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Pizzelles, biscotti and chocolate crispies - oh my!

15 years ago

I found a box on my steps when I came home from work. It was filled with pizzelles, biscotti and chocolate crispy bars. It was from LOU!

Lou - are you trying to fatten me up? I do think I will have to share some of these goodies with the little neighbor boy who drew the lotto winner's names last nite.

Thank you Lou!

Teresa

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Comments (22)

mustangs81
15 years ago
Lucky you. Lou's Pizzelles and biscotti are terrific aren't they!!
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes they are! Lou visited you in Florida - was that two years ago? And did he bring you pizzelles then?
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pizzelle?
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I went searching for pizzelle recipes and found this post. I made Lou's Pizzelles yesterday and they were wonderful. I made only a half recipe. Here's what I used: Lou's Pizzelles - 1/2 Recipe eggs: 2 large butter: 1/4 cup oil: 1.5 T sugar: 1/2 cup + 2 T almond extract: 1 t. flour: 3/4 cup + 2T baking powder: 2t. I will use more almond extract next time. For the butter, I used browned butter. Don't know whether it made a difference or not. If you are going to do that, start with a little more than the 1/4 cup because you lose some in pouring from pan to bowl. I made a few and then had to stop, so I refrigerated the dough for about an hour. That firmed up the dough and made it easier to handle, and I was able to measure out blobs of dough in advance of their going into the pizzelle maker. This made it easier and faster to transfer them into the machine. This post was edited by graywings on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 20:13
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Flat and crispy cookies
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Donna (lackboys3)- I judge baked goods at fairs, so I've received quite a bit of training and have done a lot of self-study on the subject because I need to know the science of baking and ingredients so that I can tell people what went wrong with their foods, or how they can improve their recipe. There's so much science to consider when making any changes to a recipe, and you need to consider ALL the ingredients and what they do in the recipe, not just the flour type. For instance, if you normally use AP flour in a crispy cookie recipe and you choose to use White Lily or Martha White (southern all-purpose flour which have lower gluten levels than AP) or cake flour, you will get a completely different cookie texture - that's a given. But what texture? That depends on the other ingredients in the recipe. Chances are, if the ingredients lend themselves to "crispy", they'll remain so no matter what type of flour you use. It's the nature of the ingredients in that type of cookie. 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Biscotti
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Well, now, dcarch, why in the world should I bake biscotti, bake it again, then steam it to undo the baking, LOL, that would just be an extra step. Here is the King Arthur recipe. They do give options for flavoring, I'm thinking orange flavoring and a dunk in dark chocolate would be nice and of course I'll have to try that gingersnap thing, although they do not give that as an option. I did not spray them with water and they still sliced just fine. You know how those days goes, I couldn't even find a spray bottle for water! American-Style Vanilla Biscotti Here it is, a biscotti recipe everyone can enjoy � unlike classic Italian biscotti, which are quite hard, these are light and crunchy. Biscotti bake twice rather than once, and thus take a bit longer start-to-finish than normal drop cookies. But the dough is put together exactly like drop cookie dough. And if your kitchen skills include shaping a meatloaf and slicing a loaf of bread, you've got what it takes to make delicious, gorgeous biscotti. 6 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 large eggs 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour coarse white sparkling sugar, for sprinkling on top, optional 1) Preheat the oven to 350�F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) one large (about 18" x 13") baking sheet. 2) In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract (if you're using it), and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs; the batter may look slightly curdled. At low speed of your mixer, add the flour, stirring until smooth; the dough will be sticky. 4) Plop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Divide it in half, and shape it into two 9 1/2" x 2" logs, about 3/4" tall. Straighten the logs, and smooth their tops and sides; a wet spatula or wet bowl scraper works well here. Sprinkle with coarse white sparkling sugar, if desired, pressing it in gently. 5) Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven. 6) Using a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water, lightly but thoroughly spritz the logs, making sure to cover the sides as well as the top. Softening the crust just this little bit will make slicing the biscotti much easier. Reduce the oven temperature to 325�F. Wait 5 minutes, then use a sharp chef's knife or serrated knife to cut the log crosswise into 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Or cut the biscotti on the diagonal, for fewer, longer biscotti. As you're slicing, be sure to cut straight up and down, perpendicular to the pan; if you cut unevenly, biscotti may be thicker at the top than the bottom, and they'll topple over during their second bake. 8) Set the biscotti on edge on the prepared baking sheet. Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes, until they feel very dry and are beginning to turn golden. They'll still feel a tiny bit moist in the very center, if you break off a piece; but they'll continue to dry out as they cool. 9) Remove the biscotti from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Store airtight at room temperature; they'll stay good for weeks. Yield: 30 to 40 biscotti, depending on size. Tips from our bakers Variations: Add up to 2 cups nuts, dried fruit (dried, not fresh), or chips to the dough, along with the flour. Adjust the spice to suit the add-in, if desired; e.g., add 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 1 cup chopped dried apple and 1 cup diced pecans. Or substitute hazelnut, butter-rum, or your favorite flavor for the vanilla. A classic Italian anise biscotti is made with 1/2 teaspoon anise extract (or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon anise oil, to taste), and 1 tablespoon fennel seeds. I am getting better with the computer, I actually finally figured out how to open two browser windows at the same time, copy and paste from the King Arthur website, and hopefully it'll end up here without strange symbols. I'm switching to a cable internet service next Tuesday, it should cut my bill in half and maybe give me internet access all the time, instead of getting a "not available" message about once every five minutes. If I get that message in the middle of a post, the whole post is gone, I have to close the browser window and start all over again. It's frustrating as heck. Grrr. Annie
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For the Holiday Biscotti, the texture is all dependent on how long you bake them the second time. If you don't do the second bake, they are not chewy, but not hard, either. Can't really think of how to describe it...maybe a little firmer than shortbread? I dunno. Heeheehee...I just remembered I bought a book a couple years ago (used) at our local book store. It's called...."Biscotti" by Lou Seibert Pappas. Here are a couple of the recipes from it. I have not tried any of them...yet. Biscotti Nocciole-Cioccolato 3/4 c hazelnuts 4 oz bittersweet chocolate 1/2 c butter 3/4 c sugar 2 eggs 2 T Frangelico or Amaretto 2 c unbleached all purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt Place nuts in a shallow pan and bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes or until golden. With paper towels, rub nuts while warm to remove papery skins. Let cool. In a food processor fitted with steel blade, grind nuts finely. Remove and set aside. Add chocolate to the food processor and processs until coarsely ground. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and liqueur. In another bowl, combine flour, powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, mixing until blended. Fold in nuts and chocolate. Divide the dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet, pat out the dough into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the center of preheated 325F oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack, let cool for 5 minutes. Place on wood cutting board. With serrated knife slice diagonally on a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch thick. Place slices upright, 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet and return to oven for 10 minutes longer to dry slightly. Cool, store in tightly covered container. Swedish Cinnamon Slices 2/3 c blanched, slivered almonds 1 c butter 1 c light brown sugar, packed 2 eggs 2 T sour cream 1/2 tsp almond extract 2\-3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour 1 T cinnamon 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp soda 1/4 tsp salt Place nuts in a shallow pan and bake at 350F for 6\-8 minutes or until golden. let cool. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, sour cream and almond extract. In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture, mixing until blended. Fold in nuts. Divide the dough in half. On a greased and floured baking sheet, pat out the dough into two logs about 1/2 inch high, 1\-1/2 inches wide and 14 inches long, spacing them at least 2 inches apart. Bake in the center of preheated 325F oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Transfer from the baking sheet to a rack, let cool for 5 minutes. Place on wood cutting board. With serrated knife slice diagonally on a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch thick. Place slices upright, 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet and return to oven for 10 minutes longer to dry slightly. Cool, store in tightly covered container. Linda
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lakemayor
15 years ago
Lou's Pizzelles and Biscotti are the greatest. He served Steve and I some when we stopped to visit him this fall. Didn't have chocolate crispies though, Lou you might want to send some. Ha!

