Chocolate Biscotti - One of My Most Favorites

I always reserve the last post of the year for one of my Most Favorite recipes, and this year it is one I found in 2004 and have been making ever since. 

The name is Chocolate Biscotti, but it is really "Chocolate plus whatever else you want to add in Biscotti."  You can shift the flavor and the experience around quite a bit depending on what you mix into the dough, or you can leave it "as is" and enjoy it as straight chocolate.

Keep in mind that, as a biscotti, it is baked twice, and so it crisp and a bit hard.  This makes it perfect for dunking! 

Without further delay, I give you one of my favorite recipes, especially good to make and give away during the holidays.

Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon (or less, to taste) salt
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 to 2 cups add-ins:  nuts, chocolate chips, crushed peppermint sticks, etc
powdered sugar

So simple!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour a large cookie sheet.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.

Whisk slowly so the powders don't go flying!

In another bowl that can go with a mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs and beat well.

Sugar, butter, and eggs.

Stir in flour mixture to form a stiff dough.

It should stick together but is somewhat dry.

Stir in add-ins.

Stiff dough means you have to work to distribute the add-ins evenly.

Split dough in half.  With floured hands, compress the dough to remove air spaces.  Shape each half into a log that is about 2 inches wide and 12 inches long, and is slightly flattened.  Round off the ends.

Place the logs on the cookie sheet and sprinkle them lightly with powdered sugar.  Leave space between them as they will spread.

Both shaped; one powdered.

Bake the logs for 35 minutes or until they are slightly firm to the touch.  Cool them on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes.  Leave the oven on.

Fresh out of the first bake time.  The puddles are melted candy.

On a cutting board cut the biscotti, either across or diagonally, into slices about 3/4 inches wide.

I like using a bread knife to slice them.

Place each slice cut side down on the cookie sheet and bake another 10 minutes.

Cool on a rack.  Store in an air-tight container or freeze for future use.

Cooling after the second bake.

My Notes

I made this for Christmas giving, so I added crushed peppermint sticks.  One aspect of putting candy into the dough is that some of it will melt and run onto the cookie sheet.  Sometimes this will scorch and taste burnt, so if you see that, peel it off before you slice the logs.

This recipe is very reliable.  The only issue I've had is that sometimes the dough doesn't come together with just two eggs; if this occurs, I mix in a little milk until it forms that "stiff dough."  For this rendition, I added 1/4 cup milk and it all came together beautifully.

Too dry but a little milk made it just right.

Sometimes the dough is sticky, even with flouring my hands, so it is fine to cover it and chill it for 30 minutes or more. 

I like to slice it on the diagonal, so I shape the logs like parallelograms.  I slice parallel to the ends.  This makes the ends about as big as the regular slices.    Also, you might not want to bake the ends the second time as they tend to get overcooked.  They taste just fine without the second baking.

I aim for this shape.

The Verdict

Success?  Always! 

The flavor is a deep enough chocolate to satisfy a chocolate lover.  It is sweet but not overly so.  The add-ins can make it fun (peppermint!) or more savory (toasted nuts) or intriguing (white chocolate chips). 

The biggest problem is making them last long enough around the house to share with others!

I hope you enjoy one of my favorite recipes.  Merry Christmas and Happy Whatever You Love to Celebrate!

Spiced Cranberry Relish

I'm having a hard time justifying this post as an historical recipe.  My only defense is that I've been making it at least once a year since 1988 (I have records on this!).  I cannot recall where the recipe came from, although I have a vague recollection of a newspaper insert.

But I figured that this, the last post of my first year of blogging, could be on whatever recipe I wanted (ignoring that all the other posts were on whatever I wanted) and what I wanted to do was share with you my Most Favorite Cranberry Recipe Ever.

For those of you who only know the canned, jellied cranberry stuff that pops out of its container in a cylindrical shape, you really have no idea what cranberry sauce is all about.

