Apparently I’m on a pumpkin spree.
Allow me to grin sheepishly and assure you that pumpkin puree season is almost over, a fact that makes me feel both sad and just a little relieved. For Chris, at least. His pumpkin fatiguée has never run so high. (Although one serving of pumpkin pie should cure him of that.)
And admittedly, even my tolerance is beginning to wane. I tend towards the obsessive in many aspects of my life, and pumpkin is one of these things. As well as listening to the same song/album on repeat, wearing the same shirt for weeks on end, wanting to eat at the same restaurant every time I go out, etc. etc. The inevitable result of such overload is almost criminally tragic: after such sensory gluttony, said objects/activities become warped, twisted. I can never view them the same way again.
That early magic is so transcendent, yet transient. Like the first time I heard the song “Weird Fishes by Radiohead.” God, I was moved. It haunted me. I still love it—and the entire album for that matter—but how I wish I could hear it again for the first time. (You can.)
So seasonality may not be such a bad thing after all. I mean, I wouldn’t mind having access to perfectly ripe peaches the entire year round. But I’d be losing the experience of the anticipation, and the unadulterated captivation of the first bite. Which means more to me than you can know.
With all that being said, it’s almost time to retire pumpkin. Almost. After all, there’s still pumpkin pie to be had.
Traditional Italian biscotti is not the buttery, cake-y creations we have today. They’re supposed to be biscuits after all, and biscuits do not connote dessert. It was made exclusively with flour, sugar, eggs, almonds (not roasted or skinned), and pine nuts. And meant to last a long time. Centuries, if stored carefully, according to Pliny the Elder.
Purists would call the recipe below a bastardization then. At the same time, I didn’t want to make anything too extravagant, too rich, too filling. I didn’t want to dip my biscuits in chocolate, or adorn them knee-deep with toppings, or have them leave behind butter stains on my finger. Rather, I was craving a sensible, no-nonsense, pumpkin-flavored treat to eat alongside my mid-morning coffee.
And that’s how these biscotti came out.
Of course, my few modest additions helped ever so much with the flavor, if I do say so myself. Dried cranberries to make it feel more festive, slivered almonds because they were one of the original ingredients, cinnamon, ground ginger, and cardamom because why the hell not. I dusted the top with black sesame seeds, bird food really, and into the oven my fat little loaf went.
Twice.
Because that’s how you make biscotti. You bake it twice.
PUMPKIN BISCOTTI WITH CRANBERRIES AND ALMONDS
Adapted from The New Best Recipe
Makes about 50
Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
black sesame seeds for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a larger bowl, whisk the pumpkin puree, sugar, and eggs together until smooth. Stir in the vanilla extract, almonds, and cranberries. Pour the dry ingredients over the egg mixture and fold until just combined.
Halve the dough and turn each half onto the prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, stretch each half into a long loaf about 12 inches. Shape and pat each one smooth. Sprinkle liberally with black sesame seeds.
Bake until the loaves begin to crackle on top, about 25 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking. Remove from the oven and let the pan cool for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
Transfer the loaves onto a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into thin slices, about 1/2-inch. Lay the slices back on the baking sheet and return them to oven. Bake until crisp and golden-brown on both sides, about 15 minutes. Halfway through baking, turn the cookies over and rotate the baking sheet.
Remove from oven, and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
I never understood biscotti as a kid because it was so tough, crunchy, and not very sweet. My mom would always dip it in her coffee and as much as I tried to be like her I just didn’t like biscotti. Now I love it as a subtle counterpart to coffee or tea in the morning.
Yeah, I think I first started eating biscotti when I started drinking coffee. There’s something so satisfying about dipping it into a latte. The way the foam clings to it when you take it out, maybe?
I’m totally on the same page – I’m so tired of everything being pumpkin this and pumpkin that, yet I can’t stop thinking of new ways to use it! These look lovely and I’m obsessed with that second picture.
Next up… ginger! Seriously, I feel like I’ve done the pumpkin thing to death. Need to stop, and find other things to do with my time, haha.
Haha, I’m not gonna lie, the first thing I thought when I saw there was pumpkin in this recipe was “wow, she’s still doing the pumpkin thing!” Not that I’m complaining! I’m like you and obsess over one good thing until I am bored to death by it. Interesting how you put pumpkin in biscotti, though. Never seen that before, but it sounds awesome.
Oh yeah, and loved seeing Radiohead. That album was a favorite for awhile, especially that All I Need song. Isn’t hearing new, crazy-good music that sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before the best feeling in the world?
I am doing the pumpkin thing, haha. But seriously, even if you’re not complaining, my taste buds are. They’re ready for something new, something that doesn’t contain cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.
I’m so glad you like In Rainbows! It’s probably one of my favorites of all time. How do you find new music? I have the hardest time, even with programs like Spotify. So instead, I find myself listening to Fleetwood Mac on repeat. (Not that I’m complaining. They’re another one of my favorites.)
Haha! I find spotify really difficult for finding new things just because like you, I end up using it as a way to hear old bruce springsteen/rolling stones/nirvana songs. I’m lucky though in that I have a twin sister who is a bit adventurous and always meeting new people and hearing new music that she passes on to me. Have you heard of Blake Mills? His song Wintersong is really good. Some other really random songs I’ve been liking include Portugal the Man: So American, TV on the Radio: Wolf Like Me, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth. Haha sorry to just throw songs at you without knowing your tastes or if you’ve already aware of them, but I thought it might be worth a shot. If you ever come across good music you should pass it on to your blog! Because I’m always looking for new things.
Thanks for the recommendations! I like Wintersong — he kind of reminds me of Elliot Smith, who I love (and the female vocals are so pretty!).
Here’s my recommendation: have you ever been to the site Miss Moss? It’s the blog of this South African graphic designer, and one of the things she does regularly is make these great music mixes (and designs covers for them too!), all which I’ve loved. My favorite is probably Beautiful Life. Check them out!
Thank you thank you thank you for making a not-too-froofy biscotti that has all of the tasty bits contained within. (I usually like chocolate-covered anything, but I never understood it with biscotti. The chocolate melts from the heat of the coffee and gets all over your fingers, and it just turns into one big mess.)
My Italian ex’s family used to make something they referred to as “pane dure,” which where tiny little loaves of twice-baked bread (the size/shape of a small sweet potato) that spent all day in the oven until they were rock hard. We’d eat them as a snack by smashing them up into crouton-sized bits, then covering them with a ton of oil and vinegar, so they’d rehydrate just a little. It’s really a shame that guy was such a douche, because I could have eaten his family’s food for the rest of my life!
Oh my gosh, the pane dure sounds awesome! But douche-y boyfriends are not justification enough for good food, are they? My fiance’s family holds a ravioli-making day every year. Really fun, especially when we get to sit down at the end of the day and feast on ravioli! But it’s seriously exhausting. Once a year is enough for me, haha.