How to Make Bisconie

I've long been a fan of both scones and biscotti for an afternoon tea party, but I never tried combining the two until this week when I learned how to make bisconie.
Bisconie take the deliciousness of a freshly baked scone and marry it with the light-as-air, crunchy texture of biscotti. The result is truly delightful, an eminently dunkable and tasty treat that goes particularly well with a steaming mug of milky tea.

Not only do bisconie taste great, they are also a smart thing to have on hand since they stay fresh for ages. The drying process keeps them crispy as long as they're stored in an air-tight container.
One of the beautiful things about bisconie is how wonderfully open it is to interpretation. You can make nutty ones or fruity, plain or spicy, sweet or bland. All you need is your favorite scone recipe and you're on your way to making a stash of bisconie that will last for weeks.
I really like biscotti with chunks of toasted nuts in them that provide flavor and texture, so I decided to make bisconie with chopped walnuts and beautifully crunchy cacao nibs. Laced with a generous amount of vanilla extract, these beauties are incredibly fragrant as they bake and dry.

How to Make Bisconie

To make good bisconie, you need to start with a great scone dough. I made these with all-purpose flour so the cacao nibs and walnuts would be the star of the show, but you could also use half whole wheat flour to make them a bit healthier. I also used real butter since I love the flavor so much.
The key to light bisconie is the same for light scones: don't overwork the dough.
While scones are usually cut in circles or triangles, I cut mine into squares so I could have more uniform slices of bisconie. Just press the dough into a large square about 3/4 inch thick, and cut into 16 equal squares. Brush each piece with beaten egg and bake until the tops are a beautiful rich brown.
Once the scones are baked, let them cool before tackling the next step as you don't want to burn yourself.

Once the scones are cool, slice each square into three equal slices from top to bottom. At this point you can choose to dry them in a dehydrator or an oven. I used a dehydrator because I don't have to worry about oven temperature and checking on the bisconie all the time. I just lay the slices cut side down onto the dehydrator trays, set the timer, and came back 5 hours later to have gorgeous bisconie – light, crispy, and an excellent accompaniment for my afternoon cup of tea.
Let the bisconie cool to room temperature, then store in an air-tight container until ready to serve. If you want to get fancy, you could dip the bisconie in melted dark, milk, or white chocolate, or drizzle them instead. Just know that the chocolate will introduce moisture to the bisconie, so they won't be as crunchy as the non-glazed version.

Tea and Bisconie Pairings

These walnut cacao nib bisconie go really well with nutty black teas such as Toasted Nut Brûlée oolong, Porch Sippin' Pecan black tea, or No Obligations decaf black tea.
If bisconie sound good to you, you might also enjoy our recipes for other dried sweet treats such as Almond Royale Tea Biscotti or rusks, the South African breakfast cookie.