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Maraschino Cherry-Almond Biscotti

On any given day, it’s possible that I have a pre-breakfast snack. (This is a no judge zone.)

On average, I wake at 6:30 am… by 7:00 I’m hitting the gym. Bahaha! Just kidding. (In a dream world though…) But Seriously, by 7 I have a cup of coffee in hand and a mouthful of “something” as I go about my morning routine. Sometimes it’s the crust of a peanut butter sandwich, or some apple slices that didn’t fit in the snack bag for my kid’s packed lunch, other times it’s lemon water and Greek yogurt for a metabolic jump start. For me these first few bites kick off the day and set the tone for my morning. When I really want it to satisfy, it’s biscotti (or a Kind granola bar, because those are just candy I get to call health food). This Maraschino Cherry Almond Biscotti recipe is perfection for those days that you want that- life is good and I’m so fancy feeling… maybe I should get a mani?

1/2 cup butter softened

1 tablespoon almond extract

2 eggs

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 cup maraschino cherries well drained, patted dry, and finely chopped (reserve the juice, secret recipe at the end 😉 )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast your almond slices on a parchment lined cookie sheet for about eight minutes, let cool and set aside.

Chop drained maraschino cherries and strainer a bowl (reserving juice). Place cherries on a paper towel to remove excess moisture so that your biscotti stays crunchy. Set aside.

Beat sugar and butter until smooth, add almond extract, and eggs until combined.


Using a sifter add flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until dough is formed. Fold in almonds and cherries.

If dough is crumbly,  turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes.

Now divide dough in half and shape each half into a rectangle about 12” x 2.5”, and place each half on an ungreased cookie sheet.


Bake for 30 minutes or until the center of the dough is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool. Once cooled, cut each rectangle on the bias into ½” slices using a serrated knife. Place slices, cut side down, on the ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake about 15 minutes. When they are lightly browned move to a cooling rack.

Once they’re cool they are ready to be enjoyed (and totally delicious in their own right). Or you can decorate them like we did using milk chocolate, white chocolate, sliced almonds and our own maraschino cherry white chocolate.

To make Maraschino Cherry-White Chocolate Glaze: simply melted ½ cup of white chocolate over a double boiler and whisk in about ¼ cup of the (room temperature) reserved maraschino cherry juice.

Have a fabulous morning… and day… evening…

Stroopwafels

I know I’ve mentioned it before, my fascination and appreciation of the Dutch stroopwafel. Visiting that street vendor was a highlight of my trip to the Netherlands. New York has its hot dogs. Paris has its crêpes. And Amsterdam has its stroopwafels. If you haven’t tried one before, imagine being attracted by a similar smell of an ice cream shop that is making its own waffle cones. But instead of cones, they are making fresh waffled cookie type sandwiches with a thin caramel-esque syrup-y  inner layer that you can hold in your hand while you walk around the outdoor market or town. They can be purchased in different sizes, but the stroopwafels are globally known for their cup-sized roundness; because the idea is that they come back to life as they are warmed through while resting on the rim of your morning (or afternoon… or evening…) coffee or tea. And the unfortunate truth is that I haven’t had any stroopwafels since being stateside that tasted remotely like what I remembered in Holland. Until now. When these are fresh, they are incredible.

As found on Food.com

Waffle cookies

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
Filling

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons dark corn syrup

DIRECTIONS

Preheat a pizzelle iron. Or in my case a Belgian Cookie Iron.
To Make Waffles: Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

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Cut butter into the flour.

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Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, eggs and yeast mixture.

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Mix well and set aside to rise for 30 to 60 minutes.

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Roll dough into 12 small balls.

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Squeeze each ball into the preheated pizzelle (or Belgian cookie) iron…

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and bake for about 30 seconds.

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Place the little beauties onto a wax paper.

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To make perfectly rounded edges, use a large biscuit cutter to trim off the excess. (Optional)

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Using a butter knife or the like, cut (or separate) the waffles into two thin waffles.

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Spread the filling…
To Make Filling: In a saucepan boil the brown sugar, the remaining one cup of the butter, cinnamon (this is a must-have ingredient), and dark corn syrup until it reaches the “soft ball stage” (234-240°F, 112-115°C), stirring constantly.

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To Assemble: Cut each waffle (or separate) into 2 thin waffles and spread with filling.

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I used an offset spatula and my fingertip table…

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Repeat this process until all the filling is used. If using store bought, simply spread about 1 tablespoon of filling on one waffle cookie, and place a second cookie on top.

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Makes about 12 servings. Look at these!!!

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Tip: Try eating stroopwafel by resting it over a warm cup of coffee or tea — the steam will warm these up just right.

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Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

I can eat biscotti all day without guilt. Maybe because its called biscotti (Italian for a twice baked cookie), it doesn’t register. I think I’ve tried it all. There hasn’t been one variation I didn’t like. Besides, that second round in the oven probably got rid of anything bad for me, right?

As organic as possible:

1/2 cup Butter, softened

3/4 cup Sugar (rounded)

1 tsp Almond extract

1/4 cup Cocoa powder

2 tsp Baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 Eggs

1 3/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Milk Chocolate chips or pieces

1 cup Semi-sweet Chocolate chips or pieces

1 cup Sliced, slivered, or chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly grease a cookie sheet, set aside. In a stand-up electric mixer or in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or with your mighty hand, beat butter, sugar and almond extract. Add cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs, one at a time. Add flour, a third at a time, until combined. Remove bowl from mixer. Add milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and almond pieces, gently fold until incorporated.

Separate dough into to halves. Taking one half of the dough portion into your hands, shape into a log about 9″ long. Place onto the baking sheet lengthwise and gently press down to lightly flatten. Repeat with the other half. Place into the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 325º. Place cookie loaf onto a cutting board and cut diagonally with a serrated knife. Place cut side down and bake for 8-9 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake for an additional 8-9 minutes, until crisp. Let cool. Serve with coffee or hot cocoa for dipping or all alone.