Day 8: Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti

Biscotti always struck me as a very sophisticated, grown-up cookie, also one that would be difficult to make at home. Little did I know that these elegant cookies are actually very easy to make (you don't even have to use a stand mixer!). This holiday variation decorated with red cranberries and green pistachios makes a festive cookie that's perfect for dunking in hot chocolate. These cookies also make a great holiday gift because not only do they look impressive, they ship well and keep for a long time. You can dip the cookies in melted dark chocolate or white chocolate for even more wow factor (I got a little lazy towards the end of the day). I will eventually dip them in chocolate because I love the way the chocolate slightly melts in espresso or hot chocolate.

Biscotti doughs all contain the basic flour, sugar, baking powder, flavorings, and eggs but can be divided into 3 categories: dough that uses whole eggs, only egg whites, or whole eggs with additional fat such as butter or extra egg yolk. Cook's Illustrated tested all 3 doughs and had a great summary of their findings. Egg white dough created a toothcrackingly hard cookie - not the best choice. Whole eggs dough made a great cookie that keeps very well. Better yet, the cookies seems to improve with age. Dough made with whole eggs supplemented with butter or additional yolks had the best flavor. However they should be eaten quickly (best the day they are made) because they tend to go stale more quickly due to the butter. For shipping and gifting, I would recommend using the whole egg dough. However, if you plan to eat these regularly like with your morning coffee, go for adding a little extra butter (modified recipe at the end)

Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 C AP flour
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C pistachio halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pistachio halves, and cranberries. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is evenly incorporated.

Divide the dough in half and form two logs that are about 10 to 12 inches long and 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan halfway into the baking time.

After baking, cool the loaves on a rack until they are cool enough to handle.

Then using a serrated knife cut the cookies about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick at an angle. The length of your cookies will depend on the angle at which you cut the cookies.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Place the cut biscottis on a rack placed on a sheet tray and continue to bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies have completely dried. If you don't have a rack for your pan, place the cookies directly on the pan and bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool completely before storing them. Or dip them in some chocolate if you prefer.


Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti (butter dough)

2 C AP flour
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp orange zest
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C pistachio halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest and mix. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pistachio halves, and cranberries. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until the dough comes together and everything is evenly incorporated.

Proceed shaping and baking same as the recipe above.

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies
Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam
Day 3: Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints
Day 4: Butterscotch Cookies with Hazelnuts
Day 5: Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, and Dried Cherries
Day 6: Torta Sbrisolona
Day 7: Alfajores



I will be submitting these to Susan for her Eat Christmas Cookies Event. So head on over for even more Christmas Cookies!

Day 7: Alfajores

Okay let's brush those sbrisolona crumbs off the sides of our mouth and hop on a plane from Italy to Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil or Chile (whichever country you prefer, maybe somewhere warm). The delectable alfajor, a sandwich cookie made with buttery biscuits filled a layer of dulce de leche, is a very popular snack in all of these South American countries. The cookies can be dusted with some powdered sugar or covered with chocolate. I dunno about you but anything with dulce de leche has my full, undivided attention. And yes these are as delicious as they sound.

Dulce de leche is very easy to make at home. You can either start with whole milk and use Pim's recipe or start with a can of sweetened condensed milk. I chose to with go the condensed milk route but I was scared to death of the whole "can may explode" warnings because hey if it can happen, it will probably happen to me. I envisioned a loud bang and hot goo covered can shrapnel flying every which way. So better play it safe. Luckily, I found an explosion-free way to make dulce de leche using a double boiler.

Explosion-Free Stovetop Dulce de Leche
Pour the can of condensed milk in the top part of the double boiler and simmer for a few hours, stirring occasionally until the DDL is the color and thickness you like. At the end of cooking mine was almost solid. Steven turned the pan upside down and marveled that it barely moved at all.

Alfajores

1 - 1 1/4 C AP flour
1/2 C corn starch
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 C sugar
1 stick of butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Dulce de leche
Powdered sugar
Cinnamon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In another bowl whisk together the flour (starting with 1 cup), cornstarch, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

Add the egg and vanilla to the butter and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and beat until the dough comes together. Add some of the remaining 1/4 C of flour if the dough is too wet.