This recipe is called a relish, probably because it is not just cranberries and sugar.  However it is thick, flavorful, fun to look at, and easy to make.  I can tell you with confidence that people who do not like cranberry sauce often like this recipe.

So here goes.  I am thrilled to present to you:

Spiced Cranberry Relish

4 C. fresh cranberries (a 12 oz bag).  Can be frozen and slightly defrosted.
1 to 2 cups sugar (I use closer to one)
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup currants (dried)
1/2 cup water or orange juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger (I use more but I am an addict)
1/2 cup candied orange peel or the zest of one medium sized orange, finely shredded

 
Mix cranberries and sugar in a large, non-aluminum saucepan, then mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Cranberries and sugar

Everything!

Cook over low heat for 20 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You are looking to see that most of the berries have burst.

Cool then refrigerate.  Serve chilled.  Best if made in advance and will last a while if not quickly consumed.

The Verdict:  If I didn't think this was excellent, I wouldn't be making it year after year.  I love how it is sweet yet tart, thick and spreadable on bread for sandwiches, and yet still an excellent side spoonful as an accompaniment for roast turkey or really any roast meat.  It is so easy to make -- just toss everything into the saucepan and stir while cooking.  And if you don't measure everything precisely, you will still end up with a good dish.

So give it a try -- it is posted just in time for your Christmas celebration.

Merry Christmas and thanks for reading my blog!

Tracy  

 

And Yet More on Fruitcake

Recently I attended a fruitcake competition in a local town.  

The rules were simple:  Bring a fruitcake (with recipe) to the given location at the given time.  The judges were the lead actors in a play that involved fruitcakes and they were a treat to watch as they were in character the whole time.  

There were no limits on what could go in your fruitcake and we were invited to present our recipe to the judges.  I took the opportunity to point out that this was from an original 1845 recipe and that it didn't have that sticky, imitation-colored, dried fruit mix or even baking soda or yeast.  I emphasized how the fruitcake was baked in August, soaked with brandy (they liked that part!), and wrapped and stored for three months.

The Verdict:  In the end, they awarded my fruitcake with the title of "Best Traditional".  I was thrilled!

It was a fun day and we were all allowed to taste the entries.  You just can't go wrong with that!

Mine is front row, right

And now you can call Mrs. Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's recipe, "An Award-Winning Fruitcake!"

Bring Us a Figgy Pudding

It started with this website discussing various English pudding techniques:  http://www.historicfood.com/English%20Puddings.htm

Then it got pushed along when I broke all the "rules" and started listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

It occurred to me that I really wanted to make a boiled pudding for this blog and do it early enough that it could be posted before Christmas.

I have many recipes for puddings but what I really wanted was the classic "figgy pudding" referenced by my beloved Christmas songs.  Or at least what I imagined was classic!

There was really only one source I felt was worthy of this:  Hearthside Cooking by Nancy Carter Crump.  Ms. Crump, a culinary historian, does historical cooking demonstrations (and thus is near and dear to my heart); this book is a compilation of her research which includes recipes from colonial Virginia families.  The treat is that all her recipes first have instructions for cooking at the hearth and side notes for using more modern equipment.

ISBN  0-914440-94-2

In particular, on pages 244 and 245, she gives detailed instructions on how to make a pudding cloth, prepare it for use, and how to actually boil a pudding.  This was what I had been looking for when I acquired her book.

Ms. Crump did not disappoint.  On page 257 is:

Mrs. Alexander Cameron's Fig Pudding

Original recipe:
1/2 lb stale bread crumbs.  1/2 lb figs put through meat chopper.  2 eggs.  6 oz. brown sugar, 2 oz. flour  1/4 lb suet, a little milk, about half a cup.  flavor with nutmeg.  Boil 2 hours & serve with or without sauce.   (From the Shirley Plantation Collection, link: Shirley Plantation)

What excited me was the tiny footnote:  "Best cooked a week or two before use.  Wrap and store in air-tight container.  Warm through before serving."  Hey, I can make this in advance!

Instructions

1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used half and half, rather than non-fat milk)
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup finely chopped suet (I used solid shortening, just a little less than a cup)
4 cups stale bread crumbs
2 teaspoons nutmeg  (one "nut" made about this much)
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chopped fresh figs or 3/4 cup dried (I used dried)

(My note:  I bought a loaf of French bread the night before I made this, sliced it thinly, and laid the slices out on a tray to stale overnight.  Then I processed them to crumbs.)

1.  Combine egg, milk, and brown sugar, blending well.

2.  Combine suet, bread crumbs, and nutmeg in a bowl.  Add liquid and mix thoroughly.

My Notes:  Since I used solid shortening instead of suet, I felt it was important to make sure it was well-distributed throughout the bread crumbs.  So I put it in a spoonful at a time, "mashing" it through the nutmeg and crumbs mixture, sort of like the way I would mix a pie crust.  At the end of the mixing, it looked pretty uniform.

I mixed in one little spoonful at a time

Crumbly like a pie crust

3.  Combine flour with figs, mixing well.  Fold into batter.

4.  Wet and butter a pudding cloth and gather around the batter.  Tie secure with string, leaving room for pudding to expand.

Dip the heavy linen cloth in boiling water, drain, spread with butter, dust with flour

Pudding mixture

Make sure ALL edges are tied up so nothing comes out during boiling

5.  Set an iron pot of water on crane and bring to a boil over flames.  Drop in pudding and boil 2 hours, turning occasionally and keeping water at a boil.  Replenish with additional boiling water as needed.

I have no crane, but this will do.  It barely fit in my biggest pot.

6.  Pull crane away from fire and carefully remove pudding.  Drain thoroughly in colander, then cut away string and put pudding in serving dish.

Steaming while draining

Unwrapped and cooling

7.  Serve hot, with or without sauce.

I want to serve it at Thanksgiving, so I am wrapping it and storing it away as per the footnote.

Other notes:
I made my first boiled pudding last spring in my own Tudor kitchen (see June 1, 2012 posting) and the recipe I used said to put a ball of butter in the middle of the pudding.  When that butter was seen in the boiling water, you knew the pudding was done.  That worked well.  This time I just went with the recommended two hour time.

Since my pot was so full during the boiling, I had to decide how hot it should really be.  I couldn't do a full, rolling boil without splashing all over, so I made it as hot as I could without making a mess.  I kept the pot very full of water, adding hot water from a kettle as needed, and turning the pudding every 15 minutes or so.  It swelled up visibly.

*******
Post-Thanksgiving Feedback 

Here is the pudding after about 10 days of being tightly wrapped and stored in the refrigerator:

It was firm and smelled nice.

I heated it up (first in the oven, then in the microwave oven to get it thoroughly hot) and served it at Thanksgiving dinner without any sauce.  I considered it a side dish.

The Verdict:  I liked it!  The flavor with definitely "figgy" with a mild spice complement.  The texture was firm and slightly creamy.  The bread crumb "matrix" that held the fig bits was a little bland, which was a good thing.  It was only mildly sweet so the figs could add their sweetness and keep it from being more of a dessert.

In summary, I would recommend it.  It was easy to make and fun to serve, as a bit of true England.  Success!

If I were to make it over again, I think I would chop the figs finer, so you don't get such a big bite of all fig when you do hit a chunk.  However, that would spread the fig bits more thoroughly through the whole pudding -- I'm not sure if that would be good or not!

One thing I like about figs is how their seeds crunch, and I got that in this pudding.


A quote from Ms. Crump's book:  "Blessed be he that invented pudding, for it is a manna that hits the palates of all sorts of people."  Happy Holidays!

