I always make the "Nana Rosa's Biscotti" from the KAF 200th Anniversary Cookbook - wonderful soft, flavorful biscotti - my family loves them, & we get raves from those with whom we share. I vary the flavor of extract I use with that - orange & almond are my 2 favorites, though I make others too. Sometimes I bake "assortments" for my husband's business clients; when I do that I tint the dough just lightly with a few drops of food coloring so people have a clue which kind of cookie they're choosing.
The Nana Rosa's recipe calls for an egg wash rather than a water spritz, though. And while I use my wet hands to shape the log rather than a dough scraper (and I have NEVER gotten my pre-baked log so beautifully neat as yours), it looks much the same as your after-baking photo. I think the dough must spread similarly during baking.
By the way, while I am a cookbook addict (no 12-step programs for me, thanks), the aforementioned 200th-anniversary cookbook is my hands-down most-used cookbook. (And those hands - they're generally down elbow-deep in dough . . . ) My husband declares himself a happy man!
May 1, 2008 at 11:25pm