Saturday Morning Coffee with Biscotti and A Good Book

 

While browsing through an Italian grocery shop this past week, I couldn't resist picking up a package of biscotti.

 

These traditional Italian cookies are the perfect pairing for with a morning coffee. And I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Saturday morning than with a cup of coffee, a Cappuccino Dipped Biscotti and a book I picked up at the library yesterday.

 

My Hyacinths are still in bloom. These are the second blooms.

 

These biscottis are the best I've tasted in a very long time. They are perfectly crisp, but still hold their own when dipped in coffee. These are Cappuccino Dipped with Almonds, but I also tried the Chocolate Chip Dipped in Chocolate. They were delicious as well!

 

The book is called Simple Country Wisdom by Country Living.

 

 

It's "501 old-fashioned ideas to simplify your life" and as you can see from the table of contents, it covers just about everything.

 

I wasn't the only one enjoying the treat. He snuck in and knew exactly what to do!

 

 

Willen absolutely loves our trips to the library and loves to read. This is one of the things I love about him. He can pick up a stack of books and easily sit for an hour, quietly reading to himself. It's something we've really tried to encourage. His closet in his bedroom is his Library.

 

 

The last of my Daffodils are still blooming as well.

 

They've almost finished, but they've brightened our entrance for a couple of weeks.

French Macarons

There have been few recipes that have exhausted my patience as much as these tiny French delicacies have.

The French Macaron. It's on my list of "culinary feats", and has been for quite some time now. The recipe seems simple: a basic meringue folded into a mixture of powdered sugar and finely ground almonds. The technique however, seems like nothing less than rocket science. In theory, these cookies are simple, but the unsuccessful batches preceding these speak for themselves.

It's actually quite funny how this batch turned out relatively decent. (I say that because anyone who knows macarons, knows there are processes and techniques, neither of which I paid much attention to, but the end result was deceivingly close to the real things!). While preparing a meringue for some chewy meringue nests, I noticed that the consistency of the meringue was just what I was failing to achieve while attempting the macarons. The smooth, glossy mixture was disappearing just as it should and was holding it's own, instead of melting away. On a whim, I decided to throw technique to the wind and experiment. I sprinkled some almond meal right into the mix (I can hear the gasps of pastry chefs near and far!). I filled my piping bag and began to quickly pipe out perfectly round little tops and bottoms. To my surprise they formed perfect little circles in true macaron fashion. I let them rest and baked them, estimating at the time and temperate based on the numerous other recipes I have tried previously. I don't think anyone was prepared for my excitement when I pulled them out of the oven to discover that they have puffed perfectly, while staying smooth, with perfect little "feet" as they call them (the ruffled bottom)! You would have thought I had won the lottery!

But, to be honest, I was ecstatic! This was a challenge, that time after time, continued to get the best of me. Batch after batch, I produced nothing but mis-shaped, flat or overcooked blobs of meringue. So when by accident I was able to produce one good batch of perfectly dainty macarons, I was obligated to celebrate!

I filled them with Vanilla Bean Buttercream, and sandwiched them together, finding satisfaction with each one. They tasted amazing - they tasted like victory. I enjoyed every bit of them, which is a good thing because I won't be attempting them again in the near future. But, at least I can finally check them off my list!

Baking Day - Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Having nothing sweet to munch on with my tea (I purged my cupboards of junk yesterday in hopes of sticking to new years resolutions), I decided to make a batch of cookies. I justified said baking because I will send some in with my husband to work tomorrow. But I'm not going to lie, they were just as much for me.

This is just a small adaptation of my Aunt Jeanette's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, our family's favourite. The small adaptation? Why use chocolate chips when you can use chunks of three different kinds of chocolate - good chocolate?

So, here we go.

- Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies -

In a large bowl, add all of the following ingredients together and mix, with hands, until combined.

This is for a double batch which makes about 2 1/2 dozen large cookies.

2 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. Crisco* shortening

1 c. Crisco oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups of chopped chocolate (any kind or use the same amount of chips).

* Crisco is just the recommended brand. Use any you may have but in my opinion, it gives the crispest, yet still crumbly and moist texture.

These are a few things that really make the difference I think:

Good quality, pure vanilla extract, Crisco shortening and oil, farm fresh eggs, cream of tartar, and of course, good quality baking chocolate.

Mix all the ingredients together in the bowl, with your hands. Use an cookie scoop for equal sized cookies. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet with no parchment paper (this makes them crisp), and bake at 350' for about 12 minutes until nice and golden.

Of course, sampling the cookie dough is a must!