Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

Happy holidays!  I've been a bit MIA, as life has kept me pretty busy over the last few months, but now that it's the holiday season I am getting back in the kitchen.  This month's challenge for What's Baking was to make biscotti.  Biscotti is one of those things that I usually enjoy when I have it, but I don't usually seek it out.  However, I was intrigued and excited to take on this challenge.

I turned to my trusted copy of The Craft of Baking and found the perfect recipe - chocolate walnut biscotti.  Sounds good to me!  In general, making biscotti is pretty easy - make the dough, roll it into two logs, cook it, cut it, cook it again and done.  Then I noticed a "tip" at the bottom of the page saying that the dough is very sticky, so you should use ample flour while rolling it out.  Yeah, that turned out to be an understatement.  I thought I used plenty of flour while rolling out the first half of the dough....see the picture below to see how well that turned out!  My second half went over much better.  In the end, you cut the logs into the individual biscotti so no one would guess how awkward the shape was to begin with, but I am still laughing at myself for how it looked!

This was a fun challenge.  And biscotti keeps for weeks in an airtight container so this is something that I could bring as a hostess gift or can serve to guests even if I don't want to prep one more thing in the day or two leading up to the event.  I always a love a good make-ahead recipe!

Be sure to check out Coleen's blog The Redhead Baker to see this month's round-up.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti (slightly adapted from The Craft of Baking)

Ingredients
1 cup walnut pieces, roughly chopped
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp coffee extract (recipe below)
3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a second baking sheet.  Toast them in the oven, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool the sheet on a wire rack.  Keep the oven on.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, baking soda, and salt.  Beat on low speed until well combined and no butter pieces are visible, about 4 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolk, coffee extract, and vanilla.  Add the mixture to the flour mixture and beat on low speed to combine.  Add the cooled nuts and the chocolate chips and beat just to combine.
- Turn out the dough onto a generously floured work surface (***if you think you've put down enough flour, add another generous sprinkle!) and divide in half.  Shape each portion into a 16 x 2inch log, and transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 3 inches apart.
- Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until the logs are firm to the touch (about 20-30 minutes).  Transfer the logs, still on the parchment paper, to a wire rack and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temp to 250 degrees F.
- Transfer the warm logs to a cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1/3-inch-thick slices.  Arrange the slices, cut side up, on the baking sheet.  Bake until the biscotti are dry and firm to the touch, about 1 hour.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the sheet of biscotti cool completely on the rack.
- Biscotti can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 weeks.


Coffee Extract

Ingredients
1/4 cup hot water
2oz jar of instant espresso powder

Directions
- Slowly stir the hot water directly into the jar of espresso powder.
- Cover the jar with the lid (closing the lid tightly) and shake well to combine.
- Use immediately or keep in a dark cupboard at room temperature for up to 6 months.

Holiday Tarts

When my cousin got married back in the early 90s our aunt compiled a booklet of family recipes for her.  At my bridal shower I was handed the booklet which my cousin lovingly passed down to me.  Considering our aunt had since passed away, this was even more special as it made me feel that the gift was from our aunt as well.

As I was deciding what treats to make for my family this year, I flipped through this booklet and came across this recipe for holiday tarts from my grandmother.  Because my grandmother passed away a week after my 11th birthday I don't necessarily remember her making these, but as soon as my mom opened her package she exclaimed "you made my mother's holiday tarts?!" so I knew I made them well.  My grandmother would make them as free-form thumbprint cookies but I made use of my mini muffin tin to make mini tarts.  What I love about her recipe is the "old school"ness of it.  She suggests using a thimble to make the nest.

I love family traditions, especially around the holidays, so it made me very happy to incorporate my grandmother's recipe this year.

Holiday Tarts (slightly adapted from my grandmother's recipe)

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup pastry flour
1 egg, separated
1/2 cup pecans
jelly (I used strawberry, but my grandmother used mint)

Directions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add slightly beaten egg yolk.  Gradually add flour.
- Roll into small balls by hand then dip in lightly beaten egg white.  Roll balls in chopped nuts.
- Press ball into greased mini miffin tin, shaping so the sides are higher than the center, creating a "nest".
- Bake for 20 min at 300 degrees.
- Let cook for 5 min before transferring to a wire cooling rack.
- Allow to fully cool, then fill centers with jelly.

Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels

One week ago today 26 innocent children and women lost their lives on what should have been just a regular school day at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  In the wake of this tragedy, many people are asking what they can do to help the victims.  Today, the blogging community is gathering together to honor the victims and to spread the word about Newtown Youth & Family Services which has been helping families for over 30 years in the Newtown area and is assisting the survivors (parents, students, school staff and others) and the families of the victims with counseling, etc.  To donate to this non-profit organization, please go to http://www.newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org

I had this post for holiday treats ready to go for this morning, which was just going to be an additional holiday treat that I wanted to share, but after I heard about the Cookies and Crafts for Sandy Hook movement, I knew this would be an appropriate post.  While I made these on my own, these can be made with kids.  You can have them help dip the pretzels and sprinkle the peppermint onto them.

I'm sure everyone is holding their loved ones a little tighter this week; I know I am...




Another addition to my holiday gifts was chocolate peppermint pretzels.  I came across this recipe in Runners World Magazine, of all places.  It mentioned the anti-oxidants of the dark chocolate along with the nutrient-rich carbs from the pretzels.  This way, it makes us feel better about eating chocolate covered pretzels, right??  And the best part is, 70% chocolate doesn't have any dairy in it, so as long as the pretzels don't either, these are parve so you can have them after a meat or dairy meal.

The original recipe says to use a microwave-safe bowl and to melt the chocolate in the microwave.  I'm always skeptical about that because you can end up over cooking it and the chocolate isn't as smooth and easy to work with.  My favorite way to melt chocolate is to use a double boiler.  I have this bowl from Pampered Chef and I love it!

A few tips - after melting the chocolate, I put the pretzel in the bowl and used a toothpick to pick it up by the bottom opening, letting the excess chocolate run off before putting it down on the parchment paper.  This worked, though every so often I had to get a new toothpick because the old one broke.  Also, for the peppermint sticks - we used mini candy canes.  Unwrap them, put them in a Ziplock bag, and use a hammer or mallet to crush them.  Not all the way down to a fine powder, but close enough that you can sprinkle the bits and be able to eat them easily.

These were so ridiculously easy to make that I will definitely make them again.  Peppermint for the holidays, maybe nuts for another time of year!

Chocolate Peppermint Pretzels (recipe slightly adapted from Runners World Magazine, December 2012)

Ingredients
1 12-ounce package bittersweet (70%) chocolate baking chips
1 tbsp butter
15-20 whole-grain pretzels
3 peppermint sticks, crushed ***I used about 10 mini-candy canes

Directions
- slowly melt the chocolate and the butter either in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl, stirring often.
- Dip the pretzels into the melted chocolate and place on a parchment-lined tray.
- Let cool slightly, sprinkle with peppermint
- Refrigerate to cool completely.