Holiday Biscotti

I've been making biscotti for Christmas gatherings and gifts every year since I found out Biscotti existed, sometime in graduate school I think.  After collecting and trying dozens of biscotti recipes over the decades, I keep coming back to one basic recipe (no butter, some vegetable oil, light on sugar) and then mix in whatever combination of extracts, spices, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, etc, that strikes my fancy. 

This year I made 4 batches: anise with chocolate coating, dried cranberry and almond with white and dark chocolate coating, tiny chocolate chips and almond with dark chocolate coating, and a cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves (1/4 tsp each) and candied ginger version.  This picture shows a box of 28 that will be for my in-laws. 

basic biscotti recipe by Jandee on allrecipes.com  It is simple and works every time.  Dust your hands with flour when shaping the dough and it will magically turn into 2 rolls and then just pat them to size on parchment paper.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 25 Minutes Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 42

"This is a simple, no frills biscotti. My friend at work gave this recipe to me. It's quick, easy and one of my favorite Italian cookie recipes."

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 cup white sugar 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 eggs 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tablespoon anise extract, or 3 drops anise oil

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2.	In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and anise flavoring until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.
3.	Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

Garden's Last Day: Dec 17, 2011

It was cold, really cold, but it couldn't be put off any longer.  The last of the 2011 harvest consisted of 21 leeks, 3 big turnips, 4 small kohlrabi, and about 3-4 servings of broccoli. Also, enough turnip greens from the late planting, and a little kale that will be nice in a soup or dal. We still have some parsnips, potatoes, small beets and turnips that are really good roasted all together.  I roasted some last week with a berbere spice mixture (Ethiopean) I made a while ago and promptly forgot what was in it. It is like a sweet curry.  Mixing the roasted root vegetables with cooked red quinoa was a simple, but delicious dinner, with leftovers for lunch.