Roasted Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding With Spiced Streusel

Waste not, want not it is said. When it comes to an ingredient that's fairly (to me) expensive, waste is not an option! Silly me, I thought an available-everywhere-this-time-of-year sugar pumpkin would be a reasonably priced ingredient. Not so. Am I the only one that thinks $12 for a small pumpkin is over the top? The good thing is that once purchased (yes, of course I bought one!), I had a lot of it to work with. 

You may remember the Smoky Pumpkin Vegetable Soup With Chorizo I shared with you about a month ago. Since I'd only used half of the roasted pumpkin flesh in the soup, I first made this recipe with part of what was left and froze the rest of the pumpkin. My frugal pumpkin bread pudding hit the spot and I filed the recipe away to use the rest of the pumpkin another day.

You know how sometimes an idea seems to percolate behind the scenes in your brain (is that only me?) until it seems to pop into the forefront of your mind fully formed? That's what happened. Apparently my subconscious was working in the background on pumpkin bread pudding possibilities. It must have gone something like this, "If roasted pumpkin in a bread pudding is completely wonderful, wouldn't toasted pecans make it even better?  Wouldn't streusel send it completely over the top?" I listened to that inner recipe voice and then totally gilded THAT lily with ice cream nestled cheek to cheek with the bread pudding. Nirvana.

If you want to make it really easy, feel free to use butternut squash in place of pumpkin and roast it...it would be less expensive than a fresh pumpkin, for sure. Or maybe you'd prefer it with roasted apples or pears. Those would work beautifully, too.

Looking for a homey Thanksgiving dessert? You may just have found it right here. 

Roasted Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding 

With Spiced Streusel

• 2-3 C roasted pumpkin cubes, cooled (spray pumpkin cubes with coconut oil and roast on a baking sheet at 425 degrees until the pumpkin is caramelized and soft)
• 5-6 C stale bread, cubed (I use the crust and all) - challah or a sturdy bread work nicely (I use Whole Foods Gluten Free Light White bread to make this GF)
• 2/3 C toasted pecans, chopped coarsely
• 4 T butter, melted
• 3/4 C heavy cream
• 1/2 C buttermilk
• 1/4 C demerara sugar (or light brown sugar if you can't find the demerara - Giant Eagle carries it)
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 t pumpkin spice
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 3 T dark rum

Streusel

• 1/3 C toasted pecans, chopped coarsely
• 1/3 C dark brown sugar
• 1/3 C flour (I used gluten free flour to make this GF)
• 1/4 C oats (I used certified gluten free oats to make this GF)
• 1 t pumpkin spice
• 1/4 t kosher salt
• 3 T melted butter

Mix all the streusel ingredients together until all is wet and crumbly. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes and melted butter. Fold in roasted pumpkin and pecans and gently combine.

In a separate bowl, beat well the cream, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, salt, rum, pumpkin spice and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the bread mixture and gently combine.

Pour the mixture into an UNGREASED 9" X 5" loaf pan or 8" X 8" square pan - both with high sides. Sprinkle the streusel over the top evenly.

I used a loaf pan and baked mine for an hour and 15 minutes. If you use a square pan, the time may be less. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick or wooden pick into the center and when it comes out clean, that's it!

Serve with ice cream. YUM!

Hot from the oven!

Smoky & Spicy Pecan Bacon Pimiento Cheese

Busy, busy, busy! Life changes again. This time it's moving and moving on. 

Kimber had moved home quite a while ago when help was needed with Mark, taking shifts at the hospital, getting him to and from doctors appointments once he got home and with this big ol' house (and snow shoveling, mowing, and just the day-to-day stuff). After being back here and working in the 'Burgh, she's decided Pittsburgh is a pretty special place (although she still misses Cleveland) and is making Pittsburgh her home for good. Yay!

Family and neighbors are pitching in together over the next couple of days to move her to her own apartment. Although she's been an awesome roommate, it's time for her to do her own thing again. Thanks, Kimber, for all the help and support over the last year and a half. I couldn't have begun to do this without you...both the tough times and the fun times, too.

