Italian Biscotti with Almonds - Cantucci

Simple, crunchy and nutty: Italian biscotti filled with toasted whole almonds

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Today, I will present you my recipe for Italian biscotti, which I made using my new silicone mats. I told you: I'm loving these mats, and have been using them every chance I get.
In Italian, "biscotti" means "cookies", plural of "biscotto". Obviously we don't called them just biscotti there, or it would be really confusing! They are called "cantucci", are typical of Tuscany, are traditionally made with whole almonds, and are twice-baked cookies: first are cooked in the oven as a long loaf, then cut in slices and baked again to toast. If I lived in Tuscany, I would eat biscotti after dinner, dunked in "vin santo", a sweet, intensely fragrant and aromatic dessert wine. But given that I am here in California, I really eat them at any time of the day, dipped in cappuccino, latte, tea and, why not ...Cabernet?!? Well, I have not actually tried them in Cabernet yet! But please, let me know if you do :)
Here is the recipe for you.

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 pinch of salt (1/8 of a teaspoon)
• 4 oz of unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 3.5 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 cup of toasted, unsalted whole almonds
• 1 lemon, zest

Preparation time: About one hour

Directions:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, blend the eggs with the sugar.

Step 2: Melt the butter by cutting it in pieces in a heat safe container, placing it in a small pan with an inch of boiling water, until it melts.

Step 3:  In the large bowl, stir in the melted butter, the pinch of salt, the vanilla extract and the lemon zest. 

Step 4: Blend in the flour and the baking power.

Step 5: Add the almonds and mix with a spoon.

Step 6: On the silicone mat, make two long rolls with your hands, and flatten them out, as shown in picture. Remember: no need to grease the mat!! You can sprinkle with flour the dough if it sticks to your hands when making the rolls. Bake for 20 minutes.

Step 7: Remove from the oven, and let it cool off for 10 minutes. On a cutting board, with a sharp knife, cut out the cookies, diagonally, and place them on the silicone mat. Please do not cut directly on the mat or you might damage it! Bake the cookies for about 7-8 minutes on each side, or until golden.

Buonissimi :)

Butter-Free Apple Cake with Ricotta Cheese

Wholesome, moist, soft and delicious apple cake with ricotta cheese and a sprinkle of almonds!

I can't imagine a morning at the beach without a nutritious, healthy and delicious snack for the kids.
That's why on Thursday night I prepared this apple cake with ricotta for Friday morning. It was the first day of vacation for my kids, and I organized a little gathering with some of our friends at the near by beach. I was so much fun! The perfect way to kick off the summer.
My only mistake: I should have made at least two of these butter-free, moist and yummy apple cakes! About a third of it was gone on Thursday night, right after dinner... well, maybe this was another mistake! But my kids, and I :-) really wanted a taste. It's so hard to say no to a just baked, still warm and incredibly fragrant dessert! And I had to make sure it was actually as delicious as it looked, right?!?
Anyways, the rest of the cake disappeared on Friday in less than 60 seconds. I guess I should have figured that out: playing in the water and running around the sand can sure make you hungry. Now I learned my lesson, and I will be better equipped next time!
As I promised my friends, here is the recipe.

Ingredients: to make one doughnut shape cake, 10 inch in diameter

• 3 apples, I used pink lady, about 1.25 lb total
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of sugar
• 7.5 oz of whole milk ricotta cheese (half of my package)
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I used olive oil, because I didn't have any other oil available!)
• 1 tablespoon (16 gr) of baking powder :-)
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sliced almond, unsalted dry toasted
• powder sugar to decorate

Preparation time: about 20 minutes to prepare, plus 60 minutes to bake

Directions:

Step 1: Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Peel and thinly slice the apples. Place in a bowl with lemon juice (half lemon juice should be plenty).

Step 2: In a large bowl, mix well the eggs with the sugar.

Step 3: Add the ricotta cheese, and mix well again.

Step 4: Stir in the oil ... pretty simple, right?

Step 5: Add the lemon zest, the baking powder and the flour. Mix some more until nice and smooth.

Step 6: Last, add the apples and mix with a spoon.

Step 7:  Grease the bottom of your baking pan if necessary, and sprinkle the bottom of your mold or pan (which will be the top of my cake) with the sliced almonds.

                                              

Step 8: Pour the batter, and place in the middle of the oven.

Step 9: Cook for about 1 hours. Check with a toothpick if the cake is ready. The toothpick should come out clean, no streaks of batter.

 Let the cake cool down a bit, flip it over, and sprinkle with powder sugar. Yummy!!