Soft, floral spring flavors meet in a vegan and crunchy tahini biscotti. Dip it, snap it, savor it.
The word biscotti simply means twice baked. One of my absolute favorite baked goods to whip up, biscotti can be sweet or savory, spicy or herbal, citrusy or nutty.
I deeply enjoy concocting new flavor combinations based on the seasonality of the ingredients, as well as my mood. There is no limit to how many biscotti varieties you can come up with starting from a simple recipe. Perfectly crunchy and crumbly, biscotti are ideal for a wholesome afternoon snack, or an aperitif with sparkling white wine.
I love dipping biscotti in my morning cup of joe, afternoon tea, or glass of wine later in the day. Make this recipe and find out how you enjoy them best.
Prep Time: 20 min | Bake Time: 35-40 min | Makes: 12| Difficulty Level: ♦♦♦ – Intermediate
the botanical dough
- 1 1/2 cups of flour – all-purpose
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- ½ cup of sugar – white
- ½ cup oil – olive or canola
- ⅓ cup sesame seeds
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 3 tbsp rose water
- 2 tbsp culinary rose petals- dried
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
the dough
In a small non-stick pan, toast the sesame seeds until slightly golden and fragrant.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, sesame seeds, and crumbled rose petals. To crumble them, you can either rub them between your fingers or use a mortar and pestle. Stir the flour with a wooden spoon and add the salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the tahini, rose water 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 comes together into a semi-solid but malleable block. Your mixture will still be a little crumbly, but it should hold together. Do not handle the dough too much, or it will loose its crumbly property once baked.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
With the dough, form a brick about 6” wide, 12” long, and 2” 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 for you to handle, gently and patiently slice the brick into 12 pieces, using a serrated knife. Place the biscotti on the cookie sheet (the biscotti should stand up, and not laying flat on their side) and bake again for 10 minutes on the second rack from the top this time.
Cool and enjoy.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
After the first bake, slice the dough into 12 equal pieces while the dough is still warm. If it cools too much, it will
For the second bake, it is important that the biscotti are placed standing up (bottom of the biscotti touching the cookie sheet) rather than laying on their side. The biscotti will try to work against you and position themselves flat against the cookie sheet, due to their shape and the fact that the dough is not fully stiff after the first bake. Be persistent and place them standing, top part facing up, as this will give you the most even and crunchy bake, otherwise the side touching the cookie sheet may come out underbaked.
Do not leave the oven unattended, as biscotti have the tendency of burning quickly, especially if made with whole wheat or alternative flours that are less glutenous.
