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WILKES-BARRE — Every year since 2004, Betty Ann Dieso, of Plains Township, has made biscotti, faithfully following directions for the twice-baked treat in a recipe she saved from the Times Leader’s Dec. 8 edition that year.

“It’s the best biscotti recipe I’ve ever had,” Dieso said, explaining she and her husband of 55 years, Charles, enjoy baking together during the holiday season.

The news clipping faded and frayed over the past decade until finally, the Diesos couldn’t read it anymore. So Betty Ann called the newsroom last week to ask for a copy.

With Betty Ann praising the recipe so highly, we decided to republish it today, 11 years after Peggy Lovecchio, of Dallas, welcomed a reporter and photographer into her home.

It was the Monday after Thanksgiving and, while the men of the family were deer hunting, Lovecchio, her mother and four other female relatives got together to bake.

“We can’t do that anymore,” Lovecchio said, explaining her mother, Peggy Knorr, passed away in 2005, and other family members “scattered to the winds.”

But Lovecchio intends to bake five batches of biscotti this year and send some to her cousin in Buckhorn, her 90-year-old aunt in Berwick, her brother in Hershey, her sister in Florida and her daughter in Colorado.

Baking tips: Because she doesn’t want the biscotti to get too dark during the first baking, Lovecchio said she uses parchment on her cookie sheet. During the second baking, or toasting, she does want it to turn darker so she greases her cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Also, after the first baking, the biscotti should be cut while it is still warm to avoid crumbling.

<strong>BISCOTTI</strong>

4 cups flour

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons anise seed

2 tablespoons baking powder

Mix together all ingredients and knead the dough, continuing to add flour until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers. Cover mound of dough with a towel and let it rise for about an hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut a slice of dough and roll it out to form a disc, about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat until you have filled your cookie sheets with discs, perhaps three to a sheet.

Line the cookie sheets with parchment and bake no more than 20 minutes. Remove from oven and slice the discs into wedges while they’re still warm to avoid crumbling.

After all the dough has been rolled out, baked and sliced, toast the wedges at 375 degrees. Lovecchio recommends dark-color toasting pans and Pam cooking spray. Toast five minutes, then turn. Check frequently. Biscotti should be done within the next three to five minutes.

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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_01.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">Peggy Lovecchio’s biscotti wedges cool on the racks in her Dallas home.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_01.jpgPeggy Lovecchio’s biscotti wedges cool on the racks in her Dallas home. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_06.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">The biscotti recipe says to knead the dough, continuing to add flour until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_06.jpgThe biscotti recipe says to knead the dough, continuing to add flour until the dough no longer sticks to your fingers. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
<div class="neFile">

<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_02.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">You can see how large the discs of biscotti dough are by comparing them to the whisk and rolling pin.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_02.jpgYou can see how large the discs of biscotti dough are by comparing them to the whisk and rolling pin. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_05.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">A home baker cuts partially baked biscotti into the individual wedges that will be toasted.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_05.jpgA home baker cuts partially baked biscotti into the individual wedges that will be toasted. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
<div class="neFile">

<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_08.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">Janice Mazzitti, who was baking with her relatives on the first day of deer season in 2004, checks the biscotti for doneness.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_08.jpgJanice Mazzitti, who was baking with her relatives on the first day of deer season in 2004, checks the biscotti for doneness. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
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<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_07-1.jpg" />
<div class="neCaption">The biscotti bakers who shared their family recipe with the Times Leader 11 years ago included, first row: Jackie Lovecchio, Peggy Knorr and Corinna Mazzitti. Second row: Lorraine Lovecchio, Peggy Lovecchio, Susan Wallace, Janice Mazzitti.</div>
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<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_biscotti_07-1.jpgThe biscotti bakers who shared their family recipe with the Times Leader 11 years ago included, first row: Jackie Lovecchio, Peggy Knorr and Corinna Mazzitti. Second row: Lorraine Lovecchio, Peggy Lovecchio, Susan Wallace, Janice Mazzitti. Pete G. Wilcox file photos | Times Leader</div>
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<strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong>

mbiebel@www.timesleader.com

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Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT

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Peggy Lovecchio’s family recipe for biscotti is a favorite tradition