I love Biscotti – I’ve made so many versions of biscotti that I’ve lost track (my favorite is chocolate chips and a lot of orange zest) and this looks like a fantastic savory version of it. You guys rock!
Sounds like a valuable cookbook to own, in more ways than one. This biscotti is different than any other biscotti recipe I have seen. At least I have never seen cornmeal used in biscotti. I think this one might be one to try for that reason alone.
funny you wrote that – i yesterday had a coffee & on the side was a piece of biscotti that was absolutely dreadful. stale…massively eggy tasting & blurrr. Love your version…think it might restore to me what biscotti is meant to be! dayle
I totally agree, your category is loaded with talent and you deserve the spot you received! Cheers! I love the idea of savory biscotti and am going to whip up a batch!
I made a cornmeal biscotti with candied citrus peel last month that was out of this world! I love the crunch it gives the cookie. I definitely will try this version too.
When I inherited my grandma’s copy of Lou Seibert Pappas’ Biscotti book many years ago, I went on a mad biscotti baking spree. They were the first thing I learned how to bake that made me feel like a pro, and I loved that these were buttery and rich rather than dry – something you COULD dip in your coffee but didn’t HAVE to. I even brought freshly baked biscotti to a job interview for a serving position at an Italian resto in Santa Cruz my freshman year.
I am with you about Claudia’s book – I tried to purchase a copy a while back and was confounded as to how a book that all the bloggers talk about could be out of print. Um, hello?
These biscotti look and sound heavenly- I’ve never seen that mixing technique before. I posted a recipe for rosemary pine nut biscotti a while ago, before ever seeing Claudia’s (as I couldn’t afford her book) and thought I was being so original. : ) Since you’re an Alice M fan, have you tried her olive oil biscotti yet?
your writings & photography are always so wonderful & i love re-creating your recipes …you inspire.
the decision on who to vote for was quite easy for me, tim…yes, you are in awesome company & get your chef’s apron ready for all the cooking you will be doing!
i, too had a hard time tracking down “the last course” but, found chef claudia @ the north fork table & inn (new york) & was able to purchase the book!
Alanna- I haven’t tried those olive oil biscotti yet- should I? They sound great.
Linda- Thanks for always being so supportive! And yes, the books had been available through North Fork Inn up until last year. I guess they sold out of the copies they had.
I had no idea this book was out of print. I stumbled across it a few months ago in a kitchen shop and while it was expensive, it wasn’t quite $170! To be honest, I don’t use it nearly as much as I imagine some of your readers here would – I would be willing to sell it (from Canada), if anyone is interested.
Tim, I got my copy of Claudia’s book directly from her – from The North Fork, where she now works. She even signed it. Not sure if they still dot that, but it might be worth a shot. http://www.northforktableandinn.com
these biscotti have been our house biscotti for years, the thing we eat with coffee every morning. i just made my umpteenth quadruple batch last week (lovely to eat, AND they store forever).
that said, i do fiddle a bit, doubling the nuts for extra crunch. but fleming’s original, amazing anise/orange/cornmeal/nut combination is a force of nature, no?
and i totally ditto the reprint campaign. the last course is, hands-down, one of my favorite dessert cookbooks (the lemon curd, the chocolate/caramel tart, the panna cotta, and and and…) i was lucky to pick one up when it first went on sale, but surely the publisher can smell opportunity in this crazy used market?!
These were delicious! I agree with the above comment, I have had a hard time keeping the long term crunch in biscotti with butter (but honestly, who has these hanging around past an hour or so?). I just posted on a non-butter, cantucci type of biscotti that I created for my sister’s upcoming wedding.
Hi! I love your blog and the pictures! Very inspirational.
Tried these last weekend and the dough was really sticky. I formed it into loaves but it just went flat in the oven and then tasted of baking soda.. I guess less baking soda next time. But what to do about the stickiness? More cornmeal? or Flour?
