Cranberry Orange Almond Biscotti

by

It’s Christmas Eve, twinkling lights burn bright on the tree, wrapped up presents await, Christmas music fills the air, and snow flurries flutter outside. Time to bake my Christmas morning breakfast of choice; cranberry orange almond flour biscotti! Cranberry and orange are not only an oh so classic combination, but also flavors that really scream Christmas. This recipe is my take on a more traditional biscotti, just without all the flour and refined sugar. I like to make them the night before so they are as convenient Christmas morning as they are tasty, and it makes a fun hands-on tradition for kids too! I don’t know about your Christmas morning, but mine tends to be busy! You will be so glad to have them already made and ready to go. They are the perfect complement to hot (watered down) coffee or tea. Start your Christmas morning (or any morning) off with bright citrus, sweet cranberries, and savory almond flour. You’ll be glad you did! 

A few notes on this recipe; be sure to use saccharin and not honey for your sugar. Using honey will make your dough too wet, and will not dry out all the way as it should. (trust me, I tried it in one of my many attempts to perfect this recipe!) When you’re shaping your rectangles for the first bake, be sure to wet your hands or else you will have a big sticky mess. (trust me in this one too). Lastly, be very gentle when cutting the biscotti to bake for the second time, and be sure to use a bread knife. Slowly saw back and forth, don’t just push down. This will squish them, and make them soft in the middle. Almond flour does tend to crumble easier so have an extra gentle touch during this process.     

Cranberry Orange Almond Biscotti 

Serves 16
Prep: 15 min
Cooking: 1 hour 
Total: 1 hour 15 min
Intermediate    

Ingredients:

½ Cup worth of saccharin

2 Eggs, room temp

2 Cups almond flour

½ Cup coconut flour 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt 

2 Oranges, zested

½ Cup coconut oil 

¼ Cup orange juice, not from concentrate (use zested orange) 

½ tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp almond extract 

½ Cup dried cranberries, check oils on label 

¾ Cup chopped almonds, unroasted

      Method Of Prep:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with silicone mat or parchment paper.
  3. In a medium bowl whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, orange zest, and salt. Set aside.
  4. Next, melt the coconut oil and set it aside to cool.
  5. In your stand mixer bowl add eggs and saccharin.
  6. Mix on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes.
  7. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add cooled coconut oil, orange juice, and extracts.
  8. Slowly add your dry mix a little at a time until combined.
  9. Once dough has come together, remove from the bowl from the stand mixer and stir in by hand the dried cranberries and almonds.
  10. Now separate the dough into two equal parts. Set one on each end of the baking sheet.
  11. Shape with your hands into a ¾ inch thick rectangle about 3 inches wide and 8 inches long. Repeat on the other half of dough.
  12. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden in color.
  13. Remove from the oven, and let cool for about 10 minutes.
  14. Lower oven temperature to 300° F.
  15. Gently take rectangles off the baking tray with a spatula.
  16. Use a bread knife to cut into 1-inch slices, short ways. You should get about 8 biscotti for each rectangle.
  17. Return all the cut biscotti to the lined sheet tray.
  18. Place back in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until firm in the center.
  19. Allow to cool completely.
  20. Keep in an airtight container for up to a week.   

                                                          

Nutrition Facts: 
Calories- 219
Carbs- 10.9 g
Protein- 5.4 g
Fat- 17.9 g