290755 Thu Nov 07 11:24:14 -0800 2002 10 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1579501 I'm thinking I might make biscotti for some homemade x-mas gifts this year, packaged in some flea-market found antique tea cups. Thing is, I'm not a big fan of biscotti (I'm not a dunker), I just think it would be a cute gift and easy to make a lot of. What do you think? Thu Nov 07 11:24:14 -0800 2002 0 danna 1 1579502 Whenever I cook something I don't actually want to eat, I'm told (by my in-house highly critical review team) that it lacks the essential magic. I'd make something I love. Thu Nov 07 11:37:32 -0800 2002 1579501 0 lucia 1 1579504 I think that it is a very nice and cute gift! I am a dunker, so I like biscotti...and yes, I agree you have to be a dunker to fully enjoy 'em. But, really, I would love receiving a nice antique tea cup (esp. with it's matching saucer) too. .and those that aren't huge biscotti fans will share the biscotti joy with someone else while still very much appreciating your hand-made effort (and the lovely tea cup!). Thu Nov 07 11:51:52 -0800 2002 1579501 0 Jill-O 1 1579509 I think many people would like it. I wouldn't, because I am neutral on biscotti. I also don't like mis-matched tea cups, not my style at all, but people seem intent on giving them. They go straight back to the thrift shop. Thu Nov 07 12:30:36 -0800 2002 1579501 0 JudiAU 1 1579510 I love biscotti. The whole gift package sounds very cool. I think you should go for it. There are lots of different biscotti recipes out there. The one from the Italian Baker is sweet, dense and a little chewy. The ones with more flour and less ground nuts are lighter and crisper with a more open texture. Biscotti are great because you can vary them to suit your tastes. Gourmet had a great recipe last Xmas for pistachio-cranberry biscotti. If you're not a dunker, you don't have to bake them twice. Thu Nov 07 12:51:44 -0800 2002 1579501 0 Lindsay B. 1 1579538 Like some of the other posters, I too love biscotti, and in fact give lots of them as gifts around the holidays, and people are always happy to receive them. I just use tins, but your teacup idea sounds great. I have a few recipes, some more suited for dunking, some that don't really need it -- I'm happy to share them if you'd like. Thu Nov 07 16:53:42 -0800 2002 1579501 0 MichaelB 2 1579546 Yes, please share your recipes. I have never made them, but I love biscotti and would love to try to bake them. If you have the time and inclination to post them, please indicate which are good for dunking. Thanks! Thu Nov 07 17:52:20 -0800 2002 1579538 0 Faren 3 1580872 Well, better late than never, right?! Re: dunking -- they're both good for dunking, but because both recipes contain some butter (unlike classic biscotti), they're very good straight up -- tasty and not rock-hard. I'm still looking for the ultimate classic biscotti recipe -- Carol Field's are the best I've found so far. Enjoy!! Walnut Biscotti (ingredient list stolen pretty much verbatim_Chez Panisse Cooking_ by Paul Bertolli, verbose baking instructions all mine) 3/4 cup walnuts 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 Tbsp. cognac or brandy 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt Heat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Toast the walnuts for 5-10 minutes, just until they barely begin to give off a toasty aroma. Better to under-toast them than to overdo it. Let them cool off and chop or break them with your hands into smaller pieces -- halves and quarters are fine. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl or on a large piece of wax paper. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until blended, beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and brandy and beat them in. Add the cooled walnuts, mix them into the batter, then add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula or big spoon to blend until completely mixed. (Adding the nuts first prevents little pockets of unblended flour in the finished biscotti.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, or one of those fancy silicone pan liners (although these may encourage the batter to spread more, making for flatter biscotti -- not a huge problem). Have the baking sheet near your work surface. On a very well-floured surface, take about half the dough and, with well-floured hands, gently roll it into a cylinder about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter -- try to keep it the same thickness throughout. The dough is sticky, so be ready with additional flour for the work surface. Carefully lift the cylinder and quickly transfer it to the baking sheet. If it break while transferring it, just re-attach it on the baking sheet -- after it bakes it will be fine. If there's a LOT of flour still on the dough cylinder, brush it off. Repeat this with the other half of the dough. Try to leave a few inches between the cylinders -- they're going to spread a bit. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cylinders (which should now resemble long flat loaves) are very lightly browned. