need inspiration? this photo should do it! (Crunchy-Cherry Pistachio Biscotti – photo courtesy King Arthur Flour)
leaving my favorite cookie bowl on the counter makes for a pretty irresistible invitation……..
Baking a batch or two or three of biscotti, pulling them out of the oven after their second baking, smiling at their simple beauty, and then sitting down to enjoy one with a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa and feeling the warmth and satisfaction flow through your brain and body, now that’s what I call the Brain Science of Cookie Baking………. I would like to do some serious brain imaging as one begins the process through to the point of taking that first crunchy bite. I bet you’d see some happiness on-screen, literally, I mean! Getting into the kitchen to bake biscotti on these dark mornings or evenings is one of my favorite ways of extending the day (another brain science issue). Try it out and see.
I was reading along yesterday, catching up on the news after I spent several hours happily working outside. No, I wasn’t shoveling snow, as you may have found me doing over the past couple of Winters as early as November. Yes, I was actually gardening! Wow, if this is the new Winter, I’m in. Working outside, planting, cleaning, rearranging plants in the middle of December when the temperature hovers between 55 and 60F, is really an uplifting experience for me.
When I came in, I worked on decorating the tree for awhile and then sat down to catch up. When I saw this article in Lucky Peach, I found my own voice to add to the discussion: http://luckypeach.com/the-science-of-baking-cookies/http://luckypeach.com/the-science-of-baking-cookies/
Everyone knows the science of baking cookies – from regular butter cookies avec and sans eggs, egg white-based cookies like Amaretti and French Macarons, and on and on. There are simple and extravagant cookies. There are old fashioned and new-fangled cookies. There are bare and adorned versions – literally something for everybody to indulge in.
Biscotti is the long-adored dry, brittle cookie of choice for many Italian bakers – one primed for dunking. Over the years, I have experimented with many and never been disappointed. You can virtually come up with an entire alphabet of biscotti options. While some don’t quite make it as Italian, there is one for trying and enjoying – even if it is only in the Italian spirit – (picture yourself standing at an Espresso bar in your favorite Piazza!) Italians are very resourceful, though, as we know and would be known to incorporate a vast array of items. Let’s see how far we can go: Almond, Anise, Basil, (Dried) Blueberry, Cardamom, Chai, Cinnamon, Coconut, Corn Meal, Cherry, Date, Eggnog, Espresso, Fennel, Ginger, Hazelnut, I, Juniper, Kumquat, Lemon, Macadamia, Mango, Nutmeg, Orange, Pepper, Peppermint, Pignoli, Pistachio, Pomegranate, Quince, Raspberry, Rum, Raisin, Rosemary, Sambuca, Sea Salt, Sesame, Tangerine, U, Vanilla, Vermouth, Walnut, X, Yuzu, Zucchini – ok, well, I got close – and you get the point.
They are relatively easy to make as long as you have a good, sharp serrated knife. They can be as traditional or as whimsical as you’d like. Let’s take a look……
Basically you can assemble your favorite flavorings, fruits, usually dried, and nuts for making biscotti. But, you can go much farther afield if you’d like. You need a very good basic recipe to start with and you can go from there.
At this time of year it is fun to try to get some red and green in there – jewel tones, if you will (like rubies and emeralds, but I digress) and have some fun! Lots of people like to dip their biscotti in chocolate, white or dark, for an added flair – but I like mine plain. And, don’t forget the boozy-versions – did someone say, Bourbon, Rum, Sambuca or Grand Marnier?
Every year I tend to have a favorite book that I grab off the shelf and it becomes something that stays on my mind and I refer back to all through the weeks leading up to Christmas. Sometimes it is a Dickens’, others, it’s a cookbook with stories. This year, it is Carol Field’s Celebrating Italy. Her chapter on Natale is, for me , nothing short of enchanting. And her recipe for Almond and Orange Biscotti is as well. I am going to use it as the basis for my Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti.
Did someone say Honey, Chocolate, Orange and Almonds??? This is the recipe I am making today – (has been made and updated for photos).
