Cookies - Biscotti

This recipe is now retired to The New Best of BetterBaking.com, Marcy Goldman, Whitecap Books, 2009, available online (Amazon, Chapters). 

I like the Black and White Cookie concept but I am not fond of soft cookies – which classic black and white cookies usually are. Instead, my version is a crisper, butter cookie – not quite as sandy as shortbread but crisp, crunchy and dense. In honor of Sex in the City, they are half black and half….pink. But make them black and white of course – for the real deal if you like or a variety of half this and half that. Orange tinted, orange flavoured fondant alongside chocolate would be terrific.

These are dense biscotti that feature big dark cherries (but sour cherries are nice too) and a bit of a mysterious spice called mahlep, available in Middle Eastern spice stores.  The wine and cherry juice sugar coating is an extra touch; these are wonderful with or without the sweet coating.

Deep chocolate and a ribbon of cherry preserves, spiked with Cherry Herring or Kirsch, all coated in melt chocolate. A little autumal elegance

Dried blueberries (or semi-frozen, small fresh blueberries) make these an incredible new tradition in holiday cookies. Cream and a touch of white chocolate take this forest berry to new heights.

Gooey, rich and summery squares. Big hunks to munch on at the outdoor terrace or city square or courtyard  (those cement and grass squares between buildings) on a lunch break at work or strolling in the park. This classic bar soars to new heights with contemporary touches of berries and white chocolate.

Lightly butterscotch in character, fine shortbread by any other name. Make a tin of mixed white sugar and brown sugar shortbread. Pulverized sugar is the trick along with a smidgen of rice flour and slow baking.

These are enormous cookies, crisp Tollhouse that surround a huge center of fudge brownie – almost like a giant cookie dumpling. You bite into a crisp and chewy cookie and immediately encounter an almost molten center of chocolate. The contrast of crisp cookie and dense, moist brownie is magical. If you have extra brownies (and you might, depending on how large you cut them), feel free to snack on them. A visitor asked me to recreate these, as something similar is on the Bon Appetit website http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2008/09/brownie_chunk_cookies.

I mistook the concept of brownies and Tollhouse cookies to mean: a whole brownie wrapped in cookie dough versus chunks of brownies IN a Tollhouse cookie batter (in addition to the chocolate chips). That sounds amazing too but for the moment I am stuck on my own rendition of a whole fabulous brownie wrapped inside cookie dough.

 

These are worth their weight in gold. A scone recipe (of all things) that went awry. No self-respecting baker throws out a pound of butter, a lump of brown sugar and heavy cream just because things "don't look right". I rarely omit vanilla in my cookie recipes but one this soars with unrivaled, pure flavor of the butter and brown sugar. This is essentially big sticks of biscotti with a shortbread pedigree.

 

Buttermilk Cinnamon Biscotti is a mellow and spicy combination. It is like cinnamon toast but in a snappy stick of biscotti.