It was one of those perfect Saturday mornings when you wake up to the pounding of an unceasing rain on the window panes and you silently say a prayer for the little pleasures of life: for this day being a weekend - to be able to sleep in late and to avoid a rainy messy bay area commute that otherwise would have been the morning.
Instead I woke up to a steamy hot cup of coffee and spent the next hour enjoying an elaborate breakfast flipping through the news and recipes on nytimes - my favorite weekend boot me ups.
As one thing leads to other, daughter and I decided that this morning called for baking! I truly find baking therapeutic - there is something about the act of mixing the dough and then waiting for the baked goodies to be ready while your entire kitchen wafts with an aroma that is so reminiscent of your favorite bakery or your coffee shop - just acts as a very positive, rejuvenating force for me, signalling the start of the weekend, the start of winding down and of that quality family time.
Anyhow, we had a half used package of slivered almonds in the fridge which needed using up, and so I chose this almond biscotti. The recipe from Joy Of Baking is pretty much fool proof even for new or casual bakers.
And best of all the batch turns out just fine by hand mixing and does not need a stand mixer (which I have resisted owning so far).
I like my biscotti a little chewy and not super crunchy. So I can dunk them in my coffee but I can enjoy them just by themselves as well. To make them chewy I stay with the lower end of the cooking times - 11min when it says 10-15mins for example.
It's a relatively long process but largely hands free.
To make them extra special, you can also make chocolate dipped biscotti by dipping them into melted chocolate at the end.
I am hoping this batch gets us through he next few rainy weeks on the horizon until spring gets here! Enjoy the biscotti with your favorite hot cup of coffee or tea!