When my
son was little, I would spend a whole day baking homemade treats to package and
deliver to his school’s administrative office as a holiday gift from our
family. Sure, I should probably still be doing something similar, but anyone
with older teens knows that when they don’t want you contributing in those ways
anymore, you have to respectfully back off! Nonetheless, if I have the
opportunity to “gift bake” these days, I am always drawn to my “Big Island”
biscotti cookies, which combine all the great flavors and products of Hawaii in
one delicious bite.
If you’re not that familiar with
biscotti, it is simply an Italian-style cookie that is twice-baked, leading to
an extra crunchiness and hardness that pairs well with coffee and similar café
beverages. I find that biscotti make a perfect type of treat to gift-bake,
because they store so well and don’t perish or go stale the way softer desserts
do. Don’t let the twice-baking or the specific shape of biscotti scare you away
– it is perfectly feasible to bake them at home and you don’t need any special
equipment. They’re great for big batch-cooking that you can divide and
gift-away, or just to eat yourself if you want, as well.
Though traditional biscotti is often
almond flavored, their popularity and flexibility has made way for tons of creative
variations. This Hawaiian riff on biscotti blends all of what’s great about the
“Big Island” into one cookie – coffee, coconut, and macadamia nuts. A little white chocolate and honey sweeten the
deal and hold everything together. They’re fun, pretty, and in my opinion, very
festive for the holidays, or anytime at all, of course!
Big
Island Biscotti:
· 2 3/4 cups flour
· 1/2 cup ground coffee
· 1 tablespoon unsweetened
cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· 1/2 teaspoon ground
cinnamon
· 1 cup sugar
· 2 tablespoons unsalted butter,
softened
· 1/4 cup honey
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 3 eggs
· 3/4 cup macadamia nuts,
roughly chopped
· 12 oz white chocolate
chips
· 2 1/2 cups sweetened
shredded coconut, toasted
Directions :
1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine
the sugar, butter, honey, vanilla and eggs in a bowl with mixer on medium-high
speed. Add flour, coffee, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cinnamon and beat
until combined. Stir in the macadamia nuts with a spoon.
2. Form the dough into two
3-by-8-inch logs on a baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake until browned,
about 25 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick
slices using a serrated knife.
3. Reduce the oven
temperature to 325. Arrange the slices cut-side down on sheet and bake 20 more
minutes, flipping the cookies halfway through. Let cool 10 minutes on sheet, then
transfer to cooling rack.
4.
Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, heating 30
seconds at a time until done. Dip the biscotti partway in, then roll in the
coconut. Place on a baking sheet until set, approx. 30 minutes.
