Prep Time: 15 min | Bake Time: 35-40 min | Makes: 12, 6″ long biscotti| Difficulty Level: ♦ ♦ ♦ – Intermediate
the dough
- 2 cups of flour – whole wheat
- ½ cup of sugar
- ½ cup e.v.o. oil
- 1 vegan egg replacer – for example flax egg
- ½ cup carob chips
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 tsp sparkling wine natural flavor
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
On to the dough
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin seeds, carob chips, and cranberry. Stir with a wooden spoon and add the salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the flax egg (already prepared according to the instructions on the package) and oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture. Bring the dough together with your hands. If too crumbly, add one or two tbsp of cold water.
Tip bowl onto a kneading board and work for a minute or two until the dough forms a solid block. Your mixture will still be a little crumbly, but it should hold together.
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
With the dough, form a brick about 6” wide, 12” long, and 1” thick. Transfer on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes, on the medium-lower rack of your oven.
Pull the brick out of the oven and increase the temperature to 375° F. As soon as it is cool enough to handle, slice the brick into 12 pieces with a serrated knife. Place the biscotti on the cookie sheet (the biscotti should stand up perpendicularly to the sheet) and bake again for 10 minutes on the second rack from the top this time.
Do not leave the oven unattended, as biscotti have the tendency of burning quickly, especially if made with whole wheat flour.
Let cool and enjoy.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
The rack on which you bake biscotti is very important, particularly for the second bake. The first bake, on the medium-lower rack, is meant to cook the interior of the brick of dough, while the second, on the second oven rack from the top, to harden and give the biscotti their characteristic snap, color, and crumbliness.
I use my hands to shape the dough into a brick. I find that the rolling pin toughens the dough as it packs it too tightly, resulting in less air, hence crumbliness, in the finished product.
Oil makes them crispy and a crunchy, perfect for dipping in coffee, tea, or even wine.
