Biscotti is a large-coffeehouse-chain staple. Everywhere you go, there are those huge glass jars layered with these perfectly identical Italian cookies ready to be dunked into hot beverages across the country. I never really enjoy these commercial biscotti because I find them more rock-hard than crisp and dry as they should be. Perhaps because of this aversion, I don’t make them very often at home, but when asked by family, I relent.

Biscotti is a double-baked cookie (plural of Italian biscotto, roughly meaning “twice baked”; also the translation of “biscuit”). After making the dough (which is sticky), it has to be shaped into logs and then baked. Afterwards, they’re taken out of the oven, cooled, and sliced. From there, you pop them back in the oven to golden them up and get them crisp. I have tried different recipes, some of which brown more quickly than others, but I found with this Canadian Living recipe, the biscotti turned out perfectly. They were nicely golden on the outside and, when cooled, were crunchy, dunkable, and thoroughly enjoyable. Eat them as is, or dress them up with a drizzle of chocolate or a dusting of icing sugar.

Almond Biscotti

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp each vanilla and almond extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unbleached almonds
1 tbsp icing sugar

In bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and almond extract. In separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture all at once, stirring just until combined. Stir in almonds.

Divide dough in half; with floured hands, shape each half into log about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Place, about 4 inches (10 cm) apart, on parchment paper-lined or greased rimless baking sheet; flatten each until about 3 inches (8 cm) wide, leaving top slightly rounded.

Bake in center of 350 F (160 C) oven for about 30 minutes or until firm and tops are just turning golden. Let cool on pan on rack for 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board; with serrated knife, cut into 1/2-inch (1 cm) thick slices. Stand slices upright on two rimless baking sheets. Return to oven; bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until dry and crisp. Let cool on pans on racks. (Make Ahead: Layer between waxed paper in airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 weeks.) Dust with icing sugar just before serving. Makes about 40 cookies.

Source: The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook, 2001

These Whopper (or Malteser) Drops are hearty, chocolatey cookies filled with bittersweet chocolate, malt balls, malt powder, and cocoa. They are intense and slightly cakey but wholly satisfying.

If you’re wondering about malt powder, you can substitute Ovaltine, a powdered drink mix. When I was younger I tried hot Ovaltine and thought it was pretty much the anti-hot chocolate, but as I’ve grown, I have come to see the benefit of this malty beverage. I still don’t drink it, but its esteem has risen in my eyes since I can bake with it.

Also, try to find bittersweet chocolate. It gives the cookies a certain “poshness” that semisweet chocolate would not be able to. The bitterness goes well with the malt and sweetness of the balls. When I make these again, I would leave the Maltesers whole since they sort of disappeared in the cookie dough. Try them out - they’re not pretty but they’re good!

Chocolate Malted Whopper Drops

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup malted milk powder (or Ovaltine, regular or chocolate flavored)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup whole milk
2 cups chocolate-covered malted milk balls (Whoppers or Maltesers), coarsely chopped
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, or 1 cup store-bought chocolate chips or chunks

Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.

Sift together the flour, malted milk powder, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don’t be concerned if the mixture looks curdled - it will even out when the dry ingredients are added. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the dry ingredients, mixing just until they disappear into the batter. Mix in the milk, then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. The batter will look more like fudge frosting than cookie dough - and that’s fine. With the mixer on low, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the malted milk balls and chopped chocolate.

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between spoonfuls. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 6 minutes. When done, the cookies will be puffed and set but slightly soft to the touch. Let the cookies rest for 2 minutes before using a wide metal spatula to transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.

Repeat with the remaining dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Note: It does not say what temperature to bake the cookies at in the recipe. I baked mine at 350 F.

Source: Baking from My Home to Yours, 2006

I like baking with cranberries because of their tangy flavour and their ruby red colour.  They’re vibrant and easy to work with. This recipe is easy as well because you can whizz everything up for the oat base in a food processor or you can use a pastry blender. The cranberry filling is similar to making cranberry sauce except you don’t let it get as thick or as sweet as the turkey topper. I suppose you could use regular cranberry sauce, the choice would be up to you.

