Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Biscotti

I drove to Salina.

Left Roundup at four in the morning on Monday — dark, cold, the truck loaded with a thermos and a bag and the Purple Heart in its box on the passenger seat because I decided at the last minute that it belonged on the trip. Through Billings on the 90, south on the 25 into Wyoming, across the state on the 80, into Nebraska and then south on the 81 through the flat middle of the country, the landscape getting larger and flatter and more sky-forward as I went. Fourteen hours. Arrived in Salina at six in the evening.

The cemetery is on the north end of town. I found the grave section that the letter from the Veterans Administration had told me — I'd gotten information on where Derek was buried through the VA when I started thinking about this trip — and I parked and walked in the early evening light.

SPECIALIST DEREK ALLEN OWENS, 1995-2016, BELOVED SON AND BROTHER.

I stood there for a long time. Longer than at the cottonwood tree, longer than at the river. I said: "I'm here, brother. Three years and three hundred miles and I'm finally here. I should have come sooner. I'm going to keep coming." I said his name. I said the names of the things his life was — Kansas, the infantry, the laugh that was too loud for small spaces. I said I had been keeping his name in mine. I said the ranch was good.

I stood there until it was dark and the cemetery grounds crew asked me respectfully if I needed to leave. I said I was coming back in the morning. He said I was welcome to come back in the morning.

I’d made a batch of these the Sunday night before I left — something to fill the bag alongside the thermos, something that would hold through Wyoming and Nebraska without going soft or needing a plate. There’s a particular kind of food that belongs to a drive like that one: dense, honest, not sweet enough to feel like a treat, sturdy enough to eat one-handed in the dark at sixty-five miles an hour. The biscotti held all the way to Salina, and I ate the last one standing by the truck before I walked into the cemetery. I don’t think Derek would have had any patience for a recipe with seventeen steps, but he would have approved of something you could dunk in coffee and finish in two bites.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 50 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 24 biscotti

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the steel cut oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
Combine wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs lightly, then whisk in the melted butter, honey, and vanilla extract.
Form the dough. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until a stiff dough comes together. Fold in the dried cranberries and nuts. The dough will be dense — use your hands if needed.
Shape the logs. Divide the dough in half. On the prepared baking sheet, shape each half into a log roughly 12 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide, flattening slightly so the tops are even.
First bake. Bake for 28—30 minutes until the logs are set, lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on the pan for 15 minutes.
Slice. Using a serrated knife, cut each log on a slight diagonal into 3/4-inch slices. Lay slices cut-side down on the baking sheet.
Second bake. Return to oven and bake an additional 18—20 minutes, flipping once halfway through, until the biscotti are dry and firm to the touch. They will crisp further as they cool.
Cool completely. Transfer to a wire rack and cool fully before storing. Store in an airtight container or zip bag at room temperature for up to two weeks — or pack them in a bag for a long drive.

Nutrition (per serving)

Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Biscotti — What You Pack When the Drive Matters More Than the Destination