Christmas crunch

When the weather's chilly outside, or your energy is flagging Christmas shopping, there's something so satisfactory about dipping a crunchy biscuit into a milky (dairy free) coffee or hot

chocolate. Of course, the biscuit needs to be sturdy to avoid the flaccid flop into your drink; a biscotti does the job marvellously!

I have a friend who makes amazing biscotti. As a true Italian, she follows the traditional recipe that uses eggs and rather a lot of sugar, baking them with passion and love. She also calls them by their proper name, cantuccini, a biscotti made with almonds, really made to dip in sweet wine rather than coffee, so maybe we're missing a trick! Biscotti is a general term that means twice baked, and it's this double bake that makes these yummy treats so crunchy and dipable. Having sat in my friends kitchen watching her make her gorgeous cantuccini, I've had a cheeky masterclass in how to make them!

I've been thinking about my own version for a while, wanting to make them fully plant based and a little less refined, plus have a gluten free option; it all fell into place and I'm really pleased with the outcome. 

The key to a biscotti is the crunch; the double baking takes a little more time than your every day biscuit, but the results are worth the effort, and they keep in an air-tight tin for a while so you can make a batch at a time.

There's all sorts of flavour combinations you can use; to make these seasonal I've added some dried cranberries with the almonds as well as some all spice flavouring to bring in the Christmas taste. You could use cinnamon or cloves, or a combination - whatever you have to hand.

So why not give these a go and get ready for some seasonal dunking. You could even pop them in gift bags and give them as a lovely home made gift.

Almond, cranberry and spice biscotti

Almond, cranberry and spice biscotti

200g spelt flour/gluten free flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground all spice 

1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt

165ml dairy free milk

2 tablespoons ground flaxseed

100g coconut sugar

4 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce

4 tablespoons hempseed oil

1/2 teaspoon almond essence

85g almonds, sliced

65g dried cranberries

Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Put a silicon baking sheet onto to tray, or line with baking paper.

First pour the dairy free milk into a bowl and add the ground flaxseed, coconut sugar, apple sauce, hempseed oil, and almond essence. Whisk well to combine and then leave to thicken for a few minutes.

Place the flour, baking powder, all spice and salt into another bowl and stir to mix well. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir to combine - it's a dry mix so hands will be needed to finally pull it all together. If it's a little wet and soft, add some more flour so it doesn't stick. Add the almonds and cranberries, working them into the dough with your fingers so none stick out the sides. This takes a couple of minutes to ensure everything is spread throughout the dough. Cut your dough in half.

Place one half onto the baking sheet and press out out into an oblong shape, pushing the edges and ends straight with your hands. It should be approximately 28x8 cms in size. Repeat with the other half of dough, then place the baking sheet in the oven for 25 minutes or until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the tray for about 30 minutes.

Once cool, cut into slices approximately 2cm thick; place each slice back onto the baking tray lying on it's side. Pop back in the oven for 6 minutes, then remove, turn each slice over and pop back again for another 5 minutes. Remove one the slices are very firm to the touch and golden brown. Remove, leave to cool (they harden a bit more) and then keep in an air-tight tin if you don't eat them all at once. Enjoy!