Yes, you can have a biscotto

In fact, you can have two. If you make them right. Biscotti are one of the things that I never buy when I'm out. Why? Well, to be blunt, I find them disgusting, and so untrue to what a biscotto is, that I can't do it. (Biscotto by the way is singular. If you're only eating one, you're not eating "a biscotti." You're eating a biscotto. Once you get to two, it's biscotti.)

You all know, from exposure, that "biscotti" mean "twice (bis) cooked(cotti). And that's because these lovely cookies are in fact baked twice. The classic, basic kind (the ones I grew up with) are loaded with anise flavor, and nuts. Usually, but not always, the nuts are almonds. And they are hard. They are designed for dipping in espresso , or wine (especially the lovely variety called cantuccini, which are Tuscan), or something that you're drinking. When Nana gave me biscotti, it was never with a glass of milk. It was half strong coffee, and half hot milk. And I could sit at the table with my aunts, and blush when they said things about me, and pretend I didn't see the bottle of strega, that strong, potent, liqueur that they were ladeling into their coffee. After an hour or so, the laughing got louder, the jokes got dirtier, Italian overtook English, until someone would say "ladies, we have to stop. Otherwise our husbands will be doing the cooking."

Remembering things like that makes me smile and cry at the same time. We're losing that sense of "table talk" that my Nana and aunts have. Oh, what I would give to bring it back!

Italian biscotti, when made along traditional lines, are not all that rich, and in my view, fit into Temple Day cooking (it's working by the way. I lost three pounds last week, eating what I wrote about). I compared recipes for "italian style biscotti" and "american style biscotti." A plain Italian biscotto, with nothing added to it, had 91 calories and 1 gram of fat. The corresponding American version was at 153, with 5 grams of fat. And these were for BIG cookies, an anathema to Italian tastes. The recipe that follows is adapted from one that makes "14-16 biscotti." I get about 30-40 from my recipe. So there you have it. Take 91, multiply it by 16, and then divide by 30. There's your calories for that one cookie. Of course, you shouldn't eat fifteen of them at a sitting, but if you did, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

In fact, my feeling is that if the cookies are made well, you shouldn't be able to eat fifteen of them. If there is a lot of flavor, and you pay attention as you eat, you will be satisfied. I guarantee it.

The basic dough for Italian biscotti contains two eggs, that you mix with 2/3 cup of sugar, a half teaspoon each of sugar and baking powder, and then two cups of flour. This is very dry dough, and you should have some liquid (I use water), ready, if the dough is not cohering. Add tablespoons of water until it does.

Now, what are you going to put into the dough? That's a good question. Like I said, true biscotti have nuts and anise seeds in them, and perhaps a glaze of anisette liqueur. But you CAN play with them. I don't like making "freighted biscotti," like the ones you get at that ubiquitous coffee bar that are four days old, stale, and taste of nothing but sugar. Usually, I use one flavoring, maybe two. And in a case like the one below, I stick to strong flavors that are not going to interfere with the structure of my cookie.

I made these in planning for a dinner next week, where I will be serving pomegranate panna cotta for dessert. That's plenty rich, and plenty soft, so I want something crisp, and I want a flavor that plays off of pomegranate. That's not easy. Well, let me rephrase. All the flavors I could think of that play off of pomegranate (pineapple, date, saffron), didn't feel right in a crispy cookie, although the saffron idea is growing on me. But then "ginger" came to mind. Ginger is my baking secret. If you put ginger into something baked, it tastes better, Guaranteed. And very little in the calorie department. And no fat. And you can use whatever you like. If you MUST, use chocolate chips. But I try to stick to essences, chopped dried fruit, nuts, spices, etc.

So I stirred a cup of finely diced, candied ginger into the dough as well as a huge tablespoon of fresh grated ginger. Then I took the dough, divided it in half, and rolled each half into an 18 inch log. The FIRST bake is at 350, for 25 minutes on a parchment lined baking sheet. When they're done, you take them out and let them cool. Just about every recipe I have read tells you to start cutting them after as little as fifteen minutes. Ignore this advise and wait at least an hour. There's no hurry here. You will have much better control, and much better yield, if you wait until they are totally cooled.

When they are, preheat your oven to 325 this time. Go at the log, and cut very severe, diagonal slices, perhaps a half inch wide. Use a serrated knife, like a bread slicing knife. It makes it much easier. Now, you put these back on the baking sheet. You will see different instructions here: leave them standing up, or put them cut side down and then turn them in ten minutes so the other side is up. I've never noticed a difference. The only diference I HAVE noticed is that, if you don't turn them, one side of the cookie will be darker than the other. Bake the slices for 20 minutes (some recipes tell you to do this for much longer. You don't have to ). Then let the cookies cool right on the tray until they are completely cool.

Have one right away. Then put them in a tin, and NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER refrigerate them. They'll keep at least a week if you stay away from them. And when you feel like you just can't live through another lunch of yogurt and salad, help yourself. If you've been good, the little bit of calories you're going to get from that wallop of flavor will be very welcome.