60th Post!

Yes, 60th post! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown by! I barely made any mention of my 50th post, but man- 60? I'm kind of proud of myself for really having stuck to this. :) To celebrate- I dropped by Border's again today, and bought 2 new cooking books (yes-COOK-books!) for only 8 dollars! I love Borders' sales. :) I'm so excited to try out some of these new recipes, but take a look at the loot I got!

- The Oprah Magazine Cookbook and

- Great Tastes Indian

Also, in less than an hour, my favorite show is having it's finale! The Next Food Network Star will be selected tonight, and if any of you watch it I'm rooting for Aarti all the way- we definitely need an Indian cooking show on the network!

Yesterday, I mentioned my recent fascination with biscotti and how I made another batch of them the day after my first. Don't worry though- I made sure the first ones were all eaten before starting in on another variety. So without further ado, here is a delicious recipe for Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti. :)

Chocolate Chunk Pistachio Biscotti

(adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

1. GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add the whole wheat flour and whisk again to blend.
3. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. You'll have a soft, stick-to-your-fingers dough that will ball up around the paddle or beaters. Scrape down the paddle and bowl, toss in the chocolate and pistachios and mix just to blend.
4. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet. Using your fingers and a rubber spatula or scraper, work the dough into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1¿2 inches wide. The log will be more rectangular than domed, and bumpy, rough and uneven. Form a second log with the remaining dough on the other side of the baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool the logs on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
6. If you turned off the oven, bring it back up to 350 degrees F.
7. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board and, with a long serrated knife, trim the ends and cut the logs into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet — this time standing them up like a marching band — and slide the sheet back into the oven.
8. Bake the biscotti for another 15 minutes, or until they are golden and firm. Transfer them to racks and cool to room temperature. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee!

Happy Baking!

Jessica

Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

Today I went going to see my first baseball game ever! To help celebrate this fun event I wanted to make some cookies to to snack on during the game. Since I hadn't yet ventured into the land of double-baking cookies, aka biscotti, I decided it was time to try them.

And man am I glad I did! They were so much easier than I thought, and under Dorie's careful explanation and perfect timing, I didn't even work up a sweat making these! They're the perfect size to nibble on (so you can have a couple, or a couple dozen...) and everyone thought they were a big hit. :)

So much so, that when I got back from the game (Giants won against the Padres 3:2!!) I whipped up some more in a different flavor! But, more about those tomorrow. For now, here's the recipe for some crunchy and richly chocolatey-flavored biscotti.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

(slightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (I used slightly less)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 heaping tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped sliced almonds
• 4 oz bittersweet (60% cocoa) chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, coffee powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes until light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla; beat for another 2 minutes. Decrease the speed to low and mix in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the chopped nuts and chocolate.
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead a few times just to incorporate any dry ingredients that didn't get mixed in before. Divide into two portions; on the baking sheet, shape each portion into a 12 x 2 inch log. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Remove the sheet from the oven and let it cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Then, with a very sharp knife, slice the logs into about 3/4 - 1 inch slices and lay the slices down on the baking sheet. Return to the oven for about 15 minutes.
6. Transfer biscotti to a rack to cool. Enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Jessica

Oatmeal Chocolate Apricot Cookies and a a mini-revelation

Sometimes you need a fruit.

It's not really what I would call a craving, because those can get kind of intense (hello, chocolate and peanut butter!), but it's one of those things that you KNOW will make your whole evening just fall into place perfectly. I was driving home after cashing my paycheck (cha-ching! $$$) and I couldn't get these cute little dried apricots out of my head. I wanted one. But I really wanted to share my mini-craving somehow, so here you go. My take on Martha's Dried Apricot and White Chocolate Cookies.

On another note, I really have not been satisfying my Indian food quotient this year. Thinking about it now, I believe I haven't had a taste of the stuff ALL YEAR. I know! Horrible, right? Especially since I have such a love affair with curry. But today I finally got myself to an Indian restaurant and had some incredible naan and Aloo Gobi and lentil soup. It was just spicy enough that it left my mouth wanting more, but the complex combination of tomato and sauteed onion and turmeric, with the cauliflower and potatoes in the Aloo Gobi was heaven on my tongue. So... now I know what savory dish I'm trying to make next. ;-)

Back to the really good stuff, these cookies. Which are smelling up my kitchen. Right before dinner....Must...resist....sugary....smell.... Well. I tried. :)

(Who could resist?)

Oatmeal Chocolate Dried Apricot Cookies

(adapted from my friend Martha)
Yield 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
• 6 tbls old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 ounces (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 4 tbsp packed light-brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 large egg
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 ounces dried apricots chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oatmeal, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate and apricots. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

2. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.

Happy Baking!

Jessica