Tuesday, December 1, 2009

December Challenge: Biscotti!

I figure this month everyone will be over pies (apple, pumpkin, sweet potato, pecan…) from Thanksgiving and be super-busy making all those yummy Christmas and Holiday cookies. So, with this in mind, I tried to think of something not too heavy, could freeze well and might be nice to have on hand for Holiday vistors (oh, AND something I’ve never made before-trying to stick with the rules, :) ).

There are a ton of recipes out there so I figured everyone would want to pick their preference. Here’s the recipe I’m going to give a go; it combines my love of Chai tea and cookies all in one:

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon loose Chai spice tea or orange spice tea (about 3 tea bags)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur) or orange juice
  • 3 large eggs
  • Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through allspice) in a large bowl. Combine the oil, liqueur, and eggs, and add to the flour mixture, stirring until well-blended (the dough will be dry and crumbly). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead lightly 7 or 8 times. Divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove the rolls from baking sheet; cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch) slices. Place the slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°; bake 10 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 10 minutes (the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire rack.

13 comments:

Rena said...

Great choice Colleen! I've never made Biscotti so I'm very excited. I love chai so I think I'll use the recipe you posted.

Veronica said...

Ooh, I've never made biscotti!

Tori said...

Yum--I've never made biscotti, either, and I'm looking forward to this.

Veronica, you'll likely be seeing mine at Christmas. If you're going to bring some then, too, let's coordinate so we make different kinds.

♥Sugar♥Plum♥Fairy♥ said...

Great Colleen,me to never baked biscotti but love the idea!!!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

You know Biscotti was one of the first things I ever cooked that looked exactly like the picture in the cookbook. I've seen quite a few savory biscotti recipes this year. I just may have to give biscotti a try for the holidays. You've got a great idea here.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen to visit. I like your blog very much.
Sam

Gina said...

Oohh...I've never made biscotti either!....Living in Italy they're so easy to find. Will have to look for a great recipe!

Anonymous said...

I think even i could make these, thank you!

Secretia

mokismom said...

I' never made biscotti, either, so this should be fun!

Tina said...

Another biscotti virgin - thanks for a great challenge!

And the idea of having them on hand for holiday visitors is FAB! I would have defaulted to cookies, so this is MUCH better!

Simply Life said...

Oh this sounds like a great recipe!

Chats the Comfy Cook said...

I have never made biscotti either. We are a bunch of wimps. Isn't that great? A new adventure for most of us.

Can we make variations on the theme. Yesterday, before I checked this out I printed up a biscotti with cherries and chocolate. I am not particularly interested in that one but it made me realize, there might be an addition we could use in the chai biscotti to make variety. We will then come along with a group of biscotti recipes.

I love the idea of using tea and if it is the orange, maybe adding a little orange rind to it or a subtle tasting nut.

I am excited about making something new. Biscotti, here I come.

Rena said...

Sure. You can make any variety of biscotti that you like.

Moody Food Reviews said...

I love Biscotti! I've never tried to make it before. I'll have to try it.