Sunday, April 5, 2009

Honey Beescotti -- Sweet Melissa Sundays


A big thank you to my very sweet blogging friend Michelle at Flourchild who let me know about a brand new baking group -- Sweet Melissa Sundays! Sweet Melissa Sundays was started by Lorelei of Mermaid Sweets, another sweet blogger who wanted to bake through Melissa Murphy's book, The Sweet Melissa Baking Book kind of like Tuesdays with Dorie is baking through Baking From My Home To Yours.

I'm so excited to be a part of Sweet Melissa Sundays from the very first Sunday, and I am really looking forward to seeing some of my favorite TWD blogging buddies on Sunday as well as Tuesday and making lots of new friends baking with this group. There are 100 recipes in this book and this will be a 2 year baking and blogging journey, doesn't that sound like a great time?


Lorelei picked our very first recipe from The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, Honey Beescotti, which we are posting about today! Thank you Lorelei, for starting this wonderful group and picking such a delicious first recipe.


Honey Beescotti features an interesting combination of add-ins in a honey sweetened biscotti, the add-ins include caraway seeds, chopped almonds, vanilla and almond extract, and candied orange peel. Candied orange peel is not something I can find around here, so I checked out some of the links to making your own candied orange peel on the Sweet Melissa Sundays site. If we wanted a small yield using only one orange we could try Giada's recipe on the Food Network site here. Perfect! The oranges we ended up picking up at the store were covered in a 'food grade wax or resin' which made me nervous about using them for the candied peel, but after I took one out and really started scrubbing it I could feel the wax coming off and the regular orange peel underneath, so I felt safe using it.

I had such a fun time in the kitchen making this candied peel, it smelled wonderful, it was really easy, and it was such a fun process to watch. You start out peeling the orange...


then slicing the peel...


boiling it...and I promise I did not place these peels into a sunburst shape, they just morphed into it while boiling!



running it under cold water



boiling again, cold water again


and then simmering for 15 minutes in a sugar water. After that you can shake them in a bowl of sugar



and chop them up for this recipe


and you are all set. I have never been a huge fan of candied citron, but tolerate it in the Christmas pannettone so I figured I'd add it. I really wanted to stick to the exact ingredient list for my first Sweet Melissa Sunday and taste how this somewhat unusual ingredient combination comes together. I ended up loving it in these!



I have to admit the caraway seeds had me a little nervous as well, and two whole teaspoons! Yikes! But I added the full ammount, mainly because I had an unopened bottle of caraway seeds on my spice rack and couldn't really remember why I bought them and figured I might as well start using them up :) They were an interesting addition to these biscotti!



For the baking and shaping, I kind of switched around the directions, on purpose. After I added the chopped almonds (above) and my dough was all mixed up I popped the bowl in the freezer for about 20 minutes, at that time the dough was stiff and easy to shape into logs on my baking mat.


After shaping into logs I did not re-chill, but sent those biscotti logs straight into the oven. I baked the entire 30 minutes and the were perfectly done.


Now I know you are going to laugh at me but I only baked once. You usually bake biscotti twice. Even the name "biscotti" originates from the Latin word biscotum, meaning "twice-baked" or "double-cooked" -- but I like my biscotti a little soft. Yes, I know biscotti are supposed to be hard and crunchy and are perfect to dip into tea or cappuccino BUT I like them crispy on the edges and softer and more cookie like in the middle, and they are still great to dunk in tea. I like softie biscotti...is that so wrong?


After baking and cooling and slicing I let them air dry "marching band style" (à la Dorie) on the cooling rack to crisp up just a little more. These were delicious, I really loved them! Husband was a no go because of the almonds but was impressed with the candied orange peel and said the biscotti made the whole house smell like a coffee shop, ha! My two oldest weren't crazy about them but my littlest one happily munched a couple of these, obviously a fan just like his mommy :)

21 comments:

NKP said...

Looks great Andrea! I loved making Giada's candied orange peel too. I think maybe it is just the store-bought stuff we don't like - who knew?

Elyse said...

Your biscotti turned out great!! I loved this recipe--much more than I thought I would!! Yay for a fabulous first Sweet Melissa Sunday!

Lulu the Baker said...

I'm so impressed that your dough wasn't super sticky, didn't spread when baked even without an extra chill, and look totally perfect! I swear I followed the recipe (mostly) and had lots of hiccups!

Anonymous said...

very nice! I loved the step-by-step tutorial for dummies like me. hee hee!

Megan said...

Great photos, as always!

Maybe next Christmas I'll try and make candied orange peel, you make it look easy enough. And yes, the store bought stuff is awful, so I imagine that homemade is 100x better!

Jessica said...

Those biscotti are just beautiful! I love the step by step pictures and I'm super impressed with your finished product. I'm glad that you liked them!

Unknown said...

Your biscotti look wonderful! Don't tell anyone, but I like mine a bit softer too :) Glad you enjoyed them!

Stephanie said...

That's so funny! I did the same thing - One of my logs I only baked once, too! I call them my "Unscotti" cookies :)

Flourchild said...

Ahh your so sweet to mention my name in your blog..Im so happy you joined this group! And my goodness missy talk about a wonderful turn out on our first recipe. ;)Your biscotti looks excellent! I love your pictures too..so nice!! I was bummed mine didn't turn out but I have never had great biscotti when I bake it.
I look fwd to seeing you again of Tuesday!

Maria said...

Lovely biscotti! They look perfect!

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you liked the once-scotti. :P

They look great!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I'm in awe of your orange peel sunburst pattern. Making the candied peel was the best part! Although the biscotti were also good. I like them at the once-cooked and the twice-cooked stage. Yours look extra delicious and I'm glad you found a yummy way to use your caraway!
Nancy

margot said...

I think baking the biscotti only once is a great idea! I love the photos with this post, especially the orange peel.

Mermaid Sews said...

Great photos, and I love that you only bake them once. Thanks so much for joining the group, and the sweet words, I am so looking forward to baking with you.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Your candied orange peel looks amazing and your biscotti too! Great job!

Anonymous said...

I love candied citrus! I made HUGE batches of it for Christmas this year. I still have some in the freezer. The biscotti look great too!

~Cat

superman said...

I'm so impressed too..

Looks so yummy and delicous...


Austin Auto Accident Lawyer | Light Up | Seattle Bankruptcy Lawyer

alex said...

I'm so impressed too! i loved this recipe... keep posting.
Houston SEO | Seattle Homes For Sale | Tapshop321

Marshall Lynch said...

Looks like a yummy and delicious dish...amazing...

Carrollton Dentist | House Cleaning Portsmouth, NH
House Cleaning York, ME | Prince of Wales –Alaska Fishing Lodge |
Southeast Alaska Fishing Lodge – Craig

alex said...

I really enjoy reading this blog and all of the recipes I've used have been outstanding.




alex
Edina MN Realty

baby gift baskets
Christmas Gift Baskets

Marshall Lynch said...

Excellent..D




marshall
Prince of Wales – Alaska Fishing Lodge

Related Posts with Thumbnails