Whole Wheat Almond Biscotti

Its been whole grains on my mind of late and I seem to be actually hoarding them! Amaranth flour thanks to Deeba, then some buckwheat flour, barley flour, sprouted finger millet flour, cornmeal and of course good old wheat flour. I made a stash of ragi malt with plenty more whole grains and nuts thrown in. Sweetened with jaggery or sugar, flavored with cardamom, I love sipping on some any time of the day! It goes to hubby's office in a flask for the late evening hunger pangs, the ever hungry pre-teen son manages to gulp down a glass now and then. The fussy daughter however still wrinkles her little nose, sigh! 

Whole wheat crepes, granola, granola bars, whole wheat almond biscotti and more have been appearing more often! I hope this isn't a passing phase and I stay inspired to include more of these grains in our meals. Its an acquired taste alright, but we should get there. Lots to experiment with, you will hopefully see more healthier baking here. Oh no, I never said I will forget all the sinful desserts and bakes, did I? 

Stumbled upon this recipe for biscotti made with whole wheat, almond meal and less sugar than usual. Without added fat, these are crunchy but not very hard. The log slices really well, making for thin biscotti. Slightly coarse textured, just about sweet (think Marie biscuits), these will be good cookies for the health conscious. If making these for kids, you may need to step up on the sugar by a tablespoon or more, add the mandatory chocolate chips or whatever catches their fancy. I have flavored the biscotti with Chai masala and orange zest, which is just a suggestion, cinnamon, cardamom or plain vanilla will be great too! 

Whole Wheat Almond Biscotti - Recipe from New York Times

Ingredients: To make about 15-18 thin biscotti .

Whole wheat flour - 125 grams

Almond meal - 30 grams

Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Chai masala - 1 1/4 teaspoon

Brown sugar - 62 grams / 1/3 cup packed

Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon

Eggs - 72 grams / 1 1/2 eggs

Orange zest, fresh from one orange. 

Almonds - 50 grams toasted and chopped ( I have used almond flakes)

• Method : Pre-heat oven to 150 degrees C / 300 F. Line a baking tray ( I used a 10x12) with parchment. 

• Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt and chai masala. Zest the orange. I love my Microplane Zester* for this!Take the eggs, sugar, orange zest and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. Using a hand mixer, beat for the mixture for about 2 minutes on speed 3. The mixture will be thick. 

• Fold in the flour mixture, stir in the almonds. The dough will be sticky, may be a little less sticky and a little more firmer than the normal biscotti dough. 

• Scrape the mixture in the middle of the lined pan. With wet hands shape the dough into a log. I made mine about 9'' x 2'', about an inch high. If doubling the recipe, make two logs side by side, with at least 2 inches space between them and two inches around the logs. 

• Bake for about 35-40 minutes or till firm to the touch. The logs will spread but not a lot. Cool for 20 minutes or more if it suits your convenience.

• Place the log on the kitchen counter or dry cutting board. Slice on the diagonal into thin slices. 

• Arrange them on the baking sheet cut side down. (These are too thin to stand them up). Bake 10-12 minutes on each side. Bake longer for extra crunchy biscotti.

• Cool and store in an airtight container. 
• Please note : Use unrefined sugar or organic brown sugar in you wish, I have not tried these yet. Omit the chopped almonds in the dough if you want to cut down the calories further. 

If you like having these twice baked cookies around, you may want to play around with this recipe! 

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