Vanilla Biscotti

Georgia is STARTING to see some signs of life in businesses and restaurants that have been desolate for months.  Like most people, I'm navigating this period with caution and slowly starting to find my "new normal."  I've accepted the fact that I can't leave the house without masks and hand sanitizer anymore.  I'm a pro at disinfecting literally everything (and everyone🐶🤪) in my house.  And if I see toilet paper in the store - I buy it because I might not find it again for weeks. 🧻 New normals.

On a positive note, I'm having a much easier time finding what I need at the grocery store now, than I did when this pandemic began.  Chicken, fish, and even pastas, rice and beans have all made their way back to the grocery store shelves.  Yeast and flour have been the hardest things for me to find.  Is it possible that a side effect of this virus is the need to bake homemade bread?  🥖 

​I'm not out to judge the quarantine bakers - I did my share of baking while were sheltering in place.  I think that more people SHOULD make their own bread actually.  Just don't hoard all of the flour and yeast, people.  

Biscotti was my go-to when I had the urge to bake while I was in self quarantine.  They freeze beautifully so I don't have to worry about trying to eat them all before they expire AND I have lots of family who generously offer to help eat any leftover biscotti when I bake a batch that's bigger than I anticipated.

I have 28 different biscotti recipes on my website (I guess that explains just how much I love them.) and not a single one for vanilla biscotti.  I think I've got just about every other fruit and nut combination that you can think but I decided that it was time that I added a good old fashioned vanilla biscotti to my repertoire.  I scraped the seeds from the inside of a vanilla bean and added them to the batter to give this biscotti that beautifully speckled look and rich, vanilla flavor.  

Vanilla Biscotti
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
vanilla bean

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. 

Beat sugar, oil and vanilla in mixing bowl for 1 minute.

Beat in eggs. 

Stir in dry ingredients and vanilla bean seeds with a rubber scraper. 

Divide dough in half and shape each into a 12" log.  Place on silpat lined baking sheet. 

Bake 35 minutes at 300.

Remove from oven.  Reduce heat to 275.  Cut logs into 1/2" slices.  Place slices back on silpat. 

Bake 7 minutes.  Flip slices.  Bake another 7 minutes.  

I'm a morning tea drinker and these vanilla biscotti are the perfect compliment to a cup of peppermint tea.  AND they're dairy free!!  Just an added bonus.  Hope you enjoy.

​Ciao!

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