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Notes: If you are making your own candied orange peel, you will have to start a day ahead! I am not one to leave a recipe alone – I like to play around. For today’s version, I did indeed add bittersweet chocolate and substituted honey for the sugar. The honey calls for some other adjustments when baking cookies – the dough will be more moist, obviously and you need a pinch of baking soda added in. You also might need to incorporate just a bit more flour. I work a tablespoon at a time. Store-bought candied orange peel, which I used today, tends to be wetter than homemade as well and so you will need to be on guard on this as well. You will note that some biscotti recipes call for as much as 6 cups of flour. This one, making just one log, calls for a scant 1 cup. I was a little bit leery about this at first, but this lovely log, as you will see below, baked up in a lovely mounded mass of yumminess – again illustrating the brain chemistry of cookie baking. Can you see the electrodes on my head?
Orange and Almond Biscotti with Dark Chocolate – adapted from Carol Field’s Celebrating Italy (Carol says these are reserved for Lent in Rome – but I think they are perfect for now – or anytime)
7 tblsp unsalted butter at room temp
1/2 cup plus 2 tblsp sugar*
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 scant cup all purpose flour (Bob’s Red Mill Organic)
1 tsp cinnamon (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup almonds, toasted and roughly chopped
about 1/2 cup finely chopped candied orange peel
grated zest of one orange
2.2 oz piece bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used Guittard)
muscavado sugar for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Butter and flour the parchment paper. Set aside.
Cream butter, orange zest and sugar* in bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, one of the egg yolks, and the vanilla. Sift the flour, cinnamon (or cinnamon and nutmeg), baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low, add the dry ingredients slowly. Stop when there is still a bit of flour visible. Take the bowl off the mixer. Add the almonds, candied orange peel, and the chocolate.
Mold into a log about 9″ x 4″. (Dough can be divided in half to form 2″ wide logs). If dough is sticky, sprinkle with a bit of extra flour, especially if you have used the honey and commercially prepared candied orange peel*. Beat the remaining egg yolk and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with muscavado or sanding sugar.
Bake until just firm to the touch in center but not hard, about 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce oven temperature to 325F. Let uncut cookies sit on baking sheet for 4 minutes. Then, carefully cut the rectangle diagonally into 1″ strips with a large serrated knife. Then cut each cookie in half (4″logs only). Place them cut side up on a fresh sheet of parchment paper.
Bake for 10 minutes on one side, turn over gently and bake for 5 minutes on the other side, or until golden, crunchy but not overly hard. Cool on racks.
little pieces of yum!
*or 1/4 cup orange blossom honey – best quality – I use Tremblay Apiaries; and add 1/8 tsp baking soda to dry ingredients – this, along with commercially prepared candied orange peel may yield a wetter dough – sprinkle on a bit of extra flour when molding into the log. You should note that sugar will yield a slightly crispier/crunchier cookie while honey will add a bit more moisture and that very special luxurious undertone. Try a batch both ways and see which one you prefer!
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Here is a list of others to try – but why not make up your own?
http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2011/11/best-biscotti-recipes.htmlCr
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/chocolate-orange-biscotti.aspx
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chocolate-orange-biscotti-108470
http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/lenox-almond-biscotti
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cranberry-pistachio-biscotti-350894
http://labellecuisine.com/archives/cookies/Sambuca%20Almond%20Biscotti.html
http://pastrystudio.blogspot.com/2011/10/triple-ginger-pecan-biscotti.html
http://blog.williams-sonoma.com/cookie-of-the-day-candy-cane-biscotti/
http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/08/cherry-rum-biscotti/http://www.thecurvycarrot.com/2011/03/08/cherry-rum-biscotti/
http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/chefs_recipes/6629/Bourbon_Biscotti_Recipe_12_Days_of_Cookies.htmhttp://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/chefs_recipes/6629/Bourbon_Biscotti_Recipe_12_Days_of_Cookies.htm
http://zenfullydelicious.com/brown-butter-bourbon-biscotti-gluten-free/http://zenfullydelicious.com/brown-butter-bourbon-biscotti-gluten-free/
Whatever you do, Have fun! My guess is you’ll be humming Christmas Carols and those synapses will be firing up – even though it isn’t cold and snowing!