This is a mini version of the cookies that Clare baked for Mike Quinn the morning after she found Alf’s body; when she asked her baker to reproduce batches to sell in the Village Blend pastry case, they sold out in record time! Chopped pistachios are what give this festive cookie its hint of green, and dried cranberries provide the cheerful red accent. Dipping the top edges in melted white chocolate bestows holiday richness while mimicking a kiss of winter snow. Clare’s addition of ground cinnamon is unconventional for biscotti, but the hint of holiday spice strikes a surprisingly harmonious chord with this combination of flavors. The melted butter imparts a pleasant taste, too; and while the addition of shortening to any biscotti recipe reduces its shelf life, these cookies look and taste so good, they disappear quickly anyway!
Makes 36-40 mini biscotti
1 cup dried cranberries, or “Craisins”
1 cup pistachios (I use dry roasted, salted pistachios from the snack food aisle and remove shells by hand.)
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk (save egg white for glaze)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups white chocolate, chopped into small pieces or use chips
Step 1—Prepare Red and Green Goodies: Place dried cranberries in a bowl and cover with hot tap water to plump up. Let sit for at least 15 minutes but no longer than an hour. Drain well before adding to recipe. For pistachios: Remove shells, measure out 1 cup’s worth, then roughly chop. Clare simply places nuts in a plastic bag and bangs away with a ladle or meat hammer. (If using a food processor or spice grinder, be careful. You want roughly chopped pistachios not green powder.)
Step 2—Make dough: Using an electric mixer, beat eggs, egg yolk, and sugar for 2 full minutes. Add vanilla and melted (and cooled) butter and beat for another full minute. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Now marry your wet and dry ingredients, mixing only enough to form dough. Fold in drained, dried cranberries and roughly chopped pistachios. (At this stage, Clare dusts her hands with flour and uses her fingers to fold in the goodies, making sure they’re evenly incorporated. Just take care not to overwork the dough.)
Step 3—Form logs and glaze: Divide dough into two equal portions. On a floured surface, use floured fingers to form each portion into a round log measuring 12-inches long and no more than 1-inch in diameter. Place both logs onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or silicon sheets to prevent sticking. Press down lightly to flatten a bit. These skinny logs will spread out more during baking so be sure they’re well separated. Using a pastry brush, glaze the unbaked logs with the reserved egg white (just whip it up a bit with a fork before brushing). Now sprinkle both logs with granulated sugar. The glaze will help brown the logs and hold them together when you slice them.
Step 4—Bake and slice: Bake in a preheated 350ºF oven for 25 to 35 minutes (depending on your oven). Logs are finished baking when they are light golden brown, firm to the touch, and cracking a bit on the surface. Remove from oven, transfer off the hot baking sheet, and let cool completely. Wait at least 1 hour (3 is better!) and slice up like a loaf of bread. Ideally, cookies should be about ¾ of an inch in thickness. Each log will yield 18 to 20 mini-biscotti, depending on how thick or thin you slice them. For tips on preventing crumbling, see CLARE’S CRUMBLE ALERT at the end of the recipe.
Step 5—Second baking: In Italian the term “biscotti” actually means baked again. So turn the sliced mini-cookies onto their sides and bake again, in 350ºF oven, for 8 minutes on one side, then carefully (don’t burn your fingers!) turn over and bake another 7 minutes on the other side. You want your cookies to dry out and toast a bit on the surface.
Step 6—Dip in White Chocolate: Let your biscotti cool completely and then dip the top edges of each cookie with melted white chocolate. (Melting chocolate is easy but tricky. See melting instructions at the end of this recipe.) Set your freshly chocolate-dipped cookies on flat plates covered with wax or parchment paper for easy clean-up. (Do not use paper towels. They’ll stick to the chocolate!) Wait until chocolate hardens before moving again. To speed up this process, I pop the plates in the freezer for 5 minutes (just be sure to use the wax or parchment paper or some may freeze to the plate). Then fire up the coffee maker or espresso machine and enjoy!
CLARE’S CRUMBLE ALERT: Here are four tips to help prevent mini-biscotti from crumbling: (1) Let your logs cool completely, 3-4 hours is best. You can even allow the cooling logs to rest overnight. (2) Use a sharp, non-serrated knife. (3) Press straight down. No sawing. (4) Don’t try to slice cookies any thinner than ½ inch (¾ of an inch is ideal). Inevitably, a cookie or two will break apart. No worries, a few usually do (and you wanted to taste them anyway, didn’t you?). In the end, remember what Nonna Cosi always said: “Good is better than perfect.”
WARNING: Make sure your bowls, pans, and utensils are completely dry before you begin. Even a few drops of water can make the chocolate seize up!
Easy microwave method: Place chopped chocolate pieces or chocolate chips in a dry microwave-safe bowl and warm on medium power for only 30 seconds. (Why? Because you are trying to prevent scorching, which will ruin the taste of your chocolate!) Now take the bowl out of the microwave and stir it with a dry rubber spatula. Continue warming, 30 seconds at a time, stopping to stir each time. As the chocolate gets closer to melting completely, shorten the interval to 15 seconds, continuing to stir until the chocolate is just melted. Because of their milk solids, white chocolate and milk chocolate are more sensitive to scorching than dark, so be careful not to overheat.
Stovetop method: Place chopped chocolate pieces or chocolate chips in the dry top of a double boiler with hot water in the pan beneath. If you don’t have a double boiler, create your own by placing a dry, heatproof glass or metal bowl over a saucepan with hot water in it. The fit between your larger bowl and smaller saucepan beneath it should be snug and not loose. WARNING: The water you use should be hot but not boiling or simmering; neither should it be touching the container holding the chocolate. While your white chocolate melts, stir constantly with a dry rubber spatula. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate is melted. Do not allow it to scorch!
To bring the taste of home-baked holiday spices to her coffeehouse customers, Clare created these light, moist, gingery muffins for the Village Blend’s pastry case. You’ll notice there is no sugar in the muffin part of this recipe. The sweetness comes from the pure maple syrup, which is an important ingredient to get right. Pure maple syrup is not the same thing as “pancake syrup.” Pancake syrup is usually just maple-flavored corn syrup. Be sure to use real maple syrup for this recipe or the texture of your muffins will be dry instead of moist and buttery, and the taste will be less appealing, too. When in doubt, check the label. As Clare puts it: “Pure maple syrup will list only one ingredient—maple syrup!”