Chocolate Biscotti make wonderful Christmas gifts as well as additions to cookie platters. This recipe is one of my favorites, and I've posted it before. It was the result of my efforts to create biscotti that are low in fat, crunchy but not tooth shattering, include some whole-grain flour, are just a little sweet, and that, of course, deliver dark, delicious, even slightly decadent chocolate taste. In this version, I've included pecans--chopped and toasted until they release their nutty, slightly sweet fragrance. I've also used mini chocolate chips, which make the biscotti easier to slice for the second baking and, just as important, deliver intense chocolate taste in each bite of cookie. I think these little cookies may perfect gifts for readers on you list; the biscotti are perfect with a cup of tea and a good book!
Chocolate-Pecan Biscotti -- Makes about 12
1/3 cup of sugar
2 T of brown sugar
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of butter flavoring
1/2 cup of flour
3/4 cup of white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 cup of chopped, toasted pecans
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips
About a teaspoon of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, mixed together
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or coat it with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, canola oil, eggs, vanilla, and butter flavoring until thick and well combined. In another bowl, whisk the flours, cocoa powder, salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon together. Add the flour mixture, toasted pecans, and mini chips to the sugar mixture and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until everything comes together and is just mixed. Spread the dough/batter out onto the prepared cookie sheet and, after wetting your hands with water, form the sticky dough/batter into a log roughly 10-12 inches long and 2-3 inches wide. Re-wet your hands, if necessary. Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the wet log. Bake the log for 25-30 minutes until firm, but not hard, on top. Let the log cool for 5-10 minutes and then cut it, crosswise, into 12-14 slices. Turn the slices cut sides down (flat) on the baking sheet and return them to the oven for about seven minutes. Remove the pieces from the oven and flip them over. Then return the cookies to the oven and bake them for another 7-8 minutes. As the biscotti cool, they'll harden up and become crunchier, so don't over-bake them unless you want really hard cookies. You can, of course, test the cookies before serving them by eating the small end pieces (besides, then you'll have an even dozen biscotti).
