Breakfast was a bit of a taboo subject in my household growing up.
No offense to my mom. She by no means starved us. I just think my brother was a bit more audible in his early morning biological needs than I was. When I was in high school I just gave the quintessential moody teen shrug of "I don't care" when she asked what to buy me for breakfast at the grocery store. And truth be told...I really didn't care what I had for breakfast. I still am not a breakfast person. That's why intermittent fasting is a diet I can jump onto. When I wake up in the morning I want coffee period. After that I can work on what I need to settle my stomach around noon. Intermittent fasting when you're in high school is another story. Having gym first period for 3 of my 4 years of high school taught me that I needed to at least consume something in the wee hours of the morning. Not to mention having a body that is "growing" also requires sustenance during many hours of the day.
My high school breakfasts have become somewhat of a joke between my mom and me because she once caught me eating stale leftover hard taco shells in the morning. That was a low period. I have recovered. Even though school started at 7:25am, my bus came at 6:15am...on a good day. Most days that bus driver rolled past my house at 6:05am. I straightened my hair every night (of course) and set my alarm or 5:30am, having picked out my outfit each night. I woke up, put on the minimal makeup needed for my youthful face (ugh), quietly informed my sleeping parents I was leaving, and went down to the kitchen for "breakfast." Here is where the hilariousness ensues. My mother and I have similar likes for breakfast. Pancakes ew...bacon too heavy..eggs nope. Crumbs of "matzah cracker" satisfactory... leftover mashed potatoes yum....day old cold pizza.....perfect. To this day....cold pizza is my favorite morning craving. Screw brunch traditions of eggs benedict or french toast...give me day old pizza and i'll be happy.
My tastebuds yielded to one breakfast sweet treat. No not a pop tart, toaster strudel, or bagel. Something much more elegant. Every once an a while my mom would come home with a gigantic plastic jug of biscotti from Sam's club. I don't know why but Biscotti is different to me than pancakes or waffles. Even though it contains equal amounts of sugar it's just different. So many of my high school morning routines started with a crunch of biscotti. As the holidays roll in I try to pretend I'm Martha Stewart and make a variety of treats for my friends and family. This holiday I was perusing the interwebs for something a bit different and stumbled upon a recipe for biscotti. Now I nearly immediately clicked out because to me, biscotti seems very challenging and likely to require some sort of "rise" time. But low and behold, you're really just baking a giant cookie, and then baking it again. Could it possibly be that easy? Well this post today is my third round of biscotti baking this December and I have yet to fail.
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional for drizzle)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about five minutes). Add in olive oil, peppermint extra, and eggs, and blend until fully combined. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients one cup at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips. Carefully wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and place onto a lightly floured surface. Mold the dough into two logs about 3 - 4 inches wide, and a 1/2 inch thick. Place on greased separate baking sheets (they will expand) and bake for 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperate to 325. Let the logs cool for 15 minutes. Using a serrated knife cut the logs on a diagonal into 1/2 - 1 inch this slices. Place back on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip biscotti over and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Remove and let cool. Drizzle with white chocolate drizzle or dip the ends in extra melted chocolate. Serving with coffee is mandatory.
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp peppermint extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips (optional for drizzle)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, or using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about five minutes). Add in olive oil, peppermint extra, and eggs, and blend until fully combined. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients one cup at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips. Carefully wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and place onto a lightly floured surface. Mold the dough into two logs about 3 - 4 inches wide, and a 1/2 inch thick. Place on greased separate baking sheets (they will expand) and bake for 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperate to 325. Let the logs cool for 15 minutes. Using a serrated knife cut the logs on a diagonal into 1/2 - 1 inch this slices. Place back on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip biscotti over and bake for an additional 12 minutes. Remove and let cool. Drizzle with white chocolate drizzle or dip the ends in extra melted chocolate. Serving with coffee is mandatory.