Roll out the dough to about 1/8 in thickness and cut into whatever shape you desire. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the edges are light golden brown.

Cool on a rack and fill with a teaspoon or more of dulce de leche (I chose more).

Dust the tops with some powdered sugar (add a tiny bit of cinnamon if preferred). I skipped the dusting part.

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies
Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam
Day 3: Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints
Day 4: Butterscotch Cookies with Hazelnuts
Day 5: Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, and Dried Cherries
Day 6: Torta Sbrisolona



These are one of my favorites so I will be submitting these to Susan for her Eat Christmas Cookies Event. Head on over to her blog for even more Christmas Cookies!

Day 6: Torta Sbrisolona

Torta sbrisolona, which literally means crumbly cake, is more like a big cookie. It is a speciality of the city of Mantua/Mantova from the Lombardy region of Italy. The cake is a very old and traditional one and popular during Christmas time. In the oldest recipe neither butter nor eggs were used because many people could not afford these rich ingredients. This cookie should not be cut, instead, set it on a platter and have everyone breaks off a piece a two.

The flavor reminds me a little of shortbread but it is more crisp and crumbly and the top is covered with crunchy streusel-like pieces. Some recipes use a combination of cornmeal and flour (I think this is more traditional) and other recipes are flavored with a little lemon zest but I chose to enhance the almonds with almond and vanilla extracts. Next time I will try substituting some of the flour with finely ground cornmeal. The original Martha Stewart recipe yields a very thick cookie so I decreased the recipe for a slightly thinner cookie.

How to blanch almonds

Torta Sbrisolona
Adapted from Martha Stewart Baking Handbook

1 1/2 sticks of butter, cold
1 1/2 C AP flour
1 1/2 C blanched almonds, finely ground
1/2 C sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp of almond extract or 1 - 2 tsp of amaretto

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 10 inch springform pan. I found that buttering the pan was unnecessary since the cookie is quite buttery.
In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, finely ground blanch almonds, and salt or pulse ingredients together in a food processor. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients then about halfway through sprinkle in the extracts and continue to cut until the mixture is fully incorporated and starts to come together, there should be no dried crumbs. Or alternatively you can pulse the butter into the dry ingredients in a food processor. Squeeze the mixture to form pea to 1 inch size clumps of dough.

Gently press about 1/4 of the crumbs into bottom of the springform pan. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture evenly over the top. Bake until the cookie starts to turn pale golden, about 20 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 300 and continue to bake for 20 more minutes until the cookie is dry and crisp. Cool on a rack and release from the springform before serving.

Place on a platter and dust with powdered sugar if preferred.

Makes 1 10 inch cookie

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies
Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam
Day 3: Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints
Day 4: Butterscotch Cookies with Hazelnuts
Day 5: Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever with Chocolate Chunks, Pecans, and Dried Cherries

Day 5: Best Oatmeal Cookies Ever

jump to the new blog and oatmeal cookie recipe

Day 4: Butterscotch Cookies

It's time for another chewy drop cookie and this time it's made with a butterscotch flavored dough using lots of vanilla and brown sugar and then adding butterscotch chips paired with some toasted hazelnuts. The hazelnuts are optional since I know not everyone is nuts (sorry I couldn't resist) about nuts. Anyhoo, back to the cookie. I'm a big fan of big bakery cookies so this recipe should make about 12 - 16 large cookies. Oh and don't forget the glass of milk!

Chewy Butterscotch Cookies with Hazelnuts
Inspired by Cook's Illustrated Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 1/8 C AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C butterscotch morsels
1/2 C hazelnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

Before you start: toast the hazelnuts if using.
Toast the hazelnuts at 350 degrees F until the skin turns dark brown and starting to separate from the nut and the nut underneath is looking light brown, about 10 minutes. Pour the hazelnuts onto a clean kitchen towel and cover them up with the towel to let them steam for 2 - 3 minutes. Come back in a few minutes, and rub the skins off the hazelnuts while still in the towel. Not all of the skin will come off, but you can try rubbing them with your fingers if they don't come off in the towel. Roughly chop for the recipe and go shake out the towel outside so the papery skins don't fly everywhere in the kitchen.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In a bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and yolk with the brown sugar, then add the melted and cooled butter and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the butterscotch chips and chopped hazelnuts if using.

