Italian Biscotti **Mangia, Mangia! Recipes from the Walla Walla Italian Heritage Association**

Hello, everybody! I bring delicious Italian goodness!

I was at our homeschool girls' book club last week and spent a few glorious hours in a warm and beautiful kitchen, eating apple crisp with piles of real whipped cream topping! Even though I had eight BAZILLION things to do (like get my hair cut and go to Home Depot- those things are not related).

 

Now, as I was chowing down on that deliciousness, I spied a little cookbook on my friend shelf. You all know I love a good cookbook.

 But... I had an ulterior motive. See, she makes the most AMAZING biscotti. If I could get my hands on that recipe, I could have biscotti every day, as much as I wanted! A devious plan was hatched.

 She so sweetly let me borrow the cookbook. I got it home and started to page through it. You know how you can tell a person's favorite Bible verse by how the page looks? Well, I didn't have to look far for her favorite recipe. Past the braccioli, past the tarduci, past thecardiletti, the latte dulce and the cassata alla siciliana, there it was...

 Behold, the page of the biscotti recipe! Ooooo, I rubbed my hands together in maniacal glee! I was never going to want for biscotti again!

1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
3 eggs
3 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp anise flavoring
1 c chopped nuts
 (The recipe was submitted by Pam Daltoso Hamilton, but there was another underneath by Anna Perfetto, and another by Mary Locati and another Carmy Destito, under that one by Rose Zaro.
Since Terri is a Biagi, I'm assuming she knows her biscotti. And if not, I'll just have to TRY THEM ALL.)

 Small child is having a wonderful time chopping walnuts from our tree. I don't have the heart to tell him that we only need a cup.

 Ooooh, what a pretty bowl! I wonder where I got that? It smells like... biscotti.

 So, cream the butter, sugar, eggs. In another bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add them, mix well. Now add the nuts and the anise flavoring. (Of course, I didn't have anise flavoring. I don't even like anise. When I lived in France they drank anise liqueur and it was DISGUSTING. So, I'm assuming that vanilla will be just as good.)

 The dough will be very sticky. Grease the sheet well. Heat the oven to 350F. Shape the dough into long rolls.

 While the biscotti cooks for 30 minutes, browse the rest of the recipes.

 Edna is murmuring to herself. "Questa sembra delizioso!" A few minutes later, she makes a noise. Apparently, the pork sausage/ cinnamon spice cake was not meeting with her approval, even though it says it's great with a caramel frosting. I peeked over her shoulder and said she should definitely try the pizza-by-the-yard recipe. "Vorrei un piatto con formaggio..." she mutters. And there's even a recipe for making your own cheese that dries in a string in the basement! This book has everything! (Of course, we have no basement, but that's no matter...)

 The oven beeped and I checked the biscotti. They were huge and fluffy. But I'd set the timer for 20 minutes, just in case my oven ran hotter than the recipe needed. I put another ten minutes on. Edna was eyeing my new Pinterest activity. It's a heart cut from a map, and the place is my honeymoon. Edna snickered and said it looked like a broken heart! She's so funny. Now all I can see is a framed broken heart.            
     Che romantico!!

 After 30 minutes, remove the biscotti and let cool for 15 minutes. Slice diagonally. Put them back in the oven for ten minutes. This is what makes them super crispy.

 I couldn't even wait for them to cool. It was BISCOTTI time.

Now, I hear these keep well in tupperware, but they were GONE by the next morning. It wasn't me, I only had two.
Okay, maybe four. I lost count. I admit it! I'm a biscotti glutton.


  Fino alla prossimo volta, i miei amici!!

 

Oreo Truffles and summer musings

 

Hello, everybody!

 On our porch, the morning glory is pulling down the sunflowers! A good lesson there. A small, thin vine can take down a seven foot sunflower given enough time. :)

                    Our summer reading program had the most awesome end-of-the-program cake! The "jewels" are broken up life savers. Great Job, Lacey!

