Chocolate Anise Biscotti

    Well, I'm moving right along here in this month of chocolate desserts.  Today is Dessert #6!  One week left to indulge my chocolate cravings.........then, back to that wonderful place called balance and moderation, and I don't think it will come a moment too soon!  (Feelin' a little chubby today)

    But, for now........for one more week.......I'll do my best to bring you delicious chocolate goodies.  And these biscotti fit the bill.  They have just the right amount of crunch and I absolutely love the anise flavor in combination with the chocolate!  (Actually, I love the flavor of anise, period!)  If you're unfamiliar with anise/aniseed, it's a flowering plant that comes from the eastern Mediterranean region and also from southwest Asia.  Its flavor is similar to fennel (LOVE!!!) or liquorice.  If you've never tried it, this is the time!

White Chocolate and Cranberry Swirl Cookie Pie

    O.k.....so what's a girl to do with that last little bit of cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving??  That was my question.  Well, how about swirl it into a cookie dough, add white chocolate chips and slivered almonds, and bake it in a pie dish?  Sounded good to me.

    I had copied down a recipe that originally came from Cassie over at Bake Your Day.  It was for a cookie pie with white chocolate chips and sprinkles and it looked yummy!  I decided to use the basic recipe, but leave out the sprinkles and add cranberry sauce and almonds.  The result....DELICIOUS!!  Try it out and see what you think.  But....don't wait until next Thanksgiving.  

One Little Tree.....Two recipes

    When I was a little girl I spent a lot of time with my Italian grandparents (my dad's parents).  They had a small house but a yard and garden area that seemed to go on forever....at least that's what it seemed like at the time.  They grew all sorts of vegetables and had several fruit trees like cherry, pear, fig, and mulberry.  My grandmother would sell flowers that she had grown.  I remember sitting outside with her, waiting for people to come and buy the plants.  They had a long, narrow hallway at one side of the house that I always thought of as a sun porch because it was lined with windows and was filled with african violets and various other plants.  My grandmother had the greenest thumb I've ever seen.  She even had a miniature orange tree in the dining room!