The overall bar is quite wholesome and healthy tasting. It is definitely not sugary sweet and the tartness of the cranberries shines through. I think some cinnamon in the oat base would be a great addition to make it more flavourful but on the whole, it is quite a nice bar.  I think you could even make this bar with different cooked fruit fillings such as raisins, apricots or mincemeat.They slice very cleanly and can be frozen so you can enjoy them for much longer than you first anticipated.

Cranberry Pear Bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter, cut into pieces
1 cup regular rolled oats
2/3 cup pear nectar or apple juice
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 °F. For crust, combine flour and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a food processor. Cover and process with one or two on-off turns to mix. Add butter; pulse several times until fine crumbs form. Add oats; pulse once to mix. (Or combine flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in oats.) Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of ungreased 13×9x2-inch baking pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until crust is lightly brown.

Meanwhile, for filling, combine pear nectar and 2/3 cup brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cranberries, return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until filling is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in nutmeg.

Spread filling evenly over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 32.

To store: Place bars in layers separated by pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Source: BHG Christmas Cookies, 2007.

If you think of the chocolate Peak Freans sandwich cookie, these are similar, though not exactly the same. The cookies are dark with an intense cocoa flavour. They’re softer than store-bought cookies and instead of being filled with icing, they’re held together by a delicious chocolate ganache. If that wasn’t enough, one end is dipped in the ganache and then into sprinkles. Pretty darn tasty if you ask me. Add a glass of cold milk and you have the best snack ever. (Well, if you’re seven and in grade two, you do.)

So if you’re going to make them, just take your time and read the instructions. Even though I measured perfect 10 x 10 squares, some cookies came out wider than others. And when you’re done, you get to lick the extra ganache off the spoon. Yum!

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chocolate sprinkles

Line 2 rimless baking sheets with parchment paper or grease; set aside.

In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; stir into butter mixture in 2 additions. Divide in half; flatten into squares. Wrap each and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

On floured surface, roll out each half of the dough into 10-inch (25 cm) square. Cut into 4 strips; cut across strips at 1-inch (2.5 cm) intervals to make 40 pieces. Place 1 inch apart, on prepared pans. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake in top and bottom thirds of 350 °F oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, until edges begin to darken, 8 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool. (Make Ahead: Store layered between waxed paper in airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for 1 month.)

Place chocolate in heatproof bowl. In saucepan, bring cream to boil; stir into chocolate until melted. Spread 1 tsp onto half the cookies. Top with remaining cookies; press to reveal filling. Dip 1 end of the cookie into chocolate then into sprinkles. Let harden on rack. Makes 40 cookies.

Source: Canadian Living Holiday Celebrations, 2007 

The sugar cookie recipe I used is from BHG and I liked it because there was no chilling time required. I don’t mind making rolled cookie-cutter cookies but sometimes you just don’t have time to wait. The dough is straightforward and I was able to make the cookies immediately, though if you need to, refrigerating them is not a problem.

An important thing to remember when rolling the dough into balls is to not use too much force or ’smush’ the dough unnecessarily. This will usually result in tougher cookies that are missing a tender crumb texture. Afterwards, I (quite liberally) rolled the balls in different coloured sugars just for fun and visual interest.

The cookies also bake at a lower temperature for a longer time (sort of like shortbread) so they come out very lightly browned on the bottom and melt in your mouth delicious. They’re perfect to make with kids (or anyone who loves sprinkles) and are easy enough for the most novice of bakers so give them a try. Happy Baking!

Tender Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and salt. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. If necessary, cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes or until dough is easy to handle.

Preheat oven to 300 F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven about 15 minutes or until tops are slightly crackled and sides are set (do not let edges brown). Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool. Makes about 60.

Tip: For a colourful platter, roll dough balls in different colour sugars instead of white sugar.

To Store: Place cookies in layers separated by pieces of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Source: BHG Christmas Cookies, 2007

Kipferl has a distinct and pronounced vanilla flavour while the almonds add a gentle undertone. They browned considerably after 12 minutes so watch them closely. The cookie texture is like a sugar cookie but the ground almonds add a bit of texture. Overall, I really liked making and eating the Kipferl. They taste really fabulous the next day or even the day after after the flavours have had a chance to mingle. Again, they would make an interesting and tasty addition to any cookie tray.

