Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Orange Almond Mandelbrot...a.k.a Jewish Biscotti!

To think that I was going to skip making cookies for the holidays...when this morning, I called my daughter Lora, and said..."I want to make some biscotti...but you know, that  my kitchen is way too small, so I will come over to
your house and will make it there! Of course, she agreed, as she always does, because she likes to see me out of my "rut"...even though I live on the beach, but I get into those "holiday blues" just before the holidays, and I tell you...You got to snap out of it!!!...seriously! Life is too short...life is GOOD! It's what you make of it!
You want to feel sorry for this person...for that person...their sad situation, but when you seriously think about it, you really have to think about "yourself!"...You have "issues" just as the next person does...except, you deal with it much better than they do! They make you feel, that you have to help them, it's your responsibility!...enough said, just check out my amazing Orange Almond Mandelbrot (Jewish Biscotti) for the holidays!

Linking my Orange Almond Manderbrot to: Full Plate Thursday 12-8-11 @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Forgive me, for not "staging" my biscotti, with photo props, holiday decors, or anything "fancy, schmancy"...what you see, is what you get! ...but I promise you it's GOOD STUFF!...no fancy "frills"

Grandson Luca, checking his little "car programs" on Mommy's I-Pad, while Luigi is  checking out the new lawn chair!

 Stella watching me...while I'm studying the recipe for the Mandelbrot ...literally meaning: Almond Bread!


Orange Almond Mandelbrot
(originally adapted by, Orange Walnut Mandelbrot)
from: Rosie's Bakery, by Judy Rosenberg

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons, (1/2 stick unsalted butter. at room temperature)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Grated orange zest, of 1 orange
2 large eggs
1 cup of sliced toasted almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium size bowl, mix baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer, on medium-high speed, cream the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, and orange zest together in a medium size mixing bowl, until light and fluffy. Stop the machine twice, during the process to scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Ad the eggs, one at a time on medium speed, mixing until each egg is partially incorporated, about 5 seconds. Scrape the bowl, after each addition.

Using the rubber spatula, mix in half the flour mixture by hand. Then blend with the electric mixer on low speed for several seconds. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on low speed until the dough is smooth, about 5 seconds. Add the nuts with a few more turns. of the mixer.


Turn the dough out unto a work surface, and divide it in half. Dough will be somewhat sticky...that's why you need extra flour added unto the work surface, just as in the upper photo!

Form a strip about 3 inches wide, and 11 inches long, with both of the portions, and set it on to the baking sheet.





 Bake the dough strips at 350 degrees F. for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden, and firm to the touch!















Turn the oven down to 275 degrees F. Cut the biscotti, using a serrated knife, about half to 3/4 inch slices, slightly diagonal. Arrange the slices standing up, about 1/2 inch apart, and bake until crisp, golden... about, 20 minutes.











Turn the oven off, and leave the biscotti in for an additional 15 minutes longer. Then, remove from the oven, and let them cool on the baking sheets.







Now, you can drizzle the glaze on it, if you like!
Mix 1 cup powdered sugar, with about 2 Tbsp. of mil,, until smooth. If it's too dry, add a drop or two of more milk, if it's too thin, add more powdered sugar, until yo get the right consistency. Drizzle with fork...and  not spoon, unto the biscotti...just like Gabby does it, longways, and across, if you like.











Gabby (granddaughter) loves to do the decorating part.














After the drizzle part is done...comes the fun, decorating part, where you shake the multicolor sprinkle candy!










Store cookies in an airtight container, at room temperature, or freeze, for up to 2 weeks. Bring them to room temperature, before eating!

Makes up to, about 44 cookies!


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37 comments:

Sonia (Nasi Lemak Lover) said...

Look like the drizzle part sound so fun!

Belly said...

De jól hangzik!

Priya said...

Super gorgeous biscottis, looks stunning..

Patty said...

Yes!!!

You are out of the doldrums and you are looking good!!!

You can come make some in my kitchen next!!!

They look yummy!!!

ping said...

Is it your turn at getting the blues? Awww, here you were giving me encouragement and then you have to go and catch my bug. It is contagious!
I hope this BIG HUG makes you feel better. Or cuddle a fuzzy face or two, that always makes me feel better :D The biscottis are lovely and I love the drizzle! Cheer up. Christmas time is happy time!

laurie said...

kGabby did a beautiful job decorating, try to be happy.There are truly people who are sad at Christmas, its just a fact of life, everyone isn'y happy at this time of year.We should push it on people but when it comes down to it we all do have at least one thing to be happy about and this time of year is when we should focus on that.I keep telling myself this, my christmas's have been very difficult the last few years but I will take your example and buck up, Merry Christmas to YOU!

Cajunlicious said...

Elisabeth those biscottis look so good, wish I had one now with my coffee!

egycsipet said...

Nagyon mutatósak lettek ezzel a vidám díszítéssel! :)
Én el szoktam fektetni felszeletelés után a szeleteket, de hát totál logikus, hogy nem kellene. Mennyivel ésszerűbb egyszerűen így visszatolni a sütőbe! Köszönöm az ötletet! :))

Tina (PinayInTexas) said...

Your biscotti looks gorgeous even without the fancy background, Elisabeth! :)
Sending you warm hugs and positive vibes to make the holiday blues go away...

Petra said...

