Double Chocolate Biscotti

A bit more of the biscotti for you.  I think this one is one of my top two favorites.  I just love it.  So chocolatey and not too sweet.

I am off to play nurse maid to my little one who finds herself pretty sick today.  Poor thing.  Some tea with honey and lemon is in order.

Double Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter with sugar, mix five minutes.  Add in eggs one at a time and then vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda.  Add to creamed butter.  Add in the chocolate chips and the walnuts.

Shape dough into logs and place on parchment paper or a nonstick pan. Bake for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for about ten minutes.  Remove from pan.  With a serrated knife, slice into 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick slices.  Place on cookie sheet again bake for 10 minutes.

Basic Biscotti

Cherry Pistachio

Many years ago.  Like 12.  Wow, time flies.  I was really into biscotti.  I made a lot of it.  All different flavors.  I met my husband, he shared them with his friends, they loved them.  Everybody loved them.  I collected tons of recipes.  My husband and I dreamed of owning a biscotti shops.  We wanted to call it Bellagio's.  We would start small, delivering to businesses and such.  We went to the Better Business Bureau.  We planned, we schemed.  Until the moment came when we realized that we could not do it out of our home.  Sigh. In NY Sate you need a whole separate kitchen for a business.  The cost was just too great and our desire dwindled upon hearing it.  Sadly Bellagio's was not meant to be.

Biscotti does live on in our family.  My Mom likes to make them and since she makes so many, I figure, I will let her then I can make other things.  So this is her thing now.  These are her biscotti's.

This is her favorite recipe because you can mix things up. She doubles it whenever she makes it and adds different mix ins.

Caramel Pecan

Basic Biscotti
Recipe easily doubled.

1 stick butter (4 ounces), softened
3/4 sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix Ins (if you so desire):
1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruit or chips

Preheat oven to 325F.

Cream butter with sugar, mix five minutes.  Add in eggs one at a time and then vanilla.  In a separate bowl mix together flour, salt and baking powder.  Add to creamed butter.  Work in the mix ins.

Shape dough into logs and place on parchment paper or a nonstick pan. Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool for about ten minutes.  Remove from pan.  With a serrated knife, slice into 1/2 inch to 1 inch thick slices.  Place on cookie sheet again bake for 15 minutes.

Orange Cashew Biscotti

A few cookies are left over from Christmas.  Too many cookies, not enough time.  Thankfully biscotti last for a while.  These are a favorite in our house.  They are typically made with pistachios.  Due to the rising costs of pistachios I used cashews this year.  They were good but honestly the pistachios are better.  The nice thing about this recipe is the texture of the biscotti.  It has a nice texture to absorb whatever you are dipping into.  It's porous and light.

I think I may pull out a few of these for the tea party I am having for my daughter.  Doesn't that sound like fun?  I have a few four and five year olds coming over today.  We will decorate hats, play a little and have tea (more like lemonade) and cake.  I will be surrounded by cuteness.  I did a similar party for my older daughter.  You can see some of those pics here.


Orange Cashew Biscotti
Adapted from this recipe at Williams Sonoma

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbs. grated orange zest
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unsalted cashews, chopped
In a bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter, sugar, orange zest and vanilla. Using an electric mixer set on high speed, beat until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, add the cashews and mix in. Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

Preheat an oven to 350ºF. Place a silpat or parchment paper down on a baking sheet.

Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, using lightly floured hands, roll each half into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Arrange the logs on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them 5 inches apart.

Bake until light brown and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes (the logs will spread during baking). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheet. Leave the oven set at 350ºF.

Using a spatula, carefully transfer the logs to a work surface. Using a serrated knife, cut on the diagonal into slices 3/4 inch thick. Arrange the slices, cut side down, on the baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 36 cookies, depending on how big your cookies are.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Did you ever listen to the silence? Well it's not really the silence because you would have to be pretty far from civilization and crickets. I love to listen to the silence. That is, when I take a minute to actually listen to the silence. Sometimes I don't slow down long enough to know that it has been a while since I listened to the silence. When was the last time I did this? Too long ago. I know that meditation not medication (that c makes all the difference) really works. It quiets the mind. Why is that I just can't make myself sit for five minutes? Okay, maybe the answer comes after therapy and maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's a matter of just doing it. Just doing it. Quieting the mind. Mindful eating.

Have you ever done mindful eating? In a way it may sound lame but really it isn't. The other day I bit into a banana and I was chomping away and I told myself to slow down and enjoy the banana. Think about its texture, the way it feels in my mouth, the smell... you know, the flavor exploded. I was amazed what a difference it made.

What a difference just noticing what is around us by taking the time to notice it. Maybe it makes life beam the way that banana did in my mouth.

Pull up a chair, get a cup of coffee or tea and sit down. Relax. Bite into this biscotti. Close your eyes and think about how delightful it is. Then listen to the quiet, if you can.

This days message brought to you by an extremely tired and thoughtful girl.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
Recipe from Epicurious

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter and flour a large baking sheet.

In a bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until combined well. Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.

On prepared baking sheet with floured hands form dough into two slightly flattened logs, each 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Bake logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool biscotti on baking sheet 5 minutes.

On a cutting board cut biscotti diagonally into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange biscotti, cut sides down, on baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool biscotti on a rack. Biscotti keep in airtight containers 1 week and frozen, 1 month.