Archive for December, 2007

December 21, 2007
Posted by admin on Cake And Cookies

Making Delicate Biscotti Cookies

Before we begin, let us discuss what we hope you will learn through this article about making the biscotti cookies. Then we can begin to piece it together for you.

Finding a delicious treat that tastes like a gourmet specialty is always welcome. Theres one that hails from Italy that is becoming a dessert staple in restaurants and homes all over North America. Biscotti cookies are perfect with a warm mug of tea, coffee or even hot chocolate. Many adults will also attest to how well they go with a glass of red wine.

Once upon a time you could only find these if you were fortunate enough to be in Italy. They are often seen in corner bakeries in Rome and once Americans would taste them, they’d be hooked. Trying to find biscotti cookies in North America wasn’t always as easy as it is today. Now you can typically walk into any bakery and even most supermarkets and pick up some of these dense cookies.

From this point forward, we will let you in on little secrets that will help you implement this subject into your life.

For the adventurous soul, they can certainly try and make some of these anytime snacks at home. If you have experience baking any type of cookies, you will probably have no trouble at all when it comes to whipping up a batch of biscotti biscuits. Its imperative that you find a good recipe that you can easily follow. Once you have the technique down pat, you can start experimenting with different flavors.

Some of the preferred flavors that appeal to most taste buds include almond and chocolate. The sky really is the limit when it comes to adding flavor to biscotti cookies. You may want to make a Christmas version with candy fruit or perhaps a raisin, cinnamon biscotti is more to your liking.

Many people have yet to discover the unique and addictive flavor of these biscuits. If you are in the gift giving mood, why not consider wrapping up a few different types of biscotti cookies in a gift basket. You can even add a nice ceramic mug along with some flavored teas or coffees. The recipient will love receiving such a decadent and personal gift.

Kids absolutely love these treats as well. Adding one to a child’s lunch box as an after lunch treat, once or twice a week is a great idea. Chances are that your son or daughter will come home asking for more for their friends. We all know how much kids love to share their lunches with one another. If one of their friends hasn’t tried these cookies yet, they are sure to love them just as much as your child does.

When you do go to the store to pick up some, make it a lot. Once your family has a taste of these tempting Italian treats, they’ll keep coming back for more and more. Biscotti cookies certainly aren’t just for Italians anymore.

As they say, knowledge equals power, so continue to read information about biscotti cookies until you feel you are adequately educated on the subject. You can find more on the topic on the internet.

Tags: biscotti cookies, coffees, snacks, wine

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December 18, 2007
Posted by admin on Food And Recipes

Who Invented The Banana Bread

As we all know, banana bread taste fantastic, but where is it from and who invented it? We could all use a little education on that no matter who we are.

It is thought that the first people to make banana bread were the ancient Greeks and Egyptians. In modern times, the cake like bread became popular in the USA in the 1930s with resurgence, thirty years later. It’s also popular in Australia, where they even eat it for breakfast and it is a traditional snack in Hawaii. This confection is easy to make and bakes quickly as the leavening agent is baking soda rather than yeast and no kneading is required.

The bread is normally shaped to fit a rectangular loaf tin and the standard recipe takes around an hour at 350 degrees. It’s not suited to storing at room temperature but it can be frozen for long periods. It can be made in a bread-maker, making it very convenient. The basic banana bread ingredients are three mashed, ripe bananas, flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, butter or shortening, yogurt or buttermilk, sugar and an egg. Vegans too can enjoy the bread as the egg can be replaced with soy yogurt or tofu.

We have just reached the tip of the iceberg, as the remainder of this article will help to further your understanding of this complex subject. The Vietnamese have their own version of banana bread, called Banh Chuoi, which means banana cake. In addition to bananas, egg and butter, the ingredients call for sugar, white bread, coconut milk, condensed milk and vanilla extract.

There are various versions of the bread, using different spices and flavorings to blend with the banana taste. The recipe for Caribbean Banana Bread adds raisins, pecan halves and grated nutmeg. Banana Nut Bread uses chopped walnuts and Moist Banana Bread contains an extra banana and melted butter or margarine. For people watching the calories, it’s possible to make a low fat version with non-fat milk.

Other variations on the basic recipe for banana bread include sour cream and vanilla, chocolate chips with maraschino cherries and nuts, peanut butter, oat bran and applesauce. Whole Wheat Banana Bread uses whole wheat flour, walnuts and slightly over ripe bananas. In addition to bread, bananas are very tasty in muffins and waffles.

Everyone has their own ideas on the perfect way to eat banana bread. Some people like to slice it and pop it in a toaster, whilst others like to cook a French Toast version with maple syrup and cinnamon. It’s al la question of personal taste, whether to butter the slices or not. Even bourbon is sometimes added to the mixture. However, it is prepared, it’s a great way of using those leftover bananas at the end of the week.

From beginning to end, this article has helped you to learn more about banana bread than you probably thought you would ever know.

Tags: banana cake, banana nut bread, moist banana bread, recipe for banana bread

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