Biscotti

Winter has officially put its spell on our home. The Christmas tree is up, the treats are on the table, and the radio is on most of the day. We indulge the season spirit, whether that means gathering near the Christmas tree for coffee or curling up with a good book and a big mug of tea. This week I've baked cookies (unpublished, there was as much shape in them as in Flubber), almond-apple pie, boterkoek, and biscotti. It's coziness galore, and that's exactly what winter is supposed to be - or at least December, the month before we all start worrying about what we've done to our waistline and start sprinting towards the gym. But let that be a later concern.

These biscotti are a great treat to go with coffee or - better - with espresso. The full flavor of coffee and dark chocolate go well together. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, because espresso and biscotti are two very Italian things.

Biscotti are crunchy and airy, a bit like rusks, but they are cinnamon flavored and sweetened with chunks of dried prunes and apricots. They take about two hours to make but they are worth the effort. You'll find the recipe below. Bon appetit.

Ingredients:

• 75 grams dried apricots
• 75 grams dried prunes
• 200 grams dark chocolate
• 280 grams flour + extra to dust
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 60 grams soft butter
• 175 grams sugar
• 8 grams of powdered vanilla
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1.  Cut apricots and prunes in small bits. Chop 100 grams chocolate coarse. Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in eggs one by one. Add flour mixture and stir. Add apricots, prunes, and chopped chocolate. Knead into a sticky dough.
2. Pre-heat oven to 200°C or 390°F. Divide dough in two portions. On a parchment lined baking sheet (and with floured hands), shape dough into two sheets of 25 cm or 10 inch long and 8 cm or 3 inch wide. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and let cool for about 20 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 175°C or 350°F. Cut sheets into biscotti of about 2cm or 0.75 inch thick. Bake for another 20 minutes. Turn the biscotti over after 10 minutes.
4. Break 100 grams chocolate in chunks and melt au bain-marie. Use chocolate to decorate the biscotti.

Cinnamon Cookies

Week 5 of the Fall Baking Challenge.

Bam! Cookies.

They were supposed to be ginger cookies but I'm not a big fan of ginger, so I made them cinnamon cookies. Not the best decision I've made so far, really. After trying one I must admit ginger would have been the better choice. But hey, the cinnamon doesn't clash with the rest of the ingredients. The cookies are still a tasty treat. They're simple and modest, sweet and crunchy. I made mine about 4cm x 4cm (about 1.5 x 1.5 inch), so they're actually bite size and perfect to eat with a cup of coffee or tea. They're also very easy to make and quickly done! The drawing of the bows might take some practice (which I didn't get, clearly) but it's still good fun. ​

The recipe:

Ingredients:

• 175 grams of wheat flour + extra to dust
• 80 grams light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. powdered ginger or powdered cinnamon
• 0.5 tsp. baking powder
• 70 grams cold butter in small cubes (I used 100 grams because the dough remained too floury with 70g)
• 1 egg yoke
• 2 tbsp. honey
• pinch of salt
• red and white cake decoration / food coloring pens, like these.
• rolling pin
• baking parchment
• cookie cutters

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, ginger/cinnamon, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Use your fingertips to mix in the butter so you get a crumbly dough. Mix in the egg yoke and the honey. Knead until you get a cohesive dough. Wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate 30 min.
2. Preheat oven to 180°C or 356°F. Dust working surface. Flatten dough into a sheet of 0.5 cm or 0.25 inch thick. Cut out cookies and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake cookies 8 - 15 minutes, or until golden-brown and done. Let cool 1 hr (they have to cool to become crunchy). Decorate cookies with coloring pens.

Et voilà, your cookies are done.