Pumpkin Biscotti With Cranberries And Almonds

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

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.

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Prosciutto, Rosemary, And Thyme Gougères

Breakfast

Christiana George

Updated Date:
June 8, 2023

I know absolutely nothing about football, nothing!, except that the 49ers made it to the Superbowl this year, and that, alone, is cause for celebration! Whoo hooooo!!!

Sorry, I get a little carried away when my home team is beating everyone else’s butt. But seriously though, I have never watched a football game in my life. Really. (People always sound so surprised when I tell them this.) I don’t understand the point (not in a philosophical team-sport sense; I really don’t know how points are scored), and it’s not fast-paced enough to grip me. Also, and this is going to sound really shallow, football player bodies are just not attractive to me, at all.

I have, however, been to Superbowl parties, and they are always the same: beer guzzling (kegs!), out-of-control testosterone levels, and tables loaded with man-food. Burp. Excuse me.

I’m gussying it up this year, dammit, and here’s how: French cheese puffs, a.k.a. gougères.

I realize gougères lie in the realm of snobbish foods and are therefore completely and utterly not suited for football-watching. But once shed of their French-sounding name and associations with champagne and other high-falutin’ wines, they are not precious at all, this iteration especially. We’re talking cheese, we’re talking meat (MEAT), we’re talking a buttery carb-y matrix to hold it all together.

Plus, they’re really good. Fresh out of the oven, there’s nothing I like better than splitting one of these puffs open with a fork, watching the steam escape, and biting into the still soft and gooey dough.

I would choose a gougère over a 5-foot-long sub (are these for real?) any day.

Take that, men.

Of course, I’m not exactly sure where I’ll be celebrating the Superbowl this year. I suspect a few of us will gather at Finnerty’s in the East Village, the one and only Bay Area bar where I wish I’d watched the World Series a few months ago. I really don’t care about the outcome of the game. I just love the opportunity to surround myself with the Bay Area vibe.

PROSCIUTTO, ROSEMARY, AND THYME GOUGERES

From Leite’s Culinaria

Makes 30

Ingredients:

1 cup cold water
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinch kosher salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
4 oz. prosciutto, thinly sliced and finely chopped
1-1/4 cups finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tsp rosemary leaves, minced
2 tsp thyme leaves, minced
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Position racks in the top third and bottom third positions of the oven and turn it on to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Bring the water, butter, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Dump the flour into the boiling butter mixture all at once and, using a wooden spoon, mix until the flour clumps into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Continue stirring over medium-high heat until the dough leaves an even, dry film on the bottom of the pan, 2 to 3 minutes.

Drop the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until the dough is just barely warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Plop in an egg, increase the speed to medium, and beat until incorporated. The dough may look hopelessly soupy and broken at first, but it will turn smooth and slick as you continue mixing. Repeat with the rest of the eggs, adding them 1 at a time. At this point, the dough will be very sticky. Using a spoon, stir in the prosciutto, cheese, rosemary, thyme, and pepper.

Drop rounded Tbsp of the dough on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Have a glass of cold water handy and dip the spoon in it every so often to help make the dough easier to scoop.

Bake until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes, reversing and rotating the sheets once halfway through baking. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly. You can also bake these up to 2 hours in advance, then reheat them in a 350 degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes.