We returned home from a gorgeous tropical vacation to be greeted by dreary gray skies and soggy spitting rain. Just about the only way to have a good day in this weather is to start off with a steaming mug of coffee with the extra goodness of a nice crunchy biscotti for dunking. I'm definitely a dunker. I'll dunk anything from a donut to bagels to toast in my coffee, but nothing beats a nice crunchy cookie that holds up to repeated dunks.
The word biscotti comes from the Italian bis for twice, cotto for baked or cooked. The method of baking them in a log, slicing and baking them a second time allows the biscuits to dry out and have a long shelf life. Traditional recipes always have almonds, and do not contain any added butter or fat, only eggs. Although biscotti appear to have originated in Italy, there are similar forms of dry cookies or biscuits in cultures around the world.
This recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, so it's very low in fat and has the benefit of whole wheat flour and flax seed. It's practically a health food. You should absolutely eat lots of these cookies!
Well, I did alter the recipe a little bit by melting some extra chocolate chips to decorate with. I just love the slightly melted chocolate coating, so silky and rich on the crunchy cookie after a dunk in hot coffee.
Biscotti
from Cooking Light
2 cups whole wheat flour ( I used 1c whole wheat and 1c all purpose - let's not get carried away with the healthy stuff - these are cookies after all.)
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup unsalted almonds
extra chocolate chips for melting and decorating if desired
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the flour, flaxseed, soda and salt in a bowl and set aside. Beat the egg whites, egg, sugars and vanilla in a separate bowl on high speed for two minutes. Add the flour mixture to this and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and almonds.
Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and roll into logs. Pat them down on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 25 minutes. Let them cool just long enough to handle and cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices with a serrated knife.
Turn the oven down to 325. Place the sliced biscotti back on the sheet and bake for 7 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake for another 7 minutes. To add the chocolate decoration, place a few chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Melt the chocolate on high for about 5 seconds at a time, stirring and keeping an eye on it until smooth. Spread or drizzle the melted chocolate on the biscotti and allow it to harden.
The extra coating of chocolate made these biscotti a real treat. I had two with my morning coffee, one for a mid morning snack, two more for second breakfast, one after lunch, another for an afternoon snack... you get the picture: they're tasty.
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