Mosaic Biscotti

This recipe made a mountain of biscotti that were delish.  I got it from the Dolce Italiano cookbook.  These are the biscotti from an earlier post, and here sit he recipe as promised.


3 1/2 cups flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
4 large eggs
2 large egg yolks, plus one egg white for glaze
2 cups sugar, plus 1 1/2 T for glaze
2 t vanilla
12 oz, semisweet to bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 c skinned or  unskinned hazelnuts
2 cups whole unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped

In a medium bowl whisk dry ingredients together

Place eggs and sugar in a mixer and mix on medium speed until thick and pale, about two minutes.  Add in vanilla extract, then add the dry ingredients.  Then add chocolate and nuts.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease two baking sheets.  Divide dough into five portions.  Flour a cutting board and form dough into five logs, 1 1/2 inches in diameter and 10 inches long.  In a bowl beat egg until frothy and using a pastry brush glaze each log and then sprinkle with 1 t sugar.

Bake logs until they are light golden brown and firm to the touch, and beginning to crack slightly, 20-25 minutes.  Allow logs to cool on baking sheets until they are cool to the touch, about 40 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.

With a sharp, serrated knife slice the biscotti on the bias, 1/4" thick.  Return them to the oven for 20 minutes, until they are dry and crisp.  Cool on the baking sheets.

Mountains of Biscotti

I was a baking fool today, making bread sticks, cheese rolls and a freaking mountain of biscotti.  First off, my friend Jen made biscotti and it made me kinda jealous.  I am also reading Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune.  I feel like all campers at the camp start the day with espresso and biscotti before going on quests and fighting monsters.

thanksgiving baking

Here is the stack of cookbooks I am going to need tonight as I start my baking.  Stupid pilgrims.

Orange Item of the Week

Getting ready for Thanksgiving.  To be honest, it is not my favorite holiday.  I should not complain, I convinced my mother to make latkes and eggs instead of a turkey.  Anyway, in an effort to relax this holiday, I discovered Scotchy schotch Scotch ice cream.  Joann and I am in love.  And if we could serve big bowls of Ben and Jerry's we would.  The butterscotch swirls are....orange.

Orange cardamom cookies

I heard the f word today.  No not that one, or even fish.  Flurries.  It is going to snow tomorrow.  Well, flurry.  I am not ready for this.  But tradition has it, when it first snows, I make something with cardamom.  It makes me feel close to my NYC roots.  These came from my King Arthur Baking Sheet, Xmas cookie edition.  Light and flavorful, I think I am in love.  Joann is too.  There is an orange glaze for these, but I felt like it made them too sweet and the confectioner's sugar can be cloying.  Joann spooned on the glaze and shoved a few cookies in. I am in a rush to get to yoga, so I did not do as many batches as I should.  Instead I fit too many on a sheet and they baked together.  My cookies are ugly.  I know,  no need to whisper behind my back.

Dough
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t soda
1 1/2 t cardamom
1/4 t salt
3/4 cup or 1 1/ sticks butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
Zest from two small oranges (I used only one large, it was fine.)
2T orange juice
2 large eggs, at room temp

Glaze
1 c confectioners' sugar
2 T orange juice

Preheat oven to 350, and grease two cookie sheets
Whisk dry ingredients together except for the sugar.  Add the butter and sugar and zest to a mixer and mix until smooth.  Add the orange juice and eggs and mix until combined.  On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until combined,

Use a 1 1/4" cookie scoop and ace balls about 2" apart on cookie sheet.  These suckers spread, so the mounds of uncooked dough should be smallish,  you get about 30 cookies from this recipe.  Flatten them out with your hand before placing in hour oven.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until golden brown on edges and they are set.  Remove from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes on the sheet.  When you can remove them without breaking them, it is a good time to pry them off the sheet.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the glaze.  Brush over cookies and allow to harden before storing.

Orange item of the week.

Here is one of the ghosts I made for Halloween.  They are more orange in person. Because my birthday is five days after Halloween I get to keep the lights on a few extra days.