Candied Pecan Biscotti

Baking is for experimenting and expressing, for sharing and enjoying. Baking generates delight and satisfaction, happiness and connection. That’s why I love to bake.

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I’m usually inspired by a recipe, a craving, or an occasion. Sometimes I wish to cheer up a friend, show appreciation to a colleague, or attempt to combat my own stress.

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There were a few stipulations though, as this baked good needed to survive the journey across Pennsylvania and then pass TSA inspection on its way to California. It also needed to include pecans. But with a little inspiration from one of my favorite food blogs, and my dad’s tried and true biscotti recipe base, these scrumptious cookies were born.

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I’m pleased to report that the biscotti survived the trip unscathed… but didn’t last very long after arriving on the west coast. They were enjoyed with espresso and lattes, savored in the morning and munched on in the afternoon. I even made a second batch to replace the dwindling supply.

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Baking really is all about cherishing and making memories.

 

Candied Pecans

inspiration from Joy the Baker

Warning: The candied pecans are perfect on their own and truly sing as the lead player in these biscotti. You actually might want to make more nuts.. once these little guys come out of the oven, they are insanely irresistible. Plus, you have to perform some quality control tests before you add them to the biscotti dough, right?

  • 2 cups pecans, halves and pieces
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 300F. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add the sugars, spices, salt. Whisk everything together until it becomes thick and opaque. Add the pecans and toss to thoroughly coat. Spoon pecans onto prepared baking sheet, spreading them out as much as possible.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until the nuts are golden brown and fragrant. After removing from the oven and allowing them to cool slightly, break the nuts apart.

Candied Pecan Biscotti
  • 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups candied pecans

Preheat your oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs one at a time until you have a nice yellow batter. Add the vanilla extract. Add in one cup of flour, along with the baking powder and salt and mix thoroughly. Then, add in the remaining flour. The mixture will be fairly thick. Add in your candied pecans or stir by hand.

Place two equal globs of the dough on your baking sheets lined with parchment paper. With wet hands (to prevent the sticky dough from sticking to your hands!), form each of the blobs into a flat log about 14″ long, 4″ wide, and 3/4″ thick.  Bake in a 350F oven for about 30 to 35 minutes until the logs are a nice golden brown.

Let the logs cool on the tray for about 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks to cool for another 20 to 30 minutes.  Once the logs are almost completely cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to saw the logs into slices.  I like to cut them at an angle. Use a back and forth sawing motion so you don’t rip the whole almonds out of the soft loaf. Once sliced, place the biscotti back on the cookie sheet.

For the second bake, transfer back to the parchment covered baking sheet with bottom side down and bake for about 7-10 minutes. Bake for more time if you like them crispy or less time if you prefer them softer.

Finally, place your biscotti on a cooling rack for 30 to 60 minutes.  They will keep in an airtight container for 1 – 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Cranberry Orange Pecan Biscotti

Biscotti get a bad rap for being dry and hard. It’s almost like you’re forced to dunk them in your coffee or tea so you don’t break a tooth.  This recipe is oh so different.  It must be the magical combination of the cranberries and pecans… creating a much softer and more delicate cookie. Now you can choose whether you want to dunk or not:) Of course, I still eat them with my coffee for breakfast. Coffee makes everything better, amiright?

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Orange Pecan Cranberry Biscotti
  • 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • zest of 2 oranges, chopped
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups pecan halves
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

In a stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time and beat at medium speed for a couple of minutes.  Now, add in the orange zest. (I like to zest my orange to obtain long zest strips and then cut them up into nice small (1/8 inch or so) pieces.)

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Now, mix in one cup of flour along with the baking powder and salt. Once combined, add the remaining flour. It will be fairly think at this point. Finally, add in the pecans and dried cranberries. You can either mix for just a few seconds with the mixer or give a quick stir by hand.

Place the dough in two piles on a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  One very simple trick is to wet your hands, which will make it much easier to form the logs.  It really keeps your hands from sticking to the dough!

This batter will become wider as it bakes. I like to shape them into about 4″ wide logs, anticipating that I will end up with about a 6″ wide final loaf.  Bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes, until they turn a light golden brown.

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Let the logs cool on the tray for about 10 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes.  Once the logs are almost completely cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to saw the logs into slices.  I like to cut them at an angle. Use a back and forth sawing motion so you don’t rip the big pieces of pecans out of the soft loaf. Once sliced, place the biscotti back on the cookie sheet.

Lay them on one side and bake for about 6 to 8 minutes, then flip them over and bake another 4 to 6 minutes on the other side, depending on how you like them. (I like to re-bake these slightly less than my other varieties of biscotti to keep them soft, for a different texture.  If they are all the same, what fun is that?)

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Finally, place your biscotti on a cooling rack for 30 to 60 minutes.  They will keep in an airtight container for 1 – 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

The BEST Carrot Cake

This might be a good time to mention that we are dessert snobs. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. Even though ‘snob’ is commonly used as a derogatory term, in this case, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. We don’t rub our views in others’ faces or anything, but know what we like! We also know how to make a lot of the things that we like. Let’s take this carrot cake, for example. It truly is the best carrot cake we’ve ever tasted. It is the definition of perfection, so we are incredibly exited to share this recipe with you and spread the carrot cake love! We must warn you, however, that after you taste this baby, restaurant or bakery carrot cake will never taste the same again.

carrot cake 0018 IMG_1787At least, that is what happened to us. From time to time, we still sample other carrot cakes, but just about every one is either too dry, too soggy, too much pumpkin pie flavoring, bad tasting icing, etc. Yikes!

Continue reading The BEST Carrot Cake