"Biscotti" news and stories

The weekend's coming, and there's no better time for baking. The brains behind "Big Girls, Small Kitchen" at The Huffington Post have six great recipes to fill up your cookie jar. But beware: If you aren't careful, these cookies -- from espresso biscotti to double ginger snaps -- might not make it past the baking tray. (Yes, they're that good.)

Read The 6 Best Cookie Jar Cookies at The Huffington Post.

• Texas apiarists predict backyard beekeeping will be big in the coming year.
• Austin's "Biscotti Man," who annually makes more than 2,000 biscotti to the tune of Handel's "Messiah," shares recipes for two favorite varieties.
• Sharon Ely's locally famous posole is now available in a jar.
• Bread-baking is the kitchen equivalent of massage or meditation -- especially when the bread's baked in a Dutch oven, a fail-safe way of producing calm-inducing crispy crusts.

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

Michael Symon is back -- with latkes!

What do you get when you serve food with a side of politics? The Obamas, of course.

As the holidays come ever closer to crashing head-on, take a break with a Sunday meal of Whole-Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole.

You'll need a Euphoria cocktail after a holiday-shopping marathon.

Aunt Mary, please don't give us paper-weight fruit cake this year; instead, consider Parmesan Black-Pepper Biscotti.

"Top Chef Las Vegas" finalist Kevin Gillespie is among those joining the food fight for a slot on the 2011 Bocuse d'Or U.S. team.

You're running out of time to prepare a Hanukkah menu.

With the indulgent decadence of holiday feasting, these straightforward biscotti are a welcome respite from the carb-and-cream overload. Admits blogger Brown Eyed Baker, "Between leftover Halloween candy, pumpkin pie galore and Christmas cookies by the tin, it's possible that a lot of us will be in a sugar coma come January 1st." Thus, she fashioned these Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti -- or "savory twists on an Italian favorite" -- as an escape of wintertime sugar binges.

And to those who boldly cross off carb-counting this season, time constraints are still substantial, especially with last-minute entertaining. But these refined bites make use of only pantry staples (namely flour, butter, eggs, milk and Parmesan), can be whipped up at a moment's notice and can even be kept in airtight containers for a few weeks for unannounced guests.

We recommend adding this recipe to your holiday roster so you can spend more time by the fire instead of toiling in the kitchen.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Anise-almond biscotti. Photo: The Brown Eyed Baker

It's not Saturday morning .. yet. But just looking at this picture of anise-almond biscotti from The Brown Eyed Baker makes us forget that we still have an entire work day ahead of us.

That's probably because biscotti can't be enjoyed on a weekday like it can on a lazy weekend: dipped into rich coffee before it's slowly nibbled away at, only to be dunked again before taking a few more tiny bites, and on and on. And if biscotti like this is on the table, Saturday can't come soon enough!

[Via The Brown Eyed Baker]