Day: February 9, 2010

Posted on

macademia nut biscotti heaven

macadamia nut biscotti

One of the greatest go-alongs with the best coffee is ‘Biscotti.’ Biscotti is a dry flavored cookie that was made to be dipped into coffee unleashing all of the previously hidden flavors! The challenge is finding a worthy recipe. The problem is that most of the Biscotti Recipes were fairly bland and not comparable with good commercial products. I decided to look into why there is difference.

First of all, the best commercial recipes include: butter, baking soda and baking powder. I suspect a little extra cornstarch is also added ( as you know cornstarch is already an ingredient in baking powder). In most of ‘home’  biscotti recipes, the batter is far too sticky to be manageable even on greased wax paper and this calls for a bit more flour and sugar for control. Lastly, diced macadamia nuts, nut flavorings ( I choose almond) and a good helping of vanilla makes it perfect!

So, at only 115 calories… this Biscotti works for my diet!  Now, if you choose to dip it into white chocolate… that adds a little. Here’s the nutritional data:

nutritional facts

Basic ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

1/2 cup potato flour

2  cups powdered sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cups macadamia nuts whole and pieces ( then chop)

1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon almond extract*

1 tablespoon vanilla extract*

* or replace with 2 scraped Vanilla Beans

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Process

1) use two bowls:

Bowl A — all dry ingredients and diced nuts

Bowl B — all wet ingredients, including parified butter plus powdered sugar

2) Add the dry ingredients to the liquid slowly and stir  with a wooden spoon.

3) Place 1/2 the batter on buttered wax paper and spread out to 12 inches in length and about 1/2 inch thick and do the same with the other 1/2

4) place in preheated over 350 degrees for about 30 minutes then allow to cool

5) slice 3/4 to one inch sections… each section should provide 13 -14 pieces for a total of around 27

6) rebake for 7 -9 minutes with one cut side face down

7) flip the biscotti and toast the opposite side for another 7-9 minutes

8) OPTIONAL: dip the flat side of the biscotti into melted white chocolate an place down on wax paper to cool.

sound yummy enough?

Laura loves Biscotti!

NOTE: a fun change in spices is to use 1/4 teaspoon of my egg nog spice mix

Roger

Posted on

in search of corazonas

corazonas are wonderful to own but better to enjoy!
whether sparked by generousity or good public relations... it was a sweet thing

I am constantly fighting the battle of the waistline… and winning most of the time. What helps me get through those giant times of day (between the meals) is to have a little something nice at 10am and at 3 pm. If I find something I enjoy then getting my fighting weight back is not a challenge. I had found a perfect ‘snack’ that was calorically unchallenged and contained none of the nasty stuff other folks throw in their snacks… plus it was delicious, something very rare in a healthier food.

Just as I was getting used to enjoying them regularly … in fact we all enjoyed them at my house… Costco stopped carrying them. I hear rumors that they maybe coming back… but we’ll see.

So, I went on-line to see if I could buy them somewhere else or from the company direct. When I arrived on the company site there were none of my favorite snacks! I asked them where might I be able to buy them… and I was worried that they’d say,”try France.” They told me that they are rolling them out and I must have sighed fairly loudly because a few snacks arrived in the mail with a very kind note… for  a while I thought  de todo corazón they were gone!

thanks to the folks at Corazonas!

Roger