Pop quiz: What cookie, now a modern-day accompaniment to espresso, once helped settle Canada?

That’s right! The one in the picture.

But did you know those fingers of barely sweet pastry that seem designed for display in chic glass jars or shaped to bridge the rim of a demitasse of espresso are actually a very old idea?

Wonderfully dunkable, Italian biscotti — which neither crumble into nor adulterate the intense flavour of coffee — were not always the vogue indulgences of today.

Twice-baked (bis-two and cotto-cooked) and, therefore very dry, biscotti have long been appreciated for their nearly interminable shelf life.

They’re able to survive veritable epochs in cookie time.

Because of that, biscotti were staples aboard those long ocean voyages in the middle of the last millennium.

Even Christopher Columbus is said to have depended on biscotti (otherwise known as hard tack).

Since their appearance in Tuscan bakeries, where they were originally designed to soak in wine, versions of biscotti have been reinvented all over the world.

Less well-imagined in most cases, the imitations sometimes amount to little more than stale bread.

German zwieback, Dutch rusk, French croquets de carcassonne, Greek biskota, Russian sukhariki and Jewish mandelbrot are all variations or imitations of Italian biscotti.

However, although new-worlder’s (that’s us) have embellished biscotti with chocolate, fruit, assortments of nuts and so many flavourings, coffee-shop biscotti remain reasonably true to origins.

Which makes for a fitting homage to Chris Columbus, whose biscotti-aided meanderings not only proved the world was round but, having discovered an impasse en route to his intended landfall in the Orient, prompted the explorations that settled our home and native land.

Not bad for a cookie.

 

 

Makes three dozen

¾ tsp. whole fennel seeds

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. anise extract

2 tsp. orange zest

2 ¼ cups flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

¾ cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts

½ cup coarsely chopped dried figs (about 10 figs)

 

Toast fennel seeds by swirling in a small pan for a few minutes over medium-low heat. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, anise extract and orange zest. Whip until light and smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Add to butter mixture and mix to combine and form a sticky dough. Fold in fennel seeds, hazelnuts and figs. Divide dough into thirds, wrapping each in plastic wrap and shaping into elongated mounds, about 8x2 inches. Chill dough for about an hour.

Place chilled mounds of dough on a large baking sheet, leaving a few inches of space between each. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until just lightly browned. Let cool for about 15 minutes, until set, then, using a serrated knife, slice diagonally into one-half-inch thick biscotti. Arrange on cookie sheet and return to oven at 275 F. Bake for 30 minutes, turn biscotti over and continue baking for another 30 minutes.

Tuscan tradition: Although biscotti are most often associated with Italian coffees such as espresso or cappuccino, don’t hesitate to pair them with your favourite red wine.

 Darcie Hossack’s

recipes are available online at

foodpage.blogspot.com.

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