More on Fruitcake

After I made five loaves of an 1845 fruitcake recipe (see Sept 1, 2012), I ate one and stored away the rest.  My goal was to wrap them in cheesecloth and soak them with brandy to see what they were like after a few months.

And so I did.  A few layers of cheesecloth was all that was needed and any extra bits got put to the underside of the loaf to soak up extra brandy.

I wrapped the loaf,

Fruitcake Mummy!

poured enough brandy over it to soak the cloth, plus a little extra for the loaf,

Soggy Mummy.  Plate catches the drips.

encased it in plastic wrap (put all edges on the top of the loaf, to prevent leakage),

Set the loaf on a sheet of plastic, then wrap upward.

and put it into a plastic bag, labeled with the contents and the date.


Three loaves went into the bottom of the refrigerator and one went into the dark, cool cupboard to keep the container of mincemeat (August 15, 2012) company.  I was curious to see if the fruitcake with brandy really needed refrigeration to keep from getting moldy.

I wondered if the cheesecloth was really needed.  After all, plastic wrap is a modern invention -- would it be able to take over completely?  I don't think so, just from observing how the brandy quickly soaked the entire cheesecloth.  I suspect the cloth will keep the brandy distributed over the entire loaf, instead of just sitting at the bottom.

I also think it would be okay to use muslin instead of cheesecloth, or any other undyed, natural fiber cloth, as long as it was clean and had the sizing washed out of it.

After two months, I pulled the loaf out of the cupboard and gave it a try.

Looking good despite no refrigeration

While unwrapping the plastic, I looked it over carefully for any signs of mold or spoilage.  I noticed it was uniformly moist (not soggy) and smelled nice.  The brandy was barely noticeable.

The cheesecloth wrap looks and feels moist

The loaf itself was moist and smelled fresh and inviting.  The slightly scorched part on the bottom was still there (ugh!) but it wasn't dry at all.

I sliced it open in the middle and found it was moist all the way through.  The flavor was lovely -- I could taste the spices, the fruits (cranberries were a good choice) and nuts, and a very light brandy overtone.

The Verdict:  Success!  It was nice to have it out of my refrigerator and still be good later.  I like it better than the freshly-baked loaf since it was more moist.  The slightly scorched part didn't taste as strong although for my second piece, I sliced it off.

This is definitely worthwhile.  Most people complain about fruitcake, saying it is like a brick or filled with cheap, artificially-colored peels and dried fruits.  This one is fresh, flavorful, tender, moist, and most definitely has no artificial colors or additives.  Quite yummy!

More On Mincemeat -- The Pie

A few days after I covered the mincemeat in brandy and set it into a dark, cool cabinet, I looked in on it.

Interestingly enough, all the brandy on top was gone.  The mixture itself looked like it had absorbed a lot of the liquid throughout -- it was thick and not as fluid in the jar.  I took this to be a good sign for its "ripening" and poured more brandy over the top.  I felt it was important to have a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of brandy to help avoid mold growth.

After a month had passed, it was time to try it in a pie.  I kept it simple, as Mrs. Leslie suggested:  "These pies are always made with covers, and should be eaten warm."  (Here is her ebook:  Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches.)

Just two ingredients

I took that to mean that I should put down a crust, fill it with mincemeat, cover it with a second crust, and bake it until done.

Crust plus filling

With its top cover

The filling was thick and a little juicy.  Not at all what I had put into the container originally and for this I was glad.  Before I used it I inspected it carefully -- there was no mold in the jar and no "off" smells, so I think it was fine to use.  I tasted a little of it and liked the overall flavor although the brandy was strong for my tastes. 

My ancient copy of "The Joy of Cooking" said to bake it at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook it for another 30 minutes.  This was for a store-bought mincemeat filling.  I wasn't certain if my filling needed significant cooking time but I guessed that at least the suet needed a chance to melt and make the filling rich. I really didn't want to take a bite of pie and get a mouthful of uncooked beef fat, even if it had been marinating in Madeira and brandy for a month!

