No table saw? No chain saw? Really, you don't need either. Biscotti, the nearly rock-hard Italian cookie that is wonderful for dunking, is baked twice. For the first baking, you spread out a flat log of dough on your baking sheet and put it in the oven for the recommended amount of time. Remove it from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, and then, while it's still reasonably tender, cut it.

(continued from home page) Most people like to cut the log at a 30°F angle or so, to produce an angled shape. We find a long, sharp serrated knife does a great job of gently sawing through the cookie. Once it has been cut, put the individual cookies back into the oven and allow them to set up like concrete. We like to bake them directly on cooling racks in the oven, which allows the heat to reach all surfaces freely, and saves us the trouble of flipping the biscotti over halfway through the second baking.

Once they come out of the oven after the second baking, you must resort to power tools if you want to cut them.