I Love Cardamom Cookies

Awhile back I bought a jar of cardamom seeds at a bargain price. These are hard and a bit larger than poppy seeds. I figured I'd have to grind before using and promptly forgot about it. Recently I found the jar and noticed a recipe on it that called for using the seeds whole. I vaguely remembered my Swedish "mom" (I was an exchange student in high school) made some sort of cardamom bread/roll at the holidays, and you could see the little pods. So I improvised this very easy cookie recipe. I was pleased with how they came out.

• 1/2 c hazelnuts, toasted and skins removed
• 1 c flour
• 2/3 c granulated sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 stick (4 oz) butter, cold, cut into pieces
• 1 scant tablespoon cardamom seeds (maybe 1-2 tsp ground?)
• 1 egg

Toast the hazelnuts: bake them at 325°F for 5-10 minutes until skins darken. Wrap in a dish towel and rub together until most of skin is gone. Cool.

In a food processor, grind hazelnuts with sugar. Add flour, salt, and cardamom. Pulse. Cut butter into pieces, add and pulse until well combined. Slightly beat the egg and add while food processor is running. Pulse only until the dough comes together. Press dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Roll to about 1.5" diameter. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Unwrap log and slice into 1/4" rounds. Lay on ungreased cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart. Bake 12-18 minutes or until bottom edges start to turn golden (frozen dough, a light colored/ and/or insulated air-pan will take longer). Cool on pan about 5 minutes and transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes about 40 cookies (2 pans). Next time I'll double it. In fact, next time I'm tempted to a) increase the hazelnuts, and b) add 1/4 cup cocoa (to 1 c flour) and see what happens.

Maida Heatter’s Spicy Ginger Biscotti

When I first read this recipe in Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies I thought it sounded disgusting. I don't like mustard or white pepper. But after hearing Maida Heatter on a Thanksgiving piece on NPR (it was aired year after year) I decided to try them. They're amazing! And you can really go to town varying the recipe. Sometimes I add pistachios, or dried cherries, or dried cranberries soaked in rum or whisky (to prevent their drying out and burning). Sometimes I like to use 1 tsp. cardamom instead of the cloves. I've also used egg whites only (use an extra egg). Some bloggers add chocolate or drizzle on at the end; I've never tried this. Unfortunately the book is out of print.

Maida Heatter’s Spicy Ginger Biscotti (Makes about 78 thin biscotti)

• 4 ounces crystallized ginger
• 7 ounces (1 1/4 cups) blanched (skinned) or unblanched whole almonds [again, I never see whole blanched almond so I use them with the skins]
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unsifted all- purpose flour [I don't sift - I use a smidge less]
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly and finely ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

On a cutting board, with a sharp knife, cut the crystallized ginger into thin slices and then cut it crossways to pieces about the size of peppercorns (you should have a generous 3/4 cup) and set aside. Or use scissors.

Toast the almonds in a shallow pan in a 350°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes until lightly colored, stirring once during the toasting. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and honey to mix and set aside.

Into a large bowl strain or sift together— just to mix—the flour, salt, baking powder, pepper, ginger, cinnamon, mustard, cloves, and sugar. Stir in the crystallized ginger and then the nuts. Add the mixed eggs and honey and stir until the dry ingredients are completely moistened. [As I noted in the previous entry, I use my KitchenAid. I mix the wet ingredients in the mixer bowl then add the flour mixture to them and mix on low. After the batter is nicely mixed, I add the almonds and mix a few seconds just to incorporate them, so they don't get too broken.]

Then place two lengths of plastic wrap (each about 15 to 20 inches long) on a work surface and form two strips, one on each piece of plastic wrap, by spooning the dough down the middle (length) of each piece. Form strips about 13" long and flatten the tops slightly. Fold long sides of plastic wrap up over the dough, and with your hands, press on the plastic wrap to smooth the dough and shape it into an even strip about 14" long, 2 1/2 to 3" wide, and about 3/4" thick (but no thicker). Shape the second strip in the same manner and place both on a cookie sheet. Freeze dough for at least an hour, until firm enough to unwrap, or longer if you wish.

To bake: Adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line two large cookie sheets with baking parchment. [I find biscotti cook much better on the cookie sheets with air pockets]. To transfer dough to the sheets, unwrap the plastic along the length of one strip of dough and turn the dough upside down onto the lined cookie sheet, placing it diagonally on the sheet. Slowly peel off the plastic wrap. Repeat with the second strip of dough and the second cookie sheet. Bake for 50 minutes at 300°F, reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once to ensure even baking. Then reduce the temperature to 275°F and remove the sheets from the oven.

Immediately, carefully, and gently peel the parchment or foil away from the backs of the strips and place the strips on a large cutting board. Slice the strips while they are still very hot, using a pot holder or a folded towel to hold the strips in place. Using a serrated French bread [or other sharp] knife, slice on an angle—the sharper the angle is, the longer the cookies will be, and the more difficult it will be to slice them very thin—but you can do it and they will be gorgeous. A scant 1/4" is good, or cut them 1/3" thick. It’s easier; they will be different but still very good. Place slices on a cut side, touching each other, on the cookie sheets. Bake at 275° for about 30 minutes. Once, when they are about half baked, turn the cookies over and reverse the sheets top to bottom and front to back to ensure even baking. Be careful! Do not overbake. To test for doneness, you must cool one (a minute or two in the freezer or refrigerator will save time) and taste it. When they are almost done, watch them carefully—they can suddenly become too dark,

esp. if they are very thin.

When done, cool and then store airtight. To serve, biscotti are especially attractive standing upright in a tall, clear glass.

Banana Bread

I got tired of seeing little baggies of bananas everywhere I looked in my freezer. We like to keep fresh bananas in the house all the time, but sometimes they ripen too fast. And J is picky -- they have to be firm. Even though I frequently use the softer ones in smoothies, I end up with extras, so I peel & freeze them. But it always seems like they accrue faster than I can use them. This recipe was an experiment that we considered successful, so I'll make it again. It reduces the calories by cutting out some of the dairy fat, and it uses way more bananas than any recipe I've seen, requiring a lot less sugar. Substitute cinnamon if you don't like cardamom. Note: this is not a banana cake. People who want cake should use a sweeter, buttery recipe.

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350°F. Flour and butter a 5" x 9" loaf pan or a mini-bundt pan.

• 2/3 c whole wheat flour
• 1 1/3 c unbleached white flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 tsp cardamom

Mix these ingredients in a large bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, beat up the following, mixing thoroughly before adding the next ingredient:

• 2 T butter (unsalted)
• 3 T canola oil
• 1/3 c dark brown sugar, packed
• 5-6 defrosted bananas (they will be very soft, so no need to mash first)
• 6 oz (small package) nonfat Greek yogurt (or kefir, other plain yogurt or buttermilk)
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla

Add dry ingredients to wet, beating on low, then increase to medium for a couple of minutes. Finally, add the last two ingredients and mix just enough to distribute:

• 1 c coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
• 1/2 c dried cranberries (if they need rejuvenating, add 1 t water or rum and microwave for 30 seconds, then let sit)

Pour into pan. It will be thick. Cook for 30 minutes in mini-bundt or 55 minutes in loaf pan, or until tester comes out clean. Cool at least 5 minutes in pan, then turn upside down and cool on racks. Loaf makes about 8-10 slices; the 6 mini-bundts can each be shared by two people.