Aunt Lora's Biscotti

E had great fun helping me make biscotti (or "Iz-Got-Tee" as he says) this afternoon. At the time, M was mesmerized by the symphony DVD that Grammy bought for them at the symphony last Saturday. E loves the DVD too, but for him nothing can compete with something going on in the kitchen. He loves using the mortar and pestle, and watching things mix in the Kitchenaid very much. Well, and eating. Hahahaha! And helping too —"Eh-ik hep Mama. Tir (stir) Mama, hep'in!" He was also laughing and saying, "Bah!" because I said it a few times when I went to turn the mixer on and it was unplugged. I always unplug it right after mixing when the kids are up working with me, just in case they try to turn it on, but I often forget to plug it back in before flicking the speed lever back on again.

As usual, I tweaked the recipe a bit since I didn't have rum or brandy extract. I used 1 Tbs. vanilla, 2 tsp. anise, 1 tsp. lemon extract and 1 tsp. almond, plus the zest of one lemon and about 2/3 c toasted sliced almonds. I think I'll have to do a citrus-only, a chocolate and dried cherry, and probably a chai spice version of this recipe too...

Aunt Lora's Biscotti

3 c. flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 and 1/2 sticks of soft (unsalted) butter (or omit salt if you use regular butter)
1 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. anise
1 tsp. brandy
1 tsp. rum

Sift dry together, blend wet ingredients in Kitchenaid, then add dry. Divide dough into thirds and use a floured pillow case or a pastry cloth to roll each 1/3 into a long rectangular "roll". Bake on cookie sheet for 30 mins. at 350-degrees F. Cool slightly before slicing. If you want crunchy biscotti for dunking, bake the sliced biscotti an additional 7 mins. per side then cool on a wire rack.