Never mind the pumpkin cookies. For fall flavor go for maple. In this case, try maple-nut biscotti, which are quick to mix up and bake in your air fryer. The recipe I'm posting provides only a small batch of cookies, which means you won't have them around long. The cookies are great. They are full of sweet maple flavor and studded with crunchy, slightly bitter walnuts. When you pull them from the air fryer after the first baking, it will be tempting to eat them "as is," and you can. The cookies will be in a soft, slightly squishy stage, which isn't a bad thing at all, particularly if you're a cookie addict. Nonetheless, try to resist temptation and give the biscotti their second baking. It will take only four or five minutes. The biscotti will then be nice and crunchy. They'll be perfect alongside a bowl of ice cream, or try the biscotti with baked apples. The maple crunch of the biscotti is incredible with the tart, sweet softness of the apples. Of course, the biscotti also are perfect in a more traditional fashion, served alongside a cup of hot coffee or tea.
Air Fryer Maple-Nut Biscotti -- Makes 12-18 pieces
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of maple extract
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
Cinnamon sugar (1 tablespoon of sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon)
In a medium bowl or measure (I use a Pyrex quart measure), whisk together the oil, egg, brown sugar, maple extract, and salt. Stir in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and walnuts until thoroughly mixed. Cut several pieces of parchment paper large enough to fit in your air fryer basket. Divide the dough into thirds, placing a third on each of the sheets of parchment. With damp hands, form each of the dough mounds into a small log about two inches wide and three or four inches long. Sprinkle the tops of each log with some of the cinnamon sugar (you may have extra cinnamon sugar, which you can add to your tea, coffee, etc.) Put one dough log covered piece of parchment into the air fryer. Set the temperature at 320 degrees and cook the dough log for 18-22 minutes or until it has puffed, expanded, and is slightly firm to the touch. Remove the dough log and place another log in the air fryer, repeating the process. After the first dough log has cooled slightly, with a very sharp knife, cut it crosswise into slices about an inch thick. Set the slices on their sides on the parchment. When the second dough log has finished cooking, remove it, and place the slices into the air fryer. Cook them for 4-5 minutes until just a bit hard. Remove them to cool completely. The slices will firm up and crunch up on standing, so don't give them more time or you'll have teeth breakers. Slice the second dough log, turn the slices on their sides, and repeat the second-bake process. You can repeat the cooking process with the final dough log (two bakes) or wrap the dough log well and refrigerate it to bake later.
