Nutella Biscotti

Biscotti are great. They go equally well with breakfast and dessert – my two favorite meals. Is it any wonder that I like them? In this variation of a fairly standard biscotti recipe, I added nutella, homemade by Jessica of Su Good Eats. Words can not express how good this nutella was. Though she sent it to me some time ago, I set some aside with the intention of making biscotti with it. The rest I ate on toast. And with a spoon.
You see, I sent Jessica some of my homemade marshmallows – chocolate peanut-butter flavored ones, at that – because we decided to have a little blogger food exchange. It was a lot of fun to exchange goodies with someone I only really know through blogging, not to mention that I got some good feedback on my goodies and was able to try one of her favorites, as well. Would anyone else be interested in doing a food-blogger goodie exchange? We could send small packages of shippable homemade treats or a local favorite food item. I’d be happy to host and arrange the event in the next month or so, so leave feedback in my comments with suggestions and perhaps we'll get something started!
Back to the biscotti, though. The final cookie is crisp and quite a bit tenderer than you might expect. It has a lovely, nutty aroma to compliment the chocolate flavors. I have, in the past, made a very similar version with peanut butter. They were very good – particularly when dipped in chocolate – but I must say that I prefer these slightly.
You may omit the second baking for a softer cookie. I personally like them crunchy. I did not include hazelnuts in my cookies, but I listed them as optional because I think they would be a nice addition.

Nutella Biscotti

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp cocoa
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
½ cup nutella
½ cup chocolate chips
½ cup hazelnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Add sugar and continue beating on high setting for 2 minutes. Beat in nutella. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnuts, if using.
Divide dough into 2 or 3 logs with well floured hands and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet. Press logs into rectangles roughly ½ inch thick.
Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Remove logs from oven.
Turn oven down to 300F.
Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/3-1/2 inch slices. Arrange on baking sheet and return to oven.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, turn biscotti over and bake an additional 10-12 minutes (depending upon the thickness of your slices). Remove to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.
Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.