This is a nice morning breakfast biscotti because it is not too sweet and goes well with a cup of coffee or tea. If you let the biscotti get hard, they are good for dunking. This recipe is so easy to make and a good choice for the holiday cookie potlucks. It can be frozen for several months and ships well as it is a sturdy cookie. You can add different flavors to enhance the biscotti/cookie. I prefer almond extract or lemon extract.

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 cups white flour
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Crisco vegetable shortening, the solid kind
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 Tablespoon almond extract
• ½ cup milk
• 4 ounces toasted or non toasted sesame seeds

Step 1.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and set aside. To measure the flour use level measuring cups.  Use a flat edge spatula or knife to level the top of the cup of flour. Let the Crisco stay at room temperature, do not melt it. Add the Crisco and slice it up with a knife into the flour mixture.  I take off my rings and use my hands to mix the Crisco into the flour bowl. That is how my mom and her mom did it. The flour and Crisco will firm into small pea size pieces.

Step 2.

Beat the 2 eggs.  No eggshells please.

Add the 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 1 Tablespoon almond extract to the eggs

Step 3.

Pour the egg mixture into the flour/Crisco mixture and stir until moistened. You will also need to slowly add the milk until you form a nice ball of dough.

Step 4.

Shape and form logs, dip in sesame seeds.

Shape dough logs that are 1 ½ to 3 inches long. Flatten slightly and gently roll them into a bowl of sesame seeds. Coat the whole biscotti/cookie.  Lay each log on a cookie sheet…no need to grease.  I use parchment paper for easy cleaning of the cookie sheet.

I purchased the bag of sesame seeds in the Asian Section of the grocery store. The bottled sesame seeds were 4 times more expensive.

Place the sesame logs ¾ inch apart on the cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees. This temperature is a bit higher that regular cookies.

When done you will see lightly browned edges of the sesame biscotti/cookie.

Buddy the Dog Likes Cookies !!

I am giving my sesame biscotti/cookies away. I will eat a few, but it is more fun to share. These are another way to spread the Aloha Spirit no matter where you live.

Thanks for reading my column. You can rate this column and add comments. Aloha and Mahalo.

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