Thimblets from Legends & Lattes
Today we venture to the town of Thune, where an orc named Viv has retired from adventuring and set up a lovely little coffee shop called Legends and Lattes where we can stop in for Thimblets and coffee. Thimblets are a very special type of biscotti, named after their creator, the baker Thimble. Thimble doesn’t say much and mostly stays in the kitchen but everyone in the town loves and appreciates his work.
It is far more common in towns like this to find inns, taverns, blacksmiths, mills… but Thune is not a common town. We can smell the aroma of baking cinnamon rolls from down the cobbled street, and as we get closer this mingles with the scents of espresso and cardamom.
The line is long but moves pretty quickly. It is clear that many here are friends and regulars. We order one of everything and settle down at a wooden table to enjoy our repast and people-watch. At other tables we see dwarves, gnomes, tieflings, and humans, with everyone happily chatting over treats or steaming mugs. Alongside the heavenly giant cinnamon rolls we have a mug of hot coffee with several sweet crunchy biscotti for dunking, rich with flavors of cardamom, walnut, and orange. This treat is the perfect way to get energized for a day of adventuring, and it is easy to make at home!
NOTE: These are very crunchy and are meant to be dipped in a hot drink before eating them. Please do not break your teeth by trying to eat them without dunking them first unless you are a giant mouse-person with very strong teeth.
(Inspired by “Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree, which is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it.)
Recipe adapted from Fantasy Cookery.
Thimblets
Equipment
- Large baking sheet
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp freshly ground green cardamom seeds shelled
- Scant 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 orange zested (or 1 tsp dried orange peel)
- 2 eggs beaten
- ½ cup dried currants
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F with a rack in the center of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl add the flour, baking powder, cardamom, brown sugar, and orange zest – mix it together well, using your hands to break up any brown sugar lumps.
- Stir in the beaten eggs. Using your hands, bring the dough together until no floury bits remain. Work in the dried currants and walnuts until everything is evenly distributed.
- Divide the dough into two pieces.
- Lightly flour a clean non-stick surface for shaping. Shape each piece of dough into a 10 inch log. Carefully set the dough on the parchment lined baking sheet, spaced far apart. Bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pans from the oven and allow them to cool slightly.
- Transfer the biscotti logs to a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut them into diagonal slices about ½” thick. Lie the slices flat on the baking sheet.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 250 F and return the baking tray full of biscotti slices back to the oven.
- Bake for another 20 minutes.
- Turn them over, then bake for another 20 minutes. The thimblets should be dry and crunchy all the way through.
- Serve with hot coffee or tea.