We also had some of his Cinnamon buns, which are the best!!!

Karen
Rusty
15 years ago
Lucky you, Teresa!
Sounds like the gifting of the wild rice really IS bringing good things your way.

I have used Lou's Pizzelle recipe, and they are really good!
I'm sure they are even better when made by him personally.

Chocolate Crispies?
Have you posted that recipe, Lou?
If not, would you?

Rusty
ci_lantro
15 years ago
Thanks, Rusty. I'm wondering about those Chocolate Crispies myself. Lou?
Rusty
15 years ago
ci-lantro, I gather, from some of his recent posts,
that Lou hasn't been feeling well lately.
I sure do hope he is on the mend from whatever the problem was.

I'm sure he will post his recipe when he is able.

Rusty
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
Halfway down the attached link is Lou's description of how he makes the Chocolate Krispies.

And I want to say that the Chocolate Krispies have made me a goddess to the 4 year old boy who lives next door! Most of the krispy treats went to Joshua!

Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Krispies
hawk307
15 years ago
Teresa_mn :

Thank you!!! but it could have been worst.
You could have found me on your doorstep.LOL!
Glad Joshua enjoyed them.

And thanks guys for the compliments

Karen:
Your Flattery will get you nowhere !!!
You will have to come here to get them, or I will meet you guys in Fla.

**************

Hi YauÃ¯Â¿Â½ll : It took me 3 hours, off and on to type this.
The Chocolate Crispy bars were nothing special.
Everyone makes them in different ways.

The recipe is on the Kraft Marshmallow bag.

I just altered it a little, to fit in a 10 inch Pizza pan.

LouÃ¯Â¿Â½s Version
1/3 stick of Butter
4 cups of Coco Dyna Bits ( Walmart ) or Coco Krispies
4 cups of miniature marshmallows
1/3 cup of crushed Cashews or Almond
( I used a zip loc bag and rolling pin)
DidnÃ¯Â¿Â½t want it too fine.

Line a 10 inch round pan with Parchment paper and have a extra piece,10x10

Micro wave the butter in a microwaveable bowl , 45seconds, until melted.
( I used a large Princess House , Nouveau Saucepan), because it retains heat.
Add the Marshmallows and mix to coat.
Microwave until Marshmallows are melted, about 1 Ã¯Â¿Â½ minutes,
stirring a couple times while heating.
Sprinkle in the crushed nuts and CoCo Dyna Bits.
Mix well . If it starts to get too stiff, Micro Wave a few seconds..

Scoop it into the Pan and level as quick as possible.
Lay the extra piece of Parchment on top and pound it flat.
Set in the fridge to cool.
When cool turn it over on a cutting board , cut into 1 inch wide strips.
Cut across the opposite way, making about 2 inch pieces.
Fill a Zip Loc bag , unevenly so they wonÃ¯Â¿Â½t stick together.
Enjoy.
LOU
Rusty
15 years ago
Thanks, Teresa, for posting that link to the other thread.
I tried searching, but it didn't come up.

I'm still having computer problems off & on.
Guess that's why I missed it then.

Lou, a big thanks to you, too!
For posting your recipe again.
I'm definitely going to try them.
Think they'll be a great change from the usual.

Rusty
mustangs81
15 years ago
Lou visited you in Florida - was that two years ago? And did he bring you pizzelles then? Yes to both questions. We visted March, 2009.

Earlier today I had some store-bought biscotti; can't hold a candle to Lou's.
hawk307
15 years ago
rusty:
I just saw it was your Anniversary today, for joining the CF.
Happy Anniversary !!!

LOU
lindac
15 years ago
By my computer, she joined on March 11 2007. So it's her 1 year 9 month anniversary?
Is that paper? Wood? or Rice?
Terri_PacNW
15 years ago
Chocolate Crispy Bars...me thinks...
hawk307
15 years ago
Right ! I made a boo. Got in a little practice.

