Grandma’s Biscotti

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Grandma’s Biscotti | Bakewell Junction

I’m a big fan of family recipes, they’re great to share from generation to generation.  This one isn’t from my family though.  Michelle from Brown Eyed Baker shared her Grandmother’s recipe much earlier this year and I knew it would be a great recipe for holiday baking which just around the corner.  I also followed some tips I’d seen here.  I hope you enjoy this recipe with your family too.

I couldn’t easily find the butternut flavor but I found LorAnn Professional Kitchen Butter Vanilla Bakery Emulsion at my local Walmart and figured it would work well and it did.  The emulsion is used one for one to the extract so there’s no amount adjustment.  If you find the LorAnn Oils, use only 1/8 to 1/4 of the required extract amount as the oils are much stronger.

Although this is the first time I made these cookies, I got a few impressions.  When I was mixing the dough, it reminded me of my Grandmother’s pizzelle dough.  While I was eating a few, I was reminded of Stella D’Oro Breakfast Treats and Roman Egg Biscuits.  The cookie just felt familiar.

As the cookies were cooling, my husband swiped one off the racks and said they smelled like Christmas.  The cookies are perfect with coffee or tea and I found them to be a bit addicting.

Join us for the third week of 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats.

Brenda from Meal Planning Magic hosts 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats and I hope you’ll join us this year.  I’ve participated for the last two and had a great time each year.

Enjoy!

Grandma’s Biscotti

Yield:  six dozen biscotti                 Cook Time:  40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 cup oil (I used olive oil)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butternut flavoring (I used LorAnn Professional Kitchen Butter Vanilla emulsion)
• 2 cups chopped walnuts (optional) (I skipped the nuts)
• powdered sugar for sprinkling, if desired

Step 1:  Mix together flour and baking powder in a large bowl and set aside.  Add eggs and sugar to a stand mixer bowl.  Beat three minutes until the mixture becomes a light in color.  Beat in the oil, milk and flavoring.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure the ingredients are incorporated evenly throughout.  Add the flour mixture in small increments with the speed on low until all the flour is just incorporated.  Be sure not to over mix.  Fold in the nuts with a spatula as needed.

Step 2:  Since the dough was pretty sticky, I put it in the refrigerator for 45 minutes before shaping it.  Line two cool cookie sheets with parchment paper (I put these in the fridge too while the dough cooled).  Divide the chilled dough into four pieces, taking care to keep them as equal as possible.  I missed on this one, so my logs weren’t all the same width.  Shape each piece of dough into nine by three inch logs.  Place the logs on the cookie sheets along the short side, two per sheet.  Bake the first sheet in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool in the pans on racks for at least 15 minutes.  Repeat with the second sheet.

Step 3:  While the second baking sheet is cooling, slice the logs from the first baking sheet diagonally into 1/2 inch slices.  Use a sharp knife; I used a serrated knife.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Stand up a cooling rack on the first lined baking sheet.  Place the cut cookies on their side on the rack.  Since the cookies are cut side down, not all of them will fit on the rack.  By baking them on the rack, the air circulates around them and you won’t need to flip them during the second baking.  Bake the sliced cookies for 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on racks.  Repeat for remaining cookies and logs.  Since the cookies aren’t as sweet as most cookies we’re used to, you can sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving or you can dunk into your coffee.

Storing:  Store in a sealed plastic container for a few weeks.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe adapted from Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker.

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And everyone, don’t forget to check out all the recipes at Meal Planning Magic for even more inspiration!