"Crisp Biscuits (Biscotti Croccanti)"

"One pound of flour
Half a pound granulated sugar
1/4 lb. sweet almonds, whole and shelled, mixed with a few pine-seeds
A piece of butter, one and a half ounce
A pinch of anise-seeds
Five eggs
A pinch of salt"

"Leave back the almonds and pine-seeds to add them afterward, and mix everything with four eggs, so as to use the fifth if it is necessary to make a soft dough.



Divide into four cakes half an inch thick and as large as a hand, place them in a receptacle greased with butter and sprinkled with flour.



Glaze the cakes with yolk of eggs. Back in the oven, but only as much as will still permit cutting the cakes into slices, which you will do the day after, as the crust will then be softened.



Put the slices back in the oven, so that they will be toasted on both sides and you will have the crisp biscuits."

This recipe was first published in "The Italian Cook Book: the Art of Eating Well, Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine" written by Mrs. Maria Gentile; it was published in 1919 by the Italian Book Co. (New York). For the entire copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org.... P.S. This recipe might be one of the first biscotti recipes that was published in the English language, as all the other books that are now available on line do not seem to include any. It seems that back in 1919 when this cook book was published pine nuts were then referred to as pine seeds. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus Pinus). About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food." Photo and notes: Mary Melfi.

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