Crunchy and dunk worthy Biscotti Cookies - delish!
I've said this before and will probably say it again. I have never, until recently, liked pumpkin flavoring and used to detest the arrival of fall with all the talk about and ads praising pumpkin, café lattes, pumpkin flavored ice cream, pumpkin...pumpkin...pumpkin. I never liked pumpkin pies, even at Thanksgiving time, and would take a taste of a pumpkin bar only because it had a delicious cream cheese frosting on top.
Until this year, I was not a pumpkin foodie. But, this Fall I had a taste of a crispy pumpkin cake donut with cream cheese frosting on it at a coffee shop in Bay City, Wisconsin. I think I only bought it with my café mocha because of the pretty frosting. I thought, why not, and discovered it was delicious! It did not taste anything like those sicky sweet pumpkin desserts when I was growing up. I remember the pumpkin pies of yesterday that were so nasty to my palette. Maybe my taste buds have "matured?"
So, as after I returned home that weekend, I was sifting through my cookie recipes, wondering how a pumpkin biscotti cookie would taste. I pulled out my biscotti recipes and made a number of adjustments and replaced extracts with spices, and added pumpkin puree - NOT pumpkin pie filling. You see, pumpkin pie filling is sweeter and usually has spices already added. With pumpkin puree you control what spices you want and the sweetness.
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Quantity to expect from this recipe:
You can get 24-36 biscotti cookies, depending on how large you make the "loaves" and how thin you slice the cookies. I slice them thinner than the coffee shop biscotti cookies since the thicker ones can be very difficult to bite if you don't plan to dunk them. Since I am not a dunker, I prefer them thinner. with a nice crunch to them.
Prepare the baking pans:
- Line the 2 large baking pans with parchment paper rated at 450F degrees or higher.
Pumpkin Biscotti Cookie Ingredients:
1/4 C Butter, melted and cooled
1/4 C Pure Pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling)
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 t Vanilla Extract
1 Egg, large at room temperature
1 1/4 C flour
3/4 t Baking powder
1/2 t Cinnamon, ground
1/8 t Nutmeg, ground
1/4 C Almonds, rough chopped
Make the Biscotti Cookies:
- Whisk the melted and cooled butter together with the pumpkin puree, sugar and vanilla.
- Whisk the egg in with the pumpkin mixture until smooth.
- Stir the dry ingredients together till combined well.
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients, stirring well.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 45 minutes.
- Divide and shape into 4 different 5"x4" oblong loaves.
- Place on the parchment lined cookie sheets.
- Bake 30 minutes at 350F degrees until light golden brown.
- Cool on wire racks for 15-20 minutes.
- With a sharp serrated knife, cut each loaf into 1/2' slices or thinner.
- Place flat side down on the pans and bake 12 minutes.
- Take out of the oven and flip all cookies over to the other side.
- Bake for another 10 - 12 minutes.
- Cool on rack.
- Dip or spread melted candy melts on the ends and dip them in some fun sprinkles or other candies. This is a fun task for the kids to do for you. It could be messy, but so what. Let the kids have some fun and learn about food prep at the same time.
Storage ideas:
I find the best way to store these cookies is in a parchment paper lined tin. But, don't store them away too far - they are great with morning or afternoon coffee!
Biscotti Cookies are delicious in a variety of flavors and toppings:
I love Biscotti cookies! They pack easily for traveling, are great with coffee and can be made in many different flavors. I have made them with almonds, walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries prepared inside the dough and even added chocolate and vanilla flavored colored candy melts on the outside. Plus, they are perfect if you enjoy dunking them because they hold up so well in coffee and other hot drinks. Try this pumpkin recipe or make changes to create other flavors. Enjoy! Next time I'll try them with toasted pepitas or pumpkin seeds.
Bake your own Memories!
Comments