Ginger Pecan Biscotti Food

GINGER-PECAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Remove 1 1/2 tablespoons of the egg to a small dish and reserve. Add vanilla to the rest. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add egg-vanilla mixture and, using your hands or a large rubber spatula, work flour into eggs. It will be crumbly at first but will soon form into a soft dough. Allow to rest 10 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough into an 8-inch square. Spread ginger and pecans on it, lightly pressing them in. Tightly roll up dough and cut it in two. Press and roll each piece into a log about 9 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, brush with reserved egg and bake about 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly browned.
• Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Use a sharp, thin knife to cut logs at an angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand slices an inch apart on baking sheet and return to oven 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp. Cool completely before serving.

GINGERBREAD BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
• Pulse the flour, granulated sugar, gingerbread spice, baking powder and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is thoroughly combined with the dry ingredients and the mixture looks sandy. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Whisk together the molasses, vanilla, eggs and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl; stir into the flour mixture until a crumbly dough forms. Press together and knead into a moist, uniform dough.
• Divide the dough in half and place on the prepared baking sheet. Shape the dough into two 10-by-2-inch logs, keeping 3 inches between the logs. If the dough is sticky, splash a couple drops of water on your hands and continue shaping. Bake until the outside is set but the inside is still slightly soft, about 30 minutes.
• Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer the logs to a cutting board and slice 1/2 inch thick on the bias with a serrated knife. Return the slices to the baking sheet, slat-side down, and bake, flipping the slices halfway through, until crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool.
• Once the biscotti are cool, combine the white chocolate and oil in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Dip half of each biscotti at an angle in the white chocolate, letting the excess drip off. Return to the wire rack, then refrigerate until just set, about 5 minutes.
• Pour the remaining white chocolate mixture into a small piping bag or resealable bag, then snip the tip or corner with kitchen shears to create a small hole. Drizzle the white chocolate at an angle across the dipped end of each biscotti, drizzling in the opposite direction to create a crisscross pattern. Return to the wire rack, then sprinkle with sanding sugar. Refrigerate until all the chocolate is completely set, about 10 minutes. The biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

PECAN-CRANBERRY BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Finely chop half the pecans, and leave remaining ones in halves; set aside.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine baking powder, flour, sugar, and salt. In a bowl, beat eggs, yolks, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients; mix on medium low until sticky dough is formed. Stir in pecans, cranberries, and zest.
• Turn dough out onto well-floured board; sprinkle with flour, and knead slightly. Shape into 9-by-3 1/2-inch logs. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 275 degrees.
• On cutting board, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Return pieces cut side down to baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, about 20 minutes. Turn over. Bake until slightly dry, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Store in airtight container.

PUMPKIN PECAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a large bowl until thoroughly combined.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with pumpkin puree and vanilla extract; stir in pecans. Pour in the dry ingredients, and stir to make a stiff dough. Divide the dough in half, and form each half into a log about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide. Place the logs onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Let the logs cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes; remove to a work surface and slice the logs into individual cookies about 1/2-inch thick. Use a sharp knife and a light sawing motion to cut up the cookies. Place the cookies back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Return the cookies to the oven, and bake until lightly browned, about 8 minutes; turn the cookies over and bake until crisp, another 8 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

APRICOT GINGER BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325° F. Lightly butter a baking sheet and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl soak apricots in boiling hot water to cover 5 minutes. Drain apricots well and pat them dry with paper towels. Chop apricots fine. In another bowl lightly whisk together eggs and transfer 1 teaspoon egg to a small bowl. Whisk water into the 1 teaspoon egg and reserve egg wash.
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer blend flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add remaining egg and vanilla and beat until a dough forms (dough will be sticky). Stir in apricots and ginger.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 6 times. Working on baking sheet, with floured hands form dough into a 6 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch rectangle. Brush rectangle with some reserved egg wash and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes. Cool rectangle on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes. Loosen rectangle from baking sheet with a metal spatula and carefully transfer to a cutting board.
• Cut rectangle crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Arrange biscotti, cut side down, on baking sheet and bake 10 minutes on each side, or until pale golden. Transfer biscotti to rack and cool. Biscotti keep in an airtight container at room temperature 3 days or frozen 1 month.

CHOCOLATE PECAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Place the yeast, instant coffee, cocoa, four, sugar, ricotta cheese, butter, eggs, milk and chocolate hazelnut spread into the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Set the machine for DOUGH and press the START button. At the beep- or at the end of the second knead, add the chocolate chips and pecans.
• Grease a large baking sheet. Form the dough into two thick logs about 3 1/2 inches wide and 12 inches long. Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake biscotti for 40 to 45 minutes, until edges begin to brown. Cool on wire racks. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice the logs into 1/2 inch wide slices. Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, turn and bake 5 minutes more, until dry. Do not brown.
• When the biscotti are completely cool, make the chocolate dip. In a small saucepan, heat cream until scalding hot but not boiling. Remove from heat and stir in the semisweet chocolate until smooth. Allow to cool slightly. Dip biscotti halfway into the chocolate and set onto waxed paper to dry. Store in an airtight container. Do not refrigerate. These will keep for several weeks.

BUTTER PECAN BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
• Beat butter and sugars at high speed until blended. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat until the sugar grains are dissolved and the batter forms ribbons when falling off the beaters.
• Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients until smooth, stiff and a little sticky. Using a wooden spoon, mix in 1 cup butterscotch chips and 1 cup pecans. (Note: if you have a very sharp knife that will cleanly cut through the nuts without breaking the cookie, then you can leave the nuts as large as you like. Otherwise, consider chopping the pecans into smaller pieces.).
• Divide dough into fourths. Take each quarter and shape into logs about 8 inches long. Smooth the dough so that the logs have a uniform thickness from top to bottom, square off the tips of the logs as well. Place onto the parchment paper two inches apart flatten the tops slightly. (Note: this yield a nice 2-3 inch cookie suited for holiday trays and smaller bites. If you prefer a larger dunking biscotti, create just 2 or 3 logs and adjust cooking time accordingly.)
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until logs are set and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove biscotti from the oven and let cool on cookie sheet(s) 15 minutes. Transfer to cutting board.
• Using serrated knife or a very sharp chefs knife, cut logs diagonally into 1/2-inch wide slices. A slight sawing motion may help with the cutting here. Place slices close together, cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Return to oven and bake 5 to 6 minutes. Turn each slice; bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven; cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.
• Melt remaining butterscotch chips with shortening in a double boiler or in a microwave. Drizzle over each cookie.