End Your Thanksgiving Meal with Pumpkin Spice Biscotti–A Light Fall Dessert That Does Not Have to Be Refrigerated or Frozen
Baking The Best Pumpkin Spice Biscotti is perfect for a large meal because you can bake a lot of biscotti quickly, they are very easy to make, and they do not need to be refrigerated or frozen. Biscotti last for about six weeks at room temperature assuming your family does not eat them all in a few days (like mine do).
Biscotti are low fat cookies that add texture, crunch and taste to your meal. They can also be eaten for breakfast or a midday snack. You can alter this recipe with other flavors to your taste, but keep in mind the ratio of liquid to dry ingredients so the dough does not become too sticky or thin. Biscotti are baked in a loaf, then sliced and baked again. You can double this recipe or multiply it to any amount you need. Keep in mind that biscotti dough can be tough on your electric mixer. I usually bake at least two batches of biscotti at a time, just to make sure that they don’t disappear in a day. My entire family likes them, including my children. Biscotti also box up and travel easily, and other than crumbs are not messy to transport, ship, or eat.
Parchment Paper for Your Baking Sheets – This is the best way to bake biscotti
If you have never used parchment paper, it is truly great. You lay one sheet on the baking pan, then put your biscotti on top to bake. It doesn’t burn in the oven, but it will get more brittle and possibly yellow or brown. I have used parchment paper twice and some brands three times before I have to throw it out. It comes in rolls and sheets. It takes some of the fat away from cookies because you don’t have to grease the pan. And biscotti will not stick to the parchment paper.
Bake Time
Cook time: 45 min
Ready in: 1 hour 10 min
Yields: 40 biscotti depending on how you slice them
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, (use real butter–it is worth it)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, (use the real stuff)
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch clove, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, (or if your butter is salted-just a pinch)
- 1 cup almonds, or pecans, if you like your treats sweeter, toasted and chopped
- 4 oz white chocolate, either chopped or in chips
How to make the pumpkin biscotti
(After you have made this recipe once, you can adjust the spices to taste)
A note about the nuts: I like to buy the nuts raw and then toast them in my oven. I toast them at 350 between 6 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the nuts. I think they taste better and they are healthier than roasted nuts. Do not use salted nuts.
Use a Hand Held Electric Mixer to Make Biscotti Dough
KitchenAid KHM512ER 5-Speed Ultra Power Hand Mixer
I have broken two mixers making biscotti. Make sure to use a heavy duty hand held mixer, and if the mixer starts to complain, switch to a spoon.
Instructions
- Toast your nuts first. They should be cool before you mix them in. Depending on your preference, you can chop them in your food processor or by hand or leave them whole.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well blended. Fold in nuts.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Create a loaf (in a baguette or hot dog shape) on the parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven between 25 and 40 minutes. In my old oven it took 25. In my new one it takes at least 35. The surface of the loaf should be lightly browned when you take it out. Let cool for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Slice crossways to create individual biscotti. Stand the biscotti up on the bottom edge (as if they were still in the loaf) with some space between them. Then bake again at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool. If you like them drier or harder bake longer the second time.
- Let the biscotti cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler. When melting chocolate, do not overcook. It is better to undercook, then heat a little more until it just starts to melt. Then the chocolate will heat through and be the perfect temperature.
- Drizzle the cooled biscotti with the white chocolate. Cool and serve.
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Follow Paula Atwell: Lake Erie Artists’s board Recipes: Biscotti only☼ on Pinterest.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 40 Biscotti | 25 Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 45 Minutes |
|
|
|
|
Baking The Best Pumpkin Spice Biscotti is perfect for a large meal because you can bake a lot of biscotti quickly, they are very easy to make, and they do not need to be refrigerated or frozen. Biscotti last for about six weeks at room temperature assuming your family does not eat them all in a few days (like mine do).
|
- 1/2 cup butter use real butter--it is worth it
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree fresh or canned
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract use the real stuff
- 2 cups unbleached flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 pinch clove optional
- 1/4 tsp salt if butter is salted only add a pinch
- 1 cup whole almonds or pecans toasted and chopped
- 4 oz white chocolate chips
- Toast your nuts first. They should be cool before you mix them in. Depending on your preference, you can chop them in your food processor or by hand or leave them whole.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well blended. Fold in nuts.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Create a loaf (in a baguette or hot dog shape) on the parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven between 25 and 40 minutes. In my old oven it took 25. In my new one it takes at least 35. The surface of the loaf should be lightly browned when you take it out. Let cool for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Slice crossways to create individual biscotti. Stand the biscotti up on the bottom edge (as if they were still in the loaf) with some space between them. Then bake again at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool. If you like them drier or harder bake longer the second time.
- Let the biscotti cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler. When melting chocolate, do not overcook. It is better to undercook, then heat a little more until it just starts to melt. Then the chocolate will heat through and be the perfect temperature.
- Drizzle the cooled biscotti with the white chocolate. Cool and serve.
(After you have made this recipe once, you can adjust the spices to taste)
A note about the nuts: I like to buy the nuts raw and then toast them in my oven. I toast them at 350 between 6 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the nuts. I think they taste better and they are healthier than roasted nuts. Do not use salted nuts.
I have broken two mixers making biscotti. Make sure to use a heavy duty hand held mixer, and if the mixer starts to complain, switch to a spoon.