Orange Cardamom Biscotti or “Thimblets” from Legends & Lattes
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If you are a fan of cozy fantasy, baked goods, and coffee then I have the perfect recipe for you to make right now! Have you read Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree? This novel follows Viv, an orc who wants to start fresh by opening a coffee shop.
One of the aspects of the book that I was not expecting to read about were all of the delicious baked goods! I was completely inspired. I thought it would be fun to share my take on what “Thimblets” might look like if they were real. These crispy biscotti are flavored with the bright citrus flavors of orange and spicy cardamom. Filled with dried cranberries and walnuts, they will become your new favorite morning treat to enjoy with your latte!
what are Thimblets?
Set in a high fantasy city and with similar vibes to Dungeons & Dragons, Legends & Lattes is anything but high stakes - in fact, it’s completely low stakes. As a retired retail shop owner, I found this book incredibly comforting and loved reading along with Viv’s tale about opening a store for the first time. To me, reading this book felt like a warm hug or like watching a Hallmark movie.
In the book, one of the most lovable characters (in my humble opinion) Thimble, creates a crispy twice baked loaf which they name “Thimblets.” As someone with a baking background, I immediately recognized the description of how the treat was made as biscotti. They are described as being made with the added ingredients of orange, cardamom, currants, and walnuts. While I would have loved to make these book accurate, currants are not widely available in the United States. Instead, I chose to use what I did have that could mimic the flavor - dried cranberries!
gathering ingredients to make Orange Cardamom Biscotti:
To make these Orange Cardamom Biscotti, you will need to gather a few key ingredients. While you may not have to travel all the way to a medieval high fantasy village to find your flour and sugar and trade them for bits… you can certainly pretend you are doing so as you browse the aisles of your local grocery store.
All-Purpose Flour. For this recipe, all-purpose flour works best.
Butter. I prefer to use salted butter for all of my baking. You are welcome to use unsalted butter. You will want the butter to be room temperature before mixing into the dough.
Sugar. Granulated sugar is preferred for this recipe, but other types of more natural sugar can be substituted successfully.
Eggs. This recipe uses 2 large eggs, helping the biscotti to rise and giving it a rich flavor.
Cardamom. The main flavor component of this recipe is cardamom, as stated in the book! I also used a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg to help balance out the spiciness of the cardamom.
Orange Zest. This biscotti is flavored with orange zest, which is more subtle than combining it with orange juice.
Walnuts. Walnuts add creamy texture to this recipe. This is the suggested nut ingredient in the book, but you can substitute them with other nuts like almonds or pecans, or simply omit the nuts if you do not prefer them in your biscotti.
Dried Cranberries. Because currants are not widely available in the US, I went for the next best ingredient to add a fruity flavor profile. Dried cranberries make an excellent fruit substitute. Make sure that you use dried cranberries and not fresh!
tips for making crispy biscotti:
Have you ever made biscotti and were left with cookies that were soft and doughy? Ideal biscotti is crispy and breaks apart like a hard biscuit or cracker. This is due to being baked twice. After the biscotti is initially baked, it is returned to the oven to be toasted. This makes it an ideal treat for dunking into your hot cup of coffee or tea. Here are my tips for baking delicious crispy biscotti:
Weigh Your Ingredients. This one is incredibly important. In all of my recipes, I provide the standard measurements used in the US as well as the metric baking conversions. Weighing ingredients, especially for baking, is what can determine if your recipe will succeed or fail. Everyone’s “cup” of flour is a different weight due to how much air is in your flour when it is scooped and the size of your measuring cup. I have four different sets of measuring cups, and each cup results in a different weight of flour. The standard weight for 1 cup of flour is 125 grams. I would highly suggest investing in a kitchen scale if you enjoy baking!
Sift Dry Ingredients. Sifting helps add some air into the dry ingredients, allowing a smooth and consistent texture in your biscotti. If you have made biscotti before and had a tough, doughy middle this will help remedy that.
