TWD: Biscotti Adventures

It's funny how a split second decision can make such a difference.

Consider this week's TWD challenge, Lenox Almond Biscotti, a recipe chosen by Gretchen Noelle of Canela & Comino. Now, I've made biscotti before, anise-flavored almond ones that hung around for over a year before the last one was consumed. A hardy bunch they were.

Reading the play around tips, I decided to customize my cookies. I made pistachio-cherry-lime biscotti, using a fresh lime from my tree and some lime oil in place of the almond extract. The dough turned out perfectly.



I then transformed it into a squarish log on the baking sheet, and was just about to slide it into the hot oven, when I decided to take its photograph.



A split second decision.

In the middle of snapping the photo, the power went out.

So, there I stood, in the dusk of the evening, staring at ready-to-bake cookie dough and an oven with no power.

I told myself that it could have been worse -- the cookies could have already been in the oven, partially baked. What then?

Quickly, I shoved the pan inside the dark refrigerator, then went in search of matches and candles, prepared for the long haul as darkness descended.

About an hour later, the power suddenly was restored. Of course, I had to re-heat the oven, but at least I wasn't dealing with half-baked cookies. Like most others, the first round of baking took longer than the 15 minutes stated. I added another 10 minutes to the time; the cookie log was just beginning to turn golden. After a 30 minute cooling time, I sliced them into 3/4" pieces, then popped them back into the oven for about 20 minutes. The biscotti firmed up nicely as they cooled.



I really liked the end result better than the previous recipe I had used. While hard, they weren't rock hard and the flavor combination was delicious. You'll have a chance to read about more flavor choices and baking adventures if you check out the Tuesdays with Dorie blog.