Biscotti is the perfect snack paired with a delicious afternoon cup of coffee or tea! It’s not a cookie, a biscuit or a scone, so what exactly is a biscotti? A slightly sweet, crunchy slice of goodness! And who knew they are soooo easy to make at home? I first made these almost twenty years ago. Since then, I have tried creating several different variations. I hope you enjoy making these at home! Without further ado, here is the recipe:
Biscotti
Monica Scott
Biscotti that you can make your own way with cranberries, almonds, pecans, chocolate chips, or anything your heart desires!
Combine oil, sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat until combined. Slowly add four 1/2 cup at a time, adding 1 TBSP Baking Powder with the last 1/4 cup of flour. Mix until dough is formed. *You can add cranberries, orange zest, chocolate chips, almond slivers, pecans, ect. to add your favorite flavors to the biscotti!
Shape dough into 2 equal sized loaves on a baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Slice loaves into 1 inch slices. Turn the slices onto their sides and bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool completely. Enjoy!
I usually make breakfast for dinner once a week. I rarely make a big breakfast FOR breakfast, but I love to host a big Brunch a couple of times a year. Many years ago, I saved a recipe from a coupon magazine for this delicious Banana Bread French Toast. The first time I made it I knew it would be a staple in my recipe collection. With layers of delicious flavor, this one is a winner in my book!
Back in November, I hosted the first Brunch in almost two years and decided this would be the centerpiece of the menu. One really great thing about this recipe is that you SHOULD make the bread a couple of days ahead of time. This actually makes it taste better. The Banana Bread recipe is not one that is good by itself. It is perfect for the right texture and flavors for the French toast though!
The Caramel Rum Sauce and candied pecans can also be prepared days in advance.
I find myself using these all the time now for side salads, soups and other side dishes. They are the perfect size!
I buttered these little baking dishes and then layered the custard dipped slices of Banana Bread in the Ramekin until they were almost full, leaving enough room for some sliced bananas and candied pecans to garnish each dish. I filled a baking sheet with the prepared ramekins and baked just before my guests were to arrive.
Preheat Oven To 350 Degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream, sugar, vegetable oil and mashed bananas until smooth and creamy. Slowly add 1 Cup Plain Flour and mix well. Finish mixing in 1 Cup Self Rising Flour and 3/4 tsp Baking Powder.
Pour mixture into lightly greased loaf pans and bake for approximately 1 hour. Allow to completely cool before removing from pan.
Refrigerate for 2 hours minimum before slicing for French Toast.
Custard
Combine all ingredients until mixed well. Refrigerate until ready to make French Toast.
Caramel Rum Sauce
In a heavy bottom sauce pan, heat sugar on medium high heat until sugar begins to melt. Continuously stir the sugar until it is melted and turns to a dark amber color. Slowly add the slices of butter, whisking until butter is melted. Very Slowly pour in the heavy cream, whisking until smooth. Be Careful to not add the cream too fast! It will steam burn your hands and cause the sugar to ball up. Whisk constantly and add the rum. Allow to cool before serving. Refrigerate to store.
Preparing French Toast
Slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices. Soak each side in the French Toast Custard. Cook each side of soaked Banana Bread on 375 degree buttered griddle until each side is browned. Top with Rum Caramel sauce, fresh sliced bananas, and chopped pecans.
*OPTIONAL BAKING METHOD: Slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices. Cut the slices in half. Dip each half slice and place in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with Rum Caramel sauce, fresh sliced bananas, and chopped pecans.
Keyword Banana Bread, Caramel Rum Sauce, French Toast, sanctuary ridge family recipe,, Toasted cinnamon Pecans
Family and Friends
I love hosting these special times with family and friends! What are some of your favorite brunch recipes? I’d love to hear from you, just leave a comment below!
