Shopping Around The World

Shopping!!

It’s time to join in one of the more FUN exercises we do every month with our co-hosts Fozziemum and Bacon which is when we all share recipes and prices of the items IN our recipes…….why is that fun?  Because we learn some yummy stuff to make AND we see if we should be complaining about how expensive everything we get in the grocery is OR should we be feeling good that we don’t pay as much as some????  HAHAHAHA

My Mom is at the point where she’s making biscotti almost every week and we even supply the neighbors some some because THEY like it to so I’d say my Mom is the Biscotti Queen.    That’s why I’m sharing THAT recipe this month!

Mom’s Biscotti Recipe

Mom makes biscotti using all kinds of dried fruit and nuts but THIS recipe is Dad’s favorite – cranberry biscotti.   You can substitute ANY dried fruit or almost any kind of nuts you like in this recipe!  If Mom makes Almond Biscotti she will substitute almond extract for vanilla extract.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour (Price this week at our grocery 5 lbs. bag of flour was $1.47)

3/4-1 cup sugar (Price this week at our grocery 4 lb. bag of sugar was $2.79)  Note:  if you like your biscotti on the SWEET side, use 1 cup……otherwise 3/4 cup

1 tablespoon baking powder (Price this week at our grocery for 10 oz. container was $1.27)

1 teasp. vanilla extract (Price this week at our grocery for 2 oz. bottle was $3.79)

5 oz. package dried fruit (can be more or less as you like) – (Price this week for 5 oz. package of dried cranberries was $3.39)

3 large eggs (Price this week for one doz. large eggs was $1.59)

1 stick butter – melted (Price this week for butter 16 oz. package $3.45)

DIRECTIONS:

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees……….use large cookie sheet (ungreased).   Mom lines her cookie sheet with parchment but that’s not necessary.

In large mixing bowl, combine sugar and melted butter……..then with hand mixer add one egg at a time and beat well.   Add the vanilla extract to that mix and set aside.    In second mixing bowl, combine three cups flour and one tablespoon baking powder.  Mix well.    Put the butter mixture into the flour/baking powder and mix well.    Batter will be STIFF.    Add fruit or nuts (you can add more or less than I’ve shown in the recipe – it’s totally to your taste…..sometimes I add a LOT more fruit or nuts than one 5 oz. package!).     Mix well.

On floured surface, divide the dough into three equal portions.    Shape each portion into round “loaf” about 9-10 inches long.   Transfer each loaf onto cookie sheet and flatten with your hand until each loaf is about three inches wide and about 3/4 inch thick.    Separate each flattened loaf by at least an inch on the cookie sheet – more if your cookie sheet is large enough!

Bake in oven for 18-20 minutes until light golden color………remove and cool for ten minutes on cookie sheet.    After cooling, transfer loaves to large cutting board and using very sharp knife, cut the loaves on a diagonal into pieces about an inch wide.   Cutting on the diagonal will give you “longer” biscotti.   Note:  Try to make one, swift cut for each piece because the cookies are pretty delicate at this point – don’t use a “sawing” motion or they will break up.    Put cut pieces back on the cookie sheet cut side down.  They can be crowded on the cookie sheet – no need to leave space between.    There will be room for all three loaves of cut biscotti on one cookie sheet!     Put back in hot oven for 10 minutes, remove from oven and carefully turn pieces over to expose other side – then back in the oven they go for another 10 minutes.   Keep an eye on them –  you don’t want them to burn but you want them to be browned up a bit.    Almost every time I make these I either have to add a minute or less (don’t ask me why – maybe my oven?!).

Let finished biscotti cool on the cookie sheet.    They are delicious warm AND if you want to, you can easily make a chocolate sauce (melted chocolate) to dip one end of each piece into and allow them to dry if you like your biscotti like that.

IT IS DELICIOUS!!!!   I promise – and so easy to make.

Easy Peasy Biscotti !

Trust me – you’re gonna like it!   HAPPY SHOPPNG!

Hugs, Sammy