Fredericksburg Parent

8 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • December 2024 When my son was little, I would spend a whole day baking homemade treats to package and deliver to his school's administrative office as a holiday gift from our family. Sure, I should probably still be doing some- thing similar, but anyone with older teens knows that when they don't want you contributing in those ways anymore, you have to respectfully back off! Nonetheless, if I have the opportunity to "gift bake" these days, I am always drawn to my "Big Island" biscotti cookies, which combine all the great flavors and products of Hawaii in one delicious bite. If you're not that familiar with biscotti, it is simply an Italian-style cookie that is twice-baked, leading to an extra crunchiness and hardness that pairs well with coffee and similar café beverages. I find that biscotti make a perfect type of treat to gift-bake, because they store so well and don't perish or go stale the way softer desserts do. Don't let the twice- baking or the specific shape of biscotti scare you away – it is perfectly feasible to bake them at home and you don't need any special equip- ment. They're great for big batch-cooking that you can divide and gift- away, or just to eat yourself if you want, as well. Though traditional biscotti is often almond flavored, their popularity and flexibility has made way for tons of creative variations. This Hawaiian riff on biscotti blends all of what's great about the "Big Island" into one cookie – coffee, coconut, and macadamia nuts. A little white chocolate and honey sweeten the deal and hold everything together. They're fun, pretty, and in my opinion, very festive for the holidays, or anytime at all, of course! WRITTEN BY DEBRA CAFFREY practical pantry "Big Island" "Big Island" Biscotti Cookies Biscotti Cookies 2 3/4 cups flour 1/2 cup ground coffee 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup sugar 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 3/4 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped 12 oz white chocolate chips 2 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted BIG ISLAND BISCOTTI Direc ons: 1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine the sugar, bu er, honey, vanilla and eggs in a bowl with mixer on medium-high speed. Add fl our, cof- fee, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cinna- mon and beat un l combined. S r in macada- mia nuts with a spoon. 2. Form the dough into two 3-by-8-inch logs on a baking sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake un l browned, about 25 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to board and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices using a serrated knife. 3. Reduce the oven temperature to 325. Ar- range the slices cut-side down on sheet and bake 20 more minutes, fl ipping the cookies halfway through. Let cool 10 minutes on sheet, then transfer to cooling rack. 4. Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, hea ng 30 seconds at a me un l done. Dip the bisco partway in, then roll in the coconut. Place on a baking sheet un l set, approx. 30 minutes.

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