 

The maker said that at the last minute, the poor dragon fell apart and they lost a whole top tier. But you'd never know it, right?

 

Every year the end of the program is the "reptile man". I find him VERY entertaining. Not so much for the snakes and lizards and tortoises, but for his great delivery. The guy should have been a stand up comedian! 

  

So, my dad likes to go to Coscto. Anybody else go to Costco? I've been twice before in my life and I just remember it had EVERYTHING. And it was huge. Anyway, he likes to go and buy treats for my kids. (Some day I'll put in an order for avocados and fresh raspberries, lol.) This is what he brought back from this trip. An enormous box of Oreos. The kids were thrilled.

 What else could we do with Oreos than those delicious truffles? (Recipe is 40 Oreos, one pack of cream cheese. Soften the cream cheese and mix with crushed Oreos. Chill, roll, and cover with melted chocolate.) Don't just say "eat them" because my kids would LOVE to eat 100 Oreos with milk. It would probably take them less than two days. Breakfast, lunch and dinner!

 MMMMMM..... dark chocolate.
                                            
 We decided to make different flavors this time. But then how would we tell them apart?
                                                       
We dipped the plain in white chocolate for a "cookies and cream". The raspberry we dipped in dark chocolate and white chocolate. The orange we dipped in milk chocolate. The mint we dipped in both dark and milk chocolate. The sprinkles and so the visitors and the kids could pick their favorite flavor.

 After appropriate chilling, their ready to be presented. I hope everyone is having a wonderful beginning to August. We alternate between running full speed and lazing around the house. Perfect summer activities!

 

Until next time, my friends!

St. Valentine's Day Double Chocolate Truffle Cookies !

Hello, everybody! I have a delicious recipe for St. Valentine's Day. It seems this whole week was FILLED with chocolate here at the cafe and I'm loving all the beautiful photos! I definitely have to try and make Ruthy's cake. That's just too much deliciousness in one cake to pass up.

Before we start, here's a little link to WHO St. Valentine is. He's a lot more than hearts and cookies so in this house we celebrate him by going down to the nursing home and handing out home made valentines. If all my six kids make five, and I make ten, we can cover a whole wing of older folks! Sometimes we sing a little, too, since the little guys always think it should be like Christmas caroling. Of course, we don't sing Christmas carols because that would be CONFUSING.  (I'm not really into singing publicly but the residents seem to enjoy it so we just go with it. nobody has complained. YET.)

 Ok, let's begin.
You'll need:
 four squares of good chocolate.
2 cups of chocolate chips, semi-sweet
6 TBS butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
4 TBS cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

 Here are the chocolate chips. Sooooo pretty. Yum.

 My helpers are very excited to see these cookies. They have CHOCOLATE.

 Butter. Where all good recipes begin.

 Eggs. I miss our free range eggs but we just can't get our girls to lay in the winter. So, they're on vacay until spring and we're stuck with store-bought eggs.

 Melt the squares, the butter and ONE CUP of chips in a pan over low heat.

 Oh my. We all had to taste this to make sure it wasn't bad. I'm happy to report it's perfectly fine.

 I missed a picture but the eggs, vanilla, and the sugar need to be whipped until light and frothy. Then fold in the chocolate. This picture is after that happened.

 Mix the salt, baking soda, flour, cocoa powder together

 Pour the chocolate-egg-sugar mixture into the flour.

 He says, "I have faith in this recipe. It doesn't look like much right now, but I BELIEVE."

I thought this was a fail shot but my kids loved it, so here is the five year old looking like Barry Allen (The Flash) stirring the cooking. Speedy!

 So, after chilling the dough for an hour, add the other cup of chocolate chips.

 Eleven minutes later at 350F, we have... super chocolaty goodness! While they were warm, I stuck some candy hearts in the center just for fun.

 MMM, I wish you could smell them.

And a shot of the underside, which remains fudgy and very much like a truffle. Lots of smooth chocolate taste. 

