Breaking the day with breakfast biscotti.
Julie Andrews can have her cream-coloured ponies and whiskers on kittens. My personal list of favourite things largely feature comestibles. Cake crusts, warm oatmeal with dried cranberries, and breakfast.
Having breakfast is like pressing the Start button to my day. Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to eliminate lunch and dinner altogether and just stick to breakfast three times a day. That way, if you happen to be stuck in the middle of a particularly bad day, you could potentially ‘reboot’ your day by having breakfast again – a theory I’ve yet to truly test out, even though I have been known to eat cereal for dinner, in another (student) life.
On days-off when I get to indulge in late and long breakfasts, my day will typically begin with a yawn and a stretch as feet finally hit the ground. It continues as a slow shuffle across the tiled kitchen floor and concludes with emptied mugs of tea and a plate of crunchy toast crumbs.
Even in the past when I’ve had to get up at 3 or 4am to get to work, I’d attempt to keep the breakfast dream alive by legging it to the station with a stash of warm toast in hand, to sleepily nibble at on the train platform.
So it’s no surprise that the idea of a breakfast themed biscotti really appealed to me. Alice Medrich’s version is chock full of oats, very light on added sugar and perfect to have on the go. I recently cracked open my copy of Alice Medrich’s latest book to bake from and have been truly loving the results. You’ll definitely be seeing more Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy inspired posts in the near future!
Breakfast Biscotti :
(from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich)
85g plain flour
85g whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
100 – 130g brown sugar
130g rolled oats
78g milk
60g melted unsalted butter (or safflower or canola oil)
2 large eggs, lightly whisked
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
100g walnut pieces
70g dried currants [For the walnuts and currants, I used a combination of sunflower seeds and dried cranberries]
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
Preheat the oven to 160’C. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
In a large bowl, mix the brown sugar and oats. Heat the milk and butter in a small pot or microwave-safe bowl until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Combine the hot milk with the oat mixture. Let stand for 10 minutes. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts and currants. The batter will be very thick and sticky.
Scrape the batter onto the prepared pan. Spread it to form a 5 x 12 inch rectangle about 3/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until firm and starting to colour around the bottom edges. Rotate the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time to ensure even baking. Set the pan on a rack to cool for at least 15 minutes. Leave the oven on, turning it down to 150’C.
Transfer the loaf carefully to a cutting board. Using a sharp serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut the loaf crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Transfer the slices to an unlined baking sheet, standing them at least 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes to toast without overbrowning, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Set the pan on a rack. Cool the biscotti completely before wrapping or storing.
Tags: Alice Medrich, cinnamon, cocoa, cookies, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, whole wheat flour
Rosa said,
January 31, 2011 @ 12:08 am
A great breakfast treat! That is such a wonderful way of starting the day.
Cheers,
Rosa
Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said,
January 31, 2011 @ 12:11 am
I’ve been eying that book so thanks for sharing your results with it so far. I have to confess that I was one of those breakfast-skipping kids, but now I love food so much that I’d hardly miss a chance to eat, and usually something sweet and fruity too. These look so good that I love to snack on them noon and night too!
chocolatesuze said,
January 31, 2011 @ 1:04 am
im totally waiting for you to add bacon to your biscotti… with maple syrup…
Y said,
January 31, 2011 @ 1:14 am
chocolatesuze : Well now that you’ve said it out loud, I’m going to have to do it!
shaz said,
January 31, 2011 @ 1:35 am
Awesome! I was just thinking I needed to bake some vaguely healthy stuff for the kids lunchboxes now that school’s back. This sounds like just the ticket. I could definitely eat these for brekkie 🙂
Laura said,
January 31, 2011 @ 2:03 am
Y, I love your idea of rebooting a bad day just by having breakfast again. I will think of that when I am in a runt.
Those look really awesome.
I will have to check the book out, as I love Alice Medich.
Have a wonderful week, I hope with many great breakfast!
Helen (grabyourfork) said,
January 31, 2011 @ 2:36 am
Biscuit biscotti is a brilliant idea. and lol, I agree with Suze, bacon and maple syrup could only make it better!
Lucie said,
January 31, 2011 @ 4:15 am
These sound great dipped in tea–I’m a breakfast lover and can’t leave the house without it!
My Little Expat Kitchen said,
January 31, 2011 @ 4:25 am
I always eat cereal for breakfast. I rarely have time for anything else but I would love to wake up and eat a couple of these biscotti. Dipped in my coffee.. ah, that’s a breakfast.
Magda
heather said,
January 31, 2011 @ 6:05 am
With a large mug of coffee to dunk, please! I like the ww + ap flour combo, and the brown sugar in lieu of white.
