Friday, April 8, 2011

Breakfast Biscotti

Last week, I mentioned that I was baking for the Austin Bakes for Japan bake sale which was held on Saturday. As I wrote about that, I hoped there would be a good turnout, I hoped we’d have a lot to offer at each sale location, and I really hoped the fundraising would be a success. All of those things happened and exceeded our highest hopes. There were beautiful baked goods overflowing the tables at all five locations of the sale, and people kept coming to visit the sales, choose treats to take home with them, and leave behind donations. The positive response and generosity of the community were stunning. Kathryn was our leader of the efforts to organize this event, and all of her hard work resulted in the bake sale going perfectly. The other team leaders who helped with planning as well as overseeing bake sale locations were Carly, Rachelle, Shelley, and Stephanie. As of the end of Saturday, the fund raising total was over $11,400, and because the online giving page is still active, the total is now over $11,700. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this event and for all the wonderful generosity.

So, this being a bake sale, I had a perfect excuse to pull out some recipes and bake several things in a couple of days. Timing was an issue since I couldn’t bake everything at the very last minute, and that’s how I decided on biscotti for one item. They’re cookies that last well, so I baked them two days before the sale. I remembered there were several good biscotti versions in Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies, and that’s where I found this recipe. As with all the recipes in this book, this one included an upgrade option for tweaking the main ingredients. It’s a kind of healthy type of biscotti with whole wheat pastry flour, oats, walnuts, and dried fruit, and the upgrade was the addition of sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and flaxseed meal. There were also additionl tips and an overview of biscotti making. For instance, in the US we have adopted biscotti and made it our own. So while the traditional Italian biscotti or cantucci are very dry and crunchy and usually flavored with anise, our American biscotti are slightly cakey in comparison with lots of additional flavors.

This breakfast biscotti recipe is of the American style, and this was an easy cookie dough to prepare since everything was just whisked and then stirred together. All purpose flour was combined with whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, brown sugar and oats were mixed. Then, milk and butter were heated until the butter melted, and that was added to the oat mixture and left to stand for a few minutes. Eggs and vanilla were added followed by the flour mixture, and then I added toasted chopped walnuts, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, hemp seeds, and flaxseed meal. The dough was transferred to a silpat-lined baking sheet, and using wet hands, I formed it into a long, rectangular shape, not too wide. By using wet hands to shape the dough, it will become shiny as it bakes. I needed the biscotti to fit into the cellophane bags I had already bought, so I made the shape about four inches wide. The first baking was at 325 degrees F for about 35 minutes. The pan was removed from the oven and left to cool, and the oven was turned down to 300 degrees F. Once cool enough to handle, the baked dough was transferred to a cutting board and cut into half inch or so slices. The slices were set on a baking sheet, on their edges, and the second baking was for 25 minutes. I always worry biscotti might not be completely crunchy, so I moved the cookies around on the sheet and gave them five more minutes in the oven just to be sure.

My biscotti anxiety exists because I’ve tried a few recipes in the past that just didn’t work quite right, but there was no need to worry here since this came from Alice Medrich. Her tips such as using wet hands to shape the dough and standing the cookies on their edges for the second baking as well as the timing and ingredients all worked very well. The biscotti were deliciously crunchy and the nuts and seeds added to that effect. Since I packed them all up for the bake sale, I’m going to have to make another batch just to enjoy at home.



26 comments:

  1. The whole wheat flour must give them an interesting crunch, got to try it...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice recap, Lisa! I actually prefer a cakier "american" biscotti (maybe because I dont drink coffee)...these look delicious, am sure they went quickly at the bake sale!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad to hear the bake sale was a success! No wonder with such delicious treats like these :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those are marvelous! A great breakfast item.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  5. I swear, you are like a professional baker lately!
    That cake below is to die for, and these are right up my alley.
    Glad the bake sale was successful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. And now I wish for some coffee!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad to hear that the bake sale was a success. I haven't made biscotti for ages and have most of the ingredients mentioned in my pantry to make some soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, had I known about these biscotti, I would have requested them to go along with my biscuit! I need to break this book back out again. I've been neglecting it and now cookies are calling to me!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a healthy and scrumptious Biscotti! Love the seeds and wholewheat you have used in it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Yay! I'm SO glad the bake sale was a success! I made my first recipe from this cookbook yesterday (white chocolate macadamia nut cookies) and was SUPER pleased with them...so I can't wait to try more! these breakfast biscotti seem jam packed with deliciousness!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The news about the bake sale is really good to hear. I love the recipe you are sharing with us today. I appreciate your use of healthier ingredients. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

    ReplyDelete
  12. Great idea to make a biscotti with all those healthy ingredients, Lisa. It sounds like a super cookbook, too.
    Standing the cookies on their edges for the second baking is an excellent tip.

    ReplyDelete
  13. So glad that your baked sale was a great success! Your biscotti looks so healthy and delicious!! Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Congrats on the success of the bake sale! So great to give back and help the folks in Japan. I just purchased the cookbook and saw this recipe. Now I have to make it for sure. Beautiful photos! Enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  15. These sound delicious, I love the addition of dried cranberries and seeds and nuts. It would taste like heaven dipped in a nice hot cup of Earl Grey :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'd take that over bacon and eggs any day. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. I see you are having really nice breakfast.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I am a big fan of biscotti and I have to confess that I have never made them myself. Not sure why... Yours look perfect!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I would eat this for lunch and dinner too!

    ReplyDelete
  20. These biscotti look fantastic for sure, love all the seeds here!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I've not had breakfast biscotti before but I'd definitely not mind having them, starting now! :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Wonderful cause Lisa & I'm in love with these breakfast biscottis, I love biscotti & these sound so filling, great flavours here.

    ReplyDelete
  23. i'm not usually a fan of biscotti, but these look quite tasty! i like a little diversity in my breakfasts, and this'd make a nice alternative!

    ReplyDelete
  24. The bake sale sounds like it went fabulously! That's a good thing:)

    I've never made my own biscotti. I too prefer them "cakey." I've got the coffee right at my side. Would you mind passing me one? I'd love to do a taste test:)

    Thanks for sharing, Lisa...

    ReplyDelete
  25. This I MUST try. It's unfortunate that hemp seeds are so hard to find here in Australia. Australia is one of the only (?) countries left where they still consider it as animal food only! I can get hemp seed oil but that's about it. Hopefully the laws will soon change!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I just found your blog via Sharon at Gunternation. I love the sound of this biscotto, sounds like it would be a perfect mid-morning treat to have with a cup of coffee. It has oats in it, so it's practically granola, right? :)

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips