Florence Fabricant's Ginger-Pecan Biscotti

I know that this is probably the fiftieth post you've read about cookies - it's just that time of year - so I'll keep it brief, I promise. It's just that these biscotti are so good and so worth being added to your Christmas baking list that I can't help telling you about them. Being a purist, I have to start off by saying that this recipe, without butter or oil or any other shortening, is how real biscotti are made (of course, the ginger and pecans are New World additions, but the technique, people, that's what matters). But I have to also add that if you've never baked with turbinado sugar before (like me), then you're in for a revelation. So that's another reason to try this out.

Well, and then there's of course the taste, the heat of the ginger, the fragrance of the toasted pecans, the pleasing crunch of the large-grained sugar. These cookies are pretty great things, hard and snappy and with so much character, which is what I have come to appreciate during a season in which I am faced with endless amounts of soft and flaccid cookies. And as Florence Fabricant indicates, these biscotti go well with rye whiskey. So, if you're at your wit's end about buying a present for that one friend you never know what to buy for, or you have to show up somewhere bearing gifts in hand once again, then buy a nice bottle of rye, bake up a batch of these (eating the end pieces, of course, because those are the cook's treat), and expect to be thanked warmly.

That's it! I told you! Short and sweet and to the point!

Oh wait, one more thing. The part where you're supposed to pat out the dough, cover it with the nuts and ginger, then roll it up and cut it in half and form into a log and all that business? It's not the most logical way to proceed. I did it all on my Silpat, which was a lifesaver and what I'd recommend for you, otherwise you'll still be picking dough off your countertops four days later. But really, why don't you just stir the nuts and ginger into the dough after it's rested for half an hour? And then turn that dough into two logs? Try it that way - I think it might be easier.

Okay, and now I'm done. Happy Baking!

Ginger-Pecan Biscotti
Yields 30 biscotti

1¼ cup all-purpose flour, more for dusting
½ cup turbinado, Demerara or granulated brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/3 cup chopped pecans

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Remove 1½ tablespoons of the egg to a small dish and reserve. Add vanilla to the rest. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add egg-vanilla mixture and, using your hands or a large rubber spatula, work flour into eggs. It will be crumbly at first but will soon form into a soft dough. Allow to rest 10 minutes.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough into an 8-inch square. Spread ginger and pecans on it, lightly pressing them in. Tightly roll up dough and cut it in two. Press and roll each piece into a log about 9 inches long. Place logs on baking sheet, brush with reserved egg and bake about 20 minutes, until firm to the touch and lightly browned.

3. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Use a sharp, thin knife to cut logs at an angle into ½-inch-thick slices. Stand slices an inch apart on baking sheet and return to oven 15 to 20 minutes, until crisp. Cool completely before serving.

Comments

[s'kat]

Those look great! I never get tired of making biscotti. Unfortunately, I never seem to get tired of eating them, either!

[deb]

Yum! I saw that thought it looked great, too. I had NO IDEA that biscotti aren't supposed to have butter/oil etc. in them. I am pitifully American.

On a completely unrelated note, but I thought you would find this amusing, I made the chipotle meatballs from Rick Bayless in the NYTimes last February, only to find them inedibly, grotesquely spicy, only to learn today (via Kottke) that it wrongly called for 1-2 cans of chipotle when it should have said 1-2 canned chipotles. You don't say!

http://www.regrettheerror.com/2006/02/super_bowl_reci.html

[Maya]

Oh, these look so good. I jsut made biscotti last night -- a dried cranberry-pistachio dipped in white chocolate affair. Really good. But I would love a ginger biscotti -- and yours looks so good and chunky.

[Tanna]

I guess I've never made the real deal. Yours really makes me think I should. I guess which ever way you do it, it's sticky.

[Luisa]

S'kat - yes, but these cookies can actually be indulged in without too much guilt!

Deb - oh yes, I remember when the Times issued a redaction to that recipe... what a nightmare it must have been to eat those!

Maya - ah, yes. The cranberry-pistachio combination. So good, right?

Tanna - There's always a first time!

[Christina]

Sold. I'll try them. I'm a big biscotti fan and the only recipe I make has just two tsp. of butter. I think that is rather authentic. They're super crunchy and not crumbly at all. I'm off to shop tomorrow for demerara sugar and crystallized ginger!

[Ari (Baking and Books)]

These do look amazingly delicious. I'd like one with my morning coffee please!

[Anne]

Those look amazingly decadant for biscotti. I wish I had one right now!

Nice pic on EatDrinkOneWoman!

[Luisa]

Christina - I hope you liked these. I can't wait to bake with raw sugar again.

Ari - all gone! :)

Anne - thank you...

[Christina]

Luisa-
These are so incredible! Thanks for sharing the recipe and urging us all to try them. They just didn't make enough with one batch, though. I'm making another one tomorrow- a good way to use up all the crystallized ginger I've got!
Happy New Year!

[Ulrike aka ostwestwind]

I tried the recipe and as a German I weighed all ingredients :-). Delicious. Thanks for the recipe and

Guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr!

[larry]

I have never understood why use both baking powder and baking soda.
Every answer I have received so far says if using soda you need a acid neutralizer with it. If baking powder, it is double acting and needs nothing else.
So can someone explain why both
thanks