Gluten Free Pumpkin Biscotti Ghosts #Recipe by @LibbyKlein #Halloween #Giveaway

Libby Klein, I have been a long-time lover of biscotti. Sweet Italian cookies that are meant to be dipped in coffee, tea, or cocoa. Or if you're an Italian purist, they're traditionally dipped in sweet wine - but that biscotti isn't covered with chocolate. I had a friend who just didn't get it. She thought I was crazy and called biscotti "Dried bread." Heathen. I forgave her. Mostly. These are pumpkin pie flavored little ghosties in time for Halloween. The white chocolate gets lovely and melty when you dip these in a hot drink. 

My Halloween book launched back in July, and it's pretty bare on Halloween-themed recipes which I admit is weird. But Poppy was busy making Italian dishes for a certain Italian Momma's restaurant, so you have some delicious recipes for Manicotti and tiramisu. Had Libby seen these biscotti ghosts while writing Mischief Nights Are Murder, you can believe Poppy would have made them in the book. Let's just call this a bonus recipe. 

Do you make any themed holiday foods? 

And since it's Halloween, I'll give away one copy of Mischief Nights Are Murder to a lucky commenter below. I have an Audiobook link if you are in Canada so just let me know in the comments. 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Biscotti Ghosts

Ingredients

4 tablespoons butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice  

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 large egg

½ cup canned pumpkin

2 cups gluten-free flour

½ cup slivered blanched almonds

 

For Decorating

12 oz bag white chocolate chips

Either mini chocolate chips or candy eyes.

 

 

Directions

  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, spices, and salt until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Beat in the egg and pumpkin. At low speed, add the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth. Add the slivered almonds and mix again.

Scoop the dough onto the prepared parchment paper. Shape it into a flat log. Pat the log into a long, flat rectangle, and smooth the tops and sides. Make sure it is not too high or the biscotti will be too fat. I like to roll the log in the parchment paper to prevent it from spreading too far.

 

Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes then remove the parchment paper, placing the cookie log on a cutting board. Replace a sheet of clean parchment for your cookie sheet.

Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Using a serrated knife, cut the log crosswise into 1/2"  slices. Try to keep them all the same thickness. Set the biscotti on the prepared baking sheet. 

Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 40 to 45 minutes, until they're starting to turn golden brown around the edges. They'll still feel a little soft in the middle. Turn off the oven, crack the door open a couple of inches, and let the biscotti cool right in the oven.

Remove the biscotti from the oven when they're completely cool. Melt the white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Dip each biscotti in melted white chocolate. Add mini chocolate chips or candy eyes and set aside on wax paper or parchment for the white chocolate to harden.

*inspiration for decorating from https://www.ifyougiveablondeakitchen.com/pumpkin-biscotti/

Poppy McAllister discovers that gluten-free Halloweens can scare up another case of murder in the latest installment of this delightful culinary B&B mystery series! - Kirkus Reviews

Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .
 
While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .
 
Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
 

Libby Klein grew up in Cape May, NJ where she attended high school in the '80s. Her

classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/