Pistachio Cornmeal biscotti

Friend,

It was great to see you, the husband and to meet the newest member of your family! 

The biscotti is from a Martha Steward Cookie cookbook - and I liked them too. The addition of cornmeal really helps them crunch without being rock hard.  Also - I used salted pistachios and dried cherries and added about a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips, so they were extra salty and a little more sweet than just the cranberries would have been. I tend to throw in a lot of stuff into biscotti. this dough was particularly crumbly when forming into logs -  I just patted them into shape and they stuck together after baking.

Let me know if you have any questions or what new combinations you come up with!

Scate

MS's Cranberry-Pistachio Cornmeal Biscotti

1.25 cups all-purpose flour

1.25 cups yellow cornmeal

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp coarse salt

6 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temp

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 TBSP finely grated lemon zest

1 cup dried cranberries (i used cherries)

1 cup chopped pistachios (i never chop them)

(i added 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips)

1. preheat oven to 350 with rack in center. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, bkg powder and salt.

2. put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitter with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and mix until pale and fluffy Mix in eggs one at a time; mix until just combined. Add lemon zest, cranberries, and pistachios and mix until combined.

3. Transfer dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment pater. Pat into a log that is roughly 14 x 3.5 inches. Bake until firm, lightly browned, and slightly cracked on top, 30-35 minutes. Let cool on sheet on a wire rack about 15 minutes.

4. Transfer log to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Arrange slices upright on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Bake cookies until they begin to brown at the edges, about 15-18 minutes, rotating half-way through. Let cookies cool on a wire rack. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temp up to 2 weeks.

Girls' Cabin Weekend

Last weekend, I headed north to a cabin on a lake with about 12 girls for the weekend. Perfect excuse to do some baking!

In charge of breakfast treats, I made blueberry muffins, biscotti and banana bread. All things that I have done before - so I know they'll work. But - in order to change it up a bit I decided to try a few new techniques that I found.

Blueberry Muffins I used my favorite recipe from the American Test Kitchen book. However, I used some of Joy the Baker's tips from her Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins. I browned the butter and used the topping from Joy's recipe. The topping just makes the muffins look so much better - and it's just flour, butter, and sugar. So easy! I used a pastry cutter instead of my fingers to mash up the topping ingredients. To make it travel worthy - I baked the muffins 95% of the way at home, then popped them in the oven at 250 for 30 minutes right before serving. This browned them up a bit more, took away the tackiness from traveling airtight, and let me serve them warm without a mess in the kitchen.

For the biscotti, I followed another favorite recipe and used dried cherries, toasted whole almonds and chopped white chocolate for the 'add-ins'. I formed the logs more narrow than I usually do - and was sure to chill the dough logs before baking to help them hold their shape (just like cookies.) I love this recipe - the addition of butter keeps them soft enough to eat without dunking into coffee first. Nice when sharing with a crowd - it eliminates the need to post a warning to avoid broken teeth!

The banana bread got rave reviews! I stirred in 1/2 cup each of toasted coconut and walnuts (instead of chocolate chips) and topped the bread with melted bittersweet chocolate. The add-ins really boosted the texture and helped differentiate it from the blueberry muffin texture.

A nice way to have 'variety' with cookie-like biscotti, perfectly sweet blueberry muffins and nutty banana bread with coconut and chocolate.

Breakfast Treats for a Crowd

I felt like I won the lottery when H. asked for home baked goods for a morning meeting with his non-profit board. It's been a few weeks of no work place - meaning no team of office workers ready to eat my baking. I can't eat it all myself!

I decided to make two different items that could then be paired with fruit and coffee as desired.

Blueberry Ginger Bundt Cake
Banana Bread (and muffins) covered with bittersweet chocolate frosting

Farmer's Market Find: Pnut Butter Pops

I just got an email - the 'Daily Bite' from Bakespace and guess what - it's "national peanut butter cookie day!" Who knew.

I didn't. However - I do know that it is Thursday today - which is Farmer's Market on the Mall day in downtown Minneapolis. My new favorite stop is Cocoa and Fig - mainly because they have a cool blog and site - and GREAT chocolate items.

Today - they had Peanut Butter Pops for $1.50. The PERFECT after dinner sweet.

Life is just a bowl of cherries... cherry choc chip cookies

Let's make this simple. I made chocolate chip cookies last night. We each ate one and I brought the rest to work. So - when we wanted chocolate chip cookies again tonight - and I didn't have extra dough hanging out in the fridge (PARTY FOUL!) - I thought i'd change it up a bit. I cracked open a jar of Trader Joe Morello cherries - chopped them and drained out some liquid, added a dash of almond extract and an extra 2 TBSP of flour to my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe - and voila! A new cookie is born. Pretty fun - and very tasty.