Our neighbors across the street - the ones whose three boys Kimber babysat when they were little - are loading up their two pickup trucks, my sister's pickup truck and my SUV and we're tackling this mother as a team! Oh, and those boys Kimber babysat those many years ago? They're big strapping young men who are helping, too. 

Naturally, I'm feeding the crew. It's the least I can do! Pulled pork, coleslaw, potato salad, baked beans and pimiento cheese are on the menu. Good hearty food that boys love and that will replenish our reserves to finish the job in one fell swoop. Why pimiento cheese? Joy is from Georgia and just happens to love my version of the southern classic. So this is for Joy and the boys...and Kimber, too. With love and thanks. 

Smoky & Spicy Pecan Bacon Pimiento Cheese

• 1 1/2 C mayo - Hellman's, of course
• 1/3 C drained, diced jarred peppadew peppers - or pimientos if you can't find peppadews
• 1 t worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 t finely grated onion
• 1 t chipotle powder
• 1/2 t ancho chile powder
• 1 t hot paprika

Mix all the above and set aside.

• 1 1/4 C chopped, toasted pecans
• 3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
• 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, finely shredded - shred this yourself, it makes a world of difference in texture!
• 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded - shredded on the largest holes of your box grater

Toss the cheeses, pecans and bacon in a large mixing bowl. Pour the mayo mixture over top and mix thoroughly with a heavy duty wooden or metal spoon until completely incorporated.

Spoon into a serving bowl and serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until about 2 hours before serving time. Letting it come to room temp helps it spread more easily on crackers and makes it easier to dip into with veggies.

Superbowl Sweet, Nutty & Crunchy Turtle Corn

Thinking about what "snacky" things to make for Sunday's Superbowl had me reminiscing a bit. As I considered making a big batch of Turtle Corn (among the regular wings and guac and such), it harkened me back to the days when the girls were in college. 

Care packages with tins of this crisp, crunchy and chewy, caramel, chocolate and toasted pecan confection would be either mailed to one of the girls as a surprise or sometimes tucked into the backseat for an extra special bonus during a visit from mom and dad as a sweet reminder of home. It's been a long time since I made it for the girls (it's been a long time since they were in college!), but I did pull the old recipe out again recently.

Just a couple of weekends ago, I held a special brunch for a special bunch of friends. You guessed it, Turtle Corn made the cut for the menu and held a special spot on the dessert buffet. 

Turtle Corn in a treasured Fisher's Popcorn tin from Ocean City last year. (Also pictured, Hot Curried Cashews, Gingerbread Figgy Pudding Dark Rum Trifle, Blacktop Marble Cheesecake)

Even though I did just make it for a crowd, it's the perfect casual Superbowl snack...and any leftovers are always appreciated at work! Thinking of what to serve your guests for your own big Superbowl party? Turtle Corn might be just what you're looking for!

Turtle Corn

• 4 quarts popped popcorn, checked well for unpopped or partially popped kernels and toss those away...you only want those big, beautiful, fully popped and fluffy pieces! (I use mushroom popcorn these days because they're bigger and fuller like the premium popcorn places use. Amazon, of course, carries it.)

• 3 C sugar
• 1 C water
• 1 C light unsulphered molasses
• 6 T butter
• 4 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 t salt
• 1 t baking soda

• 1 pound pecan halves, toasted in the oven at 300 degrees until warmed and fragrant - watch carefully so they don't burn
• 6 oz chocolate chips, melted

Prepare to put this together quickly as the caramel mixture will harden in a hurry. Put the popcorn and toasted pecans into a very large container - I use a canning kettle or a crab pot - before you start the caramel. Also prepare 2 large rimmed cookie sheets by buttering them lightly. 

In a large, deep, heavy bottomed pot, combine water, molasses, butter, vinegar and salt. Cook over medium high heat until your candy thermometer reaches 260 degrees (hard ball stage). 

Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Mixture will bubble up and then turn "creamy." (This is why you use such a large pot, you don't want to risk having this boil over on your stove or on YOU!) Once the bubbling subsides and the mixture well combined, immediately pour it over the waiting popcorn and pecans. Using a long wooden or metal spoon - not plastic, stir and mix until the popcorn is completely covered. Be careful not to touch the caramel, it will be one nasty burn, I assure you.

