Marcello's Biscotti

Reasons not to like Biscotti

They are not chocolate chip cookies

Have half the butter of chocolate chip cookies 

disdainful of anything Italian

can be dry

don't like tea or coffee

not sweet enough

don't have enough chocolate

have only tasted prepackaged biscotti

have only had biscotti in Firenze in the company of Marcello

Let me change your mind. This biscotti has chocolate chips, probably too many for some.

This biscotti contains candied ginger, dried cranberries, raisins, dried apricots and pumpkin. 

I adapted a recipe from my Once Upon a Tart cookbook. True, I burned it during the first baking, but I cut off the bottom of the loaf and it was fine. The deliciousness of it is almost making up for the fact that due to the negative temp. outside I can't go for my 3 mile morning jaunt to town. By myself. Out of this house. Without children or husband, dishes, laundry, noise or mess.  I am feeding my children this biscotti, grapes and milk for breakfast. Yes, I am that kind of go with the flow, relaxed mom. I give my children sweets for breakfast. I am so relaxed and chill, I never have breakdowns at my in-law's during the holidays. 

What's that? You want the recipe for this biscotti? Really? You want to try it? Even though Marcello is nowhere to be found and probably has a gorgeous skinny wife who still smokes cigarettes and somehow gave birth to cinque children running around a yard contained by cypress trees and draped with grapevines? Even though it only contains one stick of melted butter and not two? Even though you can accidentally mix a bit of yolk in the white and it won't be ruined because your three yr. old just has to help? Even if your oven is the size of a bread basket and burns nearly everything ever put inside it?

I believe it is now obvious that I have nearly finished my tea cup of Espresso.

Recipe for Marcello's Biscotti

4.5 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ginger

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. clove

3 large eggs, seperated, room temp.

1 1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 tsp. vanilla

only 1 stick of butter, melted

about 2 cups of dried fruit, nuts and or choc. chips ( candied ginger, cranberries, raisins, choc. chips etc)

350 degree oven, lined baking sheet

whisk dry ing.

beat egg yolks with half sugar until lt. yellow and frothy add pumpkin and vanilla and stir

beat egg whites till stiff

beat in remaining sugar

fold whites into yolks

stir in butter and dried fruits etc.

combine dry and wet. form log (will be sticky, flour hands)

bake log about 50 min.

cool

slice, can be touching on pan

bake again 12 minutes or until golden

let cool. voila.