Orange Spice Biscotti: it's Teatime!

This is the BEST BISCOTTI for tea I have ever tasted. There is no butter - so it's a true 'hard' biscotti that needs to be dunked. However - when it hits the tea - it soaks up enough liquid to turn it into a wonderfully soft and now tea-soaked treat.

I followed a recipe and played with all of the additions - my usual when making biscotti. I have some friends coming over on Saturday morning for a knitting session - and these could be baked up a few days early (I love early prep stuff!)

My recipe is based on the Spiced Biscotti found in the New Best Recipe.

Scate's Orange Spiced Biscotti with chocolate
preheat oven to 350
11 1/4 oz (2 1/4 cups)unbleached all purp flour
1 tsp bkg pwd
1/2 tsp bkg soda
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
*** whisk above dry ingredients together in bowl
7 oz (1 cup) sugar
2 large eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
*** whisk sugar and eggs until it lightens in color to pale yellow (2 minutes by hand)
1/2 tsp vanilla to egg mixture
** add vanilla to egg mixture
** gently stir dry into wet mixture
** Add 1 cup of extra bittersweet chocolate pieces

Form into logs (13"x 2") on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown and just starting to crack. Rotate pan halfway through baking.

Pull from oven and remove logs from baking sheet to cool for 10 minutes. Cool oven to 325. Cut logs into biscotti pieces. Place upright on cookie sheet with some space between each cookie. Return to oven for 15 minutes.

Cool cookies completely. Can store in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Farmers' Market Find: Bouchon au Chocolat (chocolate corks)

The farmers markets here in Minneapolis are absolutely HOPPING this time of year. It isn't because of the piles of local veggies and fruit (HA!) - because the only thing you find this early are plants for your garden. This is a great time to check out the local merchants to see what kind of crafty or tasty treat they are trying to sell.

Today's 'Farmers' Market Find' is the Bouchon au Chocolat sold by Cocoa & Fig. These chocolate corks are so tasty - and a great size for those who don't want to be bothered with the guilt of eating a large brownie. This is basically a fudgy brownie baked in a shot glass. I pestered the guy into telling me why these were so great - it's blamed on a super-fancy cocoa that they use. I found a great imported cocoa from holland that makes a huge difference - so i believed him.

I'll have to look for some good recipes to try this out for our next patio soiree. What have you found at your market lately?

ck them out: www.cocoaAndfig.com

Barely Cinco - Mexican Brownies

It's still Cinco de Mayo - barely. There is a 'Seis de Mayo' potluck at work tomorrow - and I have signed up for a dessert. My dessert of choice: Mexican Brownies adapted from the Bon Appetit Cookbook. I doubled the recipe - but am sharing the 'single pan' version.

Mexican Brownies

Brownies

4 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)

* melt chocolate and butter in double boiler until smooth

1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 TBSP cinnamon

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1/4 tsp salt
* Whisk in sugar, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt (will be 'grainy')

3 large eggs

* Whisk in eggs 1 at a time (batter should be smooth by the last egg)

1 tsp vanilla

* Whisk in vanilla

3/4 cup AP flour

* Fold in flour

1 cup (6 oz) chopped tasty chocolate (used spiced Choxie)

* Fold in chocolate

Bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

Brown Sugar Topping

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 TBSP unsalted butter

3/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sliced almonds

*Once brownies are done (and while they are cooling a bit)- Cook topping (sugar, cream and butter) over low heat until boiling. Take off heat and stir in vanilla. Let cool for 10 minutes. Pour over cooled brownies and sprinkle with almonds. Allow to set for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares. Store in the fridge up to 1 day.

*note: next time I will look for a caramel topping. When reading through the ingredients - i made some incorrect assumptions. This is really just a 'BROWN SUGAR' topping. Still kind-of grainy. Not bad - but caramel would be so much better!

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies - a new twist on a classic

Spring cleaning. I thought about it. I somehow rationalized using ingredients in the cabinet for some cookies as a reasonable substitute. Nevermind the fact that in my grocery trip today - many more items were added to the cabinet than what I was able to use. That doesn't count.

Any way you dice it - these cookies are tasty. And - they are very different from any other cookie that i've had. Please note: cardamom is not a taste for everyone. I thought it was - until H. likened the taste to soap coating his mouth. Oh, well. That means more cookies for the work crowd!

