For July 30

Bittersweet Brownies, from Dorie Greenspan, Baking: From My Home To Yours

Raisin, Pine Nut and Fennel Biscotti, from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion

Busy week, which means two relatively easy - but delicious - recipes. I am a big fan of Dorie Greenspan's; I don't think I have made one recipe of hers that has not turned out exceedingly well. This is a very straightforward brownie recipe. There are very few ingredients - no nuts! - so the flavor and texture are accentuated. These are made with Scharffen Berger bittersweet chocolate, with some espresso powder for an extra kick. While not cakey, they are not the ultra-dense, fudgy version of brownies that I generally prefer. But they are pretty close.

I wanted to do something different in contrast, and the biscotti fit the bill. These are chockablock with "stuff" - raisins, pine nuts and fennel seed. This flavor combination is based on an Italian sauce (except the sauce has anchovy, mercifully left out here). I am not a fan of the licorice type flavors such as fennel and anise, but I really like these biscotti. Certainly the large quantity of pine nuts helps - I was thinking last week that it has been a long time since I did a recipe with pine nuts, so I am happy to have come across this one while browsing through the King Arthur cookbook today. And unlike a number of my recent biscotti excursions, this one is not as long-baked, leaving it a more delicate set of flavors. So this week we have two good recipes that go in completely different directions.