Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti

It has been a rough week at Chez Stella (it is totally her house and we are merely pawns doing her bidding). Lots of screaming, not napping, and waking three times a night. Apologies in advance for mentioning this, but the majority of the problem seemed to be an inability to um, go. Perhaps a little teething as well. Will this kid ever get teeth? She'll be 11 months old tomorrow and is as toofless as the day she was born.

Given all that, I don't have much in the way of witticisms and pithy insights for you this week (not that my posts have ever contained much - if any - of them) but I do have a recipe for some pretty good biscotti. These beauties taste like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and like any biscotti, are fun to dip in your morning coffee. Teething babies also won't mind gnawing on them.

Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
from honey and jam

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla

For Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg (for brushing biscotti before baking)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange two baking racks in the upper portion of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Also whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer (I used a hand mixer with no problems, fyi), fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the down and beat in the egg followed by the egg yolk. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter all at once. With the mixer or just with a spatula, bring all of the ingredients together until a somewhat stiff dough is formed. Divide the dough and place on baking sheet. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch long and 1 1/2-inch wide log. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the baking sheet around for even baking and bake for 20-25 more minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

Remove from the oven but keep the oven on. Let biscotti cool until able to handle. Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch wide diagonal slices. Place biscotti cut side down on baking sheet and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Bake again until pale golden, about 10-15 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.