For the longest time I have wanted to try and make biscotti, but I had a fear of shaping it. Seriously? How the hell do they shape it to look like a squished crescent moon? And the uniformity of each one? I thought for sure I would be doomed and my biscotti would look like poop (pun intended). However, since 2016 is the year that I face my fears I decided I might as well start the year off right and conquer a big kitchen fear-biscotti!!



Therefore, I promptly invited myself over to a friends house to destroy her kitchen while we attempted to make Gingerbread Biscotti! The kitchen adventure began with one of my besties making me lunch and bribing me with some liquid courage aka. wine, which always helps in overcoming any kitchen fear, by the way. As a side note she made these crock pot gyros and they are too die for!! Here is the recipe: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2015/03/slow-cooker-chicken-gyros-with-tzatziki-sauce.html

After a few glasses of wine we were ready to get in the kitchen. Start by mixing the oil, sugar, eggs and molasses together. This recipe asks for unsulphered molasses and my understanding is that this type of molasses is a higher quality and gives it a more defined sugarcane flavor. It tasted great in the biscotti so don't be afraid of it.

Next combine the dry ingredients. This recipe calls for a combination of whole wheat and all purpose flour, and it does give the cookies a nice nutty flavor and does not impact the consistency, which whole wheat flour can sometimes do. The dry ingredients include both types of flour, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, ground cloves, nutmeg and salt.


Finally, mix the dry ingredients into the sugar mixture.


Once the dough is made, the day of reckoning begins....shaping the biscotti!! Yes, I am being dramatic! It was actually way easier than I expected. Put the dough on a parchment lined cookie sheet and shape into logs, two of them. They should be about 1/2 inch thick and kind of flat on the top.




















Bake for approximately 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and then cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices.


Put biscotti slices back on the baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes on each side.





















Cool completely and if you are interested in taking these biscotti to the next level drizzle with melted white chocolate, which enhances their aesthetic appeal!



Here is the actual recipe:

Ingredients

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, and molasses.

In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough.

Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

When cool enough to touch, cut into 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices. Place sliced biscotti on cookie sheet, and bake an additional 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until toasted and crispy.

They were actually so much easier than I expected and they looked and tasted great. The gingerbread flavor was a nice addition to biscotti and we had them with cinnamon tea as we watched Married at First Sight, my new guilty pleasure...don't judge!! Cheers!!