11 HOMEMADE GIFT

Espresso & dark chocolate biscotti

Biscotti are the ideal sweet treat to dunk in coffee. This twist adds espresso to the mix, enhancing the creamy richness of the chocolate. Box them up as a gift, but do keep some for your own biscuit tin!

MAKES 16 PREP 20 mins plus cooling and setting COOK 50 mins EASY V

300g plain flour

100g caster sugar

50g light brown soft sugar 1½ tsp baking powder

80g vegetable oil

1 large egg

2 tsp vanilla extract

2½ tbsp instant coffee granules, dissolved in 3 tbsp hot water and cooled

250g dark chocolate chips

1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4, and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Set aside. Put the flour, sugars, baking powder and a good pinch of salt into a large bowl, then stir to combine.

2 Whisk the oil, egg, vanilla extract and coffee together in a separate small bowl. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until you have a dry dough. Fold in 100g of the chocolate chips. Knead the dough until smooth – it will be quite dry, but if it’s too difficult to knead, add another 1 tbsp water. Divide the dough in half, shaping each piece into a 25 x 8cm log, and transfer both to the prepared tray. Bake for 25-30 mins, then leave to cool on the tray for 15 mins.

3 Reduce the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Slice the biscotti logs into 1-2cm-thick slices crosswise using a sharp knife, you should have about 16. Return to the tray and bake for 15-20 mins more, turning the tray around halfway through. Leave to cool slightly on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. Melt the remaining chocolate chips in the microwave in 20-second bursts until smooth, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, then dip one end of the cooled biscotti into the melted chocolate. Transfer to a sheet of baking parchment and leave to set. Will keep in an airtight container for up to five days.

PER BISCOTTI 192 kcals • fat 8g • saturates 3g • carbs 27g • sugars 15g • fibre 1g • protein 3g • salt 0.2g