Biscotti with Lavender & Orange

Seeing as I was a little quiet around here on the blog last week with no recipe to share, I thought I would offer you something sweet to make up for it. Perhaps something that goes well with an afternoon or after-dinner cup of tea or coffee?

Ahh yes. The crunchy Italian cookie...biscotti.

Twice Baked.

Perfect for dipping.

So crunchy and light.

You'll want to fill your cookie jar with this Italian favourite for a sophisticated treat.

In this recipe I paired dried lavender with fresh orange zest. Lovely lavender is one of my favourite flowers/herbs, and is a unique ingredient to use in baking. The first time I tried lavender was a few years ago in a dessert made of fresh seasonal berries that was topped off with a lavender whipped cream. It was so delicate. I could not believe it when I was told that it was made with real fresh lavender.

I love the smell of the lavender mingly with the orange while the bake in the oven. It fills the house with the smell of cookies and fragrant lavender at the same time.

Now if you've never made biscotti before, fear not, it's not as difficult as you may think. Its actually quite simple.

First mix together the sugar, butter, lavender, orange zest, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in the egg whites, one at a time.

Next you'll combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually add this to the sugar mix until blended and stir in the currants.

For the next part you want to shape the dough with lightly floured hands to form a log that's about 10 inches long and 1 inch tall. Flatten the dough and place it on the cookie sheet like you can see I've done here. Now it bakes for a good 30 minutes and cools for 5-10 minutes. So grab a good book and put your feet up while the smells fill your house.

After Baking...

Once the cookie has cooled enough for you to handle it, cut the roll diagonally into 1/2 inch cookies. I find it's best to use a very long serrated knife for this. A good bread knife works well. Now put the biscotti back on the cookie sheet standing upright to bake for a second time.

These are definitely worth the time it takes to make them.

They store very well so feel free to make a double batch.

Lavender Orange Biscotti (makes 12)

Print or email this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup natural cane sugar
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp dried lavender
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cups red fife flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp dried currants

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Beat together sugar, butter, lavender, orange zest, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in egg whites, one at a time.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, beating until combined.
4. Turn the dough out onto prepared baking sheet. Lightly sprinkle your hands and the dough with flour. Shape the dough into a 10-inch-long roll; flatten the roll of dough to a 1-inch thickness. Set sheet in the oven and bake at 325˚F for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. Remove baking sheet from oven and place on wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes.
5. Using a spatula transfer the roll to a cutting board. Slice diagonally with a serrated knife and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices upright back on the baking sheet. Bake the biscotti slices at 325˚F for 15 minutes until golden brown on each side once again.
6. Remove from baking sheet and transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container; they will last for up to a month.

{Notes}

• You may also want to use a rolling pin to help with flattening the dough.
• The biscotti can also be frozen to last for several months. Make sure they are in an air-tight container or freezer bag.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Peanut Butter, almond butter, hazelnut butter, cashew butter...I love them all and wish I could use them as toothpaste!

If you have a serious cookie craving then you have come to the right place. These peanut butter cookies are now one of my new favourites. They have a bit of a twist on the classic peanut butter cookie.

I decided to make them gluten-free, so for the flour I used my all purpose gluten-free blend, which I had leftover from last week's Blueberry-Peach Cobbler. If you don't have any problems with gluten and you want to, you can substitute plain old everyday all purpose flour with the exact same measurements I give for the gluten-free flour. However, these cookies turned out amazing using the gluten-free all purpose flour mix. In fact if you gave these cookies to your friends and family and then told them that they were gluten-free they probably wouldn't believe you. That's how much faith I have in this flour mix.

These are lightly spiced with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. The butter is cut back because of the addition of peanut butter. They're similar in taste to a ginger cookie with the molasses and warm spices.

They are a very thin cookie but don't let that fool you. They're soft and chewy on the inside. And the little bit of chocolate brings it all together.

This is my new addiction!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies gluten free (yields 1 dozen)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose gluten-free flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or ground nutmeg)
  
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
• 1/3 cup light peanut butter
• 3 tbsp butter, softened
• 2 tbsp molasses
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 ounces chocolate chunks
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. Combine granulated sugar and remaining 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. In another medium bowl, beat together brown sugar, peanut butter and butter on medium speed of electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla. Beat again until smooth.
4. Working a little bit at a time, stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture until all the flour mix is incorporated. Stir in chocolate chunks. The dough will be stiff. Using your hands, shape dough into 2 inch balls. Roll balls in reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart (6 per sheet is best). Flatten cookies slightly using a fork.
5. Bake for 7 minutes. They may appear undercooked, but that’s okay. Remove cookies from oven and immediately transfer from pan to a wire rack to cool.