As we “enjoy” yet another extension to our Ontario lockdown, I am keeping busy in the kitchen. We are having a cold snap this week, and so I am not spending too much time in the garden. I would probably buy some more plants to put in, but the Garden Centres are mobbed with lineups locally. It seems that since only Grocery, Liquor and Garden stores are allowed to be opened, we are once again clearing the Garden Centre shelves.

So while I may not be ready to garden, it is currently a “cool” coffee or tea on the front porch weather, so that we can yell across the fence at our dog walking neighbours – the pandemic-acceptable form of socializing from a distance. Therefore we need some sort of snack to enjoy with the coffee – to make the neighbours jealous of course.

Biscotti meets that need, and it lasts for ages. I’ve decided then to try to bake a few flavours of biscotti, and share the results here. Traditionally, biscotti is made with almonds, but having been raised in a nut-free (allergies!) home, I’ll start with some basic cookie style recipes.

Today I’m experimenting with Cinnamon Biscotti. This recipe yields one baking sheet full of biscotti slices. Biscotti is simple to bake – generally flour, butter, sugar, eggs and whatever flavourings are in the recipe. The dry ingredients and wet ingredients are mixed separately, then combined – and the dough is formed into a roll, which is baked, cooled, sliced and THEN……. baked again! That’s what gives it the nice crispy texture.

This recipe is based on a number of similar recipes, with a few tweaks!

Cinnamon Biscotti Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour (I used Unbleached)

1/2 Teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1 Tsp Baking Powder

Pinch of Salt

Wet Ingredients:

3/8 Cup Butter

2/3 Cups Granulated Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

2 Eggs (reserve two tablespoons of egg to brush over top of rolls)

Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

Cinnamon Biscotti Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick spray.

Mix dry ingredients in bowl (Flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt) – set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream together butter and granulated sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla. Mix together until smooth.

Gradually stir in dry ingredients, and stir until fully mixed.

Divide dough into 2 balls. On a lightly floured surface, turn each dough ball into a 9″ by 2 1/2′ or so roll. The dough should be fairly firm and easy to work with – just give each a quick roll in the flour into a tube shape. Place rolls on prepared cookie sheet.

Brush surface of rolls with reserved egg.

Place in pre-heated oven for 35 minutes until rolls appear slightly firm to the touch.

Let cool for 15 minutes. (I gently slide mine off the pan to cool)

Slice rolls diagonally into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife. Lay the slices on their side on a greased or parchment covered cookie sheet (I use the same one).

Mix Cinnamon Sugar topping and shake over sliced biscotti.

Place back in the oven at 325 degrees F for another 30 minutes.

My boys loved the Cinnamon Biscotti. I had hoped to save some to put aside – but they went quickly. The smell of cinnamon brings everyone out of their pandemic hiding spaces. These are wonderful with coffee, just as I thought they would be.

Stay tuned for Cocoa Biscotti tomorrow!