Final Making Over Martha Month Entry and The Very Good News

From Making Over Martha

The very good news first -- my biopsy results were fine. All was benign. Thanks again for all your support and positive energy.

OK, back to the biscotti...

For my final Making Over Martha Month recipe, I selected the Cardamom Biscotti from the July 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. I've made biscotti plenty of times to know that it's a doubly baked cookie with a distinctive crunch. However, I thought these would be very cardamom-y. They weren't. Which leads me to believe that perhaps I need to replace my cardamom powder. On the other hand, these made perfectly serviceable almond biscotti.

I'm not sure I'd make these again because I have a nice biscotti recipe, but nonetheless, they were worth making.

Per usual, I substituted agave nectar for sugar and whole wheat pastry flour for the ap flour. Also, I skipped the final step of brushing the tops with egg wash and sprinkling with sugar because, well, this is no cane sugar land.

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Cardamom Biscotti (inspired by the Cardamom Biscotti recipe from the July 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine).

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (plus 2 tablespoons more for shaping the logs)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup almonds, ground to 1/8 inch sized pieces
2 tablespoons ground cardamom
2 large eggs
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a smaller bowl beat the wet ingredients until well combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until well combined.
5. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
7. Divide the dough in half. On a well-floured surface, shape each half of the dough into a long log. Transfer the logs onto the prepared baking sheet and lightly pat down their tops so that they are slightly flattened. There should be at least 3 inches between the logs.
8. Bake the logs for 25 minutes. Take the logs out of the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack (tip: slide the entire thing -- logs and parchment paper onto the rack to cool. It's much easier to deal with this way.)
9. Transfer the logs onto a cutting board one at a time and make 1/2 to 1/4 inch slices (depending on your preference) of each log.
10. Transfer the slices back to the baking sheet and bake again for 22 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
11. Enjoy these crunchy cookies with your favorite cold or warm drink!