In Due Season

I had intended to bake traditional Polish Babka this week, for the Third Sunday of Easter, but plans change. My young son– too sick for school, but not too sick to be up and about– asked to bake something from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion, which I checked out from the library. One-on-one time with him gets rarer by the minute, so I couldn’t say no.

Still in his PJs, he pored over the book, reading recipes and checking our pantry for ingredients. Eventually he settled on Dutch Chocolate-Almond Biscotti, which we baked together.

I know I’m not stating anything new, but sometimes life is like that. Plans are upended, traditions alter or fall away. By their very definition “traditions” seem immutable, but they aren’t. We adapt childhood celebrations for our own children, we find new celebrations to help us mark the passing of time. We invent our own traditions, like sick-day biscotti baking. Though my “work” day didn’t go as I had first planned, that hour I spent baking with my son– uninterrupted by the usual daily chores and considerations– was very special to me.

And so I present the very nontraditional Easter treat we’re enjoying this weekend. We’ll save the Babka for another day.

Dutch Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

• 

from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 c. Dutch process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional but recommended)
• 2/3 c. chopped almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a food processor or spice mill, process the chocolate, cocoa, and espresso powder until the chocolate is finely ground. Set aside.
3. In bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled. Lower the mixer speed, then mix in the flour and the chocolate mixture just until combined. Stir in the almonds.
4. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, using damp hands to shape it into a log approximately 14 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 3/4 inch thick. Smooth the top with a wet bench scraper.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the center is no longer wet. Let it cool on the pan anywhere from 5 to 25 minutes. Five minutes before cutting, spritz the top lightly but thoroughly with water, covering the sides as well as the top.
6. Reduce the oven to 325° F. Cut the biscotti in 3/4 inch thick slices, either crosswise or diagonally. Set the biscotti upright on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to week.