Thanks for pointing that out.
Lou
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
THANK YOU terri pacnw!!!! And those chocolate crispy bars could be made with popped wild rice! YUM!!
Rusty
15 years ago
"chocolate crispy bars could be made with popped wild rice"

Tell us more, please! ! !

Like how you pop the wild rice.
In a frying pan with a bit of oil?
In the microwave?

Sounds like something else I need to try.
Not necessarily Krispy bars, but the popped wild rice. .. .

Rusty
Jasdip
15 years ago
Sounds like you're getting your sweet and savoury teeth satisfied with chocolate AND wild rice, Teresa! LOL
Not sure it would appeal to me, but then I don't have a sweet tooth, just a savoury one.
hawk307
15 years ago
Rusty and Ci-lantro
Someone mentioned you wanted the recipe,
for Coco Krispy Treats.

I saw the original was messed up a little.
Wasn't feeling up to Par at the time.

So I put in my updated Recipe. It only takes about 8 minutes to heat and mix.

Here is an updated recipe . Everyone liked this one better.
LOU

The basic recipe is on the Kraft Marshmallow bag.
I just altered it a little, to fit in a 10 inch Pizza pan.

One half stick of Butter
4 cups of Coco Dyna Bits ( Walmart ) or Coco Krispies
5 cups of miniature marshmallows
One third teaspoon of Almond extract
One third cup of crushed Almonds
( I used a zip loc bag and rolling pin or the edge of my small cutting board)
DidnÃ¯Â¿Â½t want it too fine.
Confectioners Sugar
Line a 10 inch round pan with Parchment paper. I held it in place with clips.
Have a extra piece,10x10,for flattening.

Micro wave the butter in a microwaveable bowl , 45seconds, until melted.
( I used a 2 Quart Princess House , Nouveau Saucepan), because it retains heat.
- - - - - - - -
I heat it a little on the Range before I put it in the micro wave with the butter.
And I keep the Range on low to reheat later.
- - - - - - - -
Add the Almond Extract and Crushed Almonds to the butter. Stir to mix.
Add the Marshmallows and mix to coat.
Microwave until Marshmallows are melted, about one and a half minutes,
stirring a couple times; in between, while heating.
Sprinkle in the CoCo Dyna Bits.
Mix well . If it starts to get too stiff, Micro Wave a few seconds,
Or place on the range while mixing.

Scoop it into the Pan and level as quickly as possible.
Lay the extra piece of Parchment on top and tap it flat with the edge of a small cutting board, or can.
Set in the fridge to cool.
When cool turn it over on a cutting board , cut into 1 inch wide strips.
Cut across the opposite way, making about 2 inch pieces.

Sprinkle on some Confectioners Sugar.
Fill a Zip Loc bag , unevenly so they wonÃ¯Â¿Â½t stick together.
Shake the bag, to coat with the sugar.
Enjoy.
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes it's true. Lou sent me yet another box of chocolate krispies, pizelles and biscotti - out of the blue. But the timing is perfect because it's my mother's birthday today and 7 of the great grandkids will be there along with 17 of the 31 nieces and nephews. I'm sure I'll have no problem convincing people to eat them.

Thanks again Lou!

Teresa
mustangs81
15 years ago
Very nice of Lou! The grands would enjoy making Coco Krispy Treats.

DH and I were talking about Lou's biscotti this week. I had purchased some biscotti from an Italian bakery for Christmas brunch and I still have them because they didn't go over well. They sure weren't as good as Lou's.
Teresa_MN
Original Author
15 years ago
Has Lou ever shared the biscotti recipe here?
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
15 years ago
Lucky you teresa.

If you go to the "Conversation" side, you will see what an incredible, actually beyond incredible, an artist and craftsman Lou is.

Crafting delicious recipes is child's play for Lou.

dcarch

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