Even though I don't think biscotti are specifically a holiday type of cookie, I can't help but want to makes loads of them during this season. There's something about the idea of dunking a crunchy cookie in a steaming cup of coffee on cool, wintery mornings that just screams cozy winter wonderland. There's about a 0.0001% chance of it ever snowing where I live in California, so having biscotti for breakfast along with a hot, creamy latté is about as close as I can get to embracing the whole dreamy winter scene. But hey, if THESE biscotti are on the table, there's no chance I'm complaining.
I had this idea a lonnnng time ago to make sort of a caramel mocha-inspired biscotti, but it never really became reality until I got a little treat in the mail that made me realize it was totally time for that to happen. The treat was a couple bags of Nestlé® Toll House® Delightfulls™ Filled Baking Morsels - aka chocolate chips stuffed with (in this case) a sweet caramel filling. And can I just say? GENIUS idea.
Since the Nestlé Toll House Delightfulls take care of the chocolate AND caramel components of a caramel mocha, it was super-convenient to just chop them up and throw them into a brown sugar and espresso-powder infused dough to make my idea come to life. I literally couldn't wait to try one after they came out of the oven despite the very obvious risk of burning myself (you'd think I'd learn but apparently not), and they were so crazy good that I was *this* close to skipping the whole chocolate-dipped component of the recipe. If you know me, you also know that I'd be the last person to skip dipping anything in chocolate, so that should tell you that even without it, these were pretty darn amazing.
The biscotti bake up golden, crispy, and crunchy - just as any good biscotti should be - and the caramel in the Nestlé Toll House Delightfulls sort of "caramelizes" a bit more (for lack of a better word) to amp up the entire biscotti-eating experience. Then there's a good hefty sprinkle of sparkling sugar on top, because that's obviously something you just don't say no to - ever. And in the end, I gave into temptation and decided to give these a solid dunk in dark chocolate, which turned out to be my best idea of all. It totally takes the whole concoction up a notch and makes the biscotti extra-pretty too. :)
I'm pretty much sold on keeping a stock of Nestlé Toll House Delightfulls in my pantry just so I can bake more of these biscotti at any given moment, because they're that good and I also mayyyy be slightly obsessed. The dangerous thing is that there are three other flavors of the Delightfulls Filled Baking Morsels that I haven't tried yet - mint, cherry, and peanut butter - and after looking at all the recipe ideas Nestlé Toll House has on their website, I feel like there's a million things I MUST-BAKE-ASAP. Problems, you guys.
But nothing that a good biscotti can't fix... ;)
Chocolate-Dipped Caramel Chocolate Chip Biscotti
A crunchy, espresso and brown sugar-spiked biscotti loaded with caramel-filled chocolate chips and dipped in dark chocolate. Think caramel mocha in dunkable cookie form!
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 biscotti 1x
Ingredients
- 9 ½ ounces (2 ¼ cups, spoon and level) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon espresso powder / instant espresso
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
- 2 ⅜ ounces (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ ounces (⅓ cup packed) brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 oz (1 cup) Nestlé Toll House Delightfulls with caramel filling, chopped
- sparkling sugar, for sprinkling
For Garnish
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- sparkling sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a 12" x 5 ½" biscotti pan OR a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the flour, espresso powder, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a bowl and a handheld electric mixer), cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well-incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beater as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix in on lowest speed just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped Delightfulls morsels just until evenly combined.
- Transfer dough to the prepared pan and flatten out to fill pan all the way to corners and edges in a even layer (or, if using baking sheet, flatten out to a 12" x 5 ½" rectangle, keeping the edges as neat as possible). It helps to use a second piece of parchment placed on top of the dough or a lightly-greased, large, flat spatula when flattening the dough. Sprinkle top of dough with sparkling sugar before baking.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, and then carefully slice into 1" wide biscotti with a serrated knife. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet (or spread out on current baking sheet if already using), laying on one of cut sides. Reduce oven temperature to 325ºF and bake another 35-40 minutes, flipping biscotti to opposite sides halfway through baking time. Biscotti should feel firm in the center but not hard when done; they will continue to get crunchier as they cool. Allow to cool completely before dipping in chocolate.
For Garnish
- Place chocolate in a (preferably tall and narrow) microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30-second increments, stirring in between, until smoothly melted.*
- One at a time, dip biscotti halfway into melted chocolate. Let excess drip off before placing back on parchment-lined baking sheet to set. Once all biscotti have been dipped and chocolate has cooled somewhat but hasn't set, sprinkle dipped portions with sparkling sugar. Let set until chocolate is firm, placing biscotti in refrigerator very briefly if needed. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- These are good on their own but even better dunked in coffee!
Notes
*Alternatively, you can temper your chocolate for dipping, which would technically be the more professional way to do things. ;) If you go this route, sprinkle the sparkling sugar on top immediately, since the tempered chocolate will set quickly at room temperature.
The same NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® chocolate you know and love now filled with rich caramel, peanut butter, mint, and cherry flavored filling. Add these new filled baking morsels to your favorite recipes for a special twist on the classic, or try experimenting with them in a recipe you’ve never tried before!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®. The opinions and text are all mine.
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Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
You aren't the only one -- I think of biscotti as a holiday thing too! For the same latte/hot chocolate reasons. And I'm actually pretty darn thankful that we won't get snow where I live in CA either. I'd die... Then eat a dozen of these. ;) Pinned!
alexandra says
Oh I'm totally happy without snow! ;)
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
Between the espresso powder, the caramel, and the chocolate, these biscotti look absolutely perfect! I so wish I had one along with a cup of coffee right now. :) Pinned!
alexandra says
Thanks Kristine! :)
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Definitely craving a couple of these biscotti to devour right now. They look delicious and cute, and I bet they tasted even better!
alexandra says
Thanks so much Thalia!
Ashley says
Totally agree - I love biscotti during the entire year but during the holidays it's even better! I've made I think four batches since November! Love this flavor!
alexandra says
Haha I need to catch up with you! I've been craving them constantly now :)
Ilona @ Ilona's Passion says
Caramel and chocolate .. this is great combination, I like them together as well, delicious!