Egg Nog Biscotti

Biscotti!! Isn't it a fun word?? Say it five times fast: biscottibiscottibiscottibiscottibiscotti! Hee :) Well, biscotti is my new favorite thing. I don't think I'd ever really had one worth writing home about, and certainly hadn't tasted one in years, but this recipe from Shugary Sweets caught my eye, and got me interested. The eggnog element had a lot to do with it... So I tried it. And fell in love! I'm a soft-and-chewy cookie girl generally, but these crunchy little biscuity things have truly won me over! They're actually pretty darn easy, and awfully impressive! And they make a nice change from your run-of-the-mill cookies. I've already started playing with new flavors, but today I'll share the original. I'm taking two batches to our dress rehearsal tonight!

Egg Nog Biscotti (adapted from Shugary Sweets)
Printable Recipe

6 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (or rum extract)
2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
a pinch of salt

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp eggnog
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating well after each. Add flour, baking powder, and spices. Mix till smooth. (If the dough is really soft and sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour)

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Dump dough onto paper and shape dough into 12in x 6in rectangle. (Square the corners using fingertips, smoothing the top of the dough too!)

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 26-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes

 Carefully slice into 12-14 slices (about 3/4-1 inch each) with a sharp knife. Turn them on their sides and put back in the oven.

Bake 18-20 more minutes. Remove and cool completely before drizzling with glaze.

For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar, eggnog and nutmeg together until desired consistency. Drizzle on cooled biscotti. Allow to set (about 20-30 minutes)- or refrigerate to "speed set" the glaze. Store biscotti in airtight containers!

See? Not too hard at all!! I made this first batch pretty wide, you could easily make 16, or 18 even! 

The best way to eat these yummy little cookies is with a hot drink! Something to dip them in. Egg nog and hot cocoa?? Yes please!!

I love nutmeg, it's my favorite spice, and these are about as nutmeggy as it gets!! If you've had biscotti before, you know they're not super sweet. The icing adds the extra touch of sweetness, so don't skimp on it!

When I first started making these, I did a double take when I read through the recipe: wait, what?? There's no egg nog in the actual cookie?! No worries. They're plenty eggnoggy :) Hee hee, that's another funny word!

There's a fine line between crunchy and just plain hard, so be careful they don't get too dark. If you pay attention, you'll be rewarded with light, crunchy deliciousness! These are one of my new favorite cookies, I hope you try them out! And thank you Aimee for being so scrumptiously convincing! :)

Shared at Foodie Friday, Tasty Tuesdays, Wow Us Wednesdays, and Tutorials Tips and Tidbits

Classic Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

I'm trying something a little different today! My friend Marie does this every Tuesday, and I love it. Just a post with prompts from The Simple Woman's Daybook. It's a fun way to think of new things to write, new bits of life to share!

For today, Dec. 4...
Outside my window...It is a bit cloudy, a bit chilly, but warming up fast. Sigh. December in Colorado is not supposed to be this warm!

Source: agirlsrighttodream.tmblr via Pinterest

I am thinking...I have GOT to find a babysitter for the boys for tomorrow! It's our first dress rehearsal with the bells and the symphony, and it is THREE hours long! It also is our ward's Stake Temple Day, and all the babysitters are booked. Ack!!

I am going...Off to my chiropractor for a massage! I know many of you are thinking "Oh, how wonderful! A weekly massage! How relaxing!" Um, nope. We're working 11 years of knots, tension, and damage out of my shoulders, and it hurts like the dickens. NOT relaxing. But it's working!!

I am thankful...For my chiropractor! He's amazing. Their office works on every possible angle to fix your problems. Stretches, exercise, therapy, ice, massage, adjustments, roller tables, electro-something or other... I'm so grateful to finally be fixing my poor neck.

I am pondering...Mental knots. It's a metaphor I came up with last night. When your muscles are constantly tense for one reason or another, they form knots that take quite a bit of effort to work out. I think we can develop mental knots too. You know the feeling after a long period of stress, or worry, when you find yourself thinking "there must be SOMETHING to worry about!" even after it's over? I have a few of those. After spending the last 3 years working towards "the next step", internship, thesis, move... I'm finding it hard to just be right now. Just be here. Make here our home, instead of being desperate for a house. I need to breathe, and release some of those mental knots!