Remember those buttered, rimmed cookie sheets? Immediately turn the caramel corn onto the two cookie sheets, dividing equally. Use your spoon to spread the mixture on the cookie sheets. Let the caramel corn cool completely. 

Once cooled, break into pieces and drizzle with half the melted chocolate. Let the chocolate set, turn the pieces over and drizzle with the remaining chocolate. Let set and dry completely before storing in an airtight container or large ziptop bags.

This is the "mushroom" popcorn I used from Amazon. "Mushroom" refers to the shape of the popcorn.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Apple Crisp

It has been QUITE a while since there's been a quickie on Dinner Plan-it. It's time!

What's even better than Apple Crisp? A crisp with oatmeal raisin cookie dough baked onto the top. Here's how to make what amounts to an oatmeal cookie apple pie ala mode dessert that's sure to be a family favorite.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Apple Crisp

• 6 C apples, peeled, cored, sliced approx. 1/4" thick
• 1/2 lemon 

• 1/2 C flour (I use a good gluten-free all purpose flour to make this GF)
• 1 t cinnamon 
• 1/8 t nutmeg
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1/4 C brown sugar
• pinch salt
• 1/3 C butter, softened
• 1/2 C oats (I use certified gluten-free oats to make this GF)
• 1/3 C raisins
• 1/4 C pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Butter a shallow casserole dish (I used the 2 1/2 quart size French White Corningware oval casserole dish (approx. 8 1/2" X 11") - it's the perfect size!) and scatter the apple slices evenly in the dish. Sprinkle the juice of the lemon over the apples to keep them from turning brown while you make the topping.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugars with a fork. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine thoroughly with the fork - I've been known to just use my fingers (clean, of course!) and work the mixture until it's crumbly and combined.

Crumble the oatmeal cookie dough over the apples. Cover the dish with foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking another 20 minutes or so until the apples are bubbly throughout and the cookie topping is beautifully browned. 

Cool about half an hour and serve warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream. 

NOTE: I like to use a nice tart apple that doesn't cook down to mush. You want an apple pie type apple, not an applesauce type apple. Try Granny Smiths, McIntosh or (my favorite) Stayman Winesaps. 

Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Nothing hugs the tummy on a cold morning quite like a bowl of oatmeal. I can hear you now, "What?! A recipe for oatmeal? You've got to be kidding me." (Accompanied by a dramatic eyeroll, I hope!) Who needs a recipe for oatmeal when all you have to do is tear open a packet, add water, give it a little spin in the microwave and breakfast is ON the table!

Not so fast. How about morning convenience AND oatmeal raised to a whole new level? One that's more delicious than any artificial ingredients-filled, sugar-laden paper packet of oatmeal dust you've ever had?

Oh...you don't like oatmeal? Perhaps your tastebuds have simply been waiting for a hot morning cereal worthy of their undivided attention. Your bored tastebuds have been waiting for Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal! 

Kimber has been home for a few days and treated us to this simple, make-it-the-night-before breakfast.  Mmmmm...she enjoys it warm and topped with a little non-fat Greek yogurt. I like it cold with either a little skim milk or non-fat Greek yogurt, too. Sound too healthy for you? What if I told you the flavor and texture is more like a rich, creamy, decadent bread pudding than a good-for-you quick morning meal? It is.

It's not often you can splurge on flavor, yet skimp on fat and calories...and have the result be heart healthy, too. Live it up!

Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal

• 2 1/2 cups oatmeal, certified gf to make this gluten-free!
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup dried figs, Black Mission figs are my fave, quartered lengthwise
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, diced small if it didn't come that way already
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/3 cups skim milk
• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 8" glass baking dish with Pam.  Mix all the dry ingredients in large bowl.  In medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
 
Pour mixture into dish sprayed with Pam, bake for 55-60 minutes or until center is set and firm to touch. 
 
