Chocolate Chip and Coffee Biscotti

Chocolate Chip and Coffee Biscotti

If you have any coffee lovers in your circle, this chocolate chip and coffee biscotti is a great go-to cookie for just about any activity.  Whether sitting on the patio or by the fireside with a good book and a hot drink, you will enjoy this crunchy, semi-sweet biscotti.

Recipe adapted from the Dirty Gourmet.

Servings:  Makes about 20 -24 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2- 3/4 cup King Arthur’s all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsps. baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsps. finely ground dark roast coffee
  • 1 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 2 tbsps. unsalted butter 
  • 2 tsps. vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs
Dark Roast Coffee Grounds
Chocolate Chips
Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or a silicon mat, or coat with baking spray.
  2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ground coffee, and chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.
  3. In a separate large bowl, combine oil, vanilla, and eggs.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until well blended.  The dough will be quite dry.  With your hands, knead the dough just until it comes together.   
  5. Divide the dough in half and shape each portion into a log, about 8 inches long, flattening the log to about 1 inch thick.  Place the logs several inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  Remove the logs from the baking sheet and cool for about 5 minutes.  Brush the logs lightly with water and let them cool for another 5 minutes.
  7. On a cutting board, with a serrated knife, cut the biscotti into 3/4-inch slices.  Arrange the slices, cut-side down on the baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes.  Turn the slices over, and bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool. The biscotti will be slightly soft until they cool completely.
Chef Yvonne Dwyer

Recipe compliments of OPL Master Naturalist and Home Chef Yvonne Dwyer

OPL Plant-rich Recipes

Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and the planet.  Find more delicious OPL-recommended plant-rich recipes here.

Aromatic Ginger and Spice Hermit Cookies

Aromatic Ginger and Spice Hermit Cookies

These hermit cookies smell like a sweet childhood memory. While baking, the cookies infuse your home with spicy ginger aromas. Wrap a few in parchment paper along with the recipe on an index card and tie it closed with a twine bow and give them as a gift. Hermit cookies are perfect to take along on winter hikes with a thermos of hot chocolate to keep warm and nourished while out on the trail.

Original recipe from Cooks Illustrated Holiday Baking Magazine 2012

Servings: Makes about 18 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raisins
  • 2 tbsps finely chopped crystallized ginger
  • 8 tbsps unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 2 cups King Arthur’s all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar *see note
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 large eggs

Glaze

Ingredients:

 

  • 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 1-1/2 tbsps orange juice
Raisins
Orange Peel
Instructions:
  1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Process raisins and ginger in a food processor until the mixture sticks together and only small pieces remain, about 10 seconds.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
  3. Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nutty brown in color, about 10 minutes.  Stir in cinnamon and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds.  Stir butter mixture into raisin mixture until well combined; let cool to room temperature.
  4. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Stir in brown sugar, molasses, and eggs into a cooled butter-raisin mixture until incorporated.  Fold in flour mixture (dough will be very sticky) and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 1-1/2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  5. Divide dough into quarters.  Transfer 1 piece of dough to a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 10-inch log.  Transfer to a prepared baking sheet and use a ruler to neatly square off sides.  (Each sheet will contain 2 logs.) Repeat with the remaining dough.
  6. Bake until only shallow indentation remains on edges when touched (center will appear slightly soft), 15 -20 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking.  Let cook on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer parchment to wire racks and let cool completely.
  7. Drizzle the baked hermits with glaze.

Glaze:

  1. Whisk orange juice and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl until smooth.  Drizzle glaze onto cooled logs and let sit until glaze hardens about 15 minutes.  Cut logs into 2-inch bars.  Serve.  (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.)

* Note: If you find yourself short of dark brown sugar, simply take one cup of white sugar and add 1-2 tablespoons of molasses.  For flavor preference, less molasses added will produce a lighter flavor whereas more molasses added will have a stronger taste.  Whisk together till all the white sugar is completely covered with molasses.  If you have dark brown sugar left over, put it in a container with a tight-fitting lid to help keep it soft.

Chef Yvonne Dwyer

Recipe compliments of OPL Master Naturalist and Home Chef Yvonne Dwyer

OPL Plant-rich Recipes

Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and the planet.  Find more delicious OPL-recommended plant-rich recipes here.

Cranberry Conserve Holiday Recipe

Cranberry Conserve Holiday Recipe

Cranberry sauce has been a holiday tradition in our home for many years. This Cranberry Conserve version that contains raisins and nuts is similar to a jam or fruit spread. There are so many flavors in this recipe to warm the palate. It is a wonderful accompaniment to any poultry or plant-based holiday meal.

Servings: Makes approximately 4-5 half-pints

Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup seeded and chopped orange (about 1 medium)
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 quart stemmed cranberries
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 3 whole cloves
  • One 1/2-inch cinnamon stick
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (feel free to experiment with different varieties)
  • 4 – 5 Half pint-size jars sanitized and warm
    French Sorrel
    Instructions:
    1. Sanitize jars and keep warm while preparing cranberry sauce.
    2. Wash and drain cranberries.
    3. Combine orange and water in a large saucepot.  Cook rapidly until peel is tender, about 20 minutes.
    4. Add cranberries, raisins, cinnamon stick, cloves, and sugar.  Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook rapidly almost to jellying point, about 8 minutes.  As the mixture thickens, frequently stir to prevent sticking. 
    5. Add nuts the last 5 minutes of cooking.
    6. Pour hot into hot sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Adjust caps.  Process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath, remove and let cool.  Cranberry sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 months or placed in the freezer for one year without processing.
    Chef Yvonne Dwyer

    Recipe compliments of OPL Naturalist and Home Chef Yvonne Dwyer

    OPL Plant-rich Recipes

    Eating more fruits and vegetables is good for you and the planet.  Find more delicious OPL-recommended plant-rich recipes here.

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