Pumpkin Biscotti

bis·cot·ti

noun \bi-ˈskät-ō\

Italian, biscuit, cookie, from (pane) biscotto, literally, bread baked twice

I have wanted to make biscotti for literally years now but it frightened me….sort of like a furry spider…I mean it has an Italian name and it looks fancy…and it is sold at Panera’s so that means it is way out of my league…

But…..I had several cans of pumpkin puree and was baking up a pumpkin storm so I thought what the heck…why not give it a whirl and I didn’t do so bad….they tasted good and I threw in chocolate chips which I do to just about everything except meat….meat and chocolate chips just don’t mix well.

Ingredients:

3 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cups light brown sugar {packed}

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

½ cup pumpkin puree {I froze what was left from this can in a Ziploc after squeezing out the excess air}

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup of milk chocolate chips...you could also use white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift dry ingredients together. I don’t have a big sifter and my hand gets too tired using the smaller one so I just put everything in a large bowl and use a fork to thoroughly mix the dry ingredients.
In a separate, small bowl, mix the eggs, puree, vanilla and melted butter.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the dry mix and mix until a ball forms. This will be somewhat crumbly. Add the chips of your choice, or nuts, and mix until combined.
Remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead for about a minute.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a flat loaf approximately ½ to ¾ inches thick.
Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 23 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for approximately 20 minutes.
Using a serrated knife, slice each loaf diagonally into ½ inch slices. Lay the sliced biscotti on their side and bake for an additional 20 minutes until somewhat firm.
Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Drizzle or dip with the topping of your choice.