A weekend of baking...

It was a cold weekend.  Nothing else to do but bake.  I did plenty of it.  I actually made the biscotti last weekend.  Some friends came over for coffee and what goes better with coffee then biscotti?

 Chocolate Cranberry Biscotti
1/2 c. butter
2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. cocoa
2 t. baking powder
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1/2 cut semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. dried cranberries
Mix ingredients together, fold in chips and cranberries.  Flatten into two cakes  and bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes.  Use a pizza cutter to cut into slices and bake an additional 10 minutes.  Melt white chocolate chips and coat the bottom of the biscotti when cooled.

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti
1/2 c. pumpkin pie canned 
1 egg
4 T butter
2 c. flour
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 T. baking powder
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. ginger
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. cloves
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix ingredients together, fold in chips and flatten into two cakes.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  Use pizza cutter to cut into slices and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.  Melt semi-sweet chocolate and coat bottom of the biscotti when cooled.
https://www.justataste.com/pumpkin-pie-biscotti-recipe/

The next baking project was a variance of the skillet bread a few weeks ago.
Olive Rosemary Skillet Bread
 3 c. flour
2 t. salt
1/2 t. dry yeast
1 1/2 c. warm water 
1/2 c.  olives, chopped coarsely
1 sprig of dried rosemary 
Sea salt flakes

Mix bread and knead in olives and rosemary.   Let rise 3 hours. Grease a skillet with olive oil, top the bread with olive oil, rosemary, and sea salt.  Cut a cross in the top.  Let rise another hour.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.  My recipe deviates from the original, but I promise it rocks.  The last recipe was a tad bland, but this one is delicious.

http://www.foodonpaper.com/2012/05/olive-and-rosemary-bread.html

Last, but not least,  chocolate cherry cheesecake.  I cheated and used a pre-made chocolate crust.
Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
2 pkg. cream cheese
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. International Delight Sweet Cream Creamer
2 eggs
1 c. chopped cherries
First, beat cream cheese, then beat in rest of ingredients.  Fold in the cherries.  Pour into pre-made crust.  Put the crust into a cake pan and fill the cake pan with water.  (It is called a water bath.)  Bake at 325 degrees for 60 minutes.  Take out and cool over night.  The next morning melt 3/4 c. of chocolate chips with 1/4 c. cream.  Pour over the top of cheesecake and top with leftover cherries.  Delicious and very bad for you.  That's ok, I needed some fat to help me through this long winter:)
http://thefirstyearblog.com/chocolate-cherry-cheesecake/

That is it for my weekend adventures.  Baking and eating, eating and baking.  What is the best thing you baked this week?