Serve as is or with some yogurt on top...maybe a few berries, too! Oh...and I love that it make a good amount so you have an instant breakfast for a few days...IF you and the fam don't scarf it up!

Apple, Bacon & Pecan Chicken Salad with Maple Pecan Vinaigette

The PLAN part of Dinner Plan-it came into play for this recipe! Grilling or BBQing in our house always means throwing on a little extra for later in the week.  Who doesn't love a quick meal that can be assembled at the last minute, doesn't look and feel like plain old leftovers and is absolutely delish?!  

That Spatchcocked Chicken that was posted recently?  Yep, part of the plan for this salad. Tuesday's dinner of fire-roasted poblano pepper burgers and corn on the cob were planned into the salad, too.  What luck!  I had an extra avocado from Poblano Burger Night, too.  The plan was coming together!

All that was needed was to saute the bacon and toast the pecans right in the same pan, arrange the salad, whisk up a quick and easy vinaigrette and dinner isn't just a plan, it's on the table quick as a wink.  Here's how to do it.

 Apple, Bacon & Pecan Chicken Salad 

with Maple Pecan Vinaigrette

Serves 2

• 2 cups spinach
• 2 cups romaine lettuce leaves, mixed red & green
• 1/2 cup pecans, whole
• 3 slices bacon, thick sliced, 12" across, fried crisp
• 1 Apple, Gala or other crisp & pretty one
• fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons bleu cheese, crumbles
• 1 chicken breast, roasted, sliced across the grain
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1 poblano pepper, roasted, blackened skin removed and seeded - sliced

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, grade B - it has more flavor!
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Saute bacon until crisp; remove with slotted spoon & drain.  Saute the pecans in the bacon fat.  Remove.
 
On two plates, arrange 1/2 the spinach & half the Romaine on each plate.  Top with apple slices in a sunburst.  Arrange slices of avocado and roasted poblano pepper alternately; squeeze lemon juice over both.  Arrange 1/2 the chicken slices around the salad.  Sprinkle with bacon & pecans.  Mound bleu cheese in the center and drizzle with the vinaigrette.
 
Vinaigrette:  Mix olive oil, balsamic, maple syrup, granulated garlic, pepper & salt.  Whisk well.


NOTE: You don't have to do an arranged salad...make it easier and chop the chicken, apples, veggies, etc. and mix lightly together.  Top lettuce and spinach with the mixture and drizzle with dressing.  Easy!


Instead of apple, try grilled peaches, pears, mango or even orange slices!

Green Beans with Bacon, Red Peppers and Pecans

Circa 1999, when the Waterfront in Homestead first opened, a stellar upscale diner graced a busy corner directly across the way from Loew's Theater.  It stood head and shoulders above the crowd of chain bars and restaurants lining the brand-spanking new streets of the newly-minted shopping/dining area.  The food at this establishment so good, so tantalizing, it drew us in all the way from the north as hungry moths to a flame of fine dining.  In a diner.  A shiny metal-ed, glass blocked beacon of gustatory promise in the sea of chain mediocrity along the Mon.  And we reveled in the delights to be found within those gleaming walls.  

It's name?  Cap City Diner.  And it hailed from Ohio.  It wasn't part of a chain, mind you, it stood as an ambassador from the state to the west...a Ghost of Future Dining sent from Columbus to give us hope for Pittsburgh dining to come.  Cap City Diner ran the first of the races in what has become a marathon of closed restaurants in that location.  I'm not sure exactly why they closed those shiny doors....it was probably too hip for the crowds thronging from the movie looking for McFries or a grey, greasy burger....regardless, there are those of us who still remember and still look longingly at the spot that held such glory...and such glorious food....and remember.  So why am I even bringing it up?  You can't go back again, right? 

Well, maybe.  There was one dish that I craved every single time. No matter what else I ordered - mile high meatloaf, Maytag bleu cheese crispy potato chips - the green beans with bacon, pecans and red peppers were the undisputed star of the show.  A pile of those bright green, smoky, sweet, crisp and crunchy beans were what I was there for!  So, of course, I recreated them at home.  And thank the good Lord I did.  The only other way to enjoy them again would be to drive to Columbus.  Hmmm...that just might work, too!  Here's the recipe if you don't feel like driving a couple of hours.  

