During the holiday season, we gather with our families and friends and spend time together. During Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner, we have turkey or ham, stuffing, potatoes, and all sorts of yummy foods. After dinner, of course, comes dessert! Many traditional desserts like pumpkin pie, are custom for many families during the holidays. If you like making desserts and you want to try something new, check out the recipe below! We all love pumpkin during fall so you can always try to make pumpkin macarons, pumpkin breakfast rolls, or pumpkin pancakes! You can make so many cool pumpkin-flavored treats! One of my favorites is “Pumpkin Biscotti”. Biscotti, also known as cantucci, are Italian biscuits that originated in Tuscany. They are crunchy and dry and are usually accompanied by a drink like coffee or tea. I love them because they are a sweet, savory, and a crunchy treat that goes perfectly with a cup of hot chocolate. In order to make pumpkin flavored biscotti, follow the recipe below!
Prep time: 15 minutes Bake time: 55 minutes to 65 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons of softened butter
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- OPTIONAL confectioners sugar or cinnamon sugar for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Lightly grease (or line with parchment paper) one large (18”x13”) baking sheet.
- In a medium-sized bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, spices, baking powder, and salt until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Beat in the egg and pumpkin puree. At low speed on your mixer, add the flour gradually. Continue mixing until smooth. The dough will be sticky.
- Scoop the dough onto your prepared baking sheet. Divide the dough in half and shape it into 2 10” x 2 ½” logs. Pat the logs into long rectangles and smooth their tops and sides. (A wet spatula or wet bowl scraper works well here)
- OPTIONAL Sprinkle cinnamon sugar or confectioners sugar, pressing it in gently.
- Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325º Fahrenheit.
- Wait 5 minutes, then use a sharp chef’s knife or serrated knife to cut the log crosswise into ½” to ¾” slices. Or cut the biscotti on the diagonal for fewer, longer biscotti. As you are slicing, be sure to cut straight up and down, perpendicular to the pan; if you cut unevenly, biscotti may be thicker at the top than the bottom and they’ll topple over during their second bake.
- Set the biscotti on edge on the prepared baking sheet. Return the biscotti to the oven and bake them for 40-45 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown around the edges. They should still feel soft around the middle. Turn off the oven, crack the oven door open and let the biscotti cool right in the oven.
- Remove the biscotti from the oven when they are completely cool. Serve or store airtight at room temperature for several days. If you want to keep them longer, freeze them, well wrapped.
Enjoy making your own pumpkin biscotti! Keep an eye out for more recipes from the Corpus Christi Blog Club during this holiday season! We are definitely enjoying the research for it.