Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Limoncello and Almond Biscotti Part of Your Holiday Cookie Swap This Season
If you’re participating in a cookie swap this holiday season — and even if you’re not — make celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis’ Limoncello and Almond Biscotti part of your cookie-sphere landscape.
Lemony, chewy, and with a delicate almond flavor, these Italian cookies are guaranteed smile-makers. Here’s how to make the Food Network host’s irresistible biscotti.
Giada De Laurentiis’ sunny Limoncello and Almond Biscotti will impress this season
Light, citrusy, and nutty, the Food Network star’s Italian cookies are sure to be a hit this holiday season. The combination of lemon and almond is hard to resist, as the chef pointed out on her food blog Giadzy: “These airy, crisp and light cookies are a perfect afternoon snack or bite with espresso.”
As easy as these cookies (full ingredient quantities and reviews can be found on the Food Network website) are to gobble up, they’re just as simple to make. De Laurentiis revealed that the secret to this cookie is its foundation: egg whites.
“I put a little bit of salt in my two egg whites,” she says in the Food Network video for this recipe, adding as well a half-cup of sugar to the whites. “Really, this is the base of this cookie. It’s a very light, airy cookie. That’s why there are just egg whites and no egg yolk.”
How to make De Laurentiis’ Italian cookies
To the beaten egg whites are added almond flour (“The only flour that’s in here is almond because in Capri, they grow tons and tons of almonds, so most of the desserts use almond flour, which makes a lot of sense”) and sliced almonds. Now, De Laurentiis says, comes “the fun part: some limoncello.” One-third of a cup of the lemon liqueur is poured in (“You don’t want to add in too much. You want to have just enough to get that potency”). Adding even more lemon flavor to the cookie is the zest of three lemons.
The ingredients are folded together (“holding on to the egg whites and their texture”) and the batter is spooned onto a cookie sheet, which is then placed into a preheated 350-degree F oven for 25 minutes. Once they’re out of the oven and cooled, they can be dusted with powdered sugar.
De Laurentiis’ fans were wowed by these cookies
Reviewers were more than impressed with the chef’s tart cookies: “These are so delicious. Perfect with my morning coffee. Way to go Giada,” said one home cook.
Another reviewer agreed saying, “New favorite cookie. I made them this weekend. I already ate 10. Perfectly baked. After removing from the oven I broke it in half to check the middle and it was soft as you had illustrated. Yummy.”
Finally, one home cook pointed out that these biscotti make a delicious gluten-free alternative: “I just made these cookies last night…..they are absolutely delicious….very light, very lemony, and very easy. I love that they are a wonderful, gluten-free, dairy-free choice.”
