Buttery Anisette Biscotti

I chose this recipe because the author cited them as "the ideal biscotti." They are crispy and dry, as expected, and also somewhat tender from the butter- they don't have to be dunked if you don't want to.

The flavor of these is ethereal- almonds, vanilla, butter and anisette all blend together into a sweet, floral flavor that is delicate and unusual. The anisette (I used Sambuca) stays in the background- if you didn't know it was there, you might not be able to guess. When I first tasted these, I wondered if they would be too delicate to stand up to a robust cup of coffee, but they did- a lovely combo.

This recipe doesn't have any salt, and I think salt may detract from the flavor- I tasted the finished biscotti with a small sprinkle of salt, and it totally changed the character of the cookies- suddenly, they were no longer sweet and floral, just buttery and salty.

During the second baking of these, I baked for 8 minutes and then flipped the cookies over to crisp the underside for another 8 minutes (instead of baking 20 minutes on one side). I've also seen some bakers who stand their sliced biscotti up on the flat side to crisp both sides at once.