This weekend Ivvone, Brilynn, Lis and myself will all be making the same biscotti, another one of those cross blogging events. When I first got the email it said that we were to make whatever biscotti we wanted to. As luck would have it my very good friend E gave me hazelnuts from her dad’s tree a couple weeks ago and so I thought some hazelnut biscotti would be lovely. Within hours of receiving the email I had made my biscotti. Only problem was the next day I got an email saying that we were all going to make the same one…opps. In a way I am glad. I have been in a non-baking, non-holiday, non-everything funk lately that I am glad that I am participating so that I have to force myself to bake.

I found my recipe on Christmas Cookies dot com. It was hard to find a non-chocolate hazelnut biscotti but I did and I like it a lot. I don’t make biscotti very often and I fear I am not that great at it. Being of Scottish decent I am more apt to have shortbread than biscotti with my hot beverages. My biggest problem is cutting it. I have wonderful knives….EXCEPT for my bread knife. I ask for one for every major holiday but no one seems to want to buy me a $120 knife. I will break down one of these years and buy it for myself. This says it will make 32….these people make tiny slices then…I got 14…portion control was never my strong point. I’m hoping to snap out of my funk. I have some molasses crinkles to make and more biscotti too. Enjoy your weekend all!

Cinnamon and Hazelnut Biscotti
Makes about 32

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup toasted hazelnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs 
  

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking liner. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl; set aside. Coarsely chop hazelnuts in a food processor. Combine sugar and butter and mix until fluffy. Add orange zest and vanilla and mix well. Add eggs 1 at a time, blending just until incorporated after each addition. Add flour mixture and mix until just blended. Mix in hazelnuts until just blended. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 9″ x 2″ log. Place the logs on the baking sheet. Flatten each log to 12″ x 2 1/2″. Bake 25 minutes or until very light golden and firm to touch. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes. Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into 3/4-inch-wide slices. Place slices, cut side down, on your baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. Turn biscotti over, bake about 15 minutes more or until light golden and firm. Transfer biscotti to racks and cool.
 

So I was robbed by my migraine of my usually holiday fun. Each year, the day after Thanksgiving I frantically clean and put out all of the non-tree stuff. Then the next night we play music, make hot chocolate and once again remember that we said we would buy new lights and new hooks, but never do. One year we put the lights on and didn’t check them. So once the whole tree was decorated and we lighted it up….we learned that the middle strand of lights was considerably dimmer than the other strands….oh well. I would love to say that I reclaimed my holiday spirit and made these cupcakes, but truth be told I made these last week when the radio was playing Christmas music a FULL week before Thanksgiving. I’m still not fully recovered but I am starting to feel more festive

This recipe comes from one of my newer cookbooks, Buttercup Bakes at Home. I tagged this cupcake right away and had an image in my mind of topping them with mini gingerbread men(why must I make everything so complicated?). The cupcake itself had me worried, not much flavor. But after making the frosting it was clear that the cupcake needed to be a little bland since the frosting has quite a bit of flavor. You most definitely need the frosting or these cupcakes simply wont be worth it. These are with out a doubt holiday in a cupcake…gingerbread and pumpkin…come on! The mini gingerbread men aren’t necessary but I thought it made the cupcakes that more festive.

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup buttermilk
2 TBSP light, unsulfured molasses
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.
Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake papers.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar on the medium speed of an electric mixer until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the dry ingredients in two parts, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in the molasses and vanilla.
Spoon the batter into the cups about 2/3 full. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Let the cupcakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
makes 24 cupcake….I got 12
Icing:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 TBSP finely grated orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 – 4 cups powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin puree on medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the spices, zest and vanilla extract and mix well. Gradually add the sugar and beat until desired consistency. Refrigerate for 1 hour, Remove from refriferator 5-10 minutes before using. Spread on the tops of the completely cooled cupcakes.

I need to put something up. This will be a very quick write up of my lovely Thanksgiving at the Herb Farm restaurant. Unfortunately, ever since 1:30pm on Friday afternoon(it’s late Sunday night now) I have had a debilitating migraine headache and have pretty much been not functioning. I’m hoping that tomorrow when I go to the doctor that I will get better. For now all I can say is that once again I enjoyed my dining experience at the Herb Farm. The food is always humbling and a constant reminder that I’m really not that gifted/creative with food(though I could easily make all three of the desserts we had). I do have some photos(all flash…sorry).

Course #1:

Harvest from the Edge of the Sea
Cauliflower and Fenugreek Soup with Sliver Sea Scallop(second photo) my favorite of the three
Kushi Oyster with Sorrel Sauce(first photo)
Paddlefish Caviar on Sea Urchin Flan
1998 Argyle Brut From Magnum

Course #2

Slow Roasted Black Cod
With Carrot-Lemon Thyme Broth
And Three Colors of Beets-both my hubby and I absolutely LOVED this!
2002 Zefina Serience White Rhone

Course #3

Bay-Scented Chestnut Soup-the soup was spectacular
With Salad of Celery, Celery Root, Chesnut and Pear
2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Riesling

Course # 4

I only got pictures of them preparing the dish. I somehow forgot to take a photo…a little too much wine I think

Lavender & Juniper-Rubbed Venison Loin
With Parsnip Puree, Quince, and Huckleberry Sauce
2001 Soter Vineyards Brut Rose

Course# 5

I took pictures but all three were very blurry.

American Bronze Heritage Turkey
Poached Breast on Bolete Bread Pudding
Confit of Leg on Mashed Delicata Squash with Shallots- my favorite of the three and I don’t like dark meat…but it was so flavorful
Crepinette on Cabbage- this was a turkey sausage that was very moist
2001 McCrea Cellars Grenache

After our turkey we went and walked off a little of our meal and went to feed the “recyclers” of the Herb Farm. We hadn’t seen the pigs for a year and they have gotten quite BIG….they were just babies last year.

Course #6- also another set of blurry photos.

Estrella Red Darla Cheese- named after the actual cow it comes from….very pungent
With Spice Bread

Course #7

Cranberry-Orange Thyme Sorbet
With Persimmon

Course # 8

Trio of Harvest Desserts
Pumpkin Souffle with Spiced Custard Sauce-I really wished it had more pumpkin flavor
Butterscotch Creme Brulee-my favorite
Blackberry & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich

 Course #9

A Selection of Small Treats
Cinnamon-Salted Shortbread
Lavender White Chocolate Truffle
Jasmine Dark Chocolate Truffle
Orange Caradamom Caramels-could have been my favorite of the whole night….I LOVE caramel
Raspberry Gel
Vintage 1912 Barreito Bual Madeira

 If I feel better I will come back and write more. I can’t suggest this restaurant enough. It is in my top 5 of all time.

This month’s Sugar High Friday is being hosted by The Passionate Cook. We couldn’t have asked for a better theme with the holidays just around the corner….Truffles. Who doesn’t love to make candy around this time of year? I chose to go non-traditional and do a white chocolate truffle. Let me tell you, there aren’t that many recipes around and I did my best to throw together a combo of them with my own twist. I realized that I have done nothing with pears on this blog and decided to rectify that.

I bring to you my White Chocolate Truffle infused with Pear Skins, Wildflower Honey and Nutmeg. Say that three times fast. A tart book I own has a tart infused with pear skins so I thought why not in a truffle? White chocolate is much more temperamental than dark or milk and can sometimes be a pain to work with….but these were worth the pain to me. Nutmeg is my favorite spice and I try to use it as much as possible, and works well with pears. I threw in the honey because I got it as a gift and never use it. Last but not least I chose to roll my truffles in crushed up sugar cookies. Nuts, powdered sugar, cocoa….I’ve seen it all, but I have yet to see sugar cookies(I’m quite sure someone has, I just have yet to see it myself).

White Chocolate Truffles Infused with Pear Skins, Wildflower Honey and Nutmeg

1/3 cup, plus 1 TBSP heavy cream
9 ounces white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into thin slices
peels from one pear
1 TBSP wildflower honey
1/2 tsp freshy grated nutmeg

crushed sugar cookies(for rolling truffle in)

In small, heavy, nonaluminum saucepan, combine heavy cream and pear skins. Over low heat, heat until cream comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover tightly; allow to stand 20 minutes at room temperature.
Shortly before cream standing period is up, combine white chocolate, nutmeg, honey, and butter pats in medium heatproof bowl. When cream has stood 20 minutes, remove cover. Reheat cream mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a simmer again. Remove from heat. Strain through fine-meshed strainer into white chocolate mixture. Press down on the pear peels left in the strainer to extract all the liquid from it.
Place white chocolate mixture over warm water on low heat (water should not touch bottom of bowl). Stir frequently just until almost melted; remove from heat and hot water. Stir until melted and smooth. (Note: White chocolate, even of excellent quality, can be stubborn about melting. If there are small lumps of white chocolate in your truffle base, transfer the truffle base to a food processor fitted with a steel blade; process at high speed just until smooth.)
Transfer truffle base to small bowl. Chill at least 4 hours (overnight is fine, too), covering tightly when cold.
Form balls of about 1 inch diameter from the cold truffle base(I use a melon baller). Drop into the crushed sugar cookies. Roll in cookie crumbs until well-coated, then place in a  storage container. Continue until all base is used.
Store truffles airtight in refrigerator for up to one week; freeze for longer storage. To serve, remove from refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes prior to serving time. Let stand at room temperature, covered, until serving time.

This made about 24 truffles.