cookies, herbs, Indian, snacks, sweets and desserts
by madeline2020

Biscottis forever!

OK, so it’s Christmas time, and that means cookies, right? I was invited to a Christmas Cookie share Party and we all had to make 8 dozen cookies. Idea being, you go, give away one dozen to each person there, and you take home 1 dozen from the 8 people… OKAY, so taking home eight dozen cookies… not sure that’s a good thing, but we’ll see. Oh, and don’t forget, one of the guests is Beth, which means she’s taking home eight dozen as well… eeek. sixteen dozen cookies in the house. We won’t need to bake for a good long time. BUT, I’m still fine-tuning my biscotti recipes, and this time I think I have the perfect base dough, to which I can add innumerable variations. So I thought I’d share with all of you!

Basic biscotti dough

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 3 large eggs

Doesn’t seem like much, does it? But in fact, this is the basics to get crunchy, slightly sweet biscotti. At least two dozen, or even more depending on how you slice them.

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In medium bowl of electric mixer, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and any other dry ingredients (see variations below)
  • Once complete combined, add 3 eggs, and beat until a stiff dough forms. Depending on the additions, it may be a bit wetter. You can always add a bit more flour to get the consistency you want. Example: I added 1/3 cup of hot coffee, and ended up needing 1 1/4 cups of extra flour to get the dough to not be too sticky to work with.
  • Divide dough in half (I usually weight to get exact halves) and form each half into a 12 – 13 inch log. Transfer to parchment covered baking sheets and press into 13 – 15″ logs approx 3″ wide.
  • Bake until firm and pale golden brown (usually 30 – 35 minutes)
  • Let cool completely on racks.
  • Using a serrated knife, cut logs into slices. I cut each log in half, then each half in half, then each quarter into three slices. But as long as they’re no more than 1/2″ wide they should crisp up nicely.
  • Arrange slices, cut side up, on parchment lined baking sheets and bake again for approx 30 minutes at 300 degrees. They should be slightly browned at the edges, and dry to the touch.
  • Store in airtight container for up to a month, or longer if they stay crisp.

Alternative flavors

Since the above is VERY plain, you’ll definitely want to add some flavorings, nuts, fruit, etc. These should be added to the dry ingredients before adding the eggs.

Cranberry and Candied Ginger

  • 1/2 cup chopped candied ginger
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 TB strawberry extract

Coffee Orange Walnut

  • 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts (toast on a cookie sheet at 350 for approx 10 minutes, stirring half way through)
  • 1 1/2 TB orange bitters
  • zest from 2 oranges
  • 1/4 cup espresso powder (or 1/3 cup hot espresso, but you’ll need to add more flour)

Tollhouse

  • 1 10 oz bag mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 TB Vanilla extract

Chocolate Peppermint

  • 1 cup crushed peppermint candies
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 TB Vanilla extract

Strawberry Lemonade

  • zest from 2 lemons
  • 1/3 cup strawberry fruit spread (may require adding more flour)
  • 1/2 Tb lemon extract
  • 1/2 Tb Strawberry extract
  • 4 – 5 drops red food coloring

Chai Spice with Almonds

  • 1/2 TB cinnamon
  • 1/2 TB cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1 1/2 TB Maple Bitters
  • 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
  • Note if you do not have the spices, you can also make a strong cup of chai tea and add 1/3 cup to the mix, probably with additional flour as noted.

Lemon and Rosemary

  • zest from 2 lemons
  • 2 TB lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com

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