Oatmeal Cherry Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1.5 TBSP Brandy (or 1.5 tsp vanilla)

2 cups AP flour

1 tsp baking pwd

1 tsp cardamom (or cinnamon)

1/2 tsp salt (skip if you used salted butter)

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup cherries

1 cup chocolate chunks

* Heat oven to 350

* Cream sugar

and butter

* add eggs, one at a time and Brandy

* In seperate bowl, stir together flour, bkg pwd, cardamom and salt

* Add flour to butter mixture and mix until well c

ombined

* Fold in oats, cherries and chocolate

* Using a small scoop, scoop dough unto parchment lined c

ookie sheets

* Chill prepared cookie sheets until very firm (freeze for 5 minutes or fridge for 10).

* Bake chilled dough balls for 10-12 minutes. Rotate sheet half-way through baking. Pull out of

oven when cookies begin to brown. Slide parchment off of cookie sheets to help stop the baking.

Biscotti: Chocolate, Cherry, Almond, Oh My!

I feel like I make biscotti all the time. So - I would have thought that I had it figured out by now! Not quite the case. I always like to doctor up the recipe with the ingredients I have onhand - and it usually works out quite nicely. Todays lesson: adding jarred cherries is NOT the same as throwing in a handful of dried cherries! Seems so simple - but, well - I have a knack for finding out these things the hard way. Let's start with the basic biscotti recipe (from America's Best Recipe)

Biscotti

10 oz flour * 1 tsp baking pwd * 1/2 tsp salt
Whisk together in a small bowl

7 oz sugar * 1/2 stick of butter (softened but cool) Cream together in the stand mixer until smooth

2 eggs
add one at a time to the sugar/butter mixture

1 tsp vanilla * 1/4 tsp almond extract

stir into liquid mixture

* Fold in dry ingredients

* Fold in any "extras" {I used: 3/4 cup whole toasted almonds, 1 jar of trader joe's morello cherries (drained), and 1/2 small bag of nestle chocolate chunks}

Create 2 narrow 'logs' on a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake: 350 for 30-35 minutes (until starting to crack on top)

Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 325. Slice logs into your cookies and put back on cookie sheet.

Bake cookies until brown and more crisp - about 10 -13 minutes. Flip cookies (or rotate if you put cookies upright) halfway through 2nd baking.

Cool completely before storing in airtight container.

*** My mistake: I folded the wet cherries into the flour before adding to the liquid. These little suckers took up all of my flour. I added more flour - and a little baking pwd - but these still were softer than I was hoping. I think I'll stick with the dry additions - or toss the cherries in their own flour and add at the end.
They still turned out pretty well. These will be mighty tasty at the work breakfast tomorrow!

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Biscotti

Once again, I am looking through the cabinets to see what I can bake tonight. I love bringing biscotti into work as it gives an excuse to eat cookies in the morning. Dried cherries, a small amount of dark chocolate chips, a small amount of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and almonds. I have to admit that I rummaged through a snack mix to get a few more almonds. It's not something that I would recommend, but in this case the almonds were raw and mixed with dried blueberries - so I think they will do the trick. This is my second Monday in a new job, and the second Monday that I have brought cookies in - I think I might be setting a dangerous protocol that will require cookie baking every Sunday night. Sounds fun!

 Biscotti with cherries, chocolate and almonds

adapted from The New Best Recipe

2 cups (10

 oz) flour

1 tsp baki

ng powder

1/4 tsp salt

4 TBSP butter (softened)

1 cup (7 oz) sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

3/4 cup almonds: toasted, cooled and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup chocolate chips

egg white for egg wash

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, then mix in extracts. 

3. Stir in cooled almonds, cherries, and chocolate chips.

4. Fold in flour mixture until just mixed.

5. With floured hands, shape dough into 2 long 'logs' that are 2" wide by 13" long.

6. Smooth sides and brush with egg wash.

7. Bake for 35 minutes, until top begins to brown.

8. Pull logs out of oven. Let cool for 10 minutes. Turn down oven to 325 degrees.

9. Using a serrated life, cut each log into cookies 3/8 inch thick - on the bias.

10. Place cookies back on sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until crisp and golden on each side (about 15 minutes)

Biscotti can be stored in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins 

adapted from Banana Bread recipe of The New Best Recipe of Cook's Illustrated

2 cups (10 oz) all purp flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp bkg soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 very ripe bananas (1.5 cups)

1/4 cup plain yogurt

2 large eggs

6 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 small bag mini chocolate chips