Vegan Almond Biscotti

Bixer's Note:

I loved biscotti before I became vegan, so I was thrilled when I found this version in "Nonna's Italian Kitchen", a vegan Italian cookbook.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Yield: 40 biscotti

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ cups unbleached cane sugar
• ¾ cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
• 1 -3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 ½ cups almonds , toasted and chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven the 325°F.
2. Lightly oil two cookie sheets.
3. Use double layer shiny ones, if you have them.
4. If yours are very black, line them with foil.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, and salt.
6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, oil (1 TBS for a hard biscotti, 2-3 TBS for a softer biscuit), and extracts.
7. Stir the sugar mixture into the flour mixture, add the nuts; finish mixing with your hands.
8. With floured hands, shape the dough into two 3-inch wide "logs" about 3/4 inch thick, with the ends squared off.
9. Place these on the cookie sheets.
10. Bake the logs for about 25 minutes.
11. Remove the pans and reduce the oven heat to 300°F.
12. Cool the logs on a rack for 15 minutes.
13. Cut the logs carefully with a sharp knife straight across into 1/2 inch wide slices.
14. Place the slices cut side down on the cookie sheets (you can remove the foil, if using).
15. Bake 5-10 minutes, or until golden on the bottom.
16. Turn the slices over and cook 5-10 minutes more, or until golden on bottom.
17. Cool on racks, then store airtight for up to two weeks.

Reviews

[Tim Barker]

A perfect recipe! I needed biscotti (as normal biscuits would not work) because a friend of mine had given me a bottle of Italian liqueur-wine. I made the biscuits to dip in the wine. Absolute heaven!

I followed the recipes quite closely, except I used less sugar. I didn't have any all purpose flour either, but it worked well with plain flour and baking powder.

The result was a genuine authentic Italian biscotti. To my mind, a very well developed effective recipe. Why would anyone want to add egg to it (:

[c@teberry]

Awesome recipe! This whips up a lot quicker than the tradition egg biscotti with the same flavor and texture. I used 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw, and I added 1 cup chocolate chips instead of almonds. I will definitely be making this again!

[theunintentionalvegan]

Made these last night and they were amazing! The dough was very sticky and I was somewhat skeptical, but they turned out great. I did have to put the pans in one at a time because they were baking unevenly, but other that the recipe was spot on. Also, I'm watching my calories so I cut out 1/2 of the sugar and added a bit more almond extract - still sweet and delicious!