one now too), room temperature
1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
1 1/4 cups (about 6 ounces) chopped dark chocolate (I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead)


Preheat oven to 350F. Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper or wax paper.

Melt the 10 tablespoons of butter over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook until the butter browns and gets a nutty aroma (about 5 minutes, maybe a little more depending on your pan). Let it cool slightly.

Mix or sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while beating. Then slowly add the butter and vanilla until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds more. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined.

While mixing slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, in 2 additions, mixing just until absorbed. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate pieces. Be careful not to over-mix.

Divide the dough evenly into 2 even sections, and put each portion in the center of a baking sheet. Form a fairly flat and slightly rounded log like this shape(pictures shown are of the lemon biscotti I made the same day and are pictured post-baking):





Bake until set and brown around the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes. (For even baking, rotate the pans about half way though.) Cool logs on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Cut logs crosswise, with a long serrated knife at about a 45 degree angle, into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch thick slices, like this:





Place slices cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip the slices over and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes more.

Cool biscotti on the baking sheets. Serve or store.