by Kulsum Jaffer
Scroll down for Sunny's signature biscotti (did you know biscotti means twice baked) recipe
Rosanne a.k.a. Sunny grew up in an Italian household. Both parents immigrated from Southern Italy when they were in their teens and brought with them lots of traditions, especially in the art of cooking & baking.
You would think that Sunny would have been immersed in this culture, learning how to cook by watching her mom & grandmother, but like many young girls interested in fresh air and running amok, she was a tomboy and would have rather played outdoors than spend time learning to cook in the kitchen!
When she moved away from the family home in Niagara Falls, she grabbed her set of Better Homes & Gardens Cookbooks and made tons of mistakes: too much salt, burned or overcooked dishes, substituting baking soda for baking powder, but it was through trial and error that she perfected her culinary skills.
Fast forward 40 years and she's still searching for that perfect pizza dough recipe and trying her hand in making homemade wontons, gnocchi, & arancini! From Italian to Greek & Asian inspired dishes, the world is her oyster!
“The last 6 years of living in the English Lanes community has been terrific” Sunny exclaims, “I’ve developed some amazing friendships, all of whom are more than willing to try out my latest fare, some even bringing their own containers!”
So, what’s next? During the pandemic, she took to making homemade pasta with her KitchenAid and now she’s toying with the idea of launching a cooking class of sorts up north, a few days a week…Sunny on the Moon…. which would feature simple, easy-to-learn dishes that anyone can master!
“Cooking for me is very therapeutic, it relaxes me and gives me great pleasure in knowing I’ve created something delicious & healthy for my family and yes, friends” - the recipe we’ll be sharing from Sunny is for her (neighbourhood famous) biscotti which is also her signature cookie! Enjoy friends & neighbours!
Cranberry, Orange & Chocolate Biscotti
3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 cup white or dark chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.
Stir together with a fork and set aside.
In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and melted butter.
Add eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest until well combined.
With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
Stir in the chocolate chips and dried cranberries with a rubber spatula.
Divide the dough in half. Working with one portion of dough, shape into a 12” x 3” log on the prepared baking sheet.
Repeat with the remaining dough so that the logs are laying parallel and space apart on the baking sheet.
Bake in the oven until the logs are golden brown, 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 minutes, maintaining the oven temperature in the meantime.
Carefully transfer the cooled logs to a work surface and remove the parchment paper from the pan.
Using a serrated knife, cut the logs into ½” slices on the diagonal.
Lie the slices on one of their cut sides back on the baking sheet.
Return to the oven and bake for another 12 minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.