Italian mixed nut and chocolate chip biscotti

I really struggled to come up with "I" recipes for our AlphaBakes challenge this month. I made ice cream cake pops earlier in the month and couldn't think of anything else until I thought about Italian biscotti. I found this recipe online from an Italian who lives in London and blogs at Broxholm Road. Her recipe is called Tozzetti alle nocciole della Tuscia. Tuscia is where she comes from and this recipe is from her mum. I was really excited to try this authentic Italian recipe but sadly my biscotti looks nowhere like hers :( I'm not quite sure where I went wrong as I followed the recipe closely but the end result was still really tasty. My dough was not sticky enough and I wasn't sure how to correct this - anyone has any tips/ideas? The biscotti was really crunchy and nutty and I particularly liked the chocolate chips.

As mentioned, this is for AlphaBakes, a monthly blogging challenge hosted this month by Caroline from Caroline Makes and by myself on alternate months. The letter this month is "I" for Italian biscotti. I will be hosting April's challenge so check back on 1st April to see what the next letter is. Don't worry, it won't be an April fool's joke ;) 

I used mixed nuts instead of hazelnuts as that's what I had 

 Making the dough which looks a bit crumbly 

 adding in the nuts and chocolate chips 

 my poor attempt at biscotti making! 

 baked and ready to slice 

 then baked again 

 delicious! 

Recipe from Broxholm Road

350g flour (plus extra if required)

250g caster sugar

80g butter

2 eggs (plus 1 for brushing)

250g mixed nuts or hazelnuts

130g chocolate chips

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

Grated zest of 1 lemon

pinch of salt

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
• Roast the nuts until lightly browned, approximately 8 - 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
• Melt the butter in a saucepan or microwave and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs together. 
• Add in flour, sugar, butter, baking powder, lemon zest and salt.
• Mix well. 
• Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.
• Shape the dough into 2 long sausage shapes. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. 
• Arrange the sausage shaped dough on a baking tray and brush with egg wash. 
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
• Allow to cool for 30-40 minutes.
• Slice each log diagonally.
• Arrange slices on a baking tray and bake until dry, approximately 10-15 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely.