Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Last summer, when R and I were brainstorming about the dessert course for his Mediterranean fundraising dinner, I mentioned cantucci because I knew they were something I could do ahead of time...and easily. We discussed different combinations and he remembered when I made a chocolate-olive version before. "That's unique and interesting, Mom. Can you make that again?" Sure thing!  Somehow I neglected to post a recipe. I remedy that today as the From Our Dinner Table group posts about all things chocolate. Chocolate Recipes Baked Chocolate Donuts by That Recipe Chocolate Fudge Raspberry Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm Chocolate Oreo Bars by Family Around the Table Chocolate Walnut Caramels by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Espresso Mocha Macaron with Salted Dark Chocolate Filling by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures Kalamon-Chocolate Cantucci by Culinary Adventures with Camilla Low-Sugar Double Chocolate Muffins by Blogghetti Mini Chocolate Sandw...

This weekend, R said, "Remind me why you don't call these 'biscotti', again, Mom." Well, while 'biscotti' literally means twice cooked, it just refers to any cookie or biscuit. What Americans call biscotti are actually cantucci. "So, can we make some cantucci?" he asked. I walked right into that one. So, we headed to the store. R picked up some dried figs and slivered almonds. It's funny, I mentioned cranberries and walnuts or apricots and pecans. And he walked back to the cart with dried figs and almonds. "How about this mixture, Mom?" That'll work. I actually love the way that the figs looked sliced in there. I don't know why I've never used them before. Also, since these included slivered almonds, I decided to swap out the ground almonds I usually use for some Pinole Azul , a ground hierloom blue corn from Mexico that's mixed with a little bit of piloncillo  and ground cinnamon. Ingredients 2 C...

Tara of Tara's Multicultural Table is having   had a baby! Congratulations,  Mamma  ! Both are happy and healthy though the baby did decide to come a wee bit early. In typical foodie fashion, her virtual baby shower is all about food - biscotti to be exact. Thanks for hosting, Lauren of Sew You Think You Can Cook . I've done a fair share of sweet biscotti - Spiced Chestnut Biscotti , Birthday Biscotti , Chocolate-Dipped Pumpkin Biscotti , and even a Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci . But, given my bent for experimenting and my decided lack of a sweet tooth, I opted to go savory. No real surprise there, right? Biscotti, in Italian, simply means 'twice-cooked.' The second baking gives these savory biscotti a beautiful crisp texture while the parmesan adds a richness and the peppercorns lend a piquant bite. Yum. Ingredients 1/3 C melted butter 3 eggs 1 C whole milk ricotta 3-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 2 C shredded parm...

When we started talking about what birthday treats Dylan wanted to bring to school for his class celebration, he didn't miss a beat: Crème brûlée!  No. Sorry, darling. I am not making 25 individual crème brûlée. Can you just make one big one, Mommy? Picturing 25 germ-laden spoons digging into a single pan sent shudders up my spine. No! His second choice: biscotti and hot chocolate. That I was willing to do. Here we go... Dylan's Birthday Biscotti Funny story, I had way too much going on last night while I was trying to make the biscotti. We were wrapping presents; Dylan was making cookies for his Secret Santa recipient . I completely missed an ingredient, or two, on the original batch of biscotti I tried to make. Kitchen fail. You can salvage savory flops...usually. Sweet flops just need to go in the trash! I went back to my mixing bowl, adapting a tried and true recipe. 2 C white whole wheat flour 2 T ground cashews 1 t baking powder 2/3 C ex...

It's the first Monday of the month which means one thing:  Secret Recipe Club  reveal for Group A. This month I was assigned to Claire K Creations , a blog written by, yes, Claire, who is a Brisbane-based blogger. She was a self-admitted picky eater until 2010 when she took a trip to Europe when she "discovered the world of food." Now she grows it, cooks it, serves it, eats it, and photographs it. I perused her blog for hours. What a tough choice to pick a single recipe! Which one of these would you have picked? She has a recipe for Hummingbird Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing , Avocado Loaf Cakes , Citrus Salt , Thai Larb Moo , and Beetroot Hummus . Okay...here's what I made... Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci adapted from Claire K Creations / Chocolate Olive Biscotti I started with her recipe and made some adaptations: I added ground almonds, skipped the pinenuts, and added dried cranberries and espresso powder. Thanks, Claire, for the impetus to add ...

Remember... it's persimmon season ! A couple of weeks ago, a friend gave me a bag of Hachiya persimmons and I have been waiting (impatiently) for them to ripen. Finally, two of them were soft. Mushy, smushy, orange sweetness! I decided to make some persimmon cantucci...with chocolate. 2 C white whole wheat flour 2 T ground almonds 1 t baking powder 2/3 C extra virgin olive oil 1 C coconut sugar 2 eggs 1 T all-spice liqueur dash of ground cinnamon dash of ground cardamom dash of ground nutmeg 1 C Hachiya persimmon pulp 1 C chopped dark chocolate 1/4 C dried cranberries In a large bowl, mix together persimmons pulp, olive oil, coconut sugar, liqueur (use pure vanilla extract if you don't have any all-spice liqueur) and eggs. In another bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces and dried cranberries. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a ro...

Bacon S'mores  is still posting lots of pumpkin-inspired creations in preparation for Halloween. Fitting. I shared a recipe for one of my favorite pumpkin treats...to dip into coffee. Click to see my post:   Pumpkin-Molasses Biscotti . Would love to know if you try this. I might just have to make them again this weekend. Yum. Comment below...or email me at constantmotioncamilla[at]gmail[dot]com.

1/4 C olive oil 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 2 t honey liqueur 1 T organic honey 2 eggs 1-3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1 t baking powder 1/2 C candied kumquats , chopped 2/3 C organic, raw cacao nibs 2 T bee pollen Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, and honey until well blended. Mix in the honey liqueur, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in candied kumquats, cacao nibs, and bee pollen by hand. Divide dough in half. Form two logs on a cookie sheet. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily. Bake for 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 250 degrees F. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides. Bake 15 minutes. Flip over and bake for an additional 15 minutes until dry. Cool and serve with a strong coffee.

What to do with some leftover gingersnaps from my Snappy S'mores  from last weekend?!? Pumpkin biscotti, of course! Yes, I am lengthening my pumpkin-cooking season. You've been warned. 1/3 C hazelnut oil 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C unsulphered molasses splash of ginger syrup 1 C pumpkin puree 3 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C chestnut flour 1 T baking powder 1 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg 1/4 C crumbled gingersnaps Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, molasses and ginger syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Press crumbled gingersnaps into the top of the loaves. Bake in preh...

A lone banana had eluded the Mann boys and made it to the mushy stage in the bottom of my fruit bowl. A very rare occurence indeed. Instead of relegating it to the compost pile, I decided to whip up a spiced banana biscotti. 1 3/4 C white whole wheat flour 1/2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t baking powder 1/4 t pink Himalaya salt 1 mashed banana 2 T hazelnut oil 1 T molasses 1/2 t each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger 1 large egg 1/3 C walnuts, chopped Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease your cookie sheet. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add sugar and salt and stir together. In another bowl combine all the wet ingredients: banana, oil, molasses and egg. Pour dry ingredients into wet ones along with walnuts; stir together. Form one 8-inch log. Put onto cookie sheet and pat down to 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle top with organic turbinado sugar and ground nutmeg. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F. Remove log from c...

I had some left over roasted sweet potatoes from dinner last night. I decided to make a sweet treat with them. 1/3 C melted butter 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C agave syrup 1 C sweet potato puree 3-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, sugar, eggs, sweet potato puree, and agave syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Sprinkle the top with a sugar-cinnamon mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325. When cool enough to touch, cut into 1/2 inch t...

2/3 cup chestnut flour 1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground allspice 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 cup butter 1 cup packed organic brown sugar 6 tablespoons organic granulated sugar 1 egg 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans 2/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces and chopped pecans. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325.When cool enough to touch, cut into thin diagonal slices. Place sliced bisco...

I figured that a rainy Halloween morning deserved some chocolate-dipped pumpkin biscotti. 1/3 C melted butter 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C maple-agave syrup 1 C pumpkin puree 3-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg 1 T crystallized ginger, chopped 1 C dark chocolate, chips or chopped dark chocolate for melting Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and maple-agave syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces and crystallized ginger. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325.Whe...

"Again with the pumpkin?!" you ask. Yes. I love anything and everything pumpkin. And that obsession becomes full-blown every October. So, the pumpkin creation of the day: pumpkin-ginger biscotti. Now I just need a cup of pumpkin coffee! 1/3 C melted butter 1 C organic granulated sugar 3 eggs 1/4 C ginger syrup 1 C pumpkin puree 3-1/2 C white whole wheat flour 1 T baking powder 1 1/2 T ground ginger 3/4 T ground cinnamon 1/2 T ground cloves 1/4 t ground nutmeg 1 C dark chocolate, chips or chopped 1/4 C sliced almonds Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and ginger syrup. In another bowl, combine flours, baking powder, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces. Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Press sliced almonds into th...