I trust all my readers (and followers) had a wonderful holiday. I certainly did. I’m not done celebrating, though, more gifts (and food- god help me) are coming next week when I have my belated holiday celebrations with extended family & Jay’s family. However I got my “main” gifts- and in addition to two beautiful new coats, a new handbag, new perfume, new clothes and many, many stocking stuffers… I received the pièce de résistance, a new Dell laptop with Windows 7 and all the bells & whistles (and hopefully Adobe CS4), in a very appropriate color: pink. And a matching wireless mouse, of course. Well, actually, I haven’t really received the laptop; it just shipped today. So it’s supposed to be here on Wednesday! Then I can update Cupcake Rehab (and Cooking the Books) from anywhere. Be afraid, be very afraid.

The problem with chocolate cookies is they never look attractive in pictures…

…

So it may be that Christmas is over, but I’m back with one last Christmas-y recipe for you. Apparently, it’s a sort of tradition (or at least it used to be many years ago) in Italy to hang chocolate ornaments on the tree, and then eat them after Christmas. This recipe is for one of those chocolate cookie ornaments. It’s chocolate biscotti, or biscuits.

Biscotti are twice-baked cookies, often containing nuts or spices. Almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, and pine nuts are popular choices. Popular spices include anise and cinnamon (used separately).

A basic recipe has two parts flour to one part sugar (or less). To this is added baking powder and any spices. Then nuts are added, and tossed to coat them with the flour mixture. Nuts, especially almonds and hazelnuts, may be used with their skins on. Then enough eggs are added to just barely hold the dough together. The eggs are first beaten together with any wet flavoring (e.g., almond extract or liquor) until the eggs are well broken.^[8]

Traditionally, biscotti are formed by baking the dough in long slabs, cutting these into slices, and baking the slices until they are toasted and dry. The slabs are baked once for about twenty-five minutes. They are then cut up into individual cookies and baked again for a shorter period. The longer this second baking is, the harder the cookies will be.

After the second baking, biscotti may be dipped in a chocolate glaze.

This biscotti isn’t the biscotti you may be used to seeing in coffee shops, those elongated biscuits filled with sliced/slivered almonds or dipped in chocolate. These are round little biscuits that are chocolate all the way through. They don’t contain nuts, but I don’t see why you couldn’t add some if you wanted. They’re rich, chocolatey, and not too sweet. And since they aren’t twice baked like regular biscotti, they aren’t hard, they’re soft and chewy. Sort of like little brownies. And do me a favor- don’t get on my ass about them being called “biscotti” and not being twice-baked. That was the name of the recipe, which I did not write. Thank you & drive thru.

BISCOTTI DI NATALE AL CIOCCOLATO (Chocolate biscotti)

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons semi-sweet chocolate, 3 oz if you’re using block chocolate
• 8 tablespoons sweet butter (unsalted)
• 3 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 8 tablespoons flour
• 8 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons chocolate small drops (for example, chocolate chips) *optional

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. In a double boiler melt the chocolate with the butter. Set aside.
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale yellow in color and creamy. Add to the melted chocolate and mix well.
4. Sift the flour, the cocoa powder and the yeast together.
5. Mix the egg mixture with the flour mixture and the chocolate drops for 2-3 minutes using a large spatula or wooden spoon. Refrigerate the dough for 10 minutes.
6. Make little balls with your hand and bake in a cookie sheet-pan layered with parchment paper for about 10 minutes. They may seem soft when you take them out. Let the biscotti cool for 15 minutes.

I won’t be posting until after it’s already 2010, so I just want to say that I’m thankful for so much  that happened in 2009, not the least of which being adopting our pup Indy, meeting Miss Yoyo (& Gene too! Hi Gene! *waves*) for the first time (and seeing the lovely Miss Becky again), and my new blogging venture Cooking the Books & the memories me & those ladies have created in just a few short months. I look forward to making more meals and memories with them in the year(s) to come!

Oh- and all you fellow dog owners/animal lovers out there, look who has his own blog now.