When life give you almonds…

…….Make biscotti. Especially these beauties. I have a bag of almonds sitting around for the longest time. A mistake buy by my papa. He thought it would be nice to have some almonds around so that he could nibble on them when he was feeling peckish. Well, he thought wrong. He probably ate no more than a handful and left the rest untouched. Then again, I should not comment too much on his behavior since I am pretty much the same too. Perhaps bad habits run in the family too.

Mom commissioned me to use up those almonds before they grow stale. I threw in some chopped apricots as well as mom loves them. They went pretty well with the almonds. I also reduced the amount of sugar to 3/4 cup. With the addition of dried fruits, the biscotti were sweet enough. I flipped through Dorie’s Baking: From my home to yours and decided to make Lenox Almond Biscotti. The dough gave me quite abit of problem as it was really moist and a little difficult to shape. After adding an extra handful of flour and chilling it in the fridge for 15 minutes, it was much easier. Still, I got some misshappened logs that did not look quite promising. I was slightly miffed as I saw some really pretty biscotti done by TWDers. After baking it twice, they turned out looking much better than I expect. I loved mine really crunchy, so I baked it slightly longer the second time round. I think that this is a really adaptable recipe, you can add other types of nuts, fruit or even chocolate. Don’t worry if your dough spread quite abit while baking the first time. They will turn out just fine!

Lenox Almond Biscotti

(Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From my house to yours)   

 

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal (I used white cornmeal)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup of sugar (I used vanilla sugar)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of pure almond extract (I omitted that)

1/4 cup chopped apricots
1/2 cup of sliced almonds (I use chopped)

 

1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal together.

3. Beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy. Beat in the almond extract if you are adding. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a soft, stick-to-your-fingers dough that will ball up around the paddle or beaters. Scrape down the paddle and bowl, toss in the almonds and apricots and mix just to blend.

4. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet. Using your fingers and a rubber spatula or scraper, work the dough into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. The log will be more rectangular than domed, and bumpy, rough and uneven. Form a second log with the remaining dough on the other side of the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool the logs on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.

6. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board and, with a long serrated knife, trim the ends and cut the logs into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet, setting them again on the same sides as before and slide the sheet back into the oven.

7. Bake the biscotti at 175C for another 20 minutes, or until they are golden and firm. Transfer them to racks and cool to room temperature.

Sour cream biscuits

Triangles of biscuits before putting in the oven

I have always wanted to make scones. However, I put off the idea for quite some time as I did not manage to find a pastry blender. I know that I can use my fingers and rub in the cold butter but my sweaty and warm palms are my greatest nemesis. Not to mention, the weather here is so darn hot. Neither did I want to throw everything in the food processor as I was too lazy to clean it out. I finally found my pastry blender at CK Tang last week. I was absolutely estatic. I can now make pies, shortbreads, scones and the list goes on. Woohoo!

I chose to start my scone adventure with Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking – From my home to yours. Biscuits in our terms normally meant crunchy baked goods also known as crackers or cookies. According to Wikipedia, biscuits in America is a small baked product that is soft and very similar to a scone. They are normally eaten as a side dish during dinner or breakfast. This time, I added dried apricot and cherries instead of pecans. I followed Dorie’s instructions and chopped up my butter into small cubes so that it was much easier to cut into the flour. It is very important to start everything cold and work the mixture as little as possible. I also chilled my flour and sugar mixture in the freezer for a while before cutting the cold butter in. To be on the safe side, I even chilled my pastry blender. As I was unable to get a cookie cutter, I rolled out my dough in a round shape and cut them into triangles. The result was beautiful and tall biscuits that were flakey and buttery. I gave some of these scones to G’s mom. Hope she likes them as much as I do. ^___^

Sour Cream Biscuits
(Adapted from Baking: From my home to yours)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cup cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped fruit or nut of your preference

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Line the tray with parchment or baking sheet.

2. Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt and baking soda together in a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps.

3. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between – and that’s just right.

4. Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you’ve got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick, gentle kneading – 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together.

5. Toss in the nuts / fruit and knead another 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough.

6. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour and pat the dough out with your hands or roll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t completely even – a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy. Cut the dough into the desired shape and size. If using a biscuit cutter, cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to the cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of this first round.

7. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Bake the biscuits 15 to 20 minutes (depending on size), or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown.