Monday, December 14, 2009

Recipe #11: Orange Almond Biscotti


Biscotti!!! I love making Biscotti because it's so easy and yummy. It's also a fantastic gift, especially for the poor student, like myself. I really like this recipe. They taste great and are relatively less bad for you. So check it out!

My plan in the next week is to bake a whole pile of stuff and gift it as prettily as possible. I'm in full Christmas mode, making presents, tags, decorations, etc. I'll attempt to post them, but probably not until after so I don't spill the beans on any of my presents.

Ingredients

*2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
*1 1/4 cups white sugar
*1 pinch salt
*2 teaspoons baking powder
*1/2 cup sliced almonds
*1 tablespoon orange zest
*3 eggs, beaten
*1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*1 teaspoon almond extract (I quadrupled the amount in the original recipe)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a baking sheet.

2. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, almonds, and orange zest. Make a well in the center and add the eggs, oil, and almond extract. Stir or mix by hand until the mixture forms a ball.

3.Separate dough into 2 pieces and roll each one into a log about 8 inches long. Place logs on prepared baking sheet and flatten so they are about 3/4 inch thick. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Cool slightly, and remove from baking sheets. Slice diagonally into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife. Set cookies on side back onto the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes, turning over after halfway. Finished cookies should be hard and crunchy.

Recipe #10: Vegan Chocolate Almond Cookies


Found these cookies on a favourite baking blog. I thought I would try some vegan baking for a change. However, I forgot how much I dislike molasses. UGH. However, the cookies came out really chewy, which I love in a cookie. I would suggest for those that don't love molasses like me to try out less molasses, more syrup and MORE chocolate. There is definitely not enough chocolate in this recipe for me, but it might be enough for others.

(Shout out to my CBC Calgary mug from the 80's! Heck yes!)

Ingredients

*2 cups all-purpose flour
*2 tsp baking powder
*1 tsp baking soda
*1 tsp sea salt
*1/2 cup granulated sugar
*1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I would up this big time)
*1 tsp ground cinnamon
*2/3 cup maple syrup
*1/2 cup molasses (I would halve this myself)
*1/2 cup vegetable oil
*1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1. Sift together all dry ingredients (minus almonds) into a medium mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients until oil no longer separates. Add to dry ingredients; stir in almonds. Mix by hand until completely combined. I recommend chilling the dough for a less sticky rolling experience, because this dough is STICK-EE!)

2. Form dough into 1-inch balls; place onto cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 for NO MORE THAN ELEVEN MINUTES. (Any longer, and they’ll burn!) Remove from oven. Cool on cookie sheet for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely (if you don't do this, they will stick to the sheet like the dickens). This recipe makes 20 good sized cookies.