Day 5, 2014: Dark Chocolate-dipped almond and anis star Biscotti

 These lovely treats were baked by Barb at our Berwick branch. they are from the book Giada at Home: Family recipes from Italy and California.Barb will be sharing her cookies at the Berwick branch today! Stop in before they are all gone.

Biscotti are probably the best-known Italian sweet, and every region has its own specialty.

2          cups all-purpose flour

¾         cup fine yellow cornmeal               

1½       tsp baking powder

1          tsp fine sea salt

1          cup sugar

3          large eggs

3          tbsp crushed anis star (or lemon zest)

¾         cup coarsely chopped whole almonds

2 ½      cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

 *Preheat the oven to 325 ◦F.

 *In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

 *In another large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Mix in the anis or lemon zest and then the flour mixture, beat until blended. (The dough will be sticky.) Stir in the almonds. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

 *Divide the dough evenly into 2 equal mounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. With moist hands, space the dough evenly apart and form into 2 loaves, each about 9 x 3 inches. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes.

 *Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise in to ¾ inch-thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side up on the same baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

 *Pour the chocolate chips into a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water, making sure the bottom of the pan does not touch the water. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth, about 3 minutes.

 *Dip the end of each biscotti in the chocolate. Transfer the dipped biscotti to a wire rack until chocolate has hardened. Store in an airtight container.

Day 1, 2014: Naughty Biscotti

 Naughty Biscotti

These cookies were baked by Sue Mosher from Outreach Services.

A lower calorie alternative that still tastes good and looks pretty on a plate for your guests. Great to dunk in a cup of tea.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder                                        

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 egg white

2 tbsp. butter, softened

1 1/2 tbsp. grated lemon zest

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together both sugars, eggs, egg white, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla on medium speed of electric mixer. Stir in flour mixture using wooden spoon, just until well blended. Dough will be thick. Add cranberries and pistachios and mix well.

Divide dough in half. On prepared cookie sheet, using lightly floured or greased hands, shape each half into an 8 x 3 x 3/4 inch loaf, placing loaves 3 inches apart.

Bake on middle oven rack for 20 minutes. Remove loaves from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275°F. Transfer loaves to a cutting board. Using a very sharp knife, cut each loaf crosswise on a diagonal into 9 slices. (You’ll have some scraps from the end pieces, so go ahead and eat them. Everyone knows that scraps have zero calories.)

Place slices, cut-side down, on same cookie sheet. Return to oven and bake for 8 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake 9 more minutes. Cool completely on wire rack. Biscotti will harden as they cool.

Makes 18 biscotti.

Baker’s Notes: You can make these ahead and store them in a resealable plastic bag in your freezer for up to a month. I use parchment paper instead of cooking spray on my cookie sheets.

From: Eat,Shrink & Be Merry! By Janet & Greta Podleski

Funky Factoid (from Janet & Greta):  Biscotti, twice-baked Italian biscuits (cookies) served in hip coffeehouses, were part of Christopher Columbus’s food supply on his long voyages because of their mold-resistant properties. In fact, biscotti have a shelf life of 1492 years (give or take)!

Day 5: Anise Star Biscotti

Barb Lipp from our Berwick branch baked these crunchy treats. She used the cookbook Giada at Home by Giada De Laurentiis. Barb altered the recipe by using dried star anise instead of lemon. You can try one this afternoon at the Windsor branch!


Recipe:                                                    

2 c. all purpose flour                                          
3/4 c. fine yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. fine sea slt
1 c. sugar
3 large eggs
3 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (Barb used crushed dried Star Anise Fruit)
3/4 c. coarsely chopped whole almonds
2 1/2 c. white chocolate chips (Barb used semi-sweet chocolate)

Preheat oven to 325. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

In another bowl, beat sugar & eggs with an electric mixer until pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Mix in the lemon zest and then the flour mixture and beat until blended. The dough will be sticky. Stir in the almonds. let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Divide dough evenly into 2 equal mounds and place on the prepared baking sheet. With moist hands, space the dough evenly apart and from into 2 loaves, each 9 x 3 inches. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes.

Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 3/4 inch thick diagonal slices. Arrange biscotti cut side up on the same baking sheet. Bake until the cookies are pale golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Pour the chocolate chips into a a heat-proof bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water, until chips are melted and smooth, about 3 minutes.

Dip cookies or drizzle the melted chocolate.

Day 4: Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Marian Fulton, who works at the Windsor Library, baked some festive biscotti.. Look for them this afternoon at the Hantsport Library. Here's the recipe, from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook, along with some notes from Marian.

CRANBERRY-PISTACHIO BISCOTTI
 
Makes about 4 dozen
These red-and-green flecked cookies are particularly festive at Christmas;
Martha likes to bake several batches to give away as gifts.
 
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup boiling water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 large eggs, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped 
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with
parchment paper; set aside.  Place cranberries in a small bowl, and add
boiling water.  Let stand until plump, about 15 minutes.  Drain and set
aside.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl;
set aside.
 
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat
the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2
minutes.  Add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each
addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat in
vanilla.  Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed until combined.
 

Mix in the drained cranberries and the pistachios.
 
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, divide in half.  Shape each
piece into a 16-by-2-inch log, and transfer to prepared baking sheet, about
3 inches apart.  With the palm of your hand, flatten logs slightly.
 

Brush beaten egg over the surface of the dough logs, and sprinkle with
sugar.
 
Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until logs are slightly firm to the
touch, about 25 minutes.  Transfer logs on parchment paper to a wire rack
to cool slightly, about 20 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 300
degrees F.
 
Place logs on a cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the logs
crosswise on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices.  Place the wire rack
on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Arrange slices, cut sides down, on the
rack.  Bake until firm to touch, about 30 minutes.  Remove pan from oven;
let biscotti cool completely on the rack.  Biscotti can be kept in airtight
container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
 
Marian's notes:
I use sanding sugar for sprinkling my Biscotti rather than regular sugar. 

In my opinion Biscotti keeps well almost indefinitely!  I bake several
different kinds of Biscotti early in December for enjoying all month.
Biscotti, if packed in moisture-proof packaging in a sturdy box, travels
very well. I once sent a large box containing about 10 different kinds to a cousin in
Ontario.  It arrived in great shape and was enjoyed for many weeks.  Sure
it gets a little drier and harder over time but when dunked in a cup of tea
or coffee it is still delicious.

Marian Fulton , Windsor Branch