29 September 2008

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!

13 comments:

The Diva on a Diet said...

So very glad to hear your good results, Deb. Yay!

As for the biscotti, I love the flavor of cardamom and have never tried making biscotti with whole wheat flour ... so I'm game. I may not get to the recipe this week, but will report back when I do. They look delish.

Amy said...

I'm glad your biopsy results were okay! I've been meaning to comment and wish you luck with it, but you beat me to it with the results.

Mmmm I LOVE cardamom, these sound delicious!

Catherine Weber said...

hooray! I'm glad you are a-ok.

P.S. Biscotti are so delicious! Well done!

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Diva! I'm always interested in your baking results. :D Looking forward to your post on them.

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks also Veg and Catherine. Your positive thinking really helped!

Anonymous said...

omg, what a relief! big squishy hug to you, Deb.

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks Celine! Although I'm still a bit sore. No in-person, big, squishy hugs for a little while yet. ;)

Me and my purple bruised boob are still healing up. Maybe I should make some purple cupcakes to match!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I am glad your tests came back OK. Your biscotti looks great too!

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Deb!

Anonymous said...

Hi Deb,

L'shana Tova has a whole new meaning. I certainly wish you it again.

I hope you will recover from the tests, soon, too. They are never fun.

I will look forward to you working with me on a challenging recipe I am posting on my blog. I don't have the time to adapt it completely yet. Maybe you can help.

It would be great for Sukkoth, but it takes time. As it is sourdough, the wild yeast do have to eat. Of course the original calls for sugar, but I'd love to get your expertise involved to work to see if the anti-biotic aspects of honey will let the yeast be viable (that's only if you need no sugar, in the starter). Maybe the yeast do eat all the sugar, but I am not sure. I wasn't about to try raw starter!

Certainly, I want to get agave into the recipe, and it makes sense at the point where we are just adding the final ingredients, for the actual baking.

My daughter gave us the recipe; then my husband, who loves to bake, made it with my substitutions. But, I want it still to be healthier, especially for my diabetic readers.

The actual portions, even with sugar will be quite small, as the "bread // cake" has a really incredible consistency which allows cutting it with a cake knife into as thin as 1/8" slice! And, being sourdough, it also keeps well.

Come visit me again at my blog. I'm posting the recipe today. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best to all --- Em
http://diabetesdietdialogue.wordpress.com

Deb Schiff said...

Thank you for the very kind New Year's greetings, Em. I'll respond offline. ;D

Anonymous said...

What a relief! Glad to hear you got some good news.

Deb Schiff said...

Thanks, Anna. I really appreciate everyone's kind thoughts.