Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

September moving forward now, the way it does after the 14th. The weight lifts incrementally. I am teaching again with full attention, cooking with something closer to joy than function, making plans for October in the way that means I believe October is coming. It is. It always does.

I made a big batch of apple butter this week with the Honeycrisp apples from Costco that are only good for about two weeks in September and October. Cooked them down with cider and cinnamon and cloves and a little brown sugar, slow and low until they were the color of caramel and the apartment smelled like every good thing about fall. Ladled them into jars — I do not officially can but I put them in clean jars in the fridge and they will last four months, which is more than enough. Ryan spread it on his toast every morning this week and said it was the best breakfast he had had in months. That is the whole point of apple butter. It makes ordinary breakfast a thing worth looking forward to.

I had a wedding dress appointment this week — masked, limited guests, strange new version of a normal wedding tradition. Patty came, Kristin drove from Chicago where she is now officially living again (she moved back in August, subletting in Wicker Park, doing remote work for her New York firm). We went to a bridal shop in Oak Lawn. I tried on six dresses. The one I said yes to is simple — an A-line, off-shoulder, no beading — and Patty cried and Kristin said it was exactly right and I stood in the mirror in a bridal shop in my hometown wearing a dress I loved and thought about June and felt it coming.

Wedding dress said yes to. Apple butter simmering. School moving forward. This week felt like breathing normally for the first time in a while.

The same week I was ladling apple butter into jars and standing in a bridal shop in a dress I loved, I also made a batch of these—because that’s the kind of week it was, the kind where your hands want to stay busy in the kitchen and everything you reach for has cinnamon in it. Pumpkin pie biscotti felt exactly right alongside those jars of Honeycrisp apple butter: same warm spice family, same slow-September energy, something to dunk in your morning coffee while Ryan finishes the last of his toast. If apple butter is the reason ordinary breakfast is worth getting up for, biscotti is what makes the cup of coffee next to it feel like a small ceremony.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min | Servings: 24 biscotti

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt until evenly combined.
Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, vanilla, and melted butter until smooth and well incorporated.
Form the dough. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a firm dough forms. Fold in white chocolate chips or pecans if using. If the dough feels sticky, dust hands lightly with flour.
Shape logs. Divide dough in half and shape each portion into a log roughly 10 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between the two logs.
First bake. Bake for 25–28 minutes, until the logs are set and lightly golden on the edges. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Slice. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut each log on a slight diagonal into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange slices cut-side down on the baking sheet.
Second bake. Bake for 8–10 minutes per side, flipping once, until biscotti are dry and crisp. They will firm up further as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before storing.

Nutrition (per serving)

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti — When Fall Asks You to Slow Down and Bake Something