And that Ghost of Future Dining in Pittsburgh?  It got here in SPADES!  Pittsburgh dining rocks!



Green Beans with Bacon, Red Peppers and Pecans


• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends snapped off
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1/4 small red onion, slivered
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar


Fry bacon in a large skillet until it is about halfway done; add pecans and saute them together until the bacon is crisp and the pecans toasted.  

Add the beans, red pepper, onion and brown sugar and toss together well.  Add a tablespoon or two of water, cover the pan and let the beans cook until slightly beyond tender crisp.  Toss well again and serve.


NOTE:  A little drizzle of balsamic vinegar - not too much - is nice at the end, too.



 

Wheat-Free Chocolate Radicals

Enrico's Biscotti,  is an essential stop any time you're doing The Strip in Pittsburgh.  Wait, no, it's not what you're imagining...The Strip District is an area adjacent to downtown that is filled with the best in all types of foods to delight your inner foodie.  The world famous original Primanti's is there, too!

We've got grocery stores that are Greek, Mexican, Peruvian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Vietnamese....I think you get the picture.  Specialty stores for coffee, wine, cheese, meats and cheeses, sausages, fish and seafood and spices line the crowded sidewalks. 

Streetside vendors hawk everything from baked goods to Chinese vegetable pancakes to meat on a stick to BBQ to tacos made before your eyes...and that's just a sampling of the food.  There are tables with bargains galore in fashion, comic books, Steeler swag, colorful scarves...and then there is the live music and the lobster phone guy outside Wholey's.  It is a party!  It is a feast for all the senses! 

So back to Enrico's Biscotti.  My favorite cookie - before the gluten issue - was their Chocolate Radical.  It was a giant chocolate cookie that was simultaneously crunchy and chewy, crisp and melty.  Like The Strip, the Chocolate Radical was a chocolate feast for the senses!  I miss it.  But not totally, because this a wheat-free approximation - it comes pretty close - and it fills that dreamy chocolate void very nicely.  And whatever you do, when you visit Pittsburgh, be sure to do The Strip!

Wheat-Free Chocolate Radicals

• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate chips - I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao (check to be sure these are GF for gluten-free version)
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, large
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (check to be sure it's gluten-free)
• 1 teaspoon espresso coffee powder (if you don't have it, use instant coffee - I have!)
• 1/2 cup gluten-free flour - I use Jules Gluten-free flour (if you aren't worrying about a GF product, just use regular white flour!)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder - Rumsford for the GF version
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips - same as above
• 1 cup walnuts halves, toasted
• 1 cup pecan halves, toasted

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 1 pound chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water, stir until smooth and lump-free.  Remove from heat.  With mixer, beat sugar and eggs in large bowl until pale yellow and VERY thick, about 10 minutes - the thicker the better.  

Beat in melted chocolate, melted butter, vanilla and espresso powder.  

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.  Stir  into chocolate mixture.  Mix in chocolate chips and nuts.  

Line several large cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a Silpat if you have one.  Using an ice cream scoop (yes, the big one with the lever on it), drop batter onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing evenly.  Flatten out into rounds.  

Bake cookies until tops are dry and cracked, about 20 minutes, depending on your oven.  Cool cookies right on the parchment.  When cool, remove from parchment and store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 2 dozen LARGE cookies.

Christmas Cookies

Delicious, and Beautiful, Gluten-Free Cookies

 

What Christmas cookies are your family's absolute musts?  You know, the ones that it wouldn't seem like the holiday without ?  We sure have our favorites!  I don't bake the hundreds of cookies that I used to make - my waist can't handle it, I work too many hours, the kids are scattered all over the place so there just isn't the need for all those cookies....and none of us want the temptation either.  

 

If you're like me, you've whittled down the cookie list to the basic necessities.  You come up with a list of favorites that are the CORE cookies for the holiday. Let's face it, none of us have the time that we used to have, do we?

