cinnamon walnut biscotti

Life is beginning to feel a little more "normal".  I'm actually baking things in my kitchen!!  I also ventured outside with my kids today.  I haven't done that in a while.  Some of them rode scooters up and down the sidewalk, others ran behind giggling all the way.  It was good for them and it was also good for me.  The warmth of the sunshine felt wonderful.

The fact that I am posting a recipe today is completely unplanned and spontaneous.  Creative exploration  in the kitchen began last night as I prepared dinner.  I really wanted something bread-like to go with our bowtie pasta and salad.  I needed it to be quick and easy and only include ingredients that I had on hand.  Have I mentioned that we recently discovered a rosemary bush growing in our backyard?  You should have heard Brienne's squeals!  She knew I would be delighted since rosemary is one of my favorite things.  I thank God for blessing us with it because it sure came in handy for the biscuit recipe we tried.

So anyway, the biscuits were yummy and being able to just grab a sprig of rosemary from the backyard was such a thrill to me.  I really ought to get my own garden going.  It was also fun to try something new.

Well, today the trying of new things happily continued.  Since Brienne is on a baking kick lately, this morning I found her leafing through one of my recipe books.  It wasn't long before she enthusiastically asked me if we could bake a biscotti recipe.  How could I refuse?  You all know how much I like biscotti, right?  The thing was, we had to consider the ingredients we had on hand.  It's kind of like a fun game for us.  We look at what we have and we decide what we can do with it.

Recently, a sweet lady at church had given us a big bag of walnuts which we have been snacking on for weeks.  Thankfully, we still had plenty leftover to throw into this recipe.  It came together so well.

I love the soft and subtle crunch of the walnuts paired with the light taste of cinnamon.  And, of course, dunking them in a hot cup of coffee makes the perfect combination.

cinnamon walnut biscotti
{makes 24 biscotti}

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted

DIRECTIONS: 
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  
Grease a baking sheet.

1.  In a large bowl, combine the first four dry ingredients and stir to combine with a wire whisk.  Set aside.
2.   With a mixer, cream the softened butter until fluffy, then gradually add the sugar as you mix.  Add each egg, one at a time and continue to mix.  Then add the vanilla extract.  Mix to combine.  Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to the butter mixture and stir to combine and form a dough.  Set aside.
3.  To toast walnuts, heat a skillet over medium-high heat.  Toast the walnuts in the skillet for about four minutes.  Transfer to a cutting board and chop into small bits.  Stir the walnuts into the dough.
4.  Divide the dough in half.  Use flour on your hands to prevent stickiness.  Transfer dough to a baking sheet and form into 12" logs.  Flatten them out on the cookie sheet to about 1" thickness.
5.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, then cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes.  Carefully transfer to a cutting board and cut into slices.  Place them (cut side up) on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.  Then, turn them over (your hands are the simply the best tool for this) and bake them for 5 minutes more.  Allow the biscotti to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

These really are super easy to make.  But they will be such a special treat with your morning cup of coffee.  They will also make a great little gift when sealed up in pretty package and given to a friend.