Source: Pinterest

I am wondering...Whether or not our Christmas tree will recover. We let it dry out... This is our first real tree! We took everything off and re-cut it last night, but I don't think it will resurrect. Oh well! Live and learn. :)

I am reading... The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. It's weird, and dark, but fascinating and addicting and I flew through it in a day the first time, so I'm re-reading it. It made me cry. It's otherworldly, about racing wild, carnivorous water horses. I know, that just sounds bizarre. But somehow, it's captivating. Even though it is about fictional horses, it's packed full of real-horse-loving feelings and thoughts and... it's hard to describe, but I loved it.

I am hoping... That I can FINALLY get back on track with Pilates everyday!! It's so hard to make it a habit. But it's the only thing that really works for me, so I keep trying!

I am looking forward to...Our dress rehearsals!!! Finally practicing with the instruments! I can't wait!!

Something new about me... Since I was 18, I've worked in 4 different flower shops. It was my favorite job, and we had some crazy adventures! For example, one mother's day (which is actually bigger than valnetine's day, did you know that??) the cooler we had rented to keep all the arrangements overnight malfunctioned and FROZE all our roses and lilies! We had to replace them ALL, and were there till 3 o'clock in the morning!! I loved working in a flower shop, and as soon as the boys are both in school all day (1 1/2 years!) I'm planning to get a floral design certificate. If that goes well, then I will get an English Literature degree. I'm a bit intimidated by college, because I never went before getting married, so if the floral design course doesn't scare me to death, I'll get a degree then!

Source: wendysmedly via Pinterest

Guilty pleasures... Project Runway. I love seeing the things people can create as clothing! It makes me laugh when the judges LOVE a garment that I think is just awful. Fashion truly is subjective!

Pet Peeves...BOYS SOCKS!!! Little Stephen's socks have been driving me nuts lately! All floppy and stretched out and falling down and slipping off... *shudder*. I like my socks tight. Fitted. Stay-in-place. His socks give me the willies. I guess I'm a bit OCD that way!

Classic Slow-Cooker Beef Stew (adapted from Cozycakes Cottage)
Printable Recipe

2 pounds of chuck roast, trimmed and chopped in 1 to 1.5 inch pieces
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 to 3 cups beef broth
2 Tb Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 stalks of celery, diced
4-6 medium red potatoes, peeled (or not!) and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh (or dried) thyme
2 tablespoons plain gelatin or tapioca (For thickening. You can skip it if you'd like!)

1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Pat the meat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat each piece well. Heat oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add half of the meat in a single layer and brown just the outside.

When the bottom is browned, flip it and brown again. You don't want it cooked through, just well-browned on the outside. This helps with the flavor, and somehow the texture of your meat.

Remove the meat and place in the slow-cooker.  Brown the other half of your meat, and add it to the slow-cooker. 

Turn the heat down to medium and add more oil or a few tablespoons of butter. Add onions and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Cook till translucent and softened, scraping browned beef bits up to cook with the onions. Those bits are an important part of your flavors! 

Add the Worcestershire, 2 cups broth, vinegar, and tomato paste to the onions in the skillet. Mix and cook until it begins to boil. 

Place the celery, carrots, potatoes, bay leaves, peas (if using) and thyme in the slow cooker. Pour broth mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Add gelatin/tapioca to the slow cooker and stir everything together. Add a few pinched of salt and black pepper. Cover and cook for 6 hours. About an hour before you want to serve, check the stew, season if needed, stir gently, and add more broth if necessary. Continue to cook for one more hour. Remove bay leaves and enjoy!

I've never managed to get a beef stew right. You would think it would be easy, right?? Thank heavens this recipe is simple, homey, and delicious!! We loved it. In fact, The Geologist commandeered all leftovers for his lunches.

The veggies didn't turn to mush, they're soft and tender,  the gravy thickened perfectly... simple warm flavors throughout... Too bad it wasn't chilly outside. 

This, my friends, is why we do that silly browning step at the beginning. You get chunks of juicy, flavorful, spoon-tender beef! It just flakes apart deliciously! If you just toss it in there raw, it will get tough and dry. Take the extra few steps at the beginning to develop the flavors, and you won't be sorry!

