biscotti wraps your senses in a warm blanket of 'divine'

Fall is in the air here in TN; I saw frost on the neighbor's rooftop this Sunday morning.

I was born in October; I have always loved this month. My uncle Bennie, now deceased, would speculate every year whether the first frost would be before or after my birthday (14th). I think about that every year when I see the first frost...

But, I'm not baking with pumpkin - yet. Today it's a super simple recipe for biscotti.

I'm a sucker for books of fiction which include recipes. I rationalize it as double value for my money. I recently found Mia King's series, and today's recipe comes from "Sweet Life."

Kava Java's Kona Mocha Mac Nut Biscotti. It's quite obvious that the story is set mostly in Hawaii. The recipe is on page 322. (recipe makes 24 & I calculate about 155 calories each)

I have a biscotti recipe that I really like to bake. However, this recipe captured my attention due to its simplicity. Cake mix! My theory is that biscotti may have developed as the result of a baker's desire to not waste yesterday's leftover cake; so, I decided to try the recipe.

My entire house smells divine!!!!!!!!!! A warm blend of chocolate and espresso on this beautiful sunny, but cool, fall afternoon permeates every room of my home.

(as an addition to the original post: it's now October 30. The biscotti has been sitting on the kitchen counter inside a glass cake dome. It still tastes great, and has a good crunch; yet, it's not too hard. This has a long shelf life.)

Here's the link to Mia's web page where she posts recipes from her books.

From: SWEET LIFE (Berkley Books, September 2008)

Recipe courtesy: Debbie Davis, Kamuela Coffee N’ Cones

Yields: 2 dozen

Ingredients:

• 1 package chocolate cake mix
• ½ cup butter, melted
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup instant Kona espresso powder
• ½ cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Cut parchment paper to fit large cookie sheet
2. In a large bowl, blend dry ingredients for biscotti. Add eggs and blend just to mix.
3. Add melted butter into biscotti mixture. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
4. Add the macadamia nuts. Continue to blend until thoroughly mixed.
5. Using your hands, shape the dough into a log and lay it on the parchment paper. Roll it out to approximately 5” wide and ½” thick.
6. Shape into a rectangle.
7. Bake for 25 minutes.
8. Remove pan from oven and cool for 20 minutes.
9. Cut biscotti into even horizontal strips, approximately 1” wide. Lay each biscotti on its side on the cookie sheet, leaving space between each one.
10. Bake at 350º F for another 10 minutes, then lower the oven heat to 200º F and continue baking for another 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Glaze

Ingredients:

• ½ cup powdered confectioner’s sugar
• 2 tablespoons Kona coffee, cooled

Directions:

1. Mix confectioner’s sugar with 1 tablespoon of cooled Kona coffee. Stir until consistency is a little thicker than maple syrup, adding the remaining coffee as necessary.
2. Place glaze in a plastic sandwich bag and squeeze the glaze to one end. Cut off the tip of the corner of the bag.
3. Glaze top of biscotti in a zigzag pattern. Let the glaze cool completely before serving. Store any remaining glazed biscotti in an airtight container.