Annika,
The dough should be a little sticky, and it does flatten out in the oven–but I am surprised it tasted like baking soda. I can’t imagine why, that definitely wasn’t a problem for me. If you reduce baking soda you will likely get a flatter loaf. Sorry, it sounds like a disappointing experience. If you try again, I would just be sure to measure everything carefully and then if you’d like to try adding a little extra flour, you can do that. Good luck!
hey Tim ~ PLEASE get Claudia (or the powers that be) to reprint that book!!! i have not been able to put my hands on a copy and was so disappointed to learn that the North Fork has sold out of all the remaining copies . . . i have been so tempted to lay out the $$$ to purchase a copy from those who have copies to sell . . . but just haven’t been able to bring myself to do it . . . yet . . .
Hey Tim!
Thanks for that! Willl try to be super precise next time and go easy on the baking soda! I could tell how they would be amazing once it works out!
Any recommendations on the cornmeal? There seem to be so many different varieties out there now; “coarse” particle sizes seems to vary considerably from brand to brand. Thanks!
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Kartik @ Bakeology 101 says:
May 11th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
I love Biscotti – I’ve made so many versions of biscotti that I’ve lost track (my favorite is chocolate chips and a lot of orange zest) and this looks like a fantastic savory version of it. You guys rock!
Sense of Home Kitchen says:
May 11th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Sounds like a valuable cookbook to own, in more ways than one. This biscotti is different than any other biscotti recipe I have seen. At least I have never seen cornmeal used in biscotti. I think this one might be one to try for that reason alone.
~Brenda
dayle says:
May 11th, 2011 at 9:05 pm
funny you wrote that – i yesterday had a coffee & on the side was a piece of biscotti that was absolutely dreadful. stale…massively eggy tasting & blurrr. Love your version…think it might restore to me what biscotti is meant to be! dayle
Michelle says:
May 11th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
I totally agree, your category is loaded with talent and you deserve the spot you received! Cheers! I love the idea of savory biscotti and am going to whip up a batch!
Kat says:
May 11th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
I made a cornmeal biscotti with candied citrus peel last month that was out of this world! I love the crunch it gives the cookie. I definitely will try this version too.
Alanna says:
May 12th, 2011 at 3:05 am
When I inherited my grandma’s copy of Lou Seibert Pappas’ Biscotti book many years ago, I went on a mad biscotti baking spree. They were the first thing I learned how to bake that made me feel like a pro, and I loved that these were buttery and rich rather than dry – something you COULD dip in your coffee but didn’t HAVE to. I even brought freshly baked biscotti to a job interview for a serving position at an Italian resto in Santa Cruz my freshman year.
I am with you about Claudia’s book – I tried to purchase a copy a while back and was confounded as to how a book that all the bloggers talk about could be out of print. Um, hello?
These biscotti look and sound heavenly- I’ve never seen that mixing technique before. I posted a recipe for rosemary pine nut biscotti a while ago, before ever seeing Claudia’s (as I couldn’t afford her book) and thought I was being so original. : ) Since you’re an Alice M fan, have you tried her olive oil biscotti yet?
Thanks for another gorgeous post!
linda says:
May 12th, 2011 at 5:12 am
your writings & photography are always so wonderful & i love re-creating your recipes …you inspire.
the decision on who to vote for was quite easy for me, tim…yes, you are in awesome company & get your chef’s apron ready for all the cooking you will be doing!
i, too had a hard time tracking down “the last course” but, found chef claudia @ the north fork table & inn (new york) & was able to purchase the book!
Tim says:
May 12th, 2011 at 6:26 am
Alanna- I haven’t tried those olive oil biscotti yet- should I? They sound great.
Linda- Thanks for always being so supportive! And yes, the books had been available through North Fork Inn up until last year. I guess they sold out of the copies they had.
Patricia Scarpin says:
May 12th, 2011 at 6:55 am
I have never baked biscotti myself – shame on me! These look amazing, Tim – I love their golden color! And I love baking with cornmeal, too.
Rachel says:
May 12th, 2011 at 10:58 am
I had no idea this book was out of print. I stumbled across it a few months ago in a kitchen shop and while it was expensive, it wasn’t quite $170! To be honest, I don’t use it nearly as much as I imagine some of your readers here would – I would be willing to sell it (from Canada), if anyone is interested.
