TWD on Friday: Lenox Almond Biscotti

I finally made the biscotti! After a week of emotional turmoil, caused both by midterms and my husband's departure, I finally made some time (and mustered the energy) to make these yummy treats! When I was in Iraq, my mom sent me economy-sized containers of biscotti. Most were chocolate-dipped, which my roommate and I practically had to battle for. Since then, my love for biscotti has only deepened. Can you imagine how excited I was to find that it would become this week's recipe challenge? And I have Gretchen of Canela & Comino to thank for it. She chose the recipe and if you want it, you're going to have to run over to her blog. And by the way, her blog is totally smokin'! She's got great pictures on there and so much more!

I was actually pretty nervous when I started out. I've had a few baking mishaps the last few weeks and I really didn't want to jack this one up! So after reading the directions a thousand times, I got to it! Since I had neither almonds nor almond extract in the house, I substituted the almonds with a mixture of Ghiradelli white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and the almond extract with vanilla extract. I also found it a little strange that the recipe called for so much corn meal. Anyway, I was so nervous for the part with the logs, but I made sure I had them rolled/laid out to a tee at 12 inches long and 1.5 inches wide, as you can see above. I'd read on others' blogs that the batter spread, but I found that mine didn't as much, about 4 to 5 inches, as you can see here.

I was so anxious to get them going, I didn't wait the full 30 minutes for them to cool, which ended up being okay. I was able to actually lift the entire logs with my hands and onto my cutting board where I was able to arrange my "marching band" of cookies and send them back into the oven.

And the result? The most delicious homemade biscotti. I actually gave myself a pat on the back for not messing it up. Once they were cooled, they were so crunchy and the white chocolate and macadamia nut combo--classic! I love these. They were so simple to make. I'm definitely going to make them again, perhaps chocolate-dipped next time...or even to hand them out as Christmas gifts in December! Too cool! And just a note, I don't think I'll be using as much cornmeal next time. They may have been a little too grainy for my liking, but hey...my whole family didn't even notice, so whatever!

Once again, scoot on over to Gretchen's blog and check out the recipe! And thanks for the great pick for the week!

Postponing TWD to Tomorrow

Sorry guys! I didn't have a chance to make the biscotti this weekend and fully intended to tonight after class, but as it turns out, there's no butter in the fridge and I don't feel like making a run to Wal-Mart this late. I seem to be making a pattern of Tuesdays with Dorie on a different day, but I just don't want to miss out on the weekly assignments! So please bear with me! I plan on making them tomorrow!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

I borrowed this recipe from Susan's blog, She's Becoming DoughMessTic. I've found some of the most creative, delicious recipes on her blog, so you should check it out. If you click on the link I've provided, it'll take you directly to the recipe for these delicious Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins. I baked these, not only because my family came over for dinner last night and I needed to prepare a dessert, but because I needed something to cheer me up since my husband departed earlier that day (he'll be leaving for his deployment sometime this week)--and it sure did the trick!

What I liked was that they were so simple to put together. I was able to make a dozen and a half of these muffins. The sweet cream cheese in the center was the perfect compliment to the tart fresh strawberries and they were just so moist. All in all....they're to die for!

So if you're big on strawberries like me, or just want something to tickle your sweet tooth--this is it! Scoot on over to Susan's blog and check the recipe out!

Weekend TWD: Caramel Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

I postponed making the cake until Friday so that my husband could have a taste of it while he was visiting for the weekend. Well, the whole thing had DISASTER written all over it. You well-seasoned cooks and bakers out there probably took one look at the picture and could immediately spot what went wrong. Yes, it was the caramel! I got the cake done with no problems, but when I got to the caramel, everything went downhill. I had worried that the caramel hadn't turned amber in 5-10 minutes. So, not knowing any better, I hiked up the heat a little bit more. It turned amber so quickly and by the time I got it off the heat, it was a dark brown. Still not knowing what happens when you cook caramel for too long, I poured the mixture all over the top of the cake. It wasn't until I decided to take a taste of the caramel off my rubber spatula that I noticed how BITTER it was. I was mortified! Not only did it taste disgusting (except for the cake part), I had guests coming in a few minutes and had to prepare a backup dessert at the last minute.

It's too bad...the cake actually looked beautiful. And being the good sport that my husband is, he said, "it's still good babe," and proceeded to cut the entire caramel-peanut part off the cake, folded what was left in half and chomped on it like a hamburger. See picture below:

Leave it to Malu to be so encouraging! I love you baby! But yeah, I'm 0-1 at making this dessert and I will conquer it one day.....after I master the art of caramel-making! Thanks to Tammy of Wee Treats by Tammy for picking this week's recipe, which you can find on her blog!

Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Squash Risotto

Rachel of Rachel Likes to Cook chose this week's BB recipe challenge--Butternut Squash Risotto. I'd like to thank her for allowing me to step out of my comfort zone to make something new and different. I love butternut squash, so I figured this would be a wonderful dish. Lucky for me my friend, Vickie, was visiting from Texas and she was excited to get a taste of it too. We prepared it late at night after returning from the gym.

I had purchased the ingredients earlier that day. Can you believe that I spent about $13.00 each for the pancetta and the saffron? I was thinking, "man, for all the money I'm spending, this better be good!" I loved the smell of the pancetta and the onions. I'd honestly never cooked pancetta myself until this moment and I was so excited.

And then came the saffron. I don't know if there's any other saffron but the Spanish kind, which is the only kind the grocery store carried. It just smelled funny to me and at that point, I was hoping it came out tasting better than it smelled.

Well, the saffron gave the mixture a nice color and even more so when the butternut squash pieces were added. The squash came out so nicely, I had to sneak a few bite-size pieces before I added it.

Once everything was mixed, I ladled the risotto into bowls and Vickie and I both set out to try our new concoction. She liked it, although she said it was a little salty (probably from the pancetta). Me? I didn't like it so much. I just couldn't get over that strong saffron taste. Maybe it was just me. I had some of the leftovers the next day and it actually tasted better then. But I'm not sure if I'll ever make this dish again. I don't think enough of my friends and family like butternut squash enough to see it in this dish. Who knows? But thanks again to Rachel for the challenge!

Sitting this one out just for today

Hey there, fellow TWD members! As you will notice, I don't have this week's challenge posted today. I've got to much to do for the next day or so. It's finals week and my husband will be home for the four-day weekend (amidst a deployment mobilization), so you can imagine how crazy things are right now.

We will be having a get-together at my house on Friday night and I'll be making the chocolate peanut cake then. So come back and check me out in a few days!

Operation Baking Gals: Supporting the U.S. Marines!

This was my first assignment with Operation Baking Gals. I was a part of a team hosted by Susan Whetzel of She's Becoming DoughMessTic and it was so much fun! With the help of my sister and friend Anna, I was able to send at least two dozen White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies (along with chocolate chip cookies) to 1LT Jarrod Robinson of the United States Marine Corps. We didn't get too much information about this officer, other than the fact that he worked in Air Traffic Control and that there were 50 other Marines in his Detachment expecting some delicious baked goods from our team.

Being in the military myself, having a brother-in-law in the Marines working in just about the same specialty, and having served in an Air Traffic Control battalion before and in an aviation brigade for years myself, I felt a strong bond to these guys and I couldn't wait to show them my appreciation and support for their service by sending them these cookies along with some other goodies.

Well, I only had enough stuff and time to put two boxes together. Each box held about two dozen cookies, which I placed in plastic containers and affixed Colorado postcards to. I included some other stuff like sunflower seeds, tuna packets, granola bars, and hard candies--the essentials! I didn't think to send toiletries or anything this time around. Maybe next time, but if this unit is anything like mine when I was deployed, there was one room in the unit dedicated to excess package inventory. Much like a mini-PX, this little room housed all the extra baby wipes, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, and other toiletries that so many people sent in bulk. So it's not like that stuff isn't readily available.

I met my husband while deployed in Iraq over three years ago and we can attest that there is nothing that beats home-baked goods--NOTHING! I mean, you can only eat Girl Scout cookies for so long. I mean, I devoured so many boxes of them over there that I can't even stand to look at a box anymore! So these little "tastes of home" really mean so much and I am glad that I could be a part of this wonderful service!

Here is the recipe for the cookies that we made:

White Chocolate and Dried Cranberry Cookies
(from quickandsimple.com magazine)

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking or old-fashioned oats, pulsed well in a food processor
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
12 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2) In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat butter and both sugars until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of bowl, then add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla, one at a time, mixing well between additions. Scrape down sides of bowl; add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well incorporated. Scrape down sides of bowl; add chocolate and cranberries, and mix again.

3) Drop dough by heaping teaspoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake until cookies begin to brown at the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and repeat with remaining dough.

Yields 3 to 4 dozen.

These cookies were a cinch to prepare and so delicious! I'm definitely going to make them again. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll arrive overseas intact and still edible, and most importantly that the troops will like them! I can't wait until the next round! Oh, and once my husband gives me an address for his unit (because he's still mobilizing in NJ right now), he'll be added to the list and I'll get to bake cookies for him too!