TWD #5 - Lenox Almond Biscotti & Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

I admit it...I'm a total perfectionist when it comes to certain things. If the spacing on a post is off a little bit, it'll bother me until I go back and fix it. So when I whipped up these biscotti on a Sunday afternoon and then proceeded to burn them during the 2nd baking, I knew that I wouldn't be satisfied until I re-did it.

Luckily I got out of work early on Monday. While I was driving home, I passed by a Starbucks and thought "Mmmm...pumpkin spice latte" which lead to "Mmmm...I bet pumpkin spice biscotti would be awesome" which then lead to "Wait, I bet I can buy some pumpkin spice syrup at Starbucks!" I banged a youie (as we Bostonians call it) and ran into buy some syrup.

It only cost me $.32 cents and little bit of dignity as I realized that my blue sweater and khaki pants exactly matched the uniforms of the private middle school kids that were milling around the shopping center. Nothing like feeling 13 years old again.

I was very excited to make biscotti for this weeks TWD. If you've read my blog, then you might have read about my Bubbie's Mandel Bread recipe, which is a family favorite. It's pretty much like a biscotti, but with a cinnamon and sugar coating. Dorie's recipe was familar enough to relax me, which is probably why I burned the first batch. I don't know why she included cornmeal in the batter, but I don't question what tastes good. And it does!!

After reading the comments by the other posters on the site, I only added 1 tsp of almond extract and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I like a good almond flavor, but I didn't want to overpower them. However, before I mixed in the flavors, I put a little of the batter aside to make the pumpkin spice ones. This was a bit of trial and error, with the Starbucks creepy orange syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. I also chilled the batter and lightly oiled my hands (like I do for Mandel Bread) in order to mold it easily. The batter does spread, but that's what makes the final product long and lean - like biscotti should be.

The Lenox Almond ones had a really light and sweet flavor and I knew they'd be great dunked in coffee or chocolate. I had to add about 3-4 tsp of the pumpkin syrup to my other batter in order for the flavor and color to show, but it really came out once I tossed in the spices. They had a spicy light pumpkin flavor that I really liked. And the orange color is pretty cool. I highly recommend kitchen experimentation! It's a new concept to me, as I'm usually too much of a perfectionist to go off-recipe, but so far my experiments have turned out well. I will definitely make these again! I think I'll even swing by Starbucks for more syrup flavors :-)

I nibbled quite a few pieces from start to finish, so these non-burnt and actually quite pretty biscotti are going to work tomorrow with Alex. To see how the other TWD bakers fared, check out the blogroll here! This recipe was chosen by Gretchen, of Canela & Comino. Please visit her blog for the delicious and easy recipe.