Almond biscotti

Here's a recipe that I've made a few times already this year and didn't write it up until now. Good for snacking, potlucks, gift giving, etc. Not that healthy but better than what you can buy at the store.

The Foodening Blog - almond biscotti ready for eating

Ingredients

4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 c raw almonds (or unsalted roasted almonds)
4 eggs
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c. organic cane sugar
1 c. unrefined coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp almond extract

Directions

1. Reserve 1/2 c flour. Sift dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, salt).

2. Whisk eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, sugar together

3. In skillet, toast raw almonds until the almonds have changed color (darker brown) but not so long that the almonds burn. Skip this step if using pre-roasted almonds.

4. Coarsely chop almonds and combine with 1/2 c. flour. Stir to combine.

5. On a normal day, the coconut oil will be solid. Heat the coconut oil in a small pan over low-medium heat until melted. Let cool to room temperature before adding to the dough.

6. Mix everything together.

Shaping and baking. The dough will spread somewhat during its first bake session, leave at least two inches between bars of dough. This is ok. After the first bake, simply use a sharp edged knife or pastry knife to separate the logs.

The Foodening Blog - biscotti dough after the first bake

Bake at 340 F for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven. Slice loaves diagonally into 3/4" to 1" pieces. Then place cut side up onto the baking tray.

Bake at 330 F for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.

A note on the coconut oil: Using unrefined coconut oil passes a coconut flavor to the cookies.

Polvorones de Naranja (Orange "Dusts" Cookies)

These cookies aren't quite the same as Mexican wedding cookies and are somewhat more dense in texture. I adapted this recipe from the "Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook", and I must say, 25 minutes is far too long of a cooking time at 400 degrees F for any cookie, which is what the cookbook recommended. Made this for a Halloween/Dia de los Muertos potluck. It's not terribly scary nor is it made to look scary.

Orange Tea Cookies

Ingredients

3 c. all purpose flour

1 c. unsalted butter, chilled and cut into chunks

1/2 c. organic granulated sugar

1/2 c. powdered sugar + more for sprinkling

1/4 c. fresh orange juice

2 large egg yolks

zest from 2 large oranges

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg yolks, orange juice, sugar, and zest. On low setting, add flour and unsalted butter. Mix until well combined and there aren't visible chunks of butter.

2. On a lightly floured surface (I used a bit of powdered sugar instead of flour), roll out dough to 3/4" thickness and cut out into 1 1/2" to 2 1/2" rounds.

3. Place cookie rounds on a greased baking sheet, parchment paper, or a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake for 7 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden brown.

4. Let cook on a rack before dusting with powdered sugar.

Tea cookies

This is one of those recipes that is so easy to do that I haven't written it down until now; and I'm doing so because I'm always hunting around the kitchen for the recipe only to realize that I haven't written it down; so here it is. The recipe is adapted from the Joy of Baking's "Mexican Wedding Cakes" and has many names: Russian Tea Cakes, Mexican Wedding Cake, an Italian Butter Nut, a Southern Pecan Butterball, a Snowdrop, a Viennese Sugar Ball, and a Snowball. But, none of those names mean anything here since I don't use nuts in desserts. The adaptation is that I use crushed granola in lieu of the nuts.

This is a crowd favorite and always popular among my co-workers. For simplicity, I just call them tea cookies because they are sweetened just enough to be eaten with unsweetened hot tea.

Ingredients:

1 c. crushed granola bars (I use the oat & honey variety of the Nature Valley granola bars)
1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1 c. + 1/4 c. powdered sugar, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 tsp salt
Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter, 1/4 c. powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add sifted flour, salt, and crushed granola. Mix until well combined.


2. Refrigerate the cookie dough until it is firm, about 30 minutes to an hour.


3. Scoop out dough with a teaspoon and form into rounded 1-inch balls.


4. Slightly flatten these onto a parchment paper-lined baking tray. These cookies will expand a little bit, so you can probably fit 12 cookies to a tray.


5. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly toasted on the bottom. If you can press them lightly with a finger and not leave a noticeable impression, these are done.


6. Transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.


7. Dust the cooled cookies with the remaining 1 c. powdered sugar. I use a soup strainer for this step to evenly coat the cookies with the sugar.