Finally, the letter H!

Drumroll please...I have finally, after about four months, gotten to the letter H in my Cookies A to Z quest.    For the letter H, we have Hazelnut Clove Biscotti.   In addition to never having made any hazelnut cookies, I have also never made biscotti before...so, I must admit this was a bit exciting for me.  I am not sure if this is the case with most biscotti, but I found it interesting that the recipe contained no butter, so they are a good low fat option.    

Hazelnut Clove Biscotti (from Cookies: Over 600 Great Recipe from McRae Books)

1 1/4 cups whole hazelnuts

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk

1 cup sugar

finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees (170 C).   Spread hazelnuts on large baking sheet.  Toast for 7 minutes or until lightly golden.  Transfer to large cotton kitchen towel and rub them in the towel to remove the thin inner skins.  Discard the skins and coarsely chop.  

Butter/grease a cookie sheet (I used olive spray). 

Mix the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in medium bowl.   Beat eggs and egg yolk and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until very pale and thick.  Mix in the dry ingredients, hazelnuts, lemon zest and vanilla to form a smooth dough.   Divide dough in half. Form the dough into two 12 inches long logs (1 1/2 inches in diameter) and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until firm to the touch.  Cool on the cookie sheet for 15 minutes.  Cut diagonal into 1/2 inch slices and transfer to racks to cool completely.