Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

What’s fall without another pumpkin recipe?  Since making biscotti for the first time last December, I’ve been thinking about trying other recipes but not until I made pumpkin scones recently did I really think about make pumpkin biscotti.  I probably could have used one of the few (sarcasm) pumpkin biscotti recipes that pop up on a Google search but no, I had an idea in my head that needed to be executed. I decided to adapt Dorie Greenspan’s Lenox Almond Biscotti into some pumpkin spice biscotti because I really loved the idea of the crunchy texture of cornmeal with the sweet and savory pumpkin spice flavor…it just sounded perfect…and frankly, it was! There was nothing better than heating up one of these lovelies to go alongside a mug of hot spiced apple cider on a rainy November afternoon.  Nothing.

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Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

source: adapted from Dorie Greenspan, Baking from My Home to Yours

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin pureé
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice and salt together. Add the cornmeal and whisk again to blend.
2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed for 3 minutes, until very smooth. Add the eggs and continue to beat, scraping down the bowl as needed, for another 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light, smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract then mix in the pumpkin. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are incorporated. You’ll have a soft, stick-to-your-fingers dough that will ball up around the paddle or beaters. If the dough is too wet, quickly mix in another 1/4 cup flour. Scrape down the paddle and bowl, toss in the cranberries and mix just to blend.
3. Scrape half the dough onto one side of the baking sheet. Using your fingers and a rubber spatula or scraper, work the dough into a log about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. The log will be more rectangular than domed, and bumpy, rough and uneven. Form a second log with the remaining dough on the other side of the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 17 – 20 minutes, or until the logs are lightly golden but still soft and springy to the touch. Transfer the baking sheet to a rack and cool the logs on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
5. If you turned off the oven, bring it back up to 350 degrees F.
6. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board and, with a long serrated knife, trim the ends and cut the logs into 3/4-inch-thick slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet — this time standing them up like a marching band — and slide the sheet back into the oven.
7. Bake the biscotti for another 15 minutes, or until they are golden and firm. Transfer them to racks and cool to room temperature. Can be prepared 1 week ahead. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

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