One of my favorite cookie books is Maida Heatter’s Brand-New Book of Great Cookies. Her recipes are carefully written with detailed instructions that guarantee success. I have often thought that her book would be the one that I would bake straight through–cover to cover. I haven’t done that yet, but I do return to her book with regularity. I was drawn to her Multigrain and Seed Biscotti when I had a cupboard full of seeds that needed using up–and because they are full of everything good.
Her recipe needs no improvement, but I substituted black sesame seeds for white because I thought the contrast of the black seeds would be pretty. I also toasted some of the seeds instead of leaving them raw, and I increased the salt. Minor changes.
However, if you are so inclined, this recipe invites substitutions. If you have a cupboard full of seeds, like I did, use what you have. Anise seeds, fennel seeds, or nigella seeds would be great additions. The pine nuts (technically a seed) are wonderful, but the recipe calls for a whopping 2 cups. For a less expensive cookie, substituting slivered or sliced almonds will work nicely—you’ll have to call them Multigrain and Seed and Nut Biscotti, though.
I am torn between describing these as hippy dippy cookies, or hoity toity crackers. They are both earthy and sophisticated, neither too sweet nor too savory, and equally fitting paired with herbal tea or Vin Santo. I like them best for breakfast, but they would be a lovely addition to a fruit and cheese platter, served alongside a bowl of ice cream, or with a schmear of crème fraiche and smoked salmon. They are the chameleon of the cookie world.
Ingredients
- Adapted from Maida Heatter’s Brand-New Book of Great Cookies
- 1 cup (5 oz.) flour
- 1 ¼ cup (6 ¼ oz.) whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/3 cup (1 ½ oz.) rye flour
- ¼ cup (1 oz.) oat bran
- ¼ cup (1 ¼ oz.) cornmeal
- 1/3 cup (1 ¾ oz.) toasted unsalted sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup (1 1/8 oz.) black sesame seeds (or white or brown sesame seeds)
- ¼ cup (1 ¼ oz.) flax seeds
- 1/3 cup (1 ¾ oz.) toasted unsalted pumpkin seeds
- 2 cups (9 oz.) toasted pine nuts (or substitute slivered or sliced almonds—or any other nut)
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup (5 ¾ oz.) honey
- ½ cup (4 oz.) firmly packed brown sugar
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, ground ginger, rye flour, oat bran, and cornmeal. Stir with a whisk to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.
Add the sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and pine nuts. Stir to combine.
In another bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, and brown sugar. Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients; stir until well mixed.
Place two 20 inch pieces of plastic wrap on your work surface. Divide the dough in half and place each half onto the middle of each piece of plastic wrap. The strips should each be about 14 inches long. Lift the two long sides of the plastic wrap, bring them together on top of the dough (hold them together as close as possible to the dough, touching the dough), and, with your hands, press on the plastic wrap to smooth the dough and shape it into an even strip about 15 inches long, 2 ½ to 3 inches wide, and ¾ inch thick. Turn it all upside down and smooth the other side.
Put the two wrapped strips onto a baking sheet in the freezer for about 45 minutes, until the dough is firm enough to be unwrapped.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Transfer the dough to the baking sheet by opening the long sides of the plastic wrap and turning the dough upside-down onto the lined sheet pan, placing the dough on the diagonal. Slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Repeat with the other dough.
Bake for 50 minutes, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking.
Remove the pans from the oven and reduce the heat to 275 degrees F. Immediately peel the parchment away from the back of one strip and place it on a cutting board.
Use a pot holder to hold the hot strip in place, and use a serrated knife to cut the strip on an angle into slices about 1/3 inch wide.
Repeat with the second strip.
Place the slices, cut side down, on baking sheets, and bake for 30 minutes. At the halfway mark, remove the pans, one at a time, and turn the slices upside down and reverse the sheets top to bottom and from front to back.
The biscotti won’t take on much more color during the second bake. To test for doneness, cool one quickly in the freezer. If it is dry and crunchy, it is done.
Store in an airtight container when cool.
http://madeleineeffect.com/2015/10/multigrain-and-seed-biscotti/
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