Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

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biscotti, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipes, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas tradition, food, Holiday, holiday tradition, Italian, recipes

It’s time for the annual teacher’s holiday breakfast today. Last year I made almond biscotti with chocolate chips, some were even chocolate dipped. This year I made that again, but I also made a cherry, white chocolate & almond biscotti. Mmm… I used the same recipe as last year just switching around a few ingredients. I didn’t have very good lighting here, and there’s no natural lighting right now, so I apologize in the lack of quality photography.

Cherry, White Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. white chocolate chips, 1/2 c. dried tart cherries, 1 beaten egg white

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

I hope there are a few pieces left over so I can eat them tomorrow morning with my tea before I dive into my last minute Christmas preparations…

What Christmas traditions do you have at work?

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Almond Biscotti

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almond biscotti, biscotti, breakfast, brunch, brunch recipes, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas tradition, Holiday, holiday tradition, Italian, recipes

The last day of school before break, we have our annual Christmas Breakfast. Everyone brings something and the men cook the eggs, pancakes and meat. Thank goodness for the family consumer science room. All teachers, retired, current and new mingled across several classrooms as we enjoy our early bird time before the students arrive. Last year I made two quiches, but didn’t have time to heat them in the morning and each person had to heat up their individual slices. This year I decided to make biscotti.

I looked through several biscotti recipes and improvised with the ingredients that I had on hand.

Ingredients:
6 Tbs. fresh whipped heavy cream, 1 c. sugar, 1 egg, 1 egg yolk, 2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp, salt, 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips, 1/2 c. almond pieces, 1 beaten egg

Directions:
In a medium bowl, cream together whipped heavy cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk and almond extract together. In a small mix together flour, salt and baking powder. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and almond bits. Roll dough on a floured surface and separate into two balls. Roll each ball out into logs and place on parchment paper lined baking tray. Pat logs to flatten and then brush beaten egg on tops and sides. Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F, let cool for 15 minutes and slice diagonally. Bake for 10 minutes more.  Decorate and serve.

Almond Biscotti

*Drizzle melted dark chocolate on top or dip into chocolate (I dipped the tops of half my biscotti).

Check out Riotflower’s biscotti.

Christmas Brunch

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Bailey's french toast, baked french toast, baked ham, Christmas, Christmas Brunch, Christmas Menu, Christmas tradition, Holiday, holiday menu, holiday tradition, potato slices, spiral ham

This year Santa made an early detour to our house. Late last night, my MIL, FIL and two nephews came for our “Christmas Eve”. Three days before, I was unsure of which meal(s) my in-laws would be joining us. I knew the morning present opening was going to be wonderful, but wanted brunch to be just as amazing. I prepared dishes that could mostly be prepped the night before. Our Christmas Brunch Menu consisted of Bailey’s Baked French Toast, Spiral Baked Ham, Potato Slices and fresh pineapple.

Bailey’s Baked French Toast
Ingredients:
8 Tbs. butter, 1 c. brown sugar, 2 Tbs. corn syrup, 1 large loaf of french bread (I used a baguette), 5 eggs, 1 c. heavy cream, 1/2 c. Bailey’s Irish Cream, 1 Tbs. vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring until smooth. Pour into a glass baking dish. Cut bread into thick slices, and lay them in a single layer in brown sugar mixture, squish them in. Whisk together eggs, heavy cream, vanilla, Bailey’s, cinnamon, and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, bring the bread mixture back to room temp. Bake at 350°F for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Bailey's Baked Fresh Toast

Spiral Cut Baked Ham
Ingredients:
Spiral Cut Ham, brown sugar, molasses, honey, nutmeg, walnuts or pecans, 2 golden delicious apples, lemon juice, butter.

Directions:
Slice and bone ham. Slice and core the apple wedges, soak in the lime juice and drain. Layer all the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes.

Baked Ham

Potato  Slices
Ingredients:
Potatoes, EVOO, paprika, sea salt, pepper, minced onions

Directions:
Sliced the potatoes and coat them with the olive oil. Toss in all the seasoning and spread out onto a tray. Bake at 350°F for an hour.

Potato Slices

We got a coating of snow and had a white Christmas and sipped hot cocoa while unwrapping our gifts, then brunch begin. Yum yum!