For those of us who love to cook, so many dishes come from a feeling or a memory, don’t they?
Truth be told, I’m missing my friend Danny Susi, whose first heavenly birthday was today (May 21). Danny passed away almost 6 months ago and is so missed by his family and friends. I wish we could spend his birthday with him, but since that’s not possible, I cooked to remember him.
Danny was a great cook and was famous here for a number of his specialties. But his homemade limoncello was a favorite gift of his. This is my gift back.
INGREDIENTS
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup almond flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
4 drops of almond extract
4 drops of lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup limoncello
zest of 2 lemons
Frosting
7-8 ounces of white chocolate
Zest of one lemon
METHOD
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Add flours, salt and baking powder together in a small bowl and set aside.
Mix eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add extracts, limoncello, and lemon zest, and mix well.
Add flour mixture slowly until well blended.
Divide batter in half or thirds. The batter will be wet and sticky. With either wet hands or well floured hands, shape the batter into loaves divided between the two pans. You can vary the size of the loaves you make to reflect the size of your finished biscotti.
Bake the loaves for about 25 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden and the tops might start cracking a little.
Cool for about 30 minutes. Keep the baking sheets and parchment paper out and the oven on.
Slice the loaves into about ½” slices. Place the slices onto the baking sheets and bake again for about 10 minutes. Flip the biscotti and bake 10 minutes more. Cool completely.
Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and add in the zest. Dip the bottoms of the biscotti into the chocolate and place back on the parchment to cool. If your kitchen is hot, the chocolate will take forever to harden, so find a cool place if you can. This will make about 36 biscotti, depending upon how thick you sliced the loaf.
Enjoy with a glass of limoncello or a cup of tea or coffee.
I’m taking my biscotti and coffee and heading to the garden to meditate, to wish my friend Happy Heavenly Birthday, and send love to all who love and miss him.
Here’s Danny below with his wonderful family, DJ and Christie.