Thanksgiving Baking, 2011

My friend Rachel over at De Ma Cuisine asked me to do a guest post for her blog (it may appear sometime this week), so I thought I could actually post something on my own for once...
Thanksgiving is next week, and in my world that means a frenzy of big baking projects, filling the freezer with as much as possible this week before the ovens are filled with 8 turkeys next week and I can't make any more desserts.  With the Thanksgiving Conference here at His Hill, basically what we do is we eat, have a teaching session, eat, have a teaching session, eat,... you get the picture.  I love the challenge and creativitiy of coming up with as many yummy desserts and baked pastries as I can, and seeing if I can out do last year. I'm so thankful for all the students who are only too willing to help with any baking projects I may have when their afternoon is free.  Already in the freezer are 200-ish pumpkin cookies (mmm), a few batches of biscotti, 300 dinner rolls, 120 croissants ready to bake, and 9 loaves of crusty sourdough bread.  Tomorrow will be another afternoon of baking.  So fun! 

I learned to make croissants last month by watching Julia Child on youtube... she makes it quite easy and fun!  You, too, can be a French baker.  Bon Apetit!

Potato Pan Rolls... by far the softest dinner roll recipe I have. So good.

Apricot-Almond, and Espresso-Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Here are some of my favorite biscotti recipes.  Don't be afraid to bake biscotti!  It's really easy- in some ways it's easier than cookies because there are less steps to get them in the oven.  My favorite is the almond recipe, with chopped almonds (not too small) and dried cranberries or cherries.  If you do the chocolate espresso, an added gourmet touch is to dip one end in melted chocolate.

Almond Biscotti

3 1/4 cup flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 t each, almond extract and vanilla
1 1/3 C (5 oz) slivered blanched almonds (toasted first, 10 minutes at 350 degrees, cooled)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line sheet pan with parchment paper or foil that’s been greased. Sift together first 3 ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs and sugar for 2 minutes till light and fluffy. Add oil, vanilla and almond, mix until thick and smooth, 1 minute. On slow speed, add flour mixture. Knead in nuts (also you can add chopped dried apricots, cranberries, dried cherries, walnuts, white chocolate or chocolate chips. Be creative!).
Divide dough in half. Form 2 logs, 14 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide, 3/4 inches high. Place side by side on parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake 3- minutes. Remove and cut in 3/4 inch slices, diagonally. Use a sharp, serrated bread knife for this, cutting gently in a sawing motion so the biscotti does not crumble. Arrange slices on the pan, and bake an additional 10 minutes to toast and make crunchy. Flip and toast again (you do not have to do this step if you prefer your biscotti chewy).
Store at room temperature in a sealed container or plastic bag, or in the freezer.

Espresso-Chocolate Chip Biscotti
2 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup choc. chips
2 t baking powder
1 t cinnamon
1/8 t salt
1/2 cup instant coffee granules
1 T hot water
1 T veg. Oil
2 t vanilla
3 large eggs

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix flour through the salt. In a small bowl, mix the instant coffee with 1 T hot water until the granules are dissolved. Blend the rest of the ingredients, along with dissolved coffee, into the dry ingredients until mixture is blended and seems like a stiff cookie dough.
Divide dough in half. Form 2 logs, 14 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide, 3/4 inches high. Place side by side on parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake 3- minutes. Remove and cut in 3/4 inch slices, diagonally. Use a sharp, serrated bread knife for this, cutting gently in a sawing motion so the biscotti does not crumble. Arrange slices on the pan, and bake an additional 10 minutes to toast and make crunchy. Flip and toast again (you do not have to do this step if you prefer your biscotti chewy).
Store at room temperature in a sealed container or plastic bag, or in the freezer.


Chai Spice Biscotti
 2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 T loose Chai spice tea or orange spice tea (about 3 tea bags)
2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t ground ginger
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t ground allspice
1 1/2 t ground cardamom
1 T veg. Oil
1 T orange juice
3 large eggs

In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flour through cardamom. Add the wet ingredients and blend well until mixture resembles a stiff cookie dough.
Divide dough in half. Form 2 logs, 14 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide, 3/4 inches high. Place side by side on parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake 3- minutes. Remove and cut in 3/4 inch slices, diagonally. Use a sharp, serrated bread knife for this, cutting gently in a sawing motion so the biscotti does not crumble. Arrange slices on the pan, and bake an additional 10 minutes to toast and make crunchy. Flip and toast again (you do not have to do this step if you prefer your biscotti chewy).
Store at room temperature in a sealed container or plastic bag, or in the freezer.