Chocolate Walnut Biscotti

This is another baked good I'd never tried before, so I didn't know what to expect. I'm here to tell you biscotti are super easy to make. If you're a coffee drinker you should think of making them a regular part of your repertoire. First of all, this is another recipe that doesn't require butter. The cookies are very crunchy and hold up well to dunking. They'll also stay good for 2 weeks or more without a problem, which is good because the recipe makes a lot. They're extra good dipped in more chocolate. The raw dough is also very tasty. It addition to the nuts, there are chocolate chips and cocoa powder in the dough. Jeremy liked it so much he requested I create an ice cream cake based around it.

I did an egg wash on these, but I don't think it's necessary. It just gives them a pretty gloss around the edges. Nerdy fact: the word biscotti comes from a Latin word meaning "twice-baked". The basic technique is to make a long loaf, bake, slice on a diagonal, and bake again. The only tricky part about these is you'll want to check them often toward the end of the second baking time because the dough is dark, it's hard to tell when they're browning around the edge. I came close to burning quite a few. Luckily even the semi-burnt ones tasted good.

Chocolate Walnut Biscotti
Yields 45 or more biscotti, depending on how thick you slice them
Cooking Time: Approx. 90 minutes (30 active)
Barely adapted from this recipe by David Lebovitz 

Ingredients

2 cups (280g) flour
3/4 cups (75g) top-quality cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (200g) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup (125g) walnuts (or almonds or pecans), toasted and very coarsely-chopped
3/4 cups (120g) chocolate chips

For the glaze (optional)

1 large egg
2 tablespoons coarse or crystal sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line two cookie sheets with baking mats or parchment.

2. In one bowl, sift together the first four dry ingredients.

3. In another bowl, beat together the next four ingredients (sugar plus wet ingredients).

4. Gradually stir the dry into the wet. Then mix in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

5. Flour your hands and you work surface. Divide the dough in two.

6. Form two flattened logs the length of your baking sheet and approximately 4 inches across.

7. Beat the egg for the glaze and brush the tops of the logs. You'll have egg left over. Sprinkle the coarse sugar over the top of the wash.

8. Bake the logs for 25 minutes until the tops feel firm to the touch. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes.

9. Slice the logs on a diagonal and place biscotti on sheets cut side down.

10. Bake 15 to 25 minutes until the cookies feel mostly firm. (My biscotti were blackening around the edge before 25 minutes, so keep an eye on them.)

11. Cool completely and store.

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Topping

Saturday was my birthday and instead of a regular old yellow cake my mother-in-law made me one of my favorites: this super moist oatmeal cake with coconut and pecan topping. And because it has oats in it you can justify having it with a cup of coffee for breakfast the next day (if it makes it that long). 

The cake itself is mildly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, studded with nuts, and is very crumbly and moist. Once the cake is baked, you mix up the coconut and some more nuts with a substantial amount of butter and spread it over the cake while its still hot. The cake is then broiled for an additional few minutes to give it a crispy, toasty, nutty coating. I adore the mild/flavorful and moist/crispy contrast that goes on between the cake and topping. I have never had anything similar to this cake and apparently it's an old-fashioned recipe her mom used to make.

As an added bonus the whole thing comes together in about an hour including the baking time and you probably have most or all of the ingredients in your pantry. Make it now! It's great any time of day.

Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Topping 

Cake Ingredients 

1 ½ cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 ⅓ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup chopped nuts (I like pecans!)

Topping Ingredients
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1 ½ cups shredded coconut
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts (I like pecans!)
3 tbsp. cream or milk

Directions 

1. Pour the boiling water over the oats and let stand for 20 minutes. 

2. Cream the stick of butter with both sugars, then add 2 eggs.

3. Stir in dry ingredients and oatmeal alternately.

4. Stir in nuts and spread in a greased 9” by 13” pan. Bake 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

5. Beat together topping ingredients and pour over hot cake and broil for a few minutes until coconut is browned.