I ended up cooking it for 35 minutes at 350.  It probably could have gone a little longer to be more browned on top.

I estimate that I used about 3 cups of the filling in this pie.  It looks like I could get another 5 to 6 pies out of what was left.  This looks to be a fun holiday season.

Hot out of the oven

The Verdict:  I sliced the pie when it was cool enough to handle but still warm.  With each bite I could still taste the brandy -- it was strong enough to warm me on the way down but not so strong as to make me want to stop eating it.  The juices, sugar, and spices combined to make a lovely syrup around the dried fruit and meat.  Occasionally I got a taste of meat as it was chewier than the fruit.  The flavor overall was very, very good; hearty, rich, flavorful, and in its way, old-fashioned.  It reminded me of the mince pies I've had before but was still different.  Partly, I think, because it wasn't as sweet as regular mince.  Yes, definitely a success!  I can imagine people eating this one to two hundred years ago, savoring the rich flavor with spice, brandy, meat, and fruits.

Other thoughts about it:  This is definitely an "adult" dessert.  The brandy was too strong for children, I think.  Also, as Mrs. Leslie recommends, it is best warmed.  When cold the flavors were harsh and the suet congealed.  I really didn't like seeing cold bits of fat in my pie.

Old-fashioned delicious

Mrs. Leslie leaves us with one more piece of her wisdom:  "Whenever you take out any for use, pour some additional brandy into the jar before you cover it again, and add some more sugar."  Done!  I mixed in about 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed the filling down to remove air bubbles, wiped the sides of the jar above the filling level, and poured in enough brandy to cover the top.  Then I cleaned the outside of the jar well and put it back in the cabinet.

In a Christmas Mood: Fruitcake

Some things in life need to be planned for.  Christmas means thinking about gifts (no C. Eve shopping for me!) and something I have always loved, fruitcake.

I know, it has a bad reputation.  Comedian Johnny Carson is reported as saying, "There is only one fruitcake in the world; people just keep passing it around."  Or something like that.  But I truly love it, in its many varied forms.  Sliced, slightly heated, with a dollop of whipped cream on top and I'm a happy person.  Add a glass of eggnog on the side and I am in ecstasy.

The really good fruitcake is made well in advance of the holiday season so it can be wrapped in cheesecloth and soaked in brandy.  And that, my friends, is what was on my mind today.

I perused a number of books and viewed a variety of recipes.  The modern ones tend to request that colorful mix of candied fruits and I was tempted because I have some of that mix in my cupboard.  But I was looking for something that was older.  How old should I go?

Here is a history of the fruitcake:   http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/Fruitcake.htm

Although the Romans talked about fruitcake, the one that is so familiar to us started in the Middle Ages and improved over the years with nuts, spices, dried fruits, sweetener.

The earliest recipe I could find that still resembled what I love at Christmas came from Elizabeth Ellicott Lea's Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers, which I found as an ebook here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9101

Published in 1845

She lists several fruitcake recipes, including the Plum Cake ("plum" is an old term for dried fruits of most any kind). I chose the one called:

A Rich Fruit Cake.

Have the following articles prepared before you begin the cake: dry and sift four pounds of flour, four pounds of butter with the salt washed out, two pounds of loaf-sugar pounded, one ounce of nutmegs grated, an ounce of mace pounded; wash four pounds of currants; dry, pick, and rub them in flour; stone and cut two pounds of raisins; slice two pounds of citron, blanch a pound of sweet almonds and cut them in very thin slices; break thirty eggs, separate the whites and yelks, and beat them till very light; work the butter with your hand till it is soft as cream; put in alternately the flour, sugar and eggs. When all are mixed in, and the cake looks very light, add the spice, fruit, almonds, and half a pint of brandy; set it in a well heated oven to bake; when it has risen, and the top is beginning to brown, cover it with paper; let it bake four hours, and when it is nearly cool, ice it. This will keep a long time in a stone pan, covered close.

