thayirsaadham

Hey all,

I am back (hopefully, this time to stay). Lots of reasons for my absence - the usual ones like work, moving apartments, laziness, etc. Also, somewhere along the way, I started feeling some kind of pressure if I did not post. The more I felt the pressure, the more I stayed away from posting. I think I forgot the reason why I started this blog. I did this because I love cooking and I love sharing it with others. I don’t know how to explain it exactly… But I am sure all of you must have felt it… a kind of happiness when someone says they tried your recipe and it came out good or when someone tries your recipe, changes some ingredients and posts about it. When I have questions on some recipes as to why they did not turn out as well as I hoped, you guys are always ready with your opinions and suggestions. I love that. I started missing these exchanges and that is when I realized I wanted to blog again

So, what was I up to the last few weeks? As I mentioned before, work took up a major part of it. I am working on a new project and loving it. It is very interesting and daunting at the same time. Also, I moved apartments. Twice! Within 3 weeks. The apartment that I moved into first was good in all aspects except for the fact that I could hear my upstairs neighbor breathe. (I should mention that some of my friends would say I am the queen of exaggeration). Seriously, the walls were so thin that I could hear EVERY SINGLE THING. And, they had kids - who would always wake up early on weekends and run around. I decided nothing was going to come between me and my sleep. After all, I am Kumbakarni. I have a reputation. So, I moved again and the place I am currently in is awesome. Oh… I have to share this. I baked a cheesecake. Two, in fact. A plain one and a chocolate one. I baked them for a party at work. I loved them, especially the plain one. The chocolate one was good too. But I felt that the chocolate completely overwhelmed the cheesecake flavor. I am definitely baking the plain one again.

Today, I have a very simple biscotti recipe. I love to have something to munch on when I am having my evening coffee/tea. Back home, my father used to always have his coffee with murukku/thattai or the Marie/Parle-G biscuits that we get in India. I think I got this habit from him.

Biscotti are twice-baked cookies, often containing nuts or spices. I have made the plain version before. I just added some chocolate chips this time. The basic recipe is from King Arthur Flour website. I did not change it much except to add some chocolate chips and cinnamon. I have no idea why I added cinnamon. My hand simply reaches for that spice and I add it to almost every thing I bake.

Ingredients

1. Butter - 6 tablespoons
2. Sugar - 2/3 cup
3. Salt - 1/4 tsp
4. Vanilla extract - 1 to 2 tsp
5. Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
6. Eggs - 2 large
7. All-Purpose Flour - 2 cups
8. Chocolate chips - 1/2-3/4 cup
9. Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) one large (about 18″ x 13″) baking sheet.
2. Beat the sugar, butter, vanilla extract, sugar and salt till the mixture is creamy.
3. Add 1 egg at a time and beat well after the addition of each egg.
4. Whisk together the flour, cinnamon and baking powder.
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix until the flour is incorporated.
6. Add the chocolate chips to the mixture.
7. Now, drop the dough on a greased baking sheet and shape it into a log 14″ long x 2 ½” wide x ¾” thick.
8. Bake the log for 25 minutes.
9. Remove it from the oven and let it cool for 20-25 minutes.
10. In the meantime, reduce the oven temperature to 325 F.
11. Now, cut the log into slices.
12. Place the slices on the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.(Take them out when the biscotti are just starting to brown at the edges. They will dry and get crisper while they are cooling. )

Just some things to remember while making biscotti.
1. While shaping the log, you can use a wet spatula or wet your hands and use them. This helps in working with the sticky dough.
2. When cutting the biscotti, try to use a serrated knife. This helps is getting clean slices.
3. A lot of people specify that spraying the once baked log with water will help in cutting without the log crumbling. I have not faced this problem and so did not spray with water. But please follow it if you find your log crumbling. Also, waiting till they are really cool will also help with in getting clean slices.

The one problem I had was that my log spread while baking for the first time. I think it was because I used too much water while shaping it. But it did not affect the taste or the ability to get clean slices. I would love to know the reason behind this though. Also, don’t worry too much about the measurements they have specified for the log. I can never get it to 14″ long. I just try my best in getting a rectangular shape with a decent amount of thickness.

You can add chocolate chips, pistachios, cranberries, etc. Anything goes, really. The King arthur flour website gives a list of additions.