Orange biscotti mohawks

It’s rare that I post recipes here, but once upon a time while I was still figuring out what I wanted this site to be like, I actually did take tutorial-type pictures and hold onto new recipes I tried in order to share them. (Don’t panic…I won’t bore you with a full-on tutorial.)

This is an example of one of those days. It was another cold day in January 3 years ago, not long after the duck butt ordeal, and I had discovered biscotti. Now it’s not the first time I had ever had it, but it’s the first time I’d made it and known it by a real name. Apparently “those hard, crunchy things you eat with coffee” isn’t what they’re actually called.

So before the girls got home, I hunted down a decent looking recipe, zested and mixed, baked and baked, and then rebaked again, and got the hot chocolate all ready to go….

Oooo, this is from a time before I fell head over heels in love with my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Mixing in the eggs until everything is extra fluffy is always key. Well, or it’s just fun. Whatever.

I have no idea why I had a picture of a lime, by the way. This is strictly an orange biscotti recipe. I’m sure there was something significant back then, but not so much now. Maybe I was excited by it looking more like a golf ball? Or maybe it was a particularly huge one, but I didn’t think to place something next to it for size perspective? Who knows…but hey look, it’s a lime! /random

^ How not to zest an orange, by the way. You shouldn’t see nearly as much white because that means all the white pithy stuff is getting into your food, too. But guess what? I didn’t have a zester at that point and used a knife….so I sliced off thin pieces and then scraped off as much white as I could and chopped away. Go back to the zesty mix picture and you can see that it almost looks diced.

Work with what you’ve got….another life skill from my mom. Wait until I bring out the duct tape. ;)

Those? Those are fingerprints. Like…full on indents of my entire fingers across each log to press them into the right shape. I was hoping you could see them in the final product, but not so much. 

^ Not done. This is the point where you cook them until solid and hard, but after you slice them, flip ‘em on their sides and bake until they’re that extra crunchy dip-worthy biscuit people seem to love.

And then coat them in sugary goodness so they taste decent. In this case, I went with chocolate. Lots of chocolate…

Obligatory funny faces!

Here’s the recipe for you guys who actually follow them to a tee. I didn’t, though, I’m sure, so don’t blame me if yours don’t pop out of the oven all smiley and fun. ;)

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds
• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 4 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in the egg and egg white, then mix in almonds and orange zest. Knead dough by hand until mixture forms a smooth ball.
3. Roll the dough into a log about 10 inches long; place on the prepared cookie sheet. Press down, or roll with a rolling pin, until log is 6 inches wide.
4. Bake for 25 minutes in preheated oven. After baking, cool on a rack. With a serrated knife, cut into 1 inch slices. Place slices, cut side down, back onto the baking sheet.
5. Return them to the oven for an additional 20 to 25 minutes; turning over half way through the baking. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or in the microwave oven. Allow chocolate to cool but not harden before dipping one side of the biscotti into it. Place cookies on wire racks, chocolate side up, until cool and dry.