Shared at Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Weekly Menu Dec. 3

Source: k.ifeng.com via Pinterest

Hooray!! It's December, and the final countdown to Christmas has begun!! Here in Colorado we are strangely and disappointingly high on temperature and low on snow... I might have to create some myself! For the past few years I have started a new tradition of decorating our windows with paper snowflakes. They make our home feel winter-y even with no snow! This really came in handy last year; Utah was surprisingly lacking in snow all winter! I know lots of people are thrilled with the unseasonably warm weather, but I am a girl who needs snow, frost, and ice to complete the magic of the Christmas season. It's just not the same without it! Fingers crossed for snow SOON! 

This week we have:

Classic Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Fluffy Cheddar Biscuits

Butter Lettuce Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Citrus Streusel Drizzle Cake

Egg Nog Biscotti

Source: inspirationlane.tumblr

Small and Wonderful Things 10

Little boys' eyelashes... why aren't MINE that pretty?! 

New jeans that make me feel pretty.

 Teeny marshmallows for hot cocoa!! 

Little Stephen's excitement to share his testimony every month.

 Look! Our concert is in the paper! 

Singing!!!!!

 The boys' love of restaurant coloring sheets 

Biscotti, my new obsession. :)

 Bracken's love of snuggling with my clothes... 

Tickling. Playing. Laughing. As a family. 

 Joe: "Mmm! This candy-cane is rainbow-flavored!"

Nibbles and Novels Dec. 1

"And then it started. A great surge of sound from the organ. Huge chords and waves of music filled the church, overflowed out through the open doors, resounded up and out into the night... The music thundered all about her, filling the huge void of the soaring arched ceiling..."

So begins my favorite moment of one of my favorite books in all the world.

*Welcome to my Nibbles and Novels party! Thank you so much for stopping by! I hope you're here to join as well as look, there is a button at the bottom and I'm excited to see what you share! Now, on with the show!*

My book this month is "Winter Solstice" by Rosamund Pilcher. This being the beginning of December, it seemed the perfect time to share it! I've been reading almost since I was born, and out of the thousands of books I've read, this simple, heartfelt story has made it into my top five favorite books of all. It is a story about people. Almost strangers, really. Some related, some not, all just happening to come together in the midst of snarls and tangles in their lives that have left them all, in one way or another, feeling loss or displacement. They forge bonds of love, family, and friendship. It has heartbreaking moments, and moments of deep and shining joy. One of those moments brings literal tears to my eyes, every single time I read it. Even though I know what will happen!

It's the perfect book to snuggle up with on a rainy, snowy, misty day, with a warm drink and a yummy treat. Out of every book I will ever tell you about, this above all others, you should try. It's just... beautiful. Deeply, soul-touchingly beautiful. Ha, I got teary just flipping through looking for a quote to share!

Ahem. On to the recipe!

"Oscar liked rice pudding. Elfrida had made him one before, and it had been splendid, creamy and rich, and lightly spiced with lemon zest."

There are many mentions of yummy food throughout this book (most of which takes place in Scotland! Eeee!) but I picked this one because I love rice pudding, have never made it, haven't had one I liked since childhood, AND it was the recipe I typed into Google that led me to the blog that inspired me to start my own. *Phew! That was quite a sentence!*

The Best Rice Pudding (adapted from The English Kitchen)
Printable Recipe

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 strip of lemon peel, without pith (or a tsp of lemon zest)
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 ounces flaked almonds, toasted and crushed with your fingers

Aren't vanilla beans neat looking??

Combine the milk, cream, vanilla bean and it's seeds (or vanilla extract), cinnamon stick, nutmeg and lemon peel in a large saucepan.

Bring almost to a boil, then add the rice. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently. (If you don't, it will burn to the bottom!)

Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir in until dissolved. Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is completely softened, tender and creamy. Remove from the heat. Take out the cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and the lemon peel. Stir in the almonds. (or sprinkle them on top!) Marie serves this with a gorgeous looking cherry sauce spooned on top! I sprinkled mine with lemon zest, almonds, and extra nutmeg. Serve immediately!

She's right, this IS the best rice pudding!! Best I've had, at least! It's rich and creamy, the rice is tender, NOT mushy. Very important! 

