Gingerbread Biscotti
For the second year in a row I participated in the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. After participating last year I couldn't wait for this year. It's a great opportunity to discover new blogs and learn great new cookie recipes. But most importantly the event supports Cookies for Kid's Cancer, an organization that funds therapies that treat pediatric cancer.
As I searched for a recipe, I finally selected one of my go-to recipes, Gingerbread Biscotti
I've been making these cookies for more than 20 years. I can't remember where I found the original recipe although I suspect it was from a magazine. I've always loved browsing through holiday issues and have collected recipes from these magazines over the years.
This recipe uses a lot of fresh minced ginger, ground spices, and dark molasses for flavor. The house smells like the holidays - warm, spicy, delicious.
This is a straight-forward biscotti recipe but the dough itself is incredibly sticky and a little tricky to work with when forming the logs the key is to have well-floured hands and to work with the dough as little as possible. The nice thing is biscotti should look a little rustic.
Normally I serve the biscotti as is but because it's the holidays I also drizzled some white chocolate over half the batch.
Then I packed them up and sent them off.
For my part I received:
Ingredients
1 cup almonds, blanched
¾ cup sugar
¼ lb butter
½ cup dark molasses
¼ cup fresh ginger, minced
3 eggs
3 cups flour
½ tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
½ teaspoon cloves, ground
½ teaspoon allspice, ground
White chocolate for dipping/drizzling, optional
Directions
Place almonds in an 8 to 9 inch square pan. Bake in a 350º F oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool, coarsely chop, and set aside. (Note: I prefer to leave the almonds whole because I like the way they look when the biscotti are sliced.)
In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, and ginger until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a bowl, stir flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and almonds. Add to egg mixture; stir to blend.
On two greased 12” x 15” inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 4 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheets; each loaf should be about ½-inch thick, 2 inches wide and the length of the baking sheet. (Note: I make 2 loaves, about 3 inches wide and the length of the baking sheet instead.)
Bake in a 350º F oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes; switch positions of pans halfway through baking.
Let loaves stand on baking sheets until cool to touch then cut into long, ½-inch thick diagonal slices. On baking sheets, arrange slices close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake until cookies are brown, 15 to 18 minutes longer; switch positions of pans halfway through baking.
Transfer biscotti to racks and let cool completely.
If desired, dip in or drizzle with white chocolate.
Serve, or store airtight up to 1 month; freeze for longer storage.
As I searched for a recipe, I finally selected one of my go-to recipes, Gingerbread Biscotti
I've been making these cookies for more than 20 years. I can't remember where I found the original recipe although I suspect it was from a magazine. I've always loved browsing through holiday issues and have collected recipes from these magazines over the years.
This recipe uses a lot of fresh minced ginger, ground spices, and dark molasses for flavor. The house smells like the holidays - warm, spicy, delicious.
 |
| Just a few of the simple ingredients |
 |
| Lots of minced fresh ginger |
 |
| And toasted, blanched almonds |
This is a straight-forward biscotti recipe but the dough itself is incredibly sticky and a little tricky to work with when forming the logs the key is to have well-floured hands and to work with the dough as little as possible. The nice thing is biscotti should look a little rustic.
 |
| After the first baking, the log is sliced |
 |
| Then the slices are baked again |
Normally I serve the biscotti as is but because it's the holidays I also drizzled some white chocolate over half the batch.
Then I packed them up and sent them off.
For my part I received:
- Coconut Almond Crispies with Chocolate Chunks and Dried Cranberries from Lisa at Garlic + Zest
- Chinese Almond Cookies from Stephanie at CopyKat Recipes
- Kourabiedes (traditional Greek butter cookies) from Natalia at The Greek Glutton
The cookies are delicious and almost all gone. Check out these delicious blogs and watch for the recipes.
And finally, thanks again to Lindsay (Love & Olive Oil) and Julie (The Little Kitchen) for organizing this great event. I'm looking forward to next year!
Gingerbread Biscotti
Ingredients
1 cup almonds, blanched
¾ cup sugar
¼ lb butter
½ cup dark molasses
¼ cup fresh ginger, minced
3 eggs
3 cups flour
½ tablespoons baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
½ teaspoon cloves, ground
½ teaspoon allspice, ground
White chocolate for dipping/drizzling, optional
Directions
Place almonds in an 8 to 9 inch square pan. Bake in a 350º F oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool, coarsely chop, and set aside. (Note: I prefer to leave the almonds whole because I like the way they look when the biscotti are sliced.)
In large bowl of an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, molasses, and ginger until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.
In a bowl, stir flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and almonds. Add to egg mixture; stir to blend.
On two greased 12” x 15” inch baking sheets, use well-floured hands to pat dough into 4 flat loaves, spacing them evenly on sheets; each loaf should be about ½-inch thick, 2 inches wide and the length of the baking sheet. (Note: I make 2 loaves, about 3 inches wide and the length of the baking sheet instead.)
Bake in a 350º F oven until browned at edges and springy to touch, about 25 minutes; switch positions of pans halfway through baking.
Let loaves stand on baking sheets until cool to touch then cut into long, ½-inch thick diagonal slices. On baking sheets, arrange slices close together with a cut side down. Return to oven and bake until cookies are brown, 15 to 18 minutes longer; switch positions of pans halfway through baking.
Transfer biscotti to racks and let cool completely.
If desired, dip in or drizzle with white chocolate.
Serve, or store airtight up to 1 month; freeze for longer storage.
 |
| Happy Holidays! |
Comments