Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

It's hard to stay away from pumpkin too long.  This pumpkin comes in the form of a super crunchy biscotti perfect for dipping in a piping hot cappuccino. 

Pumpkin spice lattes are everywhere, it's usually the first scent I smell when I walk into my office in the fall.  I have to admit that I succumb the sweet, spicy temptation at least once a year...it's like of rite of passage leading to each fall.  Sadly though, as tasty as it is, I prefer my coffee to be pure unsweetened coffee flavor, so that one pumpkin spice latte order each year is it for me.  I have more than a little bit of envy whenever I smell a pumpkin spice latte, wishing I wanted to drink it as much as I love the idea of drinking it.  

That pumpkin spice coffee scent is indeed one life's great scents. 

The solution to this came to me a couple of years ago when I saw a posting for pumpkin biscotti on Southern Living. In this scenario, I get that wonderful pumpkin spice flavor, but my coffee is pure java flavor with a bit (or a lot) of milk thrown in.  

Love biscotti. 

I dipped some in white chocolate and drizzled others with the white chocolate.  I think these are actually better without the white chocolate as it's a little too sweet with the drizzle.  But the white chocolate ones look cuter and eating cute food is important.

With our first breath of cool air here in Las Vegas, it's time to transition back to hot lattes.  I take lattes pretty seriously...given a choice between an espresso after dinner or a glass of wine, I am grabbing the espresso.   I'm convinced that coffee is the elixir of heaven.

Since I spend a considerable amount of time making coffee in this house, thought I'd share this easy, espresso machine free way to make a latte or cappuccino at home.  Granted, I understand that one of those $400 grinders grinds the perfect bean without altering the flavor and those thousand dollar machines are able to pull an espresso that cannot be replicated at home (YUM!) but this poor man's latte making makes a pretty tasty latte.

Remember the moka pot from the pumpkin spice protein shake post?(which by the way is a coffee addition to a shake and not a flavored coffee--it's obviously different...maybe)  Yep, start by putting on a pot of espresso in the moka pot. While that is brewing, pour about 1/2 cup of milk into your cup. Skim and 1% foam really well.  I've never tried 2%, whole or nut milks.  

Grab one of those milk frothers (just $15 at a kitchen store or less if you can find one at TJ Maxx).  Froth the cold milk--this takes under 30 seconds.  Froth more for cappuccino, less for latte.  I got carried away while taking photos, so we are making a cappuccino here. The best part is there is no machine to clean, all you have to clean is this little electric whisky thing by running it under water...yay!

Heat the milk in the microwave.  Watch it the entire time...it inflates like crazy.  I usually have to turn it off at 30 seconds and let it deflate a bit before finishing the warming. 

This makes a crazy solid foam...no wimpy foam here. 

Pour in your desired amount of espresso and stir.  Not a Starbucks, but when you drink about 3-5 of these a day like I do, it's a pretty economical version to make it at home and goes perfectly with pumpkin spice biscotti. 

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp butter melted
• 2/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)
• 1/2 bag white chocolate chips, melted with 1/2 tsp shortening  (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl and whisk together.   
3.  In another bowl whisk together pumpkin, eggs, melted butter, extracts and pumpkin pie spice.  
4. Slowly add flour to pumpkin mixture and stir until dry ingredients are moistened. Gently mix in almonds
5. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 portions. Lightly flour hands and shape each portion into long log the length of a full baking sheet.  Bake for 30 minutes; remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 300.
6. Cool log for 15 mins then transfer to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut into 1/2″ thick pieces, slicing at a slight angle.  The interior of each biscotto will still be just a little moist 
7. Place the biscotti with a cut side facing up on a half sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan and flip all the biscotti over so the other cut side is now facing up. Bake for another 10 minutes. Set all the pieces on a wire rack to cool. 
8. Once the biscotti have cooled, drizzle with melted white chocolate. (To melt the chocolate, pop it in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds, then stir.  Place back in microwave and heat in 15-second intervals and stirring in between until chocolate is melted. Alternately, dip 1/4/-1/2 of each biscotti in chocolate.  Store in airtight container.