Almond Biscotti with Chocolate Drizzle [Vegan]

A very sweet friend is hosting a brunch for our mom friends. I’m so excited to go. As much as possible we try to get together one morning per week for coffee. I can’t stress enough how much making time for friends, even just 1 hour per week, impacts your overall well-being and happiness. It is important for us moms to have some adult time too.O ver the past few years it’s amazing how our get-togethers have changed. It started out as a play date with lots of kids, and then moved to play dates with just the little ones while the big kids were in school. Now on select mornings all our littlest ones are in preschool and it is just the Moms. I must say it is so much quieter and a lot less cleanup without the kids. Don’t get me wrong, we all do miss them like crazy, but the peacefulness is really nice 😉

When I was thinking about what to bring to the brunch, I wanted it to be something I could make ahead of time that would hold up really well. Biscotti are the perfect morning treat because it goes beautifully with coffee or tea, and it stores amazingly well in an airtight container, up to two weeks. The firm and crunchy texture means it travels perfectly too. I’ll be taking my kids to school before heading over to the brunch, so this is something I won’t have to worry about sitting in the car.

Biscotti makes a wonderful gift because it looks stunning in a pretty tin, it’s easier to make than you’d think, and it stores and travels beautifully too! Add a lovely note and you’ll be sure to touch someone’s heart the way only handmade gifts can do.

Almond Biscotti with Chocolate Drizzle

Yields: 1.5 dozen, 18 biscotti

Ingredients

¾ cup sliced almonds
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
¾ cup almond flour
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cinnamon, ground
¼ tsp. nutmeg, ground
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup vegan butter substitute, melted (I used Earth Balance Organic Whipped Buttery Spread)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¾ cup cane sugar
Chocolate Drizzle: 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips dairy-free, melted

Directions

To toast the sliced almonds, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spread the almonds out evenly on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Keep a close eye and set the timer to make sure the almonds do not burn.

When the almonds are done toasting, set them aside and turn up the oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk together.

Stir the toasted sliced almonds into the dry ingredients.

In a medium size mixing bowl combine wet ingredients: almond milk, melted vegan butter substitute, and vanilla extract. Add the cane sugar, and stir to combine.

In the center of the dry ingredients make a well. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and gently stir to combine the wet and dry ingredients together, being careful not to over-stir.

Towards the end of the mixing use your hands to gently knead the dough together. Divide dough evenly in half.

Form two logs with the dough and place onto the lined baking sheet.

As it turns out, pumpkin beer goes really nicely with baking on fall weekend afternoons.

Using a piece of parchment paper and a rolling pin, gently roll the logs to flatten out slightly. The general size of the logs should be 9 inches x 4 inches x ¾ inch thick.

Score the logs where you will later cut into biscotti slices. Using a knife make light lines about every ¾ inch. This will really help to cut the biscotti when the logs are done baking.

Bake the logs for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Allow the logs to cool for 10 minutes before handling, and turn the oven down to 325 degrees F.

With a serrated knife, using a sawing motion cut the biscotti along the score marks.

Place biscotti cut side up back onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F.

When the biscotti are cool enough to handle move them to a cooling rack, with a tray or parchment paper underneath to catch chocolate drippings.

In a double broiler, or in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds, melt chocolate chips.

Drizzle the melted chocolate over the biscotti. You can do this one of two ways; either using a spoon, or make a paper cone with parchment paper and add melted chocolate to the cone to spread across the biscotti.