Alicia says:
May 12th, 2011 at 11:18 am
My Lord the idea of hundreds for a book on Amazon is insane. Is Random House merely idiots or nuts??? Abe Books has one for $174.95 btw…http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/the-last-course-the-desserts-of-gramercy-tavern/
Noa says:
May 13th, 2011 at 1:48 pm
These look and sound terrific, but… no substitutions? That’s going to be tough. I guess I should try to just follow a recipe once in a while ;)
Kathryn says:
May 13th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
Tim, I got my copy of Claudia’s book directly from her – from The North Fork, where she now works. She even signed it. Not sure if they still dot that, but it might be worth a shot. http://www.northforktableandinn.com
Kathryn says:
May 13th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
sorry, meant *do* that, not *dot* that.
Katherine says:
May 16th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Just lovely! I’ve never made biscotti with cornmeal but this sounds great.
molly says:
May 18th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
these biscotti have been our house biscotti for years, the thing we eat with coffee every morning. i just made my umpteenth quadruple batch last week (lovely to eat, AND they store forever).
that said, i do fiddle a bit, doubling the nuts for extra crunch. but fleming’s original, amazing anise/orange/cornmeal/nut combination is a force of nature, no?
and i totally ditto the reprint campaign. the last course is, hands-down, one of my favorite dessert cookbooks (the lemon curd, the chocolate/caramel tart, the panna cotta, and and and…) i was lucky to pick one up when it first went on sale, but surely the publisher can smell opportunity in this crazy used market?!
Run Fast Travel Slow says:
May 18th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I really love biscotti, and I’m totally in agreement that they’re great to have around the house.
Interesting combo of spices in your recipe. I wouldn’t have thought to include rosemary.
I am surprised to see butter in the recipe — To get that hard, crunchy texture, I’ve had better luck using eggs in lieu of butter.
Anne Marie says:
May 19th, 2011 at 10:16 pm
These were delicious! I agree with the above comment, I have had a hard time keeping the long term crunch in biscotti with butter (but honestly, who has these hanging around past an hour or so?). I just posted on a non-butter, cantucci type of biscotti that I created for my sister’s upcoming wedding.
Joe Valley says:
May 23rd, 2011 at 6:04 pm
Wow.Preeeettty Peektures. Must. Eat. Biscotti.
Annika` says:
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:21 am
Hi! I love your blog and the pictures! Very inspirational.
Tried these last weekend and the dough was really sticky. I formed it into loaves but it just went flat in the oven and then tasted of baking soda.. I guess less baking soda next time. But what to do about the stickiness? More cornmeal? or Flour?
Annika
Tim says:
June 3rd, 2011 at 5:39 am
Annika,
The dough should be a little sticky, and it does flatten out in the oven–but I am surprised it tasted like baking soda. I can’t imagine why, that definitely wasn’t a problem for me. If you reduce baking soda you will likely get a flatter loaf. Sorry, it sounds like a disappointing experience. If you try again, I would just be sure to measure everything carefully and then if you’d like to try adding a little extra flour, you can do that. Good luck!
Jaime says:
June 3rd, 2011 at 6:29 pm
I noticed there wasn’t any salt in this – do you think it would benefit from some? Mine’s in the oven right now.
Tim says:
June 4th, 2011 at 6:47 am
Hey Jamie- I didn’t think it needed salt, although it was something I wondered about too.
SMITH BITES says:
June 4th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
hey Tim ~ PLEASE get Claudia (or the powers that be) to reprint that book!!! i have not been able to put my hands on a copy and was so disappointed to learn that the North Fork has sold out of all the remaining copies . . . i have been so tempted to lay out the $$$ to purchase a copy from those who have copies to sell . . . but just haven’t been able to bring myself to do it . . . yet . . .
Annika` says:
June 7th, 2011 at 5:50 pm
Hey Tim!
Thanks for that! Willl try to be super precise next time and go easy on the baking soda! I could tell how they would be amazing once it works out!
Thank yoU!
Annika
Sara says:
September 24th, 2015 at 4:40 pm
I just picked up The Last Course at a library sale for $3! I am beside myself with excitement!
Beth says:
November 6th, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Any recommendations on the cornmeal? There seem to be so many different varieties out there now; “coarse” particle sizes seems to vary considerably from brand to brand. Thanks!