'Wedding' Biscotti

Biscotti has always been interesting to me, but something I never tried, because almost all of the biscotti available has some sort of nuts in it, which I don't eat. I have also always been interested in the way that it is baked twice, but just like tasting it, when searching for recipes, 99% of them call for almonds/pistachios/hazelnuts, etc. So I was excited when I found a recipe by Katie Lee Joel on the Food Network website that not only didn't call for nuts, but put interesting and contrasting flavors together! Now, I'm not positive why it's called 'Wedding Biscotti', and a Google search came up with nothing, but I think it's safe to guess that it was either whipped up for someone particular's wedding (possibly to Billy Joel? Although that's ending soon, so maybe this biscotti isn't such a good omen?!?! Yikes!) or it's a traditional Italian biscotti served at special events. All I know is that for the first time baking biscotti, I was quite happy with the result. I'm not sure that it was as crunchy as it's supposed to be, but it did have a nice snap and I really loved the flavors. It was rich without being overwhelming. I also used a little less rosemary than the recipe called for, because I didn't want it's strong flavor overwhelming the cookie. I think the biscotti dough would be a good base or starting point to add any ingredients that you like, if you aren't into the fruit and herb flavors. So, get experimenting and enjoy!

Wedding Biscotti

Original recipe can be found here.

For the Biscotti:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup dried currants

To Make the Biscotti:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and rosemary. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer and a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg fully before adding the next. Add the vanilla. and gently stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in currants.

Cut dough in half and shape into 2 logs. They should be about a 12-inches long; and 1-inch thick.
Bake until just starting to brown at the edges, about 35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets. While the biscotti logs are still warm, cut each log into 1/2-inch wide slices on the diagonal. Place the slices back on the baking sheet (using 2 baking sheets if necessary to fit all the slices). Bake for 7 to 8 minutes. Remove the baking sheets from the oven. Turn the biscotti over and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, until the biscotti are crisp.
Let the biscotti cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet(s). Serve when cooled to room temperature, or store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Hungarian Shortbread

I have always been a fan of really good shortbread. I also am a fan of interesting techniques in baking (even if sometimes I'm very intimidated by them!). So, when I was browsing through the Saveur website, I came across a recipe that caught my eye for what was called 'Hungarian Shortbread'. It's made by making a soft shortbread dough, then dividing it in half and freezing the two balls of dough. After an hour or two, you take the dough out, and grate one ball into your pan, top with a good jam, and then grate the other half onto it and bake. It promised a light, crumbly texture and I couldn't wait to try it. The recipe came together very simply and the results were divine. I also love that you could easily interchange your favorite flavor of jam into the recipe, however, I think a jam that's not overly sweet would work the best, to offset the richness of the shortbread. A few tips I have are to only remove one ball of dough from the freezer at a time and to grate each dough ball onto wax paper and then spread evenly into the pan. Also, the recipe calls for uncultured butter, but I've always used plain, unsalted butter and it turns out beautifully. It would seem hard to mess up this simple and delicious recipe, so give it a try today! Enjoy!

Hungarian Shortbread

Original recipe can be found here.

For the Shortbread:

2 cups flour, plus more as needed

1 tsp. baking powder

1⁄8 tsp. fine salt

1⁄2 lb. unsalted, uncultured butter (like Straus), plus more for pan, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

3⁄4 cup raspberry jam

To Make the Shortbread:

Using a sieve over a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream butter in a large bowl, using a hand mixer on high speed, until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and egg yolks; mix until sugar is dissolved and mixture is light, about 4 minutes. With mixer on low speed, slowly add flour mixture; mix until dough just begins to come together, about 1 minute.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface; bring it together with your hands. Divide dough in half and form 2 balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap; freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.

Arrange an oven rack in center of oven; heat to 350°. Grease a 10" springform pan with butter. Remove a ball of dough from freezer, unwrap, and grate, using the large holes of a box grater, directly into prepared pan. Gently pat grated dough to even it out. Spread jam evenly over dough, leaving about a 1⁄2" border around edges. Grate remaining dough over jam layer; pat gently until surface is even. Bake until light golden brown, about 25–35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, on a rack, before cutting into wedges.