Thursday, October 30, 2008

Unspooky Banana Pecan Biscotti

It's almost Halloween and as much as I'd like to tell you that I have a cute & spooky creation to share with you, I just don't. Sorry. But, if you're looking for some inspiration check out this creation or this one.

Amazing, huh? Ok, back to me.

banana pecan biscottiI love Halloween. I really do. Candy. Witches. Costumes. Pumpkins. ...all the best things in life. However, I have none of these for you today. Just some very unspooky Banana Pecan Biscotti. Though I've made banana biscotti before, I figured I'd try a new recipe just to shake things up. On a random side note, how lucky are Trick or Treaters out on the west coast? Growing up in the Midwest, I still remember being devastated because I had to trick or treat with a coat on and a scarf wrapped around my neck, clearly ruining my Strawberry Shortcake costume. It's still warm and sunny here so you can dress up as anything you want! I suppose kids here don't have sledding so it's an even trade.


For those of you who haven't made biscotti, it's an easy process though time consuming due to the long and slow baking process. It's fairly foolproof because if you overbake, you'll have hard cookies....which is sort of the point. :) All in all, it's wonderful to have biscotti to dunk in your morning tea or coffee and we can't get enough of these!

I added some extra spice (surprise, surprise) and cut the amount of pecans used in half. Sometimes biscotti are too nutty for my tastes. This was a delicious recipe with a mild, sophisticated taste. The Banana Bread Biscotti I baked awhile ago were more of a dessert, while these were a better accompaniment to a steamy cup of tea or coffee. The dough was a little dry, so make sure to measure your flour lightly. We also like our biscotti a little thick so we didn't quite end up with 2 dozen as the recipe calls for.
banana pecan biscottiToday's the last day to enter the cookbook giveaway so get in while you can!

Banana Pecan Biscotti
Adapted from Cooking Light

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1 large very ripe banana, mashed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Combine banana, oil, vanilla, and egg in a medium bowl; stir in flour mixture and pecans. Dough may be dry so use hands to combine.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; shape dough into 2 (8-inch-long) rolls with floured hands. Place rolls on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten to 1/2-inch thickness.

Bake at 350° for 23 minutes. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. With a serrated knife, cut each roll diagonally into 12 (1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 250°; bake 15 minutes. Turn cookies over; bake an additional 15 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet; cool completely on wire racks.

25 comments:

vanillasugarblog said...

Ok I have to know where you got that coffee cup from as I love it and must have one! lol
Don't feel bad, I'm not making a ton of Halloween stuff either.

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

I love this recipe from cooking light. I have made it several times. Yours look very nice.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Halloween-themed or not, that biscotti looks AMAZINGLY delicious, and I'm glad that you shared the recipe :0)

Sharon said...

dawn - I bought them at Crate & Barrel. They're definitely my favorite mugs.

lisa - thanks! I'm always looking for new ways to use up bananas and CL seems to have a neverending supply.

RecipeGirl said...

Looks yummy. I've never thought about putting banana in a biscotti before. There's something about biscotti that makes it rather fun to make. Must be the two-bake thing. It's such a process that the end result is always so satisfactory.

Thanks for the link :) I'm currently working on a spooky post for Halloween!

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

LOVE IT! I can't wait to get baking!

Bunny said...

I love this biscotti! Banana Pecan...it sounds so darn good Sharon!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I have not made any Halloween treats either. Don't feel bad. Those look great.

Sara said...

My husband has a weakness for anything banana, these look great.

Unknown said...

i love the lighting of your pics, babe! nice effect!

That Girl said...

Well bananas are kinda spooky fruits...

Anonymous said...

Hey, the cup looks like a ghost so close enough!

Emily said...

I love banana biscotti! Looks perfect.
I haven't really made any Halloween treats either. I don't have kids or anything, sooo.. I don't know. I'd rather make whatever I want to make.

Happy Halloween! Enjoy your nice weather.

Manggy said...

Wow, that is VERY light indeed! Only one tablespoon of oil plus one egg yolk for fat- very well done! :)

kat said...

Its actually a warm Halloween in Minnesota this year so we'll get to see kids costumes instead of winter coats! I love making biscotti but have never had banana

alexandra's kitchen said...

Ok, i'm going to have to multiply this recipe by 8 b/c I have 8 bananas just about over the top. I love biscotti and have never thought to make them with banana. this is such a great discovery!

Any Little Reason said...

What perfect timing! I was staring at two very ripe bananas this morning, wanting to do something different than my usual peanut-butter-banana bread. This looks great!

Shari said...

I bet I could all of those with a cup of coffee in one sitting! Yum.

Anonymous said...

Those look great! I've never made biscotti but one of these days I'm gonna have to give it a try!

grace said...

to tell you the truth, i'm a little overwhelmed by all the halloween-ness floating around the blog world these days. these are a welcome relief. :)

Clumbsy Cookie said...

Here we don't really celebrate Halloween, so I don't do nothing halloweenish. Unspooky or not they sound just wonderful!

La Bella Cooks said...

Pecans and bananas sound like a decadent combo together. Very nice!

Meg said...

What a great flavor combination! These sound fantastic!

krysta said...

mmm... banana pecan biscotti... with a mug of hot chocolate would cure my rainy day blues.

test it comm said...

Banana biscotti sounds good!