Baking Obsession

These are very different in taste, although they are made from the same cornmeal dough. I am cutting some corners here: Christmas is so close.

One batch yields about a dozen and a half of each kind. But since biscotti are not miniature cookies, it’s not necessary to give away a dozen of those. One biscotti per family member should be sufficient enough assuming there are other cookies in your gift box.

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ stick (4 tbsp; 2 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup fine granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the poppy seed blueberry lemon biscotti:

• ½ cup dry blueberries (tiny wild ones are very flavorful)
• ¼ cup poppy seeds
• ¼ cup finely chopped candied lemon peel (homemade preferred)

For the sesame biscotti:

• ½ cup toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

Center the oven rack. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the butter and the sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Divide the dough in half. Stir in the blueberries, poppy seeds and candied lemon rind into one portion. Mix in the sesame seeds into the second one.

Form each portion into a 10-inch long log, and place them at least 3 inches apart. Smooth and slightly flatten the logs with the dampened fingers.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the logs are golden brown and firm to the touch. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 F. Transfer the logs to a cutting board and with a sharp serrated knife, cut each log into ½-inch slices. Arrange the slices standing them on their bottoms on the same baking sheet and return to the oven for about 15 minutes to dry. Cool completely on the baking sheet on the wire rack.

Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.