What's the perfect accompaniment to a pumpkin-spice latte or coffee???... Why, pumpkin-spice biscotti of course! These lovely cookies are nice and crisp, which makes them perfect for dunking into a nice hot cup of coffee or tea... or a nice cold glass of milk. Traditionally, biscotti are Italian almond biscuits that are baked twice (bis: twice, cotti: twice), oblong in shape and dry. I call these pumpkin-spice biscotti a modern take on a classic. The recipe originates from Chatelaine Magazine, however I did make some changes. The original includes pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and bakes the logs and cookies (you'll see what I mean when you read the recipe) for much shorter times and at lower temperatures. I find whether you add the seeds or not is a personal choice, for me it is more of a do or don't decision every time I make them - they are great with or without. I guess adding them takes them a bit closer to being more classic, as they can be a replacement for the almonds; if you want to add them, add 1/4 cup! As for the baking temperatures and time, I found that the biscotti were not as coffee dunk worthy or even fully cooked with the given times. Now there can be many reasons for this, number one being that my oven is almost 30 years old... Thus my suggestion, follow the temperature I give and monitor until desired doneness - this will help you figure out the perfect combo for your oven! Helpful hint: make sure to write what you try down! Apart from my love of biscotti and dunking them into my coffee for breakfast or as my "I hit the wall" snack at 3:30pm. These cookies make a great host/hostess gift or 'just because' gift - to the right is how I brought the biscotti to a thanksgiving weekend at the cottage two years ago. This year I just brought them in a tupperware and refilled the jar... making it something that just keeps giving! I found the jar at Homesense, but I'm sure you can find similar jars pretty much everywhere, even the dollar-store if you're lucky! Let me know, in the comments or by email, what you do with your biscotti! Or if your oven is just as temperamental as mine and you had to change the baking times and temperatures once more! Happy baking! :)
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Even with the slightest inkling of colder weather, Starbucks rolls out their Pumpkin-Spice Latte (PSL) prematurely like any event (think Halloween and Christmas, decorations are out in stores months before the actual date). So opting not to follow suit, I have waited to write about my pumpkin-spice everythings right in the middle of my favorite season, autumn. First up is a PSL (obvs!), or more the favoring you can add to coffee or espresso to get that delicious taste without the price tag. I have made various coffee syrups, trying to create (or recreate out of Starbucks inspiration) various different kinds of lattes, including: gingerbread, cinnamon, vanilla, white chocolate, and pumpkin-spice, which I believe I have finally recreated this past thanksgiving weekend – yes, I am Canadian! Usually my PSL syrups started with a water and sugar reduction using spices and a couple of tablespoons of pumpkin puree; these, however, never quite tasted like the PSL some of us love. So upon more research I attempted a recipe by Bon Appetite magazine, and with some tweaking reached an adapted recipe I think you will like too. The secret is not making syrup at all, but more of a type of icing (yes that’s right, I think you can use this as a type of icing!) that includes condensed milk, heavy cream and just a touch of maple syrup, for the Canadian in me! Once made, you are ready to have a PSL or pumpkin-spice flavored coffee; mix in 2-4 tablespoons and stir. You’ll find that it will also lighten your coffee, reducing the need to also add milk. Once done with the mixture, you can store the mixture in a mason jar in the fridge - I have some frozen in a freezer safe container for testing. Hope you enjoy! Pumpkin-spice biscotti are up next! :)
All time favourite herb you ask? BASIL. Having fresh basil growing in the garden is wonderful; it can be easily added to salads, salad dressing, sandwiches, sauces, you name it. However, during the winter months I can never seem to keep the grocery store bought plant alive - if you have any tips for how to make it last, please let me know! So before the miserable season known as winter is upon us and I struggle to have fresh basil, let's take advantage of what basil we have left in our gardens, if any, and make pesto that will freeze quite well (I believe, I have never personally tried it but my cousin in italy swears by it). What's the secret to a good pesto? I think it's the addition of the pine nuts to give the pesto a unique texture - if you ask my brother, it's the garlic. Nevertheless, pesto combines simple ingredients to make something that is useful to have in anyone's back pocket. When making pesto my recommendation would to make sure that the basil is as fresh as possible, and to remove any leaves that have browned or flower buds. Once the leaves are washed and well dried (to do this I let the basil bunches drip dry for a bit then lay the leaves between paper towel) you are ready to have homemade pesto in two minutes flat! As for what to do with the pesto once it is made? Easy: PASTA!!! Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, drain well, add some pesto till the pasta is well coated and serve! Easy as 1, 2, 3! You can also used it to flavour risotto by mixing it in at the end of cooking. What's the bonus here? Due to parmesan already being present in the pesto, you don't have to add it to the risotto again and you can cheat by cooking arborio rice like normal white rice, mixing in the pesto at the end - GREAT as side dish! Other uses besides the more traditional? You could coat chicken with it before putting it on the grill, rub a little on pita bread and then bake to get pesto pita chips, use it as a spread in a variety of sandwiches of the normal or open faced type. The possibilities are endless for pesto, which is why I think it's so great. Let me know what use it for/on/with/etc.!
Happy pesto making! :) |
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