Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Butter Pecan Biscotti

If you're a regular around here, you know I had some tough times. And the online community came to my rescue in a big way.

There's no way I'd ever be able to thank everyone personally, and I'm still not in a financial position to donate to anyone's good cause, but we're finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel and I'm so grateful to everyone who helped get me here. You guys saved my sanity and helped me pay bills.

And now it's time for a little payback.

Like I said, I'm still not flush enough with cash to be handing it out, but what I can do is bake. So when Kris from the blog From Sugar Cookies to Peterbuilts asked me if I'd bake something for a bake sale she's doing for charity, I said yes.

My contribution to the sale was be a batch of biscotti (the sale is now over.) They're perfect for an online bake sale because they're dry so they won't get weird or moldy in the mail. And they're solid enough to withstand the travel. And they don't go stale quickly, so they don't need to be shipped overnight.

Even though the same is over, you can make your own with this recipe. See, everyone wins!

Butter Pecan Biscotti
Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla butternut extract
1/2 teaspoon pecan extract
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat your oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Beat in the extracts.

Add dry ingredients, and blend thoroughly. Add the nuts and blend them in.

On the cookie sheet, form the dough into two long, flat loaves about 1/2 inch thick by two inches wide, leaving several inches between the loaves. They will expand when they bake.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes. They should be slightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the loaves should come out clean. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Cut the loaves on the diagonal into approximately 3/4-inch diagonal slices. A serrated knife works best for this task.

Lay these slices on their sides on the cookie sheet and return them to the oven for another 10 – 15 minutes, until they are lightly toasted. ( if you like, flip them over halfway through baking for more even toasting.

Remove the cooking to a rack and let them cool completely.

This recipe was sponsored by Whole Foods, but Whole Foods is not involved with the charity.
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