Using a large spoon or ice cream/cookie scoop, scoop 1/4 C of dough and lightly flatten the balls of dough, spacing them about 2 - 3 inches apart.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 15 - 18 minutes but start checking them at 13 minutes. The edges should have hardened and cooked but the center should still be a little underdone.

Makes about 16 cookies.

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies
Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam
Day 3: Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints

Day 3: Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints

On the third day of cookies, my oven baked for me, something more holiday-y. The original inspiration for the cookie came from my new favorite baking book, Dorie Greenspan's Baking. In her "Thumbprints for us big guys" recipe, she paired hazelnuts in the dough with raspberry jam, and like Dorie, that is one of my favorite combinations. However, for a more seasonal twist, I decided to use pecans and pumpkin butter. Pumpkin butter is one of the elusive seasonal Trader Joe's items that everyone madly raves about. So the last time I was there, I picked up a jar of the stuff to see what the big deal was about. It's full of warm spice flavor (almost a little overpowering) but a little lacking in the pumpkin department. Overall it's pretty tasty but way too sweet for me so I like to use it as a baked goods filling. If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, you can use some homemade pumpkin butter (Smitten Kitchen has a recipe) or apple/pear butter or any other jam. You can also play around with what nuts you use, from walnuts to hazelnuts to almonds or even a combination. The dough is actually the same one I use for Mexican wedding cookies/Russian tea cakes, another holiday favorite, but with the exception that I can stick my finger in these and fill their little cookie tummies with jam.

Pumpkin Butter Thumbprints
With inspiration from Dorie Greenspan

1 C + 2 Tbsp whole pecans
1 C AP flour
1 stick of butter
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp of vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Pumpkin butter (or your favorite jam)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.

In a food processor process the nuts until they resemble coarse cornmeal. Do not overprocess otherwise you'll end up with pecan butter. Then add the sugar, salt, and flour to the nuts and pulse a few more times until there are no distinguishable pieces of nuts.

Cream the butter with a hand or stand mixer then add the extract and mix. Add the processed pecans and flour and mix until the dough comes together.

Scoop about 1 1/2 teaspoons balls of dough. I use a 1-tablespoon cookie dough scooper and break up the dough in half for 1 1/2 teaspoons. Roll the dough into a ball and press an indentation in the center of cookie with your finger (my thumb is too big so I used my index finger) or the back of a wooden spoon (this might be a little small so you'll have to make the indentation a little bigger). Space the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 15 - 18 minutes, they will be lightly colored but not too brown.

Wait until the cookies are completely cool then dust them lightly with powdered sugar. Then fill the centers with pumpkin butter or jam. You may need to warm the pumpkin butter or jam so you can fill the cookies. The filling will set as it cools.

As a bonus I have also included a Nut Crescent/Mexican Wedding Cookie/Russian Tea Cake recipe.

Nut Crescent/Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cakes

1 C + 2 Tbsp whole pecans
1 C AP flour
1 stick of butter
3 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp of vanilla
Powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.

In a food processor process the nuts until they resemble coarse cornmeal. Do not overprocess otherwise you'll end up with pecan butter. Then add the sugar, salt, and flour to the nuts and continue to process until there are no distinguishable pieces of nuts.

Cream the butter with a hand or stand mixer then add the extract and mix. Add the processed pecans and flour and mix until the dough comes together.

Scoop about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into balls, crescents, logs, or rings. Bake at 325 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes. The cookies should be pale golden and beginning to brown on the bottoms. Wait until the cookies are completely cool, then roll them in powdered sugar.

Day 1: White Chocolate Cashew Macadamia Butter Cookies
Day 2: Shortbread Bars with Mango Jam