Honey Cake Biscotti

Honey Cake is traditional for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year. This year, I am expanding my baking and gifting tradition to include crunchy Honey Cake Biscotti. Sharing sweet honey cookies are a delicious way to wish friends and loved ones a sweet New Year!

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On Rosh Hashanah it’s customary to dip apples in honey. Apples are used because they are sweet and have many symbolic connections within the Bible and other Jewish texts. Honey is symbolic of our hopes for a sweet New Year.

Many foods made with either apple or honey are often prepared for Rosh Hashanah meals. For many years, I’ve baked mini loaves of Honey Applesauce Cake to share at Rosh Hashanah. When my kids were in college I started the tradition of Rosh Hashanah Care Packages filled with a variety of apple and honey goodies like Honey Lollipops, Apples and Honey Cookies, and Pomegranate Caramels. That tradition will continue when I send out a Rosh Hashanah Care Package this week to my son and his girlfriend living in Chicago.

This year’s care package and my gifts to friends will include some crunchy apples and honey in the form of these Honey Cake Biscotti and the Apple Biscotti I will be posting later this week. Honey Cake Biscotti are full of honey flavor, just like honey cake, but they are crunchy and dip-able in your beverage of choice. I think they are especially great dipped in tea.

Biscotti get their crunch from being baked twice. The long logs of biscotti dough are baked then sliced. At that point the cookies are firm but not crunchy. Honey Cake Biscotti are quite good after the first baking (a lot like honey flavored mandel bread) and you may decide to stop there. Baking the slices a second time, creates a crunchy treat that not only tastes great, but travels well in care packages and stays fresh for about 2 weeks.

Suggestions for Rosh Hashanah Care Package:

In addition to the apples and honey recipes on The Monday Box, there are lot of fun apple or honey items that could go in a New Year care package.

• • Candy ( OldTimeCandy.com has over 50 different apple or honey flavored candies. Also, if you are sending to a military APO or FPO, they will ship your order for free!)
  • Apple Chips
  • Apple tea
  • Honey Bears

• Honey straws

Any time of year, Honey Cake Biscotti will make snack time a little sweeter.

Wishing everyone a healthy, happy, and peace-filled New Year. L’Shana Tova!

Print

Honey Cake Biscotti

Makes 22 biscotti ½-3/4” wide

Author Wendy Sondov

Ingredients

• 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup dark brown sugar packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• ½ cup honey
• ¼ cup brewed coffee or espresso
• 2 large eggs

Optional:

• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the tops of the biscotti

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set it aside.
2. In a large bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer), whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the oil, honey, coffee and eggs, and mix just until combined.
4. Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a log (about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide) on the prepared baking sheet. Leave 3 inches between the logs.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until loaves are set.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes.
7. Lower the oven temperature to 325° F.
8. Slice both logs on a slight diagonal into ¾”- 1” thick biscotti.
9. Stand the biscotti slices, slightly separated, on the parchment lined baking sheet.
10. Return to the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until mostly firm. Biscotti will get crisper as they cool.
11. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
12. Optional: Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
13. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Packing Tips

For long distance care packages, be sure to bake biscotti until crisp. Crisp biscotti stay fresh longer. Wrap bundles of 3-4 biscotti in plastic wrap. Stack wrapped bundles in a freezer weight ziplock bag or plastic storage container.

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