Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti

Man cannot live on sweets alone. Most of us will have to repeat this mantra to ourselves over and over again over the course of the next couple of months. Between leftover Halloween candy, pumpkin pie galore, and Christmas cookies by the tin, it’s possible that a lot of us will be in a sugar coma come January 1st. In an effort to bring some semblance of balance to the sweet-fest, we give you savory biscotti. We've been eating biscotti pretty much since we cut our first tooth and this was our first time trying a savory version, and we think we may be hooked. Discovering a non-sweet version has just opened up an entire new world of opportunity to us, and we can’t wait to try many more varieties!

The flavor of these biscotti remind us much of the pigu that our family makes every year for Easter. While the pigu are sort of a baked ravioli with a cheese and black pepper filling, the flavors are remarkably similar. So much so that we're gobbling up these biscotti at just as speedy a pace as we gobble up pigu the week of Easter. If you’ve never tried a savory biscotti, we urge you to give this recipe a chance and see what you think.

Note: These are quite peppery, which we like, but it might be too much for some, so feel free to adjust the black pepper in the recipe to your taste.

More Biscotti:
Basic Biscotti Recipe
Chocolate Biscotti
Anise-Almond Biscotti

Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti

Yield: 60 biscotti A savory version of the classic Italian biscuit

• 1½ Tablespoons (1.5 Tablespoons) whole black peppercorns
• 4 cups (500 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4½ ounces (127.57 g) Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2¼ cups)
• 1½ sticks (1.5 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, (¾ cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup (244 ml) whole milk

• 1. Put oven racks and upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
• 2. Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground.
• 3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups of the cheese, and 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms.
• 4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and ¾-inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart.
• 5. Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining ¼ cup cheese and ½ Tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes.
• 6. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
• 7. Carefully transfer one warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.

• Yield: 60 biscotti
• Prep: 40 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes
• Total: 2 hours

Ingredients

• 1½ Tablespoons ( 1.5 Tablespoons ) whole black peppercorns
• 4 cups ( 500 g ) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4½ ounces ( 127.57 g ) Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2¼ cups)
• 1½ sticks ( 1.5 sticks ) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes, (¾ cup)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup ( 244 ml ) whole milk

Method

1. 1. Put oven racks and upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. 2. Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground.
3. 3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups of the cheese, and 1 Tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms.
4. 4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and ¾-inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart.
5. 5. Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining ¼ cup cheese and ½ Tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes.
6. 6. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
7. 7. Carefully transfer one warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.