Giftable Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

It’s surprising that Starbucks didn’t patent/ copyright Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL). Since the chain coffee shop debuted the signature drink 10 years ago, PSL has been the “official” sign of fall’s arrival, bringing joy to the people one cup full of espresso and flavored syrup at a time. Now pumpkin spice has become an institution. According to Starbuck, there have been over 29,000 tweets that have featured the hash tag: #pumpkinspice since August of 2012. Wow, that’s a lot of tweets. Other versions at McCafe and Dunkin’ Dounuts have also joined the market spurring debates: Copycat or not? Better or not? The blogsphere has exploded with pumpkin spice everything, e.g. waffles, whoppie pies, churros—you name it, and someone’s done it. We even offer you a guide to making your own PSL at home (for under $1)..  Honestly, we can’t get enough! So when I walked down Trader Joe’s seasonal aisle earlier this fall with pumpkin fever, right near the pumpkin spice pancake mix and pumpkin spice granola, pumpkin spice mini biscotti caught my attention.. After that, I was so pleased to discover this recipe from gimme some oven. and package these homemade biscotti in a Mason jar for a cute fall DIY gift. Whether to dip in coffee, tea or (like a true devotee) PSL, here’s one more item to hash tag #everyonesfavoriteflavor.

Pumpkin Spice Biscotti

Adapted from gimme some oven.

Gift Materials 

1 16 oz Mason jar

1 14″ ribbon

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice f
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla paste (or 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract)
• 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1 1/4 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.
3. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin, eggs and vanilla.
4. Slowly add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Mixture will be very crumbly; it will gradually become moist after stirring.) May need to add a few tablespoons of water, until a dough forms.
5. Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat; add nuts. Toast stirring constantly, until nuts are brown, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside until cooled completely.
6. Gently fold cooled nuts into dough with a spoon or kneed with hands. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 portions. Lightly flour hands and shape each portion into a 2 x 10″ (and 1..5″ thick) long logs.  Place logs 3″ apart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove and cool logs 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
7. After cooled, place logs on a a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1″ thick pieces using a large serrated bread knife  The interior of each biscotto should still be just a little moist (while the exterior is hard and crunchy).
8. Place the biscotti with a cut side facing up on a half sheet pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove the pan and flip all the biscotti over so the other cut side is now facing up. Bake for another 7 minutes. Remove and let each piece cool on a wire rack. Keep separated, it the biscotti are placed too close together, they could get a little soft or soggy from the vapors of the other pieces.
9. Once the biscotti have fully cooled, they are ready to dip in your favorite cup of coffee or tea. If this is a gift. Place biscotti in Mason jars. Tie a ribbon around the rim if you wish. The biscotti tastes best during the first few days, but will keep for up to a month in a MJ.