Biscotti: Slice of Life Challenge 7 of 31
Thanks Stacey and Ruth: Two Writing Teachers
#slice2013 7 of 31
When we sat down at the table at my grandparent's house, my grandpa always said, "If there is something you do not like, take a spoonful to try. You might find out you like it, or over time you might learn to like it." As a kid I wasn't sold on this advice, but as an adult I've seen some of its advantages. It's a good idea in theory, but there are a lot of foods I didn't need to learn to like to eat. I didn't need to learn to like sour cream. I didn't need to learn to like bleu cheese. I didn't need to learn to like coffee.
As I learned long ago (Thanks, Grandpa), you've got to at least give things a try so I took a piece of biscotti. Politely I took a piece of biscotti, and...
I loved it! Yes, it was crunchy, but it was sweet and delicious. Lisa left the biscotti with me, and I enjoyed every last piece. I learned how good biscotti was with coffee. For some time Lisa would bring biscotti with her every time she came. It was always a treat! I was pretty sure life couldn't get any better than this.
My sister-in-law does live almost two hours away. She couldn't bring biscotti with her every time. Eventually Lisa decided it might be best to bring the ingredients and recipe. I couldn't imagine making biscotti as good as Lisa's so it was quite some time before I finally gave it a try. One evening - in complete biscotti desperation - I grabbed Lisa's recipe and began to bake my first batch. It was better than I had anticipated, and thanks to my Kitchen Aid not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I just threw the ingredients into the Kitchen Aid, mixed, baked, cut and baked again. Ba-bing, ba-bam, ba-boom.
I learned to like coffee because everywhere I went coffee was the offered drink. Yes, I sugar it up. Yes, I cream it up, but I taught myself to like coffee. I'm not going to lie, at this point in my life I like that little kick in my morning. I didn't have to teach myself to like biscotti; it was love at first bite. It is a bonus that it makes coffee taste even better.
Now I make biscotti all the time. Now I have a biscotti addiction. There are certain things in life you shouldn't learn to like or find out that you like. I'm pretty sure the sweet treat of biscotti may be one of those things I should have tried to resist. Perhaps it would be better if we'd stick to the same basic food and not treat our tastebuds to the delicacies of life like biscotti.
My sister-in-law's recipe is a cranberry almond biscotti that is de-lish. I've made it several times now. Julie Johnson, at Raising Readers and Writers, also loves to make biscotti. She is always talking about this flavor and that flavor so I've decided I need to try a few other recipes. Yesterday on our snow day I decided to try a new recipe and made cranberry white chocolate biscotti. What kind will be next? Suggestions?
Hi! I loved reading your slice today because I'm also a big fan of biscotti and a couple years ago made it my charge to bake it best. I tried recipes and tweaked measurements and ingredients. My favorites so far are white chocolate chip craisin and plain old chocolate chip, which on certain occasions I've fancied them up by dipping the bottoms in melted semi-sweet chocolate. Oh yum. Now, to find the time to make some more. I'm glad you took a risk and tried it :).
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to try a chocolate chip recipe. Thank you for the idea to dip them in melted chocolate. Nice touch!
DeleteIt might not be better for our waistlines, but I think it's a far better thing to be open to new experiences, especially as we get older! Congrats on your baking success! I haven't baked biscotti in awhile, but now you've got me thinking...
ReplyDeleteGood point! It is good to be open to new experiences.
DeleteBiscotti, a great cup of coffee...perfection! That's was it for me yesterday at a local Barnes and Noble :) I never thought about making it at home... hmmm.
ReplyDeleteTHanks for the suggestion
If you make it at home you have so much more to enjoy!
DeleteThanks for the recipe. I love biscotti, but am not a great maker of it...but this is my favorite recipe that I make at Christmas...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Peppermint-Biscotti
Mmmm, peppermint biscotti. During the Christmas season I love peppermint coffee. The two would go so well together.
DeleteThis sounds amazing! Let's make it Cat...
DeleteIt's been awhile since I've baked biscotti...your post reminded me how much fun it is to bake new things. Tonight our house smells like our trusty chocolate chip cookies...a weekly occurrence around here!
ReplyDeleteYum! My kids love to come in to the smell of cookies baking. Enjoy!
DeleteBiscotti and coffee, yummy! I've made coconut biscotti. I like the way you say there are things that you didn't need to learn to like. Why are all things I like so full of calories?
ReplyDeleteMy opinion about biscotti has always been similar to yours at the beginning of this piece. It looks dry and crunchy and I think I can pass it by for a brownie or cookie or ??? You have me thinking that maybe I need to try it!
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a baker, but I've never tried biscotti. I may have to try one of these recipes, but I'm not sure I need another addiction.
ReplyDeleteBiscotti is the bomb!! We may need to have a biscotti baking extravaganza!
ReplyDeleteYeah Cathy! I'm with Julie. We could all pick a flavor to share.... And selfishly I didn't give Cathy the recipe for so long because I wanted to be the one to give her that treasure. However, now I realize she might make it when I go up there... Hint... Hint. And the coffee - that might be my post for another day -whip cream and chocolate are good together....
ReplyDelete