Full of delicious spices and hints of lemon... and the vanilla bean! This is my first time cooking with it, and it is delicious! Not as strong as I thought it would be, I might add a little extract to back it up next time... But still so smooth and delicious! 

I never would have thought of adding lemon, but I love it! Of course :) You can always skip it if you aren't a lemon-lover like me, and add raisins like the classics, or berries, or maybe chocolate chips! Who knows! 

Either way, if you love rice pudding, this is the one to try!! Homey, decadent, comfort food at it's best. Mind you, I only ate a tiny bit, but it was worth it. :)

Now it's time to link up your own book-inspired posts! Your subject matter can be anything, from book reviews to crafts, projects, fashion, food, etc! Just link back to this little party, please, and I'd love it if you followed me! There's also a button, if you'd like one. Thanks for stopping by!

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Blackberry Raspberry Cobbler

I love being a Mom. It's the only career I've ever wanted since I was ten years old and my little sister was born. I was just about the best babysitter in the world for the next ten years. (not to brag, or anything... :) I was even a nanny for a whole summer at a guest ranch! I love my boys with all my heart. The funny thing is, I didn't want boys. Like, really REALLY didn't want boys! It seemed that all the boys I babysat were violent, Power Ranger watching, snotty, dirty, grimy things. I even swallowed 2 live worms just to impress one that was being a total brat. I seriously earned his respect with that one. Anyway. Not a fan of boys. I was so disappointed when I found out Stephen was going to be a boy... shame on me! Now I know better. Boys are AWESOME. I love my boys!! Sure, they have a penchant for dirt and pain that I will NEVER understand, but they are so indescribably sweet. Joe brings me flowers whenever he can find one. Stephen is never too cool for snuggles. They both forgive me in an instant when I explode at them (and apologize!).

Someday soon we hope to get our adoption process back off the ground. Moving put quite a kink in it. Someday I will have a little girl... and I wonder which I will prefer by comparison? Hopefully neither. Hopefully they will just be our kids, each as sweet as the other. I can't wait!

Don't forget, the Nibbles and Novels party goes live tonight at 10:00 (Mountain time :) PLEASE link up!! I've got one of my favorite books in the whole world to share, and can't wait to see how you've been inspired! Or just what you're reading :) Any book-related posts are welcome. See you then!!

Blackberry Raspberry Cobbler (adapted from The Best Recipe Cookbook 1999)
Printable Recipe

Topping:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tb cold butter
7 Tb milk
2 Tb sugar

Filling:
24 oz frozen blackberries and/or raspberries (or 2 pints fresh)
1 heaping Tb cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 8x8 inch baking dish, and set it aside.

Combine all fruit filling ingredients in a large bowl. Toss to coat and evenly distribute. Dump into the baking dish and smooth into an even layer. Set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together. Cut in butter, either with a food processor, 2 knives, or a pastry cutter, until your butter bits are no larger than small peas.

Add 6 Tb of milk, and mix till it comes together in a crumbly dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and knead just till all the bits come together in one lump.

Press (or roll) the dough out into an 8x8 inch square (it doesn't have to be perfect! Messy edges are fine!) Lift dough and place on top of the fruit filling. Brush with remaining Tb milk, and sprinkle with sugar. Cut a few vents in the top.

Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes, then serve! It's amazing with vanilla ice cream.

Mmmm, look at that bubbly berry glaze coating the fluffy golden topping! Scrumptious! I've tried quite a few cobbler recipes since I've been married, and this is hands-down my favorite. Look no further, this is cobbler perfection!

They call this a "shortbread" topping, and that's pretty much what it is! It's lightly sweet, buttery and fluffy and delicious. Soaks up the juices just enough, but not too much, then it would be soggy!

And those berries!!! Tart and tangy and sweet, coated in a smooth glaze... It's glorious over ice cream!

This is one of The Geologist's favorite desserts. Raspberries and blackberries are our favorite combination, but you could use any berry combo! He prefers it hot, straight out of the oven, but I love eating it cold for breakfast the next day. I might have to try drizzling it with cream next time... Yum!

Shared at Farm Girl Friday, Make the Scene Monday and On the Menu Monday