Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti

Macadamia Shortbread Biscotti
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 40.

It has been a year since I made my first and so far only biscotti recipe (Barbara's Milk Chocolate Biscotti). We had some friends over last night for dinner and games. I had a ton of desserts that I've been working on the past week and had the biscotti on a tray with the pfeffernusse and peanut brittle. The biscotti got the most raves. This one will definitely be a repeater.

I had started to make this a few mornings ago and was in the process of mixing the ingredients when the power went out. It came back in 5 minutes only to go off again a few minutes later. Fortunately the outage was brief and by the time I was ready to bake, it didn't happen again.  

4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract or 1/4 tsp. bitter almond extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups sifted unbleached flour
7 1/2 oz. (about 1 1/2 cups) roasted and lightly salted whole macadamia nuts (Mauna Loa is a good brand, already salted and roasted)

Ajust the oven rack 1/3 or 1/4 down from the top (if you use a lower rack, the biscotti may become too dark). Preheat to 350. Line a flat cooking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Beat the butter.

 

Add the vanilla.

Add the almond extract.

Add the salt.

Add the sugar. Mix well.

Beat in the egg.

    

On low speed, add the flour, beating only until incorporated.

Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the nuts with a wooden spoon.

Divide the dough in half and form two loafs by placing heaping tablespoons of the dough in a strip about 9 inches long on a piece of plastic wrap about 15 inches long.

Pull the plastic wrap over the dough and press down to form a strip about 9 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. Turn upside down and smooth the other side. Repeat the process with the other loaf. Place the loaves in the freezer for about 10 minutes, just so they become non-sticky to be unwrapped.

Unwrap the dough and place on the cookie sheet. This will spread about 4 inches wide so make sure there is some space between the loaves and on the sides. Bake for 25 minutes, reversing the sheet front to back halfway through.

Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 300. The baked loaves are fragile. Carefully slide them from the sheet to a cutting board.

Allow the loaves to sit for 5 minutes, then take a sharp knife and slice them crosswise on a slight angle, 3/4 to 1 inch wide.

Stand the slices up on the cookie sheet and bake for another 20-25 minutes. When done, the slices will be golden on the tops and lightly colored on the sides. Smaller pieces will bake sooner and should be removed one by one when they are ready.

Cool on a brown paper bag or paper towels. Handle carefully (some of the nuts may fall out) and store in an airtight container.

Orange Cake (Texan)

Orange Cake (Texan)
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 130.

Back in the summer, I made the Spanish Orange Cake which was delicious. I had extra oranges in the kitchen so I decided to make another orange juice from Maida's first book, the Texan Orange Cake. I expected the first cake to be stronger in orange flavor since the orange juice was baked into the cake. Not exactly so. This cake is just as flavorful and perhaps even more moist. There is only orange zest in this batter so the orange juice is applied as a glaze. Wonderful! 

3 1/2 oz. (3/4 cups) raisins
2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter (softened)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 cup unflavored yogurt
Finely grated rind of 2 large oranges

For the glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice (or 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup light rum or bourbon)

Adjust rack 1/3 from the bottom of the oven and preheat to 350. Butter (or spray) a 9 x 3 1/2 inch tube pan and dust it lightly with fine dry bread crumbs. 

Chop the raisins coarsely.

Toss the raisins with about 1 tablespoon of the flour.

Sift together the remaining flour with the baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter to soften it.

Add the vanilla.

Add the sugar. Beat 1-2 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly mixed.

On lowest mixer speed, alternately add the sifted dry ingredients...

with the yogurt (3 additions of flour mixture and 2 of the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour).

Remove bowl from the mixer and add the orange zest.

Add the raisins.

Stir well.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 55 minutes to 1 hour and 5 minutes. The cake is done when a tester comes out dry and the top springs back when lightly pressed. After baking, let it stand for about 5 minutes, then remove from the pan by inverting with a wire rack. Place the cake on a piece of aluminum foil or wax paper to apply the glaze.

Prepare the glaze by whisking together the orange juice with the sugar (or orange juice and rum).

Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the cake. (I poked holes in the cake so the glaze could penetrate the cake better).

Transfer the cake to a cake plate (you can use a flat-sided cookie sheet to make it easier).

    

Pfeffernusse

Pfeffernusse
Source: Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies (Random House, 1995 ed.), pg. 179.

I had no idea what these cookies would be like because, as in most of Maida Heatter's books, there are no photos. In her introduction to the recipe, she says that they are traditional German cookies usually made at Christmas. The name means "pepper-nuts". This is how you pronounce it.

I tried one after making them and they reminded me of something. I asked Michael to try one and he immediately said "Oh my God, these are Windmill cookies like my mother loved!" That was it! I had forgotten all about Windmill cookies but remembered them as soon as he said it. These hard, crisp  spicy cookies are flecked with almonds throughout. 

You should know that the dough will have to be refrigerated for at least 3 hours before you roll them out and bake them. You can leave the dough in the refrigerator as long as you want, until you are ready to make them. If you don't want to wait 3 hours, you can freeze for an hour but don't leave them in the freezer longer than that or the dough will crack easily. 

1/2 lb. (1 2/3 cups) blanched (skinned) hazelnuts or almonds
4 cups sifted unbleached flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper or white pepper
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. dry powdered mustard
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
10 oz. (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/4 packed cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup mild honey
1/3 cup warm water
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Toast the nuts in a shallow pan in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, until they are lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

Place the nuts and 1/4 cup of the flour (reserving the remaining 3 3/4 cups) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse 3 or 4 times until the nuts are medium-fine. Then process for about 5 seconds until the nuts are about the size of uncooked rice grains. Set aside.

Sift together the reserved flour with the salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mustard, mace and cardamom. Set aside.

 
     

Beat the butter until smooth.

Add the sugar, beating until mixed.

Mix in the honey.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of the water and add the rest to the mixing bowl.

Beat well. The mixture will look curdled.

In a small cup, add the baking soda to the 2 tablespoons of water that you reserved earlier. Mix to dissolve.

Add the baking soda and water to the batter.

On low speed, add the sifted dry ingredients.

Beat in the nuts.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces and wrap each one in a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper.

Flatten the dough to about a 1" thickness. Refrigerate at least 3 hours (you can leave in there longer if you want to wait and bake the cookies later). You can also freeze the dough but do not leave it in the freezer longer than 1 hour.

Baking the Cookies

Preheat the oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Unwrap a piece of the dough and divide it in half. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Use a large, round cookie-cutter and start cutting the cookies from the outer edges of the rolled-out dough. Place about an inch apart on the lined cookie sheets. You can roll up the remaining pieces of dough to make more cookies.

Bake for about 14-18 minutes, reversing the sheets halfway through baking. Bake until the cookies are golden. Cool briefly on cooling racks until they are firm enough to be moved. The cookies can be stored for weeks in an airtight container.