Behold… homemade GUILT-FREE biscotti!

My neighbor K-san, introduced in an earlier post about the eye-popping discovery that applesauce can be substituted for butter in baking sweets, invited me over today to show me how to put this applesauce into action.

The challenge: homemade biscotti.

I had the pleasure of tasting these scrumptious biscotti two nights earlier when K-san and her husband invited us over for dinner, and I was blown away– so we promptly set a date for the biscotti-making lesson.

From beginning till end, these biscotti were a bunch of fun– and the best part of it all: completely guilt-free.  There is absolutely no oil/butter, and not too much sugar (biscotti aren’t cookies; no need to be sweet-tooth satisfying.)  Light, fragrant, sophisticated… perfect.

The almond flour (a.k.a. “almond meal”) adds to the texture and fragrance.

Oil/butter substituted by just a few tablespoons of applesauce.

The batter: flour, almond mill, brown sugar, applesauce, vanilla extract, almond extract, eggs, baking soda, salt.

Now, for the goodies– today we made three delectable kinds of biscotti:

1. chocolate chip

2. blueberries + pecans, and

3. cranberries + almonds.

It seems that the best combinations are of some kind of nut together with some kind of dried fruit.  That is, other than just pure heavenly chunks of chocolate :)

Now into the oven!

The first round of baking is done at 300F degrees for 40 minutes, after which the sheets of biscotti must cool before slicing.

After slicing into desired width (this is where you jump up and down clapping your hands because they look like they should be sitting in the pastry window at Starbucks) the biscotti goes back into the oven at 275F degrees for another 15 minutes for further crispy-ing.

Prepare nothing but the finest tea you have!

What could be more heavenly than the smells of almondy, fruity biscotti filling up your entire kitchen?  I mean really.

K-san’s Biscotti Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

* 1/2 cup light olive oil,
or 1/4 cup  applesauce (2 spoonful),
or 1.5 tsp applesauce 0.5 tsp oil
* 5/6 cup granulated (or brown) sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 2 eggs
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cups almond flour
* 1/2 cup dried fruit of your choice (cranberries, blueberries, raisins, etc.)
* 3/4 cups nuts of your choice (almonds, pecans, walnuts, etc.)

CALORIES:

3398 calories  Olive oil only + all ingredients
2470 calories  Applesauce only + all ingredients
2482 calories  Applesauce and olive oil + all ingredients

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in fruits and nuts by hand.
3. Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12×2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.
4. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until logs are light brown. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).
5. Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes for a soft result, turn them for additional 5 minutes for room temperature.