Kipferl

1/3 cup (75 mL) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (50 mL) vanilla sugar
3/4 cup (175 mL) ground almonds
1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1/2 tsp (2 mL) almond extract
2 1/4 cups (550 mL) all-purpose flour
pinch salt

Garnish
1/2 cup g(125 mL) granulated sugar

In food processor or blender, process granulates sugar and vanilla sugar until fine. Add almonds; pulse to blend.

In bowl, beat butter until light; beat in sugar mixture. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extract. Using wooden spoon, stir in flour and salt until combined but not overworked. Flatten dough into disc and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm but not stiff.
(Make Ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours; let come to room temperature.)

Shape by scant 1 tbsp (15 mL) into 3-inch (8 cm) long ropes; curve to form into crescent, tapering ends slightly. Place, 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on 2 parchment paper-lined rimless baking sheets. Bake in centre of 350 °F (180 °C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Let cool on pan on rack for 5 minutes.

Garnish: Gently coat crescents in sugar. Transfer to rack and let cool. (Make Ahead: Store layered between waxed paper in airtight container for up to 1 week.) Makes about 60 cookies.

Source: Canadian Living Magazine, December 2007.

The reasons I like these cookies:

1. They use almost 3 cups of oats. Now that’s a real oatmeal cookie.

2. They’re sturdy and versatile. Leave them plain or dress them up. Turn them into ice cream sandwiches. It’s all good.

3. They’re easy, fast and mixes up in one bowl.

The one thing about using Crisco is that sometimes when you have a plain cookie like this one, the flavour can become flat and tasteless so you really need to add the salt called for in the recipe. I also used cinnamon to jazz up the flavour which is totally optional - it just depends on what you like. Also, I always use large-flake oats to make cookies.  There is no reason for this other than the fact that I like biting into the oats since quick oats can get powdery.  The recipe makes a lot of cookies so invite some friends over and share. Or have a Hallowe’en party, add orange and dark brown M&M’s and call them Super Crunchy And Really Yummy (SCARY) cookies…….or not.

1 cup Butter Flavour Crisco all vegetable shortening or 1 Butter Flavour Crisco stick
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple flavour or extract
2 1/2 cups quick oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 °F. Grease baking sheet with Crisco or line with parchment paper.

Combine Crisco, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and maple flavour in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.

Combine oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Beat until blended. Increase speed to medium. Beat for 2 minutes. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased baking sheet.

Bake at 350 °F for 12 minutes or just until beginning to brown and just set. Remove to cooling rack. Makes 4 dozen cookies.

To make this bar cookie, you need to soften up the apricots by simmering them in a liquid. I chose water, but you could also add more flavour by using orange juice or Citrus Five Alive - whatever you fancy. Once they’re a bit mushier (but not like a puree), you mix it up with a whole bunch of other good stuff and bake it over a shortbread crust. I was unsure how they would come out, but I needn’t have worried.

After 30 minutes, they were done and a nice light shade of brown. I let them cool for a bit and then sliced them up into neat squares. So far so good but, as they say, the proof is in the pudding or eating or something. The bars were surprisingly delicious. I knew they’d taste good, but not this good. The buttery crust went together amazingly well with the sweet chewy apricot filling. I chopped my apricots a little larger, so I had nice big chunks intermingled with coconut and crunchy almonds. A winner on all accounts. They’re perfect for a dessert tray and if you throw in some dried cranberries, they’d look even prettier.

Apricot Coconut Almond Squares

Crust
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping
1 cup chopped dried apricots
water
1/2 cup sweetened coconut
2 eggs
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Preheat oven to 325 °F (160 °C) and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

Crust: Cream butter and granulated sugar until light and creamy. Add flour; mix well. Press into prepared pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden.

Topping: Combine apricots and enough water to cover in small saucepan. Bring to boil over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain well; set aside.

Beat eggs and brown sugar until smoothly blended. Stir in flour, baking powder and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in apricot mixture, coconut and almonds. Spread over warm crust.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack, then cut into squares.

Note: I used 1/2 cup of water to simmer the apricots. This way, I did not have to drain any liquid after the 10 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Robin Hood Home Baking, 2004

The apples that were available for picking the day I went were Ginger Gold and Wealthy. I had never heard of either and was excited to go out into the orchard to pick them straight off the tree. We were told that two apples equaled a pound and they sure were huge! Nothing beats eating a crisp, juicy apple off the tree - the Ginger Gold was gorgeous and I picked a bagful of Wealthy apples to take home and bake with.

