Double-baked, triple good

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/12/2023 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Day 2 of Homemade Holidays features a recipe from Saskatchewan poet laureate dee Hobsbawn-Smith, a former chef and cookbook author.

This is my all-time favourite cookie, one I made by the millions at Foodsmith, my restaurant and catering company, back in the ’90s when I was a working chef in Calgary. This recipe has appeared in a few newspapers, including in my former column in the Calgary Herald.

I still make it by the dozens, and pack up double handfuls to give away as gifts at holiday time. It’s a great keeper, perfect with a midday coffee, and its crisp, crunchy texture is a welcome relief after holiday cakes and pies.

The biscotti are packed with my favourite ingredients — chunks of dark chocolate and crystalized ginger.

“Biscotti” means double cooked in Italian, and so they are, for that irresistible crunch. Half-dipping each cooled cookie in melted dark chocolate will up your game.

Triple Ginger and Chocolate Biscotti

Makes 36 biscotti

125 ml (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
250 ml (1 cup) sugar
2 large eggs
250 ml (1 cup) chopped or sliced almonds
15 ml (1 tbsp) ground ginger
60 ml (1/4 cup) finely grated fresh ginger
125 ml (1/2 cup) diced crystallized ginger
125 ml (1/2 cup) chopped dark chocolate
375 ml (1 1/2 cups) all purpose flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) Purity cornmeal (see note)
7 ml (11/2 tsp) baking powder
Pinch kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Cream the butter and sugar in a countertop mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed for 10 minutes, scraping down several times. Add the eggs, then beat on high speed for 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until blended.

Divide the dough in half. Transfer the dough to the baking sheets. Run cool water over your hands prior to shaping so dough will not stick.

Shape into logs about 2.5 cm (1-inch) shorter than the baking sheet, 3.5 cm (1½ inch) across and 1 cm (½ inch) high. Use the flat of your hand to flatten and tidy the sides.

Bake for 23-28 minutes, until the dough is firm and cooked throughout. Cool on the tray for 15 minutes. While the logs are still warm, slice into fingers on the angle, each about 1 cm (½ inch) wide.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 F. Place the cookies, cut side up, on the baking sheets and bake again for 20 minutes or until completely dry but not browned. Cool, then store in a cookie jar.

Note: I specify Purity brand cornmeal because of its texture.

Submitted by dee Hobsbawn-Smith from her book, The Curious Cook at Home.

Looking for a cookie recipe from past years of Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies? The Free Press has stored dozens of recipes from past years at wfp.to/cookies.

Eva Wasney
Reporter

Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva.

Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.