Biscotti Bigtime

Fall is here. Nashville went from heat wave to sweater weather in a single week, leaving us all in a tailspin. I have begun pulling out my boxes of sweaters and wearing gloves when I bike. Matt hates this herald of cold weather and long nights, but I couldn't be happier. The cold sharpens my focus; it whets my urge to write and create and reminds me of who I really am. I am in my element.

To celebrate the rush of cold weather I decided to bake something with a kick of spice and a crunch like leaves underfoot. Thus, Chai Spice Biscotti!





I used the recipe from Cooking Light found here. I replaced the all-purpose flour with white whole wheat, subbed nutmeg for allspice and added several tablespoons of fresh grated ginger in place of ground. I also replaced the triple sec with a bit of vanilla extract and water, and added a dash of cracked fresh pepper for bite. The resulting cookies are perfectly textured, sweet and pungent with spice.

The most interesting bit about the recipe is the inclusion of chai tea, straight from the tea bag. I wish I had some Good Earth tea on hand, but I've been having trouble tracking it down in Nashville. So instead I used Celestial Seasonings' Bengal Spice tea, a cinnamon and chicory based herbal tea. The flavor melded in perfectly.






Biscotti make me happy, so I made the biscotti happy.