                                                     
I think they passed inspection! Now, to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
                                    Happy St. Valentine's Day everybody!

Raspberry Pinwheel Cookies

Hello, everybody!!

Okay, let's begin.

The original recipe called for milk and yeast and waiting...

And then rolling and kneading and chilling.

And then flattening and folding and refolding.

And then putting in whole cubes of fresh butter and folding and chilling and folding some more.

 

Let me just say the entire process was about as exciting as watching grass grow. Really. And I don't think the final result was any better than store-bought puff pastry. So, unless you have allergies to anything in the store-bought stuff, I'd recommend just skipping the first few (say, seven) steps and going straight to this next one...

Make into a square about 4 inches by 4 inches. Cut into each corner, toward the center, but not completely. (Got that? Really clear? That's 'cause I'm a writer!)

Now, the puff pastry from the store doesn't need to rise, but this one did. So, in the original there was ANOTHER step of about an hour. Let's pretend it didn't happen. Take each lower corner and bring it to the center and pinch it down, repeating until it looks like a pinwheel. Add in your homemade (or not!) raspberry jam.

Ok, theses weren't really beautiful, but they were very tasty!! I want to make some with lemon curd and powdered sugar. Mmmmm....

 

Until next time!!

Fancy Nancy Inspired Cookies

Hi everybody! I'm yearning for something fancy.

 Have you ever seen these children's books?

Fancy Nancy books (by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Priess Glasser, published by Harper Collins) are geared to preschool girls, but my boys love them, too. A little girl who has to do everything in the FANCY way. She even throws out little French phrases, so I've got a warm spot in my heart for Nancy.

 

  I know it's Lent and we should all be eating bread and water. But what about Sunday? What about visitors? What about... that ending on Downton Abbey??

 

RIGHT?? Sometimes we need a little fancy to get us through the week.
So, instead of the usual chocolate chip cookies, I decided to make some Fancy Nancy cookies.
 These aren't particularly hard to make, but they're definitely not your average after-school cookie.
When I brought out the recipe, Edna accused me of being influenced by Goldie, the new teacup. Was I going to make everything ten time as complicated as normal, just to be showy? Then again, is showy all bad?
Maybe... Maybe not. Let's try it and see.

Preheat oven to 350F.

 So, the base of the RASPBERRY CRUMBLE COOKIE is a standard shortbread.
1/2 pound butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp oure vanilla
2 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all these ingredients until just combined. Form into a ball and take 2/3 and pat into the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Leave a bit of the shortbread for about 1/2 inch of dough going up the side.

Spread your raspberry jam (most of a jar, if using all raspberry) on the bottom. I had some apricot, so I used that, too. Spread it to about 1/2 from the sides.

Now, the other 1/3, mix with 2/3 cup granola (no dried fruit, it will burn). This will be the topping.

The original recipe has 3/4 sliced almonds but I couldn't find them anywhere. I may have pulverized them for a pie crust. I don't remember exactly. Anyway, they weren't in the pantry. :P

Break the granola-shortbread dough into small pieces and sprinkle on top. Bake about 45 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned.

Here they are, cooled and cut and ready for the tea party. Edna relented and said that Goldie and her friends were invited to the festivities, so in the end we did have a wonderful time together.

I'm gearing up to start another historical romance, set at the turn of the century and these old-style crumble bookies were just what I needed for plotting.
Who am I KIDDING?? I do not plot.
But in honor of Speedbo (Seekerville's version of NaNoRiMo), I'm definitely thinking... deeply... about plots while I eat cookies.

Of course, I also will be 'plotting' while I refurbish this old trunk I found super cheap. The canvas can't be saved, but I'm hoping to strip and laquer the pine underneath.
Edna is pretending to be uninterested, but she keeps shooting glances at this handsome trunk. Who can blame her?? But he does need a bit of perking up.

Until next time, indulge in a bit of fanciness to get you through the week!