Gluten Free Nut and Seed Biscotti

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Something like biscotti, which does not really rise, is a perfect candidate for a Gluten-free make over. For the nut and seed mixture I used whatever I had. You can customize that mixture with any kinds of nuts and seeds but definitely include sesame and caraway seeds because they taste so damn good. Toast your nut and seed mixture for extra flavor, and you could even add some finely diced dried fruit, I'm thinking cranberries.

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour
2 cups well chopped nut and seed mixture (I used sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, pecans, walnuts, chopped mixed spiced nuts)
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 teaspoon Fleur de Sel (AKA fancy salt)
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
extra virgin olive oil for brushing

Procedure
Preheat oven to 300. Combine nut and seed mix with flours. In separate bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Mix together and pat into parchment lined loaf pan which has been oiled. Bake till firm 55 minutes. Let cool and then slice as thin as possible and cut each slice in half. Turn oven up to 425. Lay biscotti slices on a parchment-lined sheet pan and brush with olive oil. Bake 5 minutes or till brown and toasty. Turn over, brush with oil and toast the other side. Careful — it likes to bur, so watch!

German Poppyseed Cookies

The Altitude Adjustment Section
Cookies are fun and easy to bake and not all that altitude-affected. I found this recipe in an old cookbook I spotted at Goodwill. It is for a German poppyseed cookie. It has great flavors and is sure to make you the hit of the annual holiday cookie exchange. The recipe suggests you might want to dip them halfway in chocolate. Like I need them to tell me that!

Ingredients
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup poppy seeds
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2/3 cup dried currants
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Procedure
Preheat your oven to 350. In a small saucepan, heat the milk until almost boiling then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the poppyseeds and let them soak for 15 minutes. In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy then add the melted chocolate, spices, currants and poppyseed mixture. Sift the flour with the baking powder and mix it into the poppyseed mixture then knead it with your hands to form a smooth dough. Roll the dough into 24 small balls and place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Lightly press them down with a fork. Bake for 20 minutes until they brown and turn crisp. Dip them in chocolate — if you dare!