Whole Wheat Apricot & Nut Biscotti

One of my favorite things to do when I’m back at home in Jersey is sit next to my fireplace on my cozy rug and sip hot coffee (hot chocolate at night) while reading a book or watching a film. Now that my parents have relocated to Pennsylvania, it’s just me in the house. So every morning, I’ve set a little tradition where I wake up, start the fire, make the coffee, and check the headlines. It’s so relaxing.

I hate hard cookies. I was never a fan of cookies in general until college started. The dining halls introduced my palate to those soft chewy cookies galore. It was as if the all you can eat was a way of making sure that I’d like the cookies by the end of the year. But hard cookies just aren’t the same. They’re crumbly and you have to chew… alot more. So how to make a hard cookie into soft?

The answer was obviously invented long before I was born. You dip it into something hot- duh! And I guess that’s why I love biscotti; it’s a cookie that’s meant to be dipped. The hard and dry textures turn delicately soft and chewy on contact with coffee. It just melts beautifully into the mouth.

The other great thing about biscotti is that it can easily be made without butter. “Biscotti” actually means twice baked so you bake it once, let it cool completely, and then pop it into the oven again. It’s also a great way to incorporate your dried fruits and nuts along with some whole wheat flour. The following recipe does all that. I saw it one day on Everday Food and adapted it.

I can’t wait to wake up tomorrow, make my cupa joe and dip my biscotti next to the fireplace!

Whole Wheat Fruit & Nut Biscotti

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil, for baking sheet
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup walnut halves
• 1/4 cup pecan halves
• 1/4 dried apricots, diced
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a baking sheet with oil.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Chop the nuts and fruit; mix in.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Add to flour mixture; stir just until combined.
4. On a lightly floured surface, with floured hands, pat dough into a loaf about 1 inch thick, 2 1/2 inches wide (and about 7 inches long); transfer to baking sheet. Bake until risen and firm, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely on sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
5. Place loaf on a cutting board, and using a serrated knife, cut diagonally into 1/4 -inch-thick slices; place slices in a single layer on sheet.
6. Bake, turning once, until dried and slightly golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely.
7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month

You should also check out:

• Five minute salty & nutty dark chocolate bark
• O clementine olive oil ice cream
• Chocolate coffee & pumpkin spice cupcakes
• Blueberry + strawberry muffins (with crumble topping!)
• ICE CREAM!!! (and cupcakes!)