How to Eat Biscotti: 10 Refreshing Ideas
Originating in Italy, biscotti has made its way worldwide, becoming a standard cookie of almost all Italian cafes and many households. We can blame Christopher Columbus, as he was the one who brought them to America. He needed food with a long shelf-life on his journey; little that he know he was about to change history, even more than he already did. Since they have become a part of our hearts, we certainly need ideas on how to combine them. So, how to eat biscotti?
Biscotti are intended to dunk; therefore, they go excellent with drinks. Coffee is famous as the perfect biscotti companion. Biscotti is best to pair with milk, tea, pudding, hot chocolate, hot cocoa, and ice cream. Another way to enjoy biscotti is to soak them.
Double baked and delicious biscotti have been made for dunking. They are very dry but at the same time exploding with flavors. There are numerous possibilities to pair them, and in the following paragraphs, I will be sharing some of the best ideas on how to enjoy biscotti to the fullest.
Ways to Eat Biscotti
The main thing you need to eat biscotti is a drink, preferably warm, as biscotti are a dunking snack. Hard, dry, and delightfully crumbly, they will turn your regular coffee into a memorable experience. However, a word to the wise, don’t dunk your biscotti too deep, as it is likely to break; dunk it little by little.
How to Eat Biscotti With Coffee?
Biscotti and coffee are known as one of the best pairs ever. Generally, the stronger the coffee, the better the biscotti will go with it, but this is just a personal preference at the end of the day.
Whether the coffee should be hot or cold is also a personal preference, but biscotti are known to go better with hot coffee. The only thing you need to do is dunk them in your coffee and enjoy.
Eat Biscotti With Milk
Biscotti goes surprisingly well with sugar as well as sugarless milk. The taste of the milk will not rub on the biscotti too much, but it will accentuate the biscotti cookie flavor. Just like milk and cookies go hand in hand, the same goes for biscotti.
Eat Biscotti With Tea
Tea and biscotti are excellent combinations, especially if you are moody for something rich and simple. Don’t combine biscotti with fruit or herbal tea, though. Mint, chamomile, lemon, apple, oregano, or other herbal and fruit teas don’t mix well with the biscotti sweetness.
Instead, go for black or green tea, preferably with a few drops of milk and some honey. Hot or cold, in this case, isn’t a matter of preference, as hot tea goes way better with biscotti than cold.
Eat Biscotti With Chocolate Milk
If you dunk your biscotti in chocolate milk, you will get a real cake-on-a-stick experience. The hot chocolate’s intense chocolate flavor and creaminess will go excellent with your biscotti as an opposing force.
Since the biscotti is dry and crumbly, it will become chewy when mixed with the creamy texture and chocolate flavor, giving you a mouthful of chocolate cookie delight. Here too, hot beats cold, so dunk your biscotti in hot chocolate.
Eat Biscotti With Pudding
Although pudding isn’t a drink, it is creamy and soft enough to dunk your biscotti in, and therefore it made its way on this list. With pudding and biscotti, you have as many possibilities as pudding flavors.
Unlike the tea, fruit pudding goes great with biscotti, though you might want to avoid citrus-flavored puddings; if that’s something you like, go for it. My personal favorites are chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry-flavored puddings to dunk my biscotti in.
Since pudding needs to cool a bit before eating, you cannot dunk your biscotti in the hot pudding. Still, make sure it isn’t cold either, as you won’t get the entire experience with cold pudding.
Eat Biscotti With Hot Cocoa
More bitter than hot chocolate but sweeter than coffee and stronger than milk, biscotti in hot cocoa might be what you want if you are looking for a perfect balance. You can put a scoop of whipped cream and stick your biscotti in it and let it soak slowly, absorbing the cocoa aroma.
How to Eat Biscotti With Wine?
Biscotti dunked in wine is a true delicacy. The sweetness of the biscotti and the sourness of the wine will mesh perfectly, giving you a fantastic alcoholic dessert to nibble on. The best biscotti for vino is nut-based biscotti.
There are many varieties of dessert wines that pair with biscotti, so your options are pretty much limitless.
Eat Biscotti With Ice Cream
Like the pudding, ice cream is soft enough to dunk your biscotti in, although it isn’t a drink. Ice cream and biscotti are the perfect option for you on a hot summer day when you crave some self-indulgence. Let the biscotti sit in the ice cream while it melts, and enjoy the cold, sweet, and crumbly texture combined with the silky touch of the ice cream.
Soaked Biscotti
You don’t always have to dunk your biscotti to enjoy it, as soaking them is another delicious possibility. Soak your biscotti in coffee, rum, or milk, and let them absorb the flavors and aroma. Let them dry and enjoy.
They will become softer and moister as the moisture from the drink will penetrate them, altering their structure.
Biscotti and Fruit
Strawberries and whipped cream always go nicely with biscotti, honey, banana, or orange with chocolate topping.
What Do Italians Dip Biscotti In?
The Italian biscotti dipping rule says dunk them in Vino Santo (Holy Wine). This wine is a traditional sweet dessert wine made in Tuscany.
What Should You Serve With Biscotti?
If you intend to serve a sweet-tasting dunking drink, such as hot chocolate, milk, ice cream, or pudding, enrich the biscotti experience with strawberries, bananas, whipped cream, and chocolate topping.
Going with coffee, nuts, and dark chocolate will make your biscotti plate more appealing. And if you decide on tea or wine, opt for citrus fruits, honey, and dried fruits to polish your ensemble.
Why Are Biscotti so Hard?
The name “biscotti” is the plural of the Italian word “biscotto,” which comes from the Latin word “biscotus” which means twice-baked. Therefore the name itself tells you why they are so hard.
They are baked twice, making all the moisture evaporate, leaving the biscotti very dry and hard. This double-baking process gives biscotti a very long shelf-life, making them the perfect food for long journeys.
Can You Eat Biscotti Without Dunking?
Although primarily intended to dunk, there’s no reason you can’t have your biscotti as they are. However, since they are pretty hard and dry, you will need something to pair them with.
In essence, biscotti are made for you to enjoy, so if you like how they feel and taste without dunking, feel free to have them as they are.
Still, since they are made to be dunked, it is only to be expected that dunking significantly improves their flavor and texture and increases your enjoyment.
