Pine Nut Biscotti
I’m back to cooking and baking so I thought I’d post a couple of things from yesterday, in case anyone is interested.
First, we had a bit of an ice storm yesterday, so to me, that means cookies. I tried Cooking Light’s Pine Nut Biscotti from the December 2007 issue. While making it I made one change, I subbed almond extract for the vanilla because I like the taste.
Now, while the finished product looks okay and tastes good I have to say, although the directions say the dough will be “sticky” this was so bad, it was pretty much impossible to work with. I added an extra 1/2 cup flour but still way to moist. Fearing tinkering any more with it, I ended up plopping it onto the baking sheet and using my bench scraper and a spoon to “mold” it into one long log (forget the two in the directions).
End result, I only got about 25 biscotti instead of the 30, and the ones from the center of the “log”, at the widest point, are still soft in the center but as I said, they taste good.
You should note though that since I posted my review on the Cooking Light Forums, I’ve received some feedback, basically others agreeing that the water amount is too high. Someone posted this recipe that had been published a few years ago, which I may try instead (or at least repeat the Pine Nut one but definitely cut down on the water).
Basic Biscotti
2-3/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/8-1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 – 1 c. add-ins (nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc…)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I always use 2 Tbsp.)
1 or 2 tsp. flavored extracts (vanilla, almond extract, etc…)
3 large eggs
The process is still pretty much the same.
Hoisin Pork Tenderloin
Now, as I mentioned, we had an ice storm, so the original plan of bringing in Chinese food (because we had Sammi’s orchestra concert too last night, which ended up being cancelled), fell to the wayside too. Once I got home about 11:30am, there was no way I was going out in my car.
I dug through the freezer (Chris says we could live for a few months on what I have in our freezer and pantry; he’s probably right), and found a one pound pork tenderloin. So, I searched Cooking Light yet again, and found Hoisin Pork Tenderloin from the April 2007 issue. It was simple, but you need to allow lead time for marinading. It also took a bit longer to cook than the recipe indicated but that’s probably because the tenderloin I used had an extremely thick end. Anyway, Becky gave it a thumbs up as a make-again, so that’s all the approval I need.