I decided to try a different apple pie recipe from my usual one. The crust called for sour cream and lard. As I don’t have lard on hand, I replaced it with all vegetable shortening. I don’t know how much of a difference this had on the final product, but I find that you can make a great crust using butter and shortening. The only mistake I made was slicing my apples too thinly. Next time I’ll make them thicker so that they don’t make the filling all mushy. Overall, the pie was enjoyable - the crust was nice and the filling was spiced perfectly.

If you have the opportunity to pick your own apples I highly suggest you do! It’s lots of fun for everyone and if you get hungry, no problem, eat an apple. Just watch out for all those pesky bees - they’re in apple heaven.

Grandma Thompson’s Prize-Winning Apple Pie

Double-Crust Sour Cream Pastry (see below)
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp coarse sugar

Filling:
8 apples (such as McIntosh or Northern Spy), about 3 lbs (1.5 kg)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (175 mL)
2 tbsp cornstarch (25 mL)
1 tsp cinnamon (5 mL)
pinch each ground nutmeg and salt
2 tbsp butter, softened (25 mL)

Filling

Peel and core apples; cut into 1/4-inch thick slices and place in large bowl. In small bowl, toss together sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; add to apples and toss to coat.

On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang; fold under and flute edge. Scrape filling into pie shell; dot with butter.

Roll out remaining pastry. Whisk egg yolk with 1 tbsp water; brush over pastry rim. Fit pastry over filling; trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang. Fold overhang under bottom pastry rim; seal and flute edge. Brush egg mixture over pastry. Cut steam vents in top; sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in bottom third of 450° F (230° C) oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F (180° C); bake for 65 minutes or until bottom is bubbling and thickened. Let cool on rack. (Make Ahead: Set aside for up to 24 hours.) Makes 8 servings.

Pastry:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (625 mL)
1/2 tsp salt (2 mL)
1/2 cup each cold butter and lard, cubed (125 mL)
1/4 cup ice water (50 mL)
3 tbsp sour cream (50 mL)

In bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using pastry blender, cut in butter and lard until mixture resembles fine crumbs with a few larger pieces.

In small bowl, whisk water with sour cream; drizzle over dry ingredients, stirring briskly with fork until ragged dough forms. Divide in half; press into discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes. (Make Ahead: Refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

Source: Canadian Living Magazine, October 2007.

Note : I replaced lard with all vegetable shortening.

“Lady’s Kisses” are a very apt name for these little buttery almond cookies. They’re light and sweet, but getting the perfect one can sometimes be elusive. Normally, I don’t have a lot of trouble making new types of cookies but these ones were like trying to get a kiss on the lips, failing and settling for a kiss on the forehead instead.

The dough for the Baci di Dama is very dry and crumbly. It requires a lot of squeezing to be able to be rolled into a ball for baking. Once they were all lined up like marbles I baked them for the suggested 12 minutes and got a some darkly burnt ones and some flat cookies. I sort of panicked when I took them out wondering how I could get so many cookie shape variations on one try. For the second batch, I reduced the baking time by two minutes which made a huge difference and picked out the better ones to fill with Nutella. Overall, the cookies were fantastic to eat. They were delicate, sandy and not too sweet. I could have eaten them plain, but filling them with chocolate is what you’re supposed to do and it makes for a much nicer presentation. I would definitely try to make these again and if you do try to make them, have patience - it takes a bit of time to roll out all those teaspoon-sized balls!

2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

In bowl, beat together butter, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla until very light. Beat in almonds; beat in flour to make crumbly mixture. Lightly squeeze dough into ball.

Shape level teaspoonfuls (5 mL) of dough into balls. Place about 1 1/2-inches (4 cm) apart on parchment paper-lined or lightly greased baking sheets; flatten slightly with palm. Bake in 350° F (180° C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes or just until lightly golden. Let cool completely on baking sheets on rack.

Meanwhile, in top of double boiler over hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate. Spread over underside of one of the cookies; sandwich with another cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Source: Canadian Living Best Muffins & More, 1994