Do I dare post the generations-old recipe from my husband's Italian side - the family recipe for biscotti? Not everyone makes these cookies, even though they are Gramma A's favorite cookies of all time. But I got bored one day (this was years before I had kids) and decided to try and make them, and of course I changed a thing or two, which noone knows about - so sssshhhh!! So now I've become the official maker of what Gramma calls 'dem 'talian cookies'. One recipe yields a TON of cookies... in fact I mistakenly tried to make a double recipe once and that had me in the kitchen for 5 hours - yes, every single finger on your hand - THAT is a pretty damn long time to be baking cookies. So, a double oven would be really good to have, not to mention a Kitchenaid mixer (mine is the second-to-biggest model, and it nearly croaked on that double recipe!), but before I got any fancy gadgets, a single oven and a handmixer did just fine. Just don't make a double recipe.

But first, I need to know who likes biscotti? Not everyone does... it has that distinctive anise taste, which is just like a hint of licorice. Gramma A says that in the olden days, people used to sit around after dinner and dip these cookies in their red wine. Nowadays, of course you'd find them at every coffee shop since they're so ideal with coffee or tea.

So I'll post the secret recipe for anyone who would like to take on such an endeavor, even if I risk being excommunicated. But only if you really want it! :)