Biscotti

Mmmmmm - Biscotti. There really isn't anything better to eat with your coffee. Not a slice of coffee cake, not a boston cream donut, nothing.

Tara is going to have a number of patients in ICU over the next week so she asked me to make something that she could take in for the ICU staff. I made these biscotti last night and she'll take them in tomorrow. (If you work with Tara go bug the ICU folks for a cookie, but I'm not making any promises).

If you have any confidence in your culinary prowess, give these biscotti a go. Try not to eat them all yourself (even though they last for a couple of weeks).

If you don't like pecans or orange, remove those ingredients and replace it them with something else. You'll need about 4 tbsp of liquid, so don't forget that (I bet Baileys irish cream biscotti would turn out interesting). These are vegetarian, but not vegan; I don't know if you could substitute something in for the eggs, but I'm guessing the protein is important to the cookies.

Orange Pecan Biscotti (adapted from Fine cooking)

14 oz all purpose flour (about 2 3/4 C) 1 1/2 C sugar 2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp salt 1/4 C grated orange zest (about 2 oranges) 1 C pecans 3 large eggs, room temp 5 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp orange juice 2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (or 2 Tbsp orange juice if you don't want to buy a bottle just for the recipe) 1. Cover a cook sheet (non-rimed) with parchment paper. That's not shown, only because I ran out and forgot that I ran out. Believe you me, it's much easier with the parchment paper underneath but if you don't have any, just grease the cookie sheet. 2. Set the oven to 350F. 3. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Take about 1/4 C of this mixture and mix it in with the zest (so it doesn't clump). Stir the zest and pecans into the flour mixture. 4. Whisk together the eggs, olive oil, orange juice and Grand Marnier well. 5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the liquid mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until blended. I sometimes use my fingers, but it does get sticky. 6. Split the dough into the three. Roll one third into a log (on a floured table) so it's a 12-16 inches long. Transfer to the cookie sheet and flatten the log to about 3/4 inch thick. Repeat with the other two thirds, making three logs altogether. 7. Bake the logs at 350 for 22->25 minutes. You don't want to brown the logs, just cook them. Rotate the sheet half way through. 8. Remove from oven when the top of the log is still a bit soft. Let them cool (to the point where you can handle them). 9. Slice the logs into thin strips. I like to go diagonally, but you don't have to. 10. Lay the slices back on the cookie sheet on their side (you may need more than one cookie sheet). 11. Bake for 8 minutes, turn the cookies over and bake for another 10-14 minutes. They should be a little soft when they are removed (as they will harden up as the cool). 12. Remove from oven and let cool. Eat with your favorite hot drink.

IngredientsMixed Dough Three uncooked logs Three cooked logs Sliced logs Ready for the oven (they don't look much different after baking)