Every farm needs a farm dog! I’ve researched many livestock guardian breeds from Anatolian Shepherds to Australian Shepherds and everything in between. Since we have confirmed coyotes on our property, I felt it was time to add our own farm dog. I really liked what I read about the Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd mix for several reasons.
Anatolian Shepherd Dogs
These family friendly livestock guardians will protect everything on the farm with proper training! Even the family cat will find a friend in this fierce protector. This breed can reach 29” tall and weigh up to 150 pounds.
The Great Pyrenees dog is a familiar breed in our area- almost every farm around has a Great Pyrenees. One draw back to this breed is that they wander. This dog will literally learn to walk the borders of the property every morning and evening. Their “home” range can be up to 2 miles, so if your property is less than two miles, the dog is likely to roam into your neighbors property.
This breed is also a fierce protector of their livestock and farm family! One major difference between this breed and the Anatolian Shepherd is that Great Pyrenees are very affectionate dogs.
I am a fan of mixed-breed dogs. One benefit is that usually you get the best of both breeds. When researching these two dog breeds, I found multiple farmers commenting that when these two particular livestock guardian dogs are bred, the result is less roaming and a friendlier pup.
For this reason, I decided to add a Great Pyrenees/ Anatolian Shepherd mix dog to our farm.
Meet “Crew”
We picked Crew up about two hours from our farm. He was already living with Goats, Cows, and chickens so I’m hoping he will do really well with all of our animals. So far, he is a normal, playful pup but he also seems to understand when the chickens, cats or goats have had enough of his playing one antics.
As the main caretaker of all our animals, I have to make sure Crew is being trained by me as well. With such a large breed dog, it is vitally important that he learn commands to sit, stay, come, ect. So that if he gets out of hand I can regain control. This is a whole new learning experience for me since we have two dogs inside that I have spoiled rotten. Leaving the pup outside in the barn at night made me feel guilty at first, but it is necessary for him to bond with his herd so he is compelled to protect them.
Although these pups are irresistibly fluffy and affectionate, they absolutely NEED to be outside. They were bred for a reason, for a purpose and they need a job or they will absolutely be a menace. This is why you rarely see them as only a pet.
“Crew” has been part of our farm family for almost four weeks now and he’s already grown so much! He is going to be a BIG boy! He has bonded with all of us, including our other dogs and all the animals on the farm. Even the cats like Crew and tolerate his playful pawing at them.
Crew loves attention more than anything. He grunts happily and leans against you for extra attention. When I’m out working, he follows me everywhere and interacts with the other animals as I go about the daily chores of feeding, ect. We are excited to see how he progresses in his training since he already knows the commands for sit, stay and come.
Playtime!Sleeping on the job, sitting pretty and playtime!
A Huge Commitment
As you can see, I spent a lot of time researching and planning this new addition to our farm. I even picked the “perfect time”, when I would be home over Christmas break, so that I could devote as much time as possible to training this sweet puppy. That’s why it was so hard for me to admit that this was a Huge mistake. Ultimately, I am responsible for all of the animals here. Everyone is willing to help some when needed, but the bulk of the responsibility for these animals is on me.
The reality of how much I fell in love with this sweet puppy is not to be lost in the reality of knowing this was a mistake. Crew was so attached to me, he followed me everywhere. But he was also a puppy in all the normal puppy mischief. That’s really not something I can deal with right now. I have so many commitments, I quickly realized that there was no way I could properly train Crew. This is a two year commitment with a livestock guardian dog, and I realized that I had to do something soon. In fact, admitting it and doing something about it was a very hard thing for me to do, but it ultimately led to Crew being adopted by a family who is familiar with farm dogs and their requirements. Thankfully, I had so many people interested in adopting him that I could carefully choose a family who had a large cattle farm, chickens and even small children to keep Crew busy. I cried when he left and I still miss him when I go out to do chores and he isn’t there. Crew’s new family have been so kind, sending me updates and even some video of Crew playing with their one year old daughter.
This sweet boy will always have a place in my heart…
