Cranberries & Pistachio Biscottis!!!

Hi guys!!!

Monday hits hard on people who have to return to work. It does seem hard for me as well. My weekends usually start as early as Friday afternoon with my husband coming home for lunch. Then it is 2 days of fun. Either visiting places or just watching one movie after another and lying around lazily all day :-) This weekend was awesome. The weather was great. With clear blue skies, breeze and sunlight till 10 pm... Ahhh!!!! I love such days. In all these 11 months in the UK this is the first time I am seeing consecutive bright and clear days. So we did not waste a single day. Saturday flew by with us visiting a very scenic castle nearby with friends. Sunday was fantastic. We had a barbecue lunch along with a few other friends and it was just awesome!!! After all that fun, I am like the kindergarten kid who cries all the way to school on Monday morning..

I am gonna quit whining about the start of the week and get to the recipe. I love the recipes in Joy of Baking website. I had bookmarked the cranberries pistachio biscotti recipe a while ago and totally forgot about it. Last week, I was going through my bookmarks and found the link again. I got into baking immediately. I loved the fact that these biscottis require no butter in the making. It is just the eggs that bind the whole thing together. The taste was incredible. The only hard part was breaking open the pistachios and chopping them. When my husband was having the last biscotti he asked, "Will there be a box of these on the dining table tomorrow when I get back from work??" I could not help but laugh.

So off to the recipe now.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour - 1 3/4 cup
Sugar - 2/3 cups
Eggs - 2
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Dried cranberries - 1/2 cup
Unsalted pistachios - 1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed till pale and fluffy. It takes about 3 minutes.
3. Now add the vanilla extract and beat for another minute.
4. In a spearate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. To this add the egg mixture and beat till it is properly combined.
5. Finally add the cranberries and pistachios and fold in gently.
6. Transfer this mixture to a well-floured counter and roll it into a log about a foot long. Place this on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
7. Now take it out and let it cool for about 10-15 minutes. Dial down the oven temperature to 165C. Meanwhile, when the log cools down cut this into 1/2 inch thick cookies.
8. Bake the slices for about 10 minutes and then turn over and bake for another 10 minutes. This ensures that the cookie is crisp on both sides.

Serve hot with coffee or tea!!!

Almond & Anise Biscotti!!!!!

Hi guys!!!

Ever since I had biscotti in an Italian restaurant with a super strong coffee I have become a big fan of biscottis. The difference between the usual cookies and the biscottis is that u bake the latter twice. Also, the biscottis are very crispy just like any other cookie but it sure is not dense and heavy. The "airy" look of them makes it irresistible. You guys might actually be able to understand the meaning of "airy" if u have had biscottis before or baked them. Anyhow... these evening treats are perfect with tea/coffee or to just munch on as it is :-)

There are numerous variations and types of biscottis and I started off with a basic spiced biscotti. The anise adds a great aroma and flavor and the nuts do add up to the taste. The recipe is fool proof and these measures yield about 2 dozens of yummy biscottis. Now lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Butter - 1/2 cup (at room temperature)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Eggs - 2 (at room temperature)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Star Anise - 1 tsp grounded
Almonds - 1 cup shredded

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Beat together the butter and sugar till the sugar is almost dissolved and the mixture turns pale and creamy.
3. Next add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract and beat well. The mixture should become fluffy, creamy and look almost white. Sure takes a few minutes. People without mixers have to bear the hand pain. I used a hand whisk and thought I burnt the calories that I was gonna gain from the biscottis ahead :-)
4. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder well so that they are mixed evenly. Then add this flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk. Keep mixing till all of it is well incorporated.
5. Finally add the star anise powder and the chopped almonds and mix thoroughly.
6. Now roll out the dough in the shape of a log and place it on the baking sheet and pop it in the oven.
7. Bake for about 25-30 minutes till the outer layer turns golden brown. Now, remove the sheet and let the log cool.
8. Once cooled, cut the log into half inch thick slices and place them back in the baking sheet and bake for around 10-15 minutes. After which, you turn over the sides and again bake for 10-15 minutes. This makes the biscottis evenly crispy.

By now the house will be filled with the heavenly smell of the biscottis. You can take them off the oven and without waiting for it to cool down can enjoy like I did!!!! Store in an air-tight container and enjoy for a few more days ( in my case just 1 extra day :-) )

Simple Butter Cookies!!!

Hi guys!!!

I am here with my first recipe. I tried to bake some butter cookies yesterday and am glad they turned out really well in the first try... Yay Me!!!!!

What I loved most about baking the cookies was the aroma that filled the entire house. And, I loved the reaction on my husband's face when he took his first bite. What is more worth than that compliment :-)

The whole process took close to 30 mins. Yes my friends you can bake these wonderfully easy yet very very tasty cookies in less than no time.So here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:
Ghee/Butter - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Mix together the sugar and ghee/butter till u get a creamy texture.
3. Blend the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt) separately.
4. Now add in the sugar mixture to the flour mixture and knead to form a dough. Something like the chapathi dough. The dough must be a little sticky so adjust the flour accordingly.
5. Place an aluminium foil on a baking tray. Make small balls , slightly flatten it and place it on the baking tray and bake for just 10-12 minutes depending upon your oven. mine took 12 minutes.
6. You will know that it is done when the cookies start leaving the tray and the outer layer starts to become golden brown. The cookies will be soft when u take them out but once cooled they will be crispy.
7. Cool and store it in an air tight container.

This recipe yields around a dozen cookies.

Bake these delicious butter cookies and enjoy as a tea time snack.