Dreamy Coconut Biscotti

***For me, there aren't many flavors more decadent and yummy than coconut.  At the same time, it can transport you to a sunny beach in the south pacific or bring back memories of your grandmother's coconut macaroons.  Wherever you are, one thing is certain - this Coconut Biscotti could be said to have magical coconutty powers.  

We celebrated my wonderful hubby's birthday just a few days ago, and he requested a Dark Chocolate-Coffee Cake for his big day.  I had just the cake in mind - There's a chocolate cake recipe that I've used countless times, making a few changes here and there until it's just right.  You can see the recipe HERE.  For Brad's cake, I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, and can I just say - WOW!  Everyone really loved this cake.  It was delish!

Earlier in the day, I surprised Brad with his own little personal heart-shaped birthday cake, which I made with the extra cake batter.

 Here's a quick pic I was able to get of the inside of the cake, before it was devoured. ;-)

Now, I wanted to think of something special to make that would go along with Brad's cake.  After some debate and brain-storming, I had a plan...Biscotti!  For one thing, biscotti and coffee go together like rock and roll, salt and pepper, shake and bake...well, you get my point.  Because the cake had coconut flavoring baked into it, I knew that Coconut Biscotti just might be the perfect thing!  In the end, it paired beautifully with the coffee and coconut flavors of the cake.  Picture this - A decadent slice of dark chocolate coconutty cake, a heaping spoon-full of creamy vanilla ice cream over the top, and a steaming cup of coffee and coconut biscotti on the side.  This folks, was the yummy dessert that we enjoyed on Brad's birthday.  Perfection!

Make this Coconut Biscotti soon...You'll be convinced of it's magical powers in no time!  Like all biscotti, it's best dipped into a hot cup of your favorite coffee, which makes it just the right consistency.  You could also dip half of each biscotti into melted chocolate.  In fact, that was my original plan, but Brad loved it just the way it was. 


Bon Appetit!!***

Coconut Biscotti

Source:  Adapted from Cooking Light magazine, April 2005

¾  teaspoon  baking powder

¼  teaspoon  salt

¼  teaspoon  baking soda

⅛  teaspoon  grated whole nutmeg

¾  cup  sugar

1  teaspoon  vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

2  large eggs

1  cup  flaked sweetened coconut

1 ½  cups  all-purpose flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through nutmeg) in a small bowl and whisk to combine.  Place sugar, vanilla, coconut extract and eggs in a large bowl;  beat with a mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until thick.  Add flour mixture and flaked coconut, stirring to combine (dough will be very sticky).   Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface and knead lightly 7 or 8 times.  Shape the dough into a 15 x 3-inch log and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone liner.  Pat the log to 1-inch thickness and bake at 300° for 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes on a wire rack.

Move roll to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 20 (1/2-inch-thick) slices.  Return the slices to the baking sheet, standing them upright (not on either side as this allows both sides to be baked at the same time and does not require turning half way through baking).  Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake 20 minutes - note that the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool.  Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and cool completely on wire rack.