Coconut Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
It snowed today. I love the still silence of snow. The hollow cavities created by the dusty snow eat sound. I used to go out and walk the streets at night during the first snow storm. The calm, silent, emptiness would bring me peace and allow me to just be.No people, no cars, just me. I did a lot of my best thinking at those times. I haven’t done that in a really long time. Those were my darker days in the past. I’m not sure I haven’t done it. It’s been years since I last did it.
These days there’s no such thing as a snow day (during the week). I guess that’s ok. We should all just take a snow day. It’d be perfect for hot drinks and relaxing. Nothing goes better with a nice latte than biscotti. Dunk it in the latte so that you can actually eat it and not break your teeth.
Before I made these or even really looked into biscotti I had no idea there were 2 types. There’s the original Italian version and the, we can’t eat that, American version. The Italian version tends to be a harder “cookie” whereas the American version tends to be a bit softer. When I started my research the first thing I liked that I came across was this recipe by Carla Lalli Music posted on Bon Appetit. The other thing I used for my research was The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, page 136. The main difference, texture aside, between the Italian biscotti and the American biscotti is the addition of butter to the American version. This adds fat and some moisture to the mixture allowing for a tender crumb. Carla adds another egg yolk to her dough as a way to add a touch more moisture. To get a shiny top you can use the other yolk and brush the top before baking. This is a good way to kill two birds with one stone with the third egg; yolk for moisture and white for the shiny top.
Aside from there being two types of biscotti I also wasn’t aware that it’s baked twice. I’m guessing the Italians didn’t think it was hard enough the first time and then baked it again? </sarcasm> After the first bake it’s removed from the oven, sliced with a serrated knife, and then baked again. The King Arthur book has a hint to let it rest for five minutes, spray lightly with water, wait a few and then slice it. They say this makes it easier to slice. I’m not sure as I didn’t try it. I pulled it from the oven, waited probably 30 seconds, and then sliced it with a bread knife. I didn’t dare try to move the slices since they were still a bit moist and slightly unstable. Back into the oven they went. The second bake really firms them up and removes most of the remaining moisture. Since I added coconut to the biscotti, the coconut slightly toasted. When it comes to cookies I’m all for big puddles of chocolate. It’s changed the way I bake and think about chocolate in my cookies. For the biscotti, knowing that the goal was to reduce moisture, I chopped the chocolate into much smaller chunks. This worked well as it gave a good amount of chocolate in each piece while maintaining the chew and texture of the American version of biscotti.
As we’ve been known to do here we’re still collaborating, The Baker and The Witch. This time the card is the Golden Egg from the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit deck by Kim Krans.
The Golden Egg in this deck associates with the spirit that lives in the heart chakra.
Whenever I see this card it makes my heart swell, I mean look at how precious and cozy that egg looks in that bed of wheat!
The Golden Egg reminds us when we come back to ourselves, our heart center what is tugging at our heart? What is calling us to bring attention to? What is ready to be birthed? What are we protecting? Are we actually taking time to prepare whats to come? Have you made space emotionally/physically? Are you making intentional movements to take care of yourself? Have you taken time to check in today with yourself?
The Golden Egg reminds us to bring the attention back to ourselves and to ask the questions of yourself. When you’re ready the egg will hatch. There’s no point in trying to crack that egg open forcefully.
I really resonated with this card when we pulled it I have so many eggs just waiting to be hatched. Winter/holiday season is typically hard for me because I apply so much pressure to do for others.. to make sure everyone else is having a merry season. I was taught in order to receive love I had to earn it. My dad would deck the house out when we were kids. As we got older decorating was different. It was a different dynamic. Financially stresses set in on my family. That drastically shifted everything for me growing up.
I lived in a house hold of 13 growing up and being an empath has it hardships with that many people in a house. I feel what others feel and then on top of that I have to process how I feel. I process emotion twice as much as the regular person. When Christmas shifted in my family I took it upon myself to make sure everyone had something under the tree to open, to try to make everyone happy with a gift. I played Santa, never writing my names on the gifts, I just wanted everyone to feel and know someone was thinking of them.
Typically around this time of year it is busy for me behind the salon chair. Well not this year. This was the first time in my 10 years behind the chair I was not busy. I was financially trying to stay above water. I was constantly reminding myself I didn’t need to buy gifts for my family. I was not and am not responsible for everyone else’s happiness. I was struggling to say the least. I got depressed. I got sad acknowledging I grew up with this idea of having to earn love from certain parts of my family. I was fighting the fact I couldn’t give my family the Christmas that I always had in the past. All this pressure to give for everyone else and I couldn’t give to myself. Winter for me this year was a incubation period processing all these feelings and understanding that because I can’t provide for others does not reflect my worth. It made me actually rest and release so I could actually genuinely receive.
I feel like it’s fitting that today is Imbolc and we happen to pull the golden egg. It’s the beginning of spring and lambing season. Clearing out old energies and views, releasing and inviting in new beginnings. Imbolc is the festival honoring of Brigid the goddess of healing, fire, and bringer of fertility to the land.
For me this time involves a lot of cleaning and clearing out the house. I’ve been on a serious creative kick since new years which I must be honest is really nice. The eggs are finally cracking, things are shifting, and really kicking off. I finally figured out a menu for my tarot sessions and got certified in Reiki lvl 1. I started creating Bath Blends for people and just getting deeper into my craft. We’ve got some cool stuff planned for this coming year, I’m thankful for having a supportive partner in all of this. To my forever fiancee & Lo thank you for being my support system for seeing me when I can’t see myself. I love you both dearly.
Ingredients
Biscotti:
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter (1 stick)
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1 Tablespoon of ground espresso
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1 3 oz bar of chocolate (Theo dark chocolate coconut)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees (this will change later)
Line a baking pan with parchment paper
Cream the butter and sugar In the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment on
In 2 small separate bowls crack open 2 of the eggs. With the remaining, 3rd egg, add the yolk to the bowl with the 2 eggs and keep the white in the separate bowl
Add the eggs and yolk to the creamed butter and sugar and mix
Mix in the vanilla, and coconut extract
In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, ground espresso, and baking powder
Slow mix in the dried ingredients to the wet, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed
Rough chop the chocolate
Mix in the chopped chocolate and sweetened flaked coconut until just integrated
Place the dough on the parchment lined baking sheet, wet your hands slightly as the dough is sticky, and form into a loaf about 12” long 3” wide and 1” tall.
Bake for 30 minutes and remove from oven.
Reduce Oven temperature to 325
Let cool 5 minutes and then slice into 1/2 - 3/4” slices with a serrated knife, Separate slightly
Place back into the oven and bake an additional 30-35 minutes.
Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes and then move to a cooling rack to cool