Ingredients for a half recipe!

Rich? Looks pretty good. More than my poor little bowls, mixer, and oven can handle? Most certainly. I debated on doing a half recipe or a quarter recipe. The half recipe won out and I just crossed my fingers that I could make it all fit into my various mixing bowls.

Did you notice?  The only leavening is the beaten egg whites.  This is exciting! 

Reading through the recipe told me that I needed to pay attention to the order of things if I was going to use my mixer. First I separated the eggs (15 yolks is about 1 1/4 cups when using large eggs). Then following the "beat them till very light" direction, I had the mixer beat the whites while I used a whisk to beat the yolks.  I stopped when the whites stopped expanding (they fit in the bowl!) -- they were stiff like a meringue but not dry.  The yolks were "lemon yellow" and foamy.

Yolks just beginning to be whisked.

Yolks after a lot of whisking.

I transferred the whites to another bowl so I could use the mixer for the batter and laughed when I saw them hold the shape of the mixer bowl.

Whites shaped like the bottom of the mixer's bowl

Next I put the butter, cut into smallish chunks, into the mixer's bowl and started beating them.  Recommendation:  Have the butter softened to room temperature before doing this so the chunks are less likely to climb out of the bowl!  When finished, I don't think the butter was truly "as soft as cream" but it was very soft.

I then alternated adding the flour, sugar, and yolks.  I was reluctant to mix in the whites because I kept thinking they should be folded in, despite no sign of that in the directions.  Once I got the other ingredients in, the whites went into the mixer bowl and I was pleased to see them incorporated and still make the batter fluffy.  Then I added the spices so the mixer could get them well blended.  It took 3 1/2 "nuts" of nutmeg to get one half ounce!  That is a lot of grating, even with some help from the spice grinder.

Batter out of the mixer.  Not enough room!

The batter had to go into my giant steel mixing bowl in order to have room for the fruit and almonds plus leave room for mixing by hand.  I was so relieved I did only a half recipe. 

As with the Mincemeat recipe (Aug 15, 2012), I couldn't get citron.  I didn't want to use one pound of peel so I did what any cook from history would have done:  I improvised! I used dried cranberries.  I think they will be a fantastic substitution, adding a bit of tart to the sweet currants and raisins.

Then in went the fruit, nuts, and brandy.

Before stirring

After a good stirring, I tasted the batter and declared it:  delicious!  It was light, fluffy, and had a wonderful flavor.  The mace/nutmeg/brandy combination was great.  I wanted to keep eating batter.

All mixed up!

This half recipe filled five of my loaf pans (four glass, one metal) to about 3/4 full.

I got them to fit in the oven on one rack and baked them for an hour at 350 degrees F.  At this point I covered them with parchment paper and set the timer for 30 minutes.  I really hoped it wouldn't take them another 4 hours of cooking to be done as it was already 9pm.

As it turned out, another 30 minutes at 300 degrees F and they were ready.  Perhaps they were ready earlier -- they looked just a tad dry -- but I was happy with 30 minutes.  The "stick test" showed they were cooked all the way through.

The Verdict:  The loaf I chose for the taste test was solid (not fluffy) but pretty light weight.  The inside was still moist although the outside was a touch dry and the bottom had one area that was lightly scorched.

The flavor was just as I expected it!  The mace/nutmeg/brandy combination was classic and the fruits were moist and flavorful.  Overall I would say it was a success.

Final notes:  Modern ovens maintain a level temperature as compared to the wood-fired ovens of 1845.  Next time I would bake the loaves at 325 degrees F for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until they were done (barely).  No parchment is necessary.  I'm so glad I checked them often because I was really worried I would end up with blackened fruit bricks and I don't need any more doorstops.

The other four loaves will be wrapped in cheesecloth and soaked in brandy.  I'll get back to you on that to see how the flavors change over time.