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the loaves cool for 10 minutes or so. Reduce the oven temperature to 325. Transfer the loaves to a clean work surface -- a big cutting board is good. With a sharp serrated knife, slice the loaves on a diagonal into slices -- between 1/3 and 1/2 inch. remove the foil/parchment/liner from the baking sheet and put the slices onto the baking sheet -- cut sides facing down and up. Leave a little space between each slice -- you may have to do this part in batches, depending on how big your baking sheet is (or you can use 2). Return the baking sheet to the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out and (carefully, they're pretty hot) flip the slices over and put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. You're really not looking for them to get much browner, just to dry them out and maybe brown a tiny bit more. Keep a close eye on them. They'll never feel completely dry when they're hot, but to test, you can take one out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, when you break it in half, it should be completely dried out and not at all pliable. Let cool and eat! (or store them -- they stay tasty for weeks) ------- Cornmeal-currant biscotti (ingredients adapted from a recipe for cornmeal-almond biscotti in _Classic Home Desserts_ by Richard Sax, verbose baking instructions my own) 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter 1 cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup cornmeal 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup dried currants a pinch cinnamon a few drops lemon oil, or the finely grated zest of one lemon Preheat the oven to 325 Fahrenheit. Mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a bowl or on a large piece of wax paper. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar until blended, beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the lemon zest or lemon oil. Sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the currants and add them to the batter, then mix in the dry ingredients with a spatula or a big spoon. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil, or one of those fancy silicone pan liners (although these may encourage the batter to spread more, making for flatter biscotti -- not a huge problem). Have the baking sheet near your work surface. On a very well-floured surface, take about a third of the dough and, with well-floured hands, gently roll it into a cylinder about 1 - 1 1/2 inches in diameter -- try to keep it the same thickness throughout. The dough is sticky, so be ready with additional flour for the work surface. Carefully lift the cylinder and quickly transfer it to the baking sheet. If it break while transferring it, just re-attach it on the baking sheet -- after it bakes it will be fine. If there's a LOT of flour still on the dough cylinder, brush it off. Repeat this with the other two thirds of the dough. Try to leave at least an inch or two of space between the cylinders. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, until the cylinders (which should now resemble long flat loaves) are very lightly browned. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the loaves cool for 10 minutes or so. Transfer the loaves to a clean work surface -- a big cutting board is good. With a sharp serrated knife, slice the loaves on a diagonal into slices -- about 1/3 inch. remove the foil/parchment/liner from the baking sheet and put the slices onto the baking sheet -- cut sides facing down and up. Leave a little space between each slice -- you may have to do this part in batches, depending on how big your baking sheet is (or you can use 2). Return the baking sheet to the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out and (carefully, they're pretty hot) flip the slices over and put them back in the oven for another 10 minutes. You're really not looking for them to get much browner, just to dry them out and maybe brown a tiny bit more. Keep a close eye on them. They'll never feel completely dry when they're hot, but to test, you can take one out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes. Then, when you break it in half, it should be completely dried out and not at all pliable. Let cool and eat! (or store them -- they stay tasty for weeks) Tue Nov 19 17:31:02 -0800 2002 1579546 0 MichaelB 2 1579550 I like biscotti a lot, and while I enjoy dunking, I also find that, if I slice them thin, less than 1/2", they're pretty good/easy to eat without dunking. Linked is a recipe I have made as gifts and got rave reviews for (I also loved them). OTOH, I do kind of agree with Lucia that I don't think I'd make something for gifts that I don't, myself, care for. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=102709 Thu Nov 07 18:07:58 -0800 2002 1579538 0 Caitlin McGrath 1 1579619 They don't do a thing for me. Why don't you make some nice shortbread-type cookies? They last well and aren't too fragile. Fri Nov 08 12:36:55 -0800 2002 1579501 0 Sharuf 1 1579630 I've baked biscotti for holiday gifts numerous times, mostly because they keep well when mailed from one side of the country to the other as long as you seal in an airtight container or baggie. The best raves I received were for a chocolate-ginger biscotti that I covered half in a quality dark chocolate. I included instructions for people to try them dipped in red wine which is an awesome combination. (You can also dip biscotti in a dessert wine like port or sherry.) I say go for it, but people will appreciate ultra-decadence like dark chocolate more than the typical biscotti you get in most cafes. Fri Nov 08 13:34:02 -0800 2002 1579501 0 RedRob