This whole gluten issue put a damper on the cookie baking, too. It was a problem at first, but not any more.  Over the years, I searched everywhere for GF cookie recipes that would taste like the ones I used to make.  I tried countless "special" recipes and, you know, they just didn't cut it.  So I started to use my old recipes, yep, the ones I'd been using for years -  only I substituted GF flour for regular wheat flour. Honestly, it doesn't work for every cookie - I still haven't come up with a sugar cookie that I'm happy with.  But with trial and error I found recipes that not only worked, I ended up with a stable of recipes that you can't tell the difference between the original recipe and the GF recipe! 

So far this year, I've only gotten two kinds of gluten-free cookies made - Coconut Orange Tea Cakes and Chocolate Drizzled Orange Cranberry Pecan Biscotti - so those are the only ones I have pictures of to share.  Here are the recipes for the pictured cookies.  (I'll post more pics and recipes as I get them done - especially for my husband's favorite cookie of all time....Fudge Thumbprints!)  If you don't need a gluten-free version, make them using regular flour - the recipes work beautifully either way.  Yay!  

 

 Chocolate Drizzled Orange Cranberry Pecan Biscotti

 

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 cup butter

• 2 eggs

• 3/4 teaspoon orange extract

• 2 cups Gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular wheat all-purpose flour if gluten isn't an issue)

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted, divided into 1/4  cup and 1 1/4 cup

• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, I like Trader Joe's orange cranberries

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

• 1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 325.
 

In a food processor, process 1/4 cup of pecans to a fine meal.  Set aside.  Next, roughly chop the remaining 1 1/4 cup of pecans.  Set aside.  Cool pecans.
 

Cream butter and sugar until nice and light.  At slow speed, add in the eggs and extract; increase speed and mix until completely incorporated.  Next, again at slow speed, add flour, pecan meal, cornmeal, baking powder and the salt.  Next, on slow speed (what else?!), mix in the nuts and cranberries.  If the dough is too loose, add a little more flour until the dough comes together, but isn't dry.
 

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.  With your hands, roll it gently into logs that are approximately 10" long and 3" wide.  Make them pretty!  Place each, as it is formed, onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  You should be able to get 2 logs to a cookie sheet.
 

Bake about 40 minutes.  Make sure they are firm.  Take out of oven and cool the cookie sheets on racks.  Slice on the diagonal into 1/2"-3/4" slices and place back onto the parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.  (The slices sometimes lose their corners - what the heck....they'll still taste wonderful and will still look pretty once they're drizzled with chocolate!)  Bake on one side for about 15 minutes, turn over and bake another 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on them so they don't over-brown.  Remove and cool completely.
 

Once the biscotti are cooled, melt the chocolate chips and the butter together in a microwave oven.  (Follow the directions on the bag.)  When the chocolate and butter are melted together and smooth, put the mixture into a ziptop sandwich bag and snip the tiniest piece off the corner.  Pipe zigzag lines of chocolate onto the tops of the biscotti and let dry completely before storing.

 

Coconut Orange Tea Cakes

 

• 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes

• 2 sticks butter, room temperature

• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted, then measured

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• 3/4 teaspoon coconut extract

• 2 1/4 cups Gluten-free all purpose flour (or regular wheat all-purpose flour if gluten isn't an issue)

• 2 tablespoons orange zest

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Bake coconut on rimmed baking sheet until light golden, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.  Check often!  It burns quickly!
 

Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, and both extracts in bowl to blend well. Beat in flour, orange zest and salt.  Stir in coconut.  Cover and chill at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.  Soften dough slightly before shaping.
 

Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Using 1 level tablespoon dough for each cookie, roll dough into balls..  Place on prepared sheets, spacing at least 2" apart.  Bake about 18 minutes.  Cool on sheets for 5 minutes and toss warm cookies in remaining powdered sugar.  Cool.  Store in airtight container.

NOTE:  The gluten-free cookies tend to spread and make a pretty mounded cookie.  Cookies made with wheat flour tend to be a ball shape - the gluten keeps them from flattening.  Both taste the same!  Both are beautiful!