Healthy Ginger Chocolate Biscotti

  • Healthy Ginger Chocolate BiscottiBiscotti is one of those strange desserts to me.  People gobble them up, and it might be because they think they’re healthy (maybe things that are crispy seem healthier, compared to their sinfully gooey cousins?).  The evil truth of it all is that biscotti is usually just as decadent as chocolate chip cookies- just disguised as a dried out stick looking for a cup of coffee to dunk itself into to come to life.

    Good news, though, sinner!  This version of a dark chocolate biscotti is one you don’t have to feel piggish about.  Eat ’em up, and know that you’ve taken in some whole wheat and flaxy goodness… not to mention an almost-absence of fatty fat fat.  The chocolate keeps the biscotti respectable in the dessert department, and the ginger, well.  The ginger takes it to a whole new level.

    2/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
    1/3 cup all-purpose flour
    1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
    1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
    1/2 cup sugar (or sucanat)
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    3 tablespoons canola oil
    1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
    1/2 cup chopped unsweetened chocolate (about 3 ounces)
    1/4 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or lightly greased tin foil with the shiny side down).
    2. In a medium bowl, whisk together both all-purpose and whole wheat flours, cocoa powder, ground flax seeds, baking powder, and salt.  In a separate large bowl, beat the egg, yolk, and sugar together for 2 minutes, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the vanilla and oil until well combined.
    3. Stir both dry and wet mixtures together until combined.  Gently stir in walnuts, chopped chocolate, and ginger.
    4. Shape the stiff dough into 2 logs (both about 7 inches long and 3 inches wide) on the parchment paper.  Bake session #1: Bake until set, about 18 – 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool for 8 – 10 minutes on baking sheet. Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees.
    5. Using a serrated knife, cut each slightly cooled cookie log into slices (on a diagonal) just less than an inch thick.  (Cut the logs on a cutting board if your baking sheet has a lip to it.)  Bake session #2:  Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the biscotti over and bake for a final 10 minutes.  Cookies should feel crispy, so keep in oven for additional few minutes if necessary.  Remove from oven and place entire sheet on a wire cooling rack to cool.  Store in an airtight container for 5 – 7 days (unlikely they will last that long), or freeze for up to a month.

    Tips:

    • Don’t have whole wheat pastry flour?  Use 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup less a tablespoon of all-purpose flour.  Or 1 cup of all-purpose on its own.  (Seriously, though- I suggest you get some whole wheat pastry flour, as you can sneak it into recipes in lieu of the regular flour and not compromise on the texture like you admittedly do with the regular whole wheat flour.)
    • Don’t have flax seeds?  That’s okay.  Just use 1/4 cup of canola oil (or any other vegetable oil) instead of the regular 3 tablespoons the recipe calls for.  (Canola oil is traditionally consider to be more heart-healthy, that’s all.  Try safflower oil for another healthy hit.)
    • Chocolate thoughts:  unsweetened chocolate isn’t sweet (not sure if you would have deduced that), so if you’d like something a bit sweeter, use bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate.  Just make sure to chop your chocolate up into smaller bits, as you’ll have a hard time cutting through the biscotti before bake session #2 if you keep larger chunks in tact.  Chopping the chocolate… might cause you to wonder.  Don’t worry about the plethora of shavings that will get into your batter along with the chip-size chinks you’re looking for… it’s all part of the fun.
    • Suca-what?  Sucanat is a type of whole can sugar that has been minimally processed, so most of the vitamins, minerals and molasses are retained in the sugar.  (It’s not for the faint of heart- it tastes stronger and definitely “healthier”, but it’s a great option if you’re looking to clean up your diet.  Who knew sugar could actually be healthy?)
    • Not a walnut fan?  Switch em or skip em.  (Pecans would work well here.)
    • The ginger can be found at most supermarkets in the baking or candy section; just make sure you don’t use fresh ginger.  Order online here if you can’t find at the store.  (If you feel like making these NOW and you don’t have crystallized ginger handy- because really, who does?- then you could compromise and replace with 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of ground dried ginger mixed into the dry ingredients.  I haven’t tried, so let me know how it turns out if you do this.)  Fair warning: chopping crystallized ginger isn’t the most fun you’ll have all week, but the texture is worth the sticky annoyance.
    • Cutting the biscotti before the second round of baking is made infinitely easier with a serrated knife.  I’d use a steak knife before using a chef’s knife, if you don’t have a long serrated one.
    • Use the convection feature in your oven for the second round of baking, if you have that feature available.  It will help dry the biscotti out faster.

    Be sure to comment below and let me know how these turn out for you… despite the double-baking effort required, it’s worth it in the end- and earns you the right to call these guys Biscottis instead of Cookies.  How fancy.

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    February 4th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: , , ,

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