Butter(scotch) Pecan Biscotti

Pecan Biscotti

Total time:  1 hour, plus “frosting” time

3 cups cheap all-purpose flour (or 2 1/2 cups of King Arthur flour)
1 cup sugar
1 cup raw pecans, chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 Tbsp hazelnut syrup
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt*

optional spread
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp brown sugar

* Only use 1/2 tsp salt if you’re skipping the butterscotch spread.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl, set aside.

Beat sugar and softened butter until smooth. Add eggs, syrup and vanilla, beat until smooth. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix just until just blended. Fold in pecans.

Pecan Biscotti with Butterscotch

Divide dough into two pieces. Form into long flat loaves about 1/2 inch tall and 12-15 inches long. Place the loaves 3-4 inches apart on a prepared or non-stick baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes (or until you can handle the loaves without burning yourself) on a cooling rack or cutting board.

With a serrated or extremely sharp kitchen knife, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay the slices flat on the baking sheet.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, turning over once. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Melt butterscotch chips, brown sugar and butter on low in a double boiler on the stove or on low heat in the microwave, stirring frequently.  Spread warm butterscotch mix across the side or bottom of biscotti. Transfer to wax paper to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen.

The butterscotch chips were apparently more packed with sugar than I anticipated. This makes for an incredibly sweet and somewhat “thick” spread instead of what I’m used to with chocolate. Next time, I’ll not be using any brown sugar. It still cooled and became solid, but I’d much prefer to dip or drizzle it over the top of the biscotti instead of having to spread it on like peanut butter.

The biscotti tastes pretty darn good without the butterscotch.