Ja, ilyen segítséggel könnyű... ;)))
A biscotti fantasztikus lett! Köszönöm a receptet. :)

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, What absolutely gorgeous cookies! So glad you decided to bake them. I sometimes get a little melancholy during the Christmas season thinking of all my wonderful family who are no longer with us. However, look at all the beautiful and new members of the family we have. I can think of 5 beautiful children that make my holiday so very joyful!

Veronica's Kitchen said...

It's great to get the kids involved in Christmas sweet treat as they are the main consumers! Luigi is telling me how lucky he is living with your wonderful family.

Becky said...

Elisabeth- Looks like you are back in your fine baking form:) These biscotti's are gorgeous, and Gabby did a fine job decorating. You are lucky that you have beautiful grandchildren, who live near you.

Couscous & Consciousness said...

Hi Elisabeth - thanks so much for stopping by my blog today. I just came back to say I'm following you too, and have also added you to my blog list. Really looking forward to having you join in for Cookbook Sundays - cant wait to see what you bring :-)
Sue

Cake Duchess said...

Hello gorgeous biscotti. You are the biscotti queen:)I'm happy to push you out of your rut and come over and BAKE! So happy you linked to #cookielove :)xo

Junia said...

first of all i love that lawn chair. that is super neat. and the dog's name is luigi - that is ADORABLE! so happy u joined our #cookielove bloghop!! :D i absolutely LOVE almond biscotti. it's my favorite!!!

Monet said...

They don't need to be staged at all. These look perfect! With colder days and nights, I find myself wanting to be in the kitchen more and more. Thank you for giving me another recipe to bake. I hope you are enjoying the bustle of the season. Much love from Austin.

Angie's Recipes said...

Love twice baked cookies. Yours looks so festive with icing and colourful sprinkles. New lawn chair looks so nice and comfortable.

Shabs said...

Glad to see that you have snapped outta ur blues , and the biscotti looks amazing . Take care Elisabeth :) .

Mama Lisa said...

How beautiful! You make me want to brush off my old baking skills and give it a try. (Mine won't look like this though.) Thank you for sharing.

ms.composure said...

this looks amazing! so yummy!!

http://infinitelifefitness.com
http://mscomposure.blogspot.com

claudia @Whats Cookin said...

Baking away the blues, hmm could be a hit song! I love to bake when I am down .... the whole season is depressing for me. Never home have no time to enjoy it until its over,. But on a positive note I love baking biscotti and my sisterinlaw is jewish so I got the best of both worlds here today! PS thanks for the heads up... corrected.

Hayat Cafe Tarifleri said...

Harika bir bloğunuz var.
Bayıldım.
Sevgiler.

Jill | Dulce Dough said...

Oh Elisabeth! Your biscotti looks fantastic! It is so fun to see pictures of your grandkids and puppy too. And I love that lawn chair!

P.S.--You can make lefse without all the specialized tools. That's the way I started making it--I just made them smaller so they were easy to handle.

Lizzy said...

Oh, man, these look delicious!! I'm so glad you are able to break through the holiday blues...and cookies are the way to go! Plus hanging out with your sweet grandson, granddog and daughter help, too!!! Happy Thursday, my friend~

mia xara said...

Elisabeth,they look gorgeous and just in time for Christmas!!I've never tried them so thanks for providing the recipe..It's always nice to see the little ones following your footsteps in the kitchen..Keep enjoying the beach and take care of yourself,don't be overly consumed with other people's situations,from personal experience you hardly ever change anything and you end up burnt out..XOXO

wanna said...

Csoda szép a mandulás kenyered, imádom a mandulát, sok mindent készítek vele, püspökkenyérbe is rakok a dió mellett. Nagyon szépé tágas az új kerti "foteled", az unokád jó úton halad..., nem lehet elég korán kezdeni.

Christine's Pantry said...

Beautiful biscotti. This would be good with a cup of coffee. Nice photos.

Parsley Sage said...

Great outlook on life! We are firm believers that you should live life to the fullest cause you never know when it will be your time to go :)

Great biscotti!

Biren @ Roti n Rice said...

Whenever you feel like you need to bake something in some one else's home, you are welcomed to come to mine. We can always do with some baked goods here :)

Your mandelbrot looks really good. Would be good with a cup of coffee. Have a lovely weekend :)

Amelia's De-ssert said...

Elisabeth, your biscotti sure looks extremely good. Love the drizzle, looks nice and it sure taste good with a cup of coffee.
Have a nice weekend.

Miz Helen said...

Good Morning Elizabeth,
Your Biscotti would be so perfect with my morning tea or afternoon tea, how about I just have it all day. Biscotti is my all time favorite treat's and your recipe looks wonderful. I will sure be trying it very soon. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday,it is always so good to see you. Hope you are having a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen

Miz Helen said...

I pinned your recipe!

Una Semplice Passione said...

Looks good!!! Orange and almonds??? I love that combination....Too bad I have to go to work now and I can not dive in the kitchen and try this out....

Loveforfood said...

Ooo! I'm drooling over your biscotti.

www.you-made-that.com said...

I thought I left a comment on your blog before about these cookies but I guess not. I just made these and they are great thanks for the recipe!!

Magic of Spice said...

These are beautiful biscotti, and so fun that your granddaughter like to decorate...she did a lovely job! And glad your family can get you out of your rut and happily baking :)