lemon almond biscotti.

What better way to brighten up a rainy Sunday morning than with an enormous mug of tea and a few homemade biscotti?


My mom brought me a batch of these recently and I devoured them with shameless speed. Made with whole wheat flour and not too sweet, they're a satisfying (and satisfyingly crunchy!) treat. The original recipe is from Martha Stewart; I flipped the proportions of whole wheat and all-purpose flour, scaled back on the sugar, increased the lemon zest, and brushed them with egg whites and sugar before baking. YUM. Thanks for the recipe suggestion, Mom!


Lemon Almond Biscotti
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living (December 2009)

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar + 1 tbsp. (optional: for sprinkling)
1/3 c. honey
zest of 3 lemons
3/4 tsp. sea salt
3 eggs + 1 egg white (optional: for brushing)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. almond extract
1 c. whole almonds (*I like the chewiness of raw almonds, but roasted would work just as well)

1. Combine flours and baking powder; set aside. Beat butter, sugar, honey, lemon zest, and salt on med. speed until light and fluffy (about 2 mins.). Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each one. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts. Mix in flour mixture in 3-4 batches, scraping down bowl after each one. Fold in almonds with rubber spatula. Wrap dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (*Note: this dough never got completely firm, like certain cookie doughs might. Not to worry.)

2. Flour a work surface. Divide dough in half and gently pat/press each one into a rectangle about 3x13". (*Martha suggests 2x15"; it seems like variation doesn't matter too much here.) Transfer these to one parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced about 4" apart, and refrigerate for 30 mins.

3. Preheat oven to 325F. [Optional: brush the top of each rectangle with egg white and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Makes them shiny!] Bake for 35 mins., until golden and slightly firm. Remove from oven and let cool slightly; reduce oven to 300F. When rectangles are cool enough, transfer to cutting board. Cut into slices 1/2" to 3/4" thick - I found it easier to cut slightly thicker slices because of the almonds. Return to baking sheet on their sides (I added another baking sheet at this point and used one for each batch of slices) and bake about 30 mins. more. Flip them over halfway through the baking so that they brown evenly on both sides. Let cool on sheets.

granola bars.

Some days it's just not enough to read and/or to write. Some days I need to make something: to pour, to measure, to crumble, to chop, to stir. Just for the pleasure of it. This was such a day.

So I made granola bars. I love mixing together all of these ingredients that are good individually but together form something delicious. I'd made this recipe from smitten kitchen once before and loved it, but I found the bars a tad too sweet and almost too moist. So this I switched from white to brown sugar, added a bit more cinnamon, and cut down the butter just a bit: yummy success!

The best thing about these, other than their taste? You can play with all sorts of combinations of dried fruits and nuts. I used whatever I had on hand; next time, I think I'll throw in some chocolate chips, too!

Chewy Granola Bars
Adapted from smitten kitchen

1 2/3 c. quick rolled oats (*I only had old-fashioned and actually really liked the results)
1/3 c. oats, processed until finely ground, or oat flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 to 3 c. dried fruit and nuts (*see note below)
1/3 c. smooth peanut butter or other nut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. light corn syrup (*I might try replacing this with more honey next time - will report back)
1 tbsp. water

*Note: Any combination seems like it would work. I used 1/2 c. dried Bing cherries (processed until coarsely chopped), 1/2 c. dried cranberries, 1/2 c. wheat germ, 1/2 c. shredded coconut, 1/2 c. sunflower seeds, and 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. Smitten kitchen's suggestions also include dried apricots or apples, pecans, and pepitas.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8x8" baking pan/dish with parchment in one direction so that it sticks up on both ends. (You'll need these handles later to get the bars out smoothly.) Lightly grease parchment and exposed pan.

2. Stir together all dry ingredients, including fruit and nuts.


3. In separate bowl, stir together vanilla, melted butter, peanut butter, honey, corn syrup, and water. (*Hint: coating your measuring cup/spoon with a little melted butter makes it a lot easier to get the peanut butter/honey/corn syrup out cleanly.)


4. Stir the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture in about 3 batches, to make it easier to combine. Make sure the mixture is evenly crumbly.


5. Spread into the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Use a sheet of plastic wrap or, even more efficiently, lightly butter your fingertips to press the mixture down. (And really press - I learned my lesson last time with too-loosely-packed and therefore too-crumbly bars, so this time I pressed down firmly with the flat of my hand. Much better.)

6. Bake for 30-40 mins., until lightly browned around the edges and beginning to brown on top. Don't worry if they seem underbaked in the middle; they'll firm up. Let cool in the pan. If you're in a hurry, you can lift them out in their parchment sling after about 20 mins. and let them finish cooling on a wire rack. Whatever you do, let them cool completely before you cut them. (Smitten kitchen suggests refrigerating them for another 30 mins. after they're cooled to make them even easier to cut; I was too impatient, so there was a little crumbling.) Wrap individually in plastic or store in an airtight container.