Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Nut Biscotti
| August 21, 2019
I’m procrastinating again. I have a huge meeting tomorrow, so I’m practicing the bad habits I picked up in university and waiting until the adrenaline starts to finalize the details. I made my first biscotti with my dear friend Sharrone in Jersey years ago. Isn’t it such a treat to spend an afternoon with a friend and bake away in each other’s kitchen together? Her recipe is the first recipe I ever entered into my shiny new recipe book – which I wrote by hand on a piece of card stock and filed into a book if you can believe it. Side note * My husband recently brought me home an adorable wooden recipe box. How sweet is he? I do not think he realizes that I store most of my recipes online.
Back to biscotti. I switched Sharrone’s recipe around a bit to make it gluten free for this 30 day Gluten Free challenge that my sister Gillian somehow roped me into. I’m always getting roped into these things. I also added in some different nuts.
Here’s the new recipe. Change up the fruit and/or nuts in this recipe to make it your own!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups gluten free flour. I chose spelt flour.
- 3/4 cups organic cane sugar
- 3/4 cups hazelnuts, finely ground (in food processor)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped california maccadamia nuts (I used Russell Family Farms found at Santa Monica farmer’s market)
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup orange juice or coffee. *make a french press of coffee before you start and enjoy a cup while you’re baking*
- 2 egg whites (or flax seed mixture)
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, ground nuts, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Mix in chopped nuts, chocolate and cherries. Combine very well.
In a small bowl, combine honey, coffee and egg whites. Add liquid to flour mixture and knead until dough is formed.
Divide dough in half and roll each half into a strip about 12 inches long. Arrange strip on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and set in another baking sheet to help prevent burning.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until fully baked and puffed. Cool slightly.
Place logs on a cutting board and cut into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal. Turn cookies cut side up on a baking sheet and rebake for 15 minutes longer until cookies are slightly brown. (biscotti means twice baked)