Cheers,
*Heather*
Simon @ the heart of food said,
January 31, 2011 @ 7:23 am
Breakfast biscotti sounds like an awesome idea!
Will there be other breakfast-inspired treats in your foreseeable future?
Taz said,
January 31, 2011 @ 7:55 am
I absolutely agree, breakfast is the best meal of the day! I cannot fathom how people make it through the day without it.
Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) said,
January 31, 2011 @ 8:39 am
What a luxurious breakfast. Great start to the day!
Cindy said,
January 31, 2011 @ 9:49 am
yum! breakfast biscotti looks wonderful, it would be perfect with my morning tea. I will definitely have to check out the book, I love Alice Medrich.
Julia @ Mélanger said,
January 31, 2011 @ 10:28 am
Apart from dessert, morning tea, afternoon, and any other snack time, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day! I loved your description of waking and shuffling and munching. Too funny.
Look forward to seeing more Alice posts! 🙂
Reemski said,
January 31, 2011 @ 3:22 pm
I can’t leave the house until I’ve eaten breakfast. Often at a rather leisurely pace. The result being I am consistently late for work…these, however, could solve the dilemma. Though I am quite partial to my leisurely morning routine.
InTolerantChef said,
January 31, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
I have to admit whilst I love the idea of breakfast, I am one of those people who struggle with it. Sometimes it’s a tin of tuna, sometimes even a packet of jerky! I try to be organised and have my homemade muslie, but when I run out it’s all bad! These sound great for a breakfast on the go.
InTolerantChef said,
January 31, 2011 @ 3:31 pm
.
Hannah said,
January 31, 2011 @ 3:32 pm
I’m a firm believer in breakfast for dinner, so I whole-heartedly support your view of life and breakfast 😉 It’s been far too long since I last made biscotti – love the cranberry addition!
Marysol said,
February 1, 2011 @ 3:10 am
Cake crusts and warm oatmeal are some of your favorite things too? Sister!
I recently made Biscotti. But the idea of a “breakfast” biscotti is one I’ll have to remember, which may be a challenge for me, since I don’t, officially, wake up till noon.
LimeCake said,
February 1, 2011 @ 5:33 pm
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day. I never skip it! Biscotti for brekkie sounds fantastic,especially with a good cup of coffee!
grace said,
February 1, 2011 @ 8:34 pm
who wants copper kettles and wool mittens? seriously, come on, julie. stick with the apple strudel and schnitzel with noodles (and biscotti). 🙂
Sophie said,
February 3, 2011 @ 2:31 am
I love your tasty breakfast biscotti!! They are surely well flavoured!! Great to enjoy with a freshly brewed café Latte!
I just moved my blog to wordpress.com/ Come over @ my blog & check it out! You must update your RSS too!
Sophie said,
February 3, 2011 @ 2:31 am
Your breakfast biscotti surely look lovely & fabulous!! They are well flavoured too!
I just moved my blog to wordpress.com/ Come over @ my blog & check it out! You must update your RSS too!
Juliana said,
February 3, 2011 @ 2:01 pm
Breakfast biscotti, they sure sound and look delicious, and they sure are a complete meal…love the idea of crunchy 🙂
Hannah said,
February 5, 2011 @ 9:48 am
I must admit, I’ve done many breakfast cakes and cookies, but never specifically biscotti. In fact, I rarely make biscotti at all! This must be remedied immediately, yours look too delicious to ignore.
Mandakini said,
March 29, 2011 @ 5:41 pm
What an amazing sounding recipe. I love oats. And of Alice Medrich! You mention that oil can be substituted for butter. Do you heat the milk and then just add the oil to it? I am guessing you dont need to heat the oil with the butter, or do you?
Thanks! Dying to try this!
Mandakini said,
March 29, 2011 @ 5:49 pm
Sorry, I meant heat the oil with the milk, in the last line
Y said,
March 29, 2011 @ 9:06 pm
Hi Mandakini! Yes, I would heat the milk with the oil and pour it over the oats, then continue as per recipe.
Mandakini said,
March 31, 2011 @ 10:34 pm
thank you!
Sonia said,
June 11, 2011 @ 8:19 am
Hi Y, is the batter supposed be a bit runny? I have to convert all the grams to ounces… so not sure if I got the measurements right…
Y said,
June 11, 2011 @ 11:34 am
Hi Sonia! The batter should be thick and sticky. If it’s not, perhaps the oats didn’t soak up enough of the liquid. The measurements in ounces are :
3 oz plain flour
3 oz whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
generous 1/4 teaspoon salt
3.5 to 4.625 oz packed brown sugar
4.67 oz rolled oats
1/3 cup milk, whole or low-fat
2 oz melted unsalted butter
2 large eggs, whisked
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3.5 oz walnut pieces
2.5 oz dried currants