TWD, Baking with Julia: Hazelnut Biscotti

As part of Tuesdays with Dorie using the book Baking with Julia, I made the hazelnut biscotti. As with the pecan sticky buns, I tried to find someone else's house I could make them at since my husband is allergic to nuts. In this case, my friend Elizabeth agreed that I could use her kitchen. I mixed the dry ingredients all together at my house, and the wet ingredients (including eggs from my boss's backyard chickens), but then I realized I was late in going over there and skipped putting in the sugar. I got over there and she made a lovely cocktail with Hendrick's and an orange liqueur. It was delicious and refreshing. Their house is older with a lot of character, in contrast to my house which is new and might require less upkeep but might have less of a story to tell too. It is fun to see the inner workings of other people's kitchens - what awesome gadgets they have, cool books, different products or missing elements (my coworker doesn't own a fine mesh sieve). I think I said it last time, but it is pretty fun using other people's kitchens and maybe I can keep this trend going in a variety of kitchens as the recipes demand nuts throughout this project. I think most people appreciate random delicious desserts showing up in their kitchens anyway.

How it went for us:

• Like I said, I didn't bring my sugar over there since I was running behind schedule, and I didn't guess that my friend would be out. We substituted brown sugar, and actually I thought that turned out really delicious. 
• I thought the hazelnuts were great. They added a rich, toasty flavor. I don't eat hazelnuts very often at all, and I really appreciated them.
• Instead of Frangelico we used Disaronno. We put on some cheesy Italian music, sampled some of the liqueur, and felt like little old ladies just off the boat from Sicily. 
• Her dog, Laverne the chihahua was completely adorable. I should have taken pictures of this tiniest of dogs. It was also the calmest dog I have ever seen, just chilling, waiting for the biscotti to cook. 
• Overall, I thought this recipe was incredibly easily. Previously, I made lavender and also chocolate chip biscotti from Mark Bittman's basic recipe in How to Cook Everything. I know that making biscotti can seem intimidating to some, but if you follow the steps you can have a delicious accompaniment to your afternoon coffee without much effort. What is really fun about making your own biscotti is that you can make up any combination that you want. Cranberry? Raisin? Lemon? The sky is the limit! Check out what some other people added.

Good times all around! For the recipe check out Homemade and Wholesome and Baking and Boys! Check out all the other bakers here.