Beat the Eggs 2 to 3 minutes. Over beating the eggs can cause your biscotti to crumble due to too many air pockets. However, you also want to add some air into the mixture so that your biscotti isn’t a flat pancake.
Don’t Overmix. As you fold in the dry ingredients, stop mixing as soon as all of the flour has been absorbed into the batter. Overmixing can result in dense biscotti.
how to shape biscotti:
Biscotti dough is a bit difficult to work with because it’s rather sticky! This dough is essentially a type of cookie dough that you are shaping into a loaf.
To help shape your biscotti dough, you will want to wet or grease your hands. This will prevent the dough from sticking all over you and remain in its desired shape.
I bake my biscotti on parchment to avoid any sticking to the baking sheet, and it also helps with shaping! One you have shaped the biscotti into a rough log, lay it on the baking sheet and press it evenly into your desired length and width.
twice baking biscotti:
After the first baking of your biscotti, which takes about 25 to 35 minutes, you will be checking to make sure that it has cooked through. The biscotti needs to rest at this point until it has fully cooled, which can take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the temperature of your room.
Once cooled, it is sliced into lengths that are about 1-inch (2.5-cm) wide. I prefer to slice mine on an angle because I get longer biscotti that way.
Then, the biscotti are laid on the baking sheets and baked for about 10 to 15 minutes, flipped, and baked for another 10 to 15 minutes. It really depends on the temperature of your oven! In my studio oven, it took me much longer to dry out the biscotti. Essentially, you are looking for it be crispy like a crouton when it has finished toasting.
final thoughts:
These delicious Orange Cardamom Biscotti are the perfect treat for dunking into your latte! This easy recipe is something that you can bake up this afternoon and enjoy all week long. They can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for about 3 to 5 days, making them a great weekend bake to make ahead and use all week long. This crisp cookie with walnuts and dried cranberries taste like it jumped right off the pages of Legends & Lattes!
xoxo Kayla
Orange Cardamom Biscotti or "Thimblets" from Legends & Lattes
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups + 2 tsp (350 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp (3 g) baking powder
- 1 tbsp (4 g) orange zest
- 4 tbsp (58 g) salted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) almond extract
- 1/2 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (56 g) walnuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (54 g) dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp (15 g) coarse sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325° F (163° C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set this aside for now.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and orange zest. Set this aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, add in the eggs, incorporating them one at a time. Beat in the almond extract and vanilla for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Gently fold in the dry ingredients mixture until just combined, about 4 to 5 minutes. The batter should be similar to a sticky cookie dough. It should be able to hold its shape on its own, but it will be sticky on your hands. Fold in the walnuts and cranberries with a spatula or on low speed with your mixer.
- Wet your hands and divide the biscotti dough into 2 equal sized portions. Shape them into logs that are about 3 x 12-inches (8 x 30-cm) in size. Place them on the prepared baking sheet at least 3-inches (8-cm) apart. Sprinkle the tops of each log with the coarse sugar.
- Bake the biscotti for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the cookie is set but is still springy when gently pressed upon. If you slice into the biscotti and it is still wet, it will need more time.
- Lower the oven temperature to 300° F (150° C). Let the biscotti rest out of the oven for about 30 minutes or until completely cooled. With a serrated knife, cut the biscotti into slices that are about 1-inch (2.5-cm) wide. If you want longer biscotti, cut them on an angle.
- Arrange the biscotti on the parchment lined baking sheet, laying with one side up. Bake the biscotti for about 7 to 10 minutes, then flip and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes. They are ready when they are fully dried out and crispy, like croutons. Your biscotti may need more or less time depending on the temperature of your oven.
- Transfer the biscotti to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. They are ready to eat when they are fully cooled! Dunk them in your coffee.
- Store the biscotti at room temperature in an airtight container for about 3 to 4 days.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
134Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
