? and Biscotti

OK......who can name this flower? Not me. My son found tons of these out in the woods. Gorgeous.

The bloom is slightly bigger than the palm of my hand.

And, I have been thinking about Biscotti lately. Maybe because one of our dearest friends is in Italy right now. And, my daughter and I just watched "Letters to Juliet"---again.

Anyways, early this morning, as the sun was just coming up and the birds were singing, I made Biscotti. It is such a fun food. Reminded me of our years in France.

So, let's slow down today and make a basic Biscotti recipe.

Dry stuff first....1 and 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Mix.

In a separate bowl, 2 eggs and 2/3 cup sugar...mix on high speed for about 5 minutes. The egg and sugar mixture will thicken. Add in 1 teaspoon vanilla (original Biscotti was flavored with almonds).

Now, slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

Wet your hands and pick up dough out of your bowl. It will be sticky. Lay in on a cookie sheet that has parchment paper on it. Shape the dough to about 12 inches long and 3-4 inches wide. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

Nice. cool on a rack for about 10 minutes. Did you know that "bis" means twice and "cotti" (or cottum) means baked. And, that's just what we are going to do...bake twice.

Now, slice on the diagonal. Oh...and turn your oven down to 325 degree's.

Smells so delicious. So, place sliced Biscotti back onto your parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Then, turn Biscotti over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Hello Biscotti! YUM!

For you food history buffs....Biscotti originated in Roman times. Biscotti was more about being a food for travelers because it was convenient. The twice baked Biscotti dries it out and makes it perfect for travel for long journeys. Biscotti was a staple of the diet of the Roman Legions.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, people did their best to survive and there was no culinary development.

But, with the Renaissance, Biscotti reemerged in Tuscany, by a Tuscan baker who served them with the local sweet wine.
So, bring a bit of Tuscany into your day and bake a little bit of Biscotti. Somehow, I think you are going to love it. xoxo

P.S. Can add nuts or dried fruit to biscotti to dress it up a bit....or dip or drizzle with a little chocolate.