Ah aniseed. I longed to find a biscotti recipe with anise in it, like the Noni's biscotti I had the other week. And here it is. Given the large quantity of aniseed, I was worried it would be too heavy but in the end, it really was very nice.

Cornmeal-Almond Biscotti
From Once Upon a Tart...Soups, Salads, Muffins, and More by Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 1/2 tablespoons aniseed
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cream the butter and sugar on high speed until they are light and fluffy about 5 minutes.
• With the mixer on low speed, beat in the eggs one at a time.
• Beat in the almond extract.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, cornmeal, anise seeds, baking powder, and salt together.
• Slowly add these dry ingredients to the wet, stirring on low speed until they are almost combined.
• Add the almonds and stir until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Dust the dough and your hands with flour and roll the dough into a log 4-inches in diameter and about 14 inches long. (If it's too long, cut the dough in half and make 2 logs.)
• Place the logs on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the log feels firm when you press on it.
• Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack--allow it to cool completely.
• Once cool, cut the log into 1/2 inch slices.
• Arrange slices on the baking sheet and bake for another 30 minutes, turning over once until they are crisp and golden brown.

About this recipe:

My advice is to go easy on the sugar. I probably used just over 1 cup in my batch. Also, I only had 1 tablespoon of almond extract left so that's what I used. This biscotti recipe has you use an electric mixer to bring the dough together that makes this very easy. The dough was a nice consistency and not too sticky. With a very light dusting of flour I used my hands to shape and form 2 shorter logs.

I baked them for about 35 minutes until the outside was a little crisp and when you pressed on the top it was firm. I then cooled, cut, and sent my biscotti wedges though their second baking which I hope they enjoyed very much. It brought out a golden color that I was able to get on both sides by taking them out of the oven about half way through and using tongs to flip each one.

The result: a dry, toasty and tasty biscotti infused with the mellow flavor and aroma of anise mingled along with almond. I really enjoyed the flavor of this biscotti. The crunch is helped along by the cornmeal and the anise seeds that are sprinkled throughout.