Apricot-Almond Biscotti
Twice-baked, grain-free Italian biscotti with sweet dried apricots, toasted almonds, lemon zest, and a hint of cinnamon. Crisp, crunchy, and perfect for dunking in your morning coffee or tea.
Yield: About 12–14 biscotti · Active: 20 min · Total: 1 hr 30 min, including cooling · Year-round (and a lovely holiday gift) · Best eaten: morning or early afternoon
Ingredients
2 pasture-raised eggs
⅓ cup raw honey or maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or vanilla bean powder)
Zest of 1 lemon
1½ cups blanched almond flour
2 tbsp arrowroot or tapioca flour
1 tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
½ cup unsulfured dried apricots, chopped (or cranberries, cherries, or figs)
½ cup almonds (or pistachios), roughly chopped
Optional: 1–2 drops food-grade orange oil
Method
Prep. Heat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Whip the wet ingredients. Beat the eggs, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and orange oil (if using) with a hand mixer on high for 30 seconds, until frothy.
Make the dough. Stir in the almond flour, arrowroot, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until a dough forms, then fold in the apricots and almonds. The dough will be soft and sticky, which is normal. If it's very loose, chill it 15 minutes.
Shape. With wet hands, shape the dough on the parchment into a long, flat log, about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long.
First bake. Bake 18–20 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.
Cool. Let it cool 30 minutes to 1 hour, so it slices cleanly without crumbling.
Slice. With a sharp serrated knife, slice it on a slight diagonal into ¾-inch slices, and lay them cut-side down on the baking sheet.
Second bake. Lower the oven to 300°F, and bake 20–25 minutes, turning them once halfway, until dry and golden. They'll crisp up more as they cool.
Cool completely, then store them in an airtight tin.
Variations
Pistachio-cranberry: pistachios and dried cranberries, with orange zest in place of lemon. Red and green, and lovely at the holidays.
Dark chocolate-dipped: dip one end of each cooled biscotto in melted dark chocolate, and let it set on parchment. Lovely with almond, cherry, or orange versions.
Orange-cardamom-pistachio: pistachios, orange zest, and ½ tsp ground cardamom, in place of the cinnamon.
Cherry-almond-chocolate: dried tart cherries, almonds, ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate, and ½ tsp almond extract.
Fig-walnut-anise: chopped dried figs, walnuts, and 1 tsp crushed anise or fennel seed, in place of the cinnamon. A classic Italian combination.
Hazelnut-cacao nib: toasted hazelnuts and 2 tbsp cacao nibs, with orange zest.
Rose-pistachio: pistachios, ½ tsp rose water, and dried rose petals pressed onto the top before the first bake.
Lemon-poppy seed: extra lemon zest and 1 tbsp poppy seeds, without the dried fruit.
Gingerbread: chopped crystallized ginger (or extra dried apricots), 1 tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp cloves, and a pinch of nutmeg. Perfect for winter.
Savory Parmigiano-rosemary: leave out the honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and dried fruit. Use 1 tbsp honey, ½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, and ½ tsp black pepper. Wonderful with a cheese board or soup.
For gifting: Biscotti keep beautifully, so they make wonderful gifts. Make a double or triple batch, and pack them in jars or tins tied with ribbon.
Storage
Airtight at room temperature up to 2 weeks, or frozen up to 2 months.
A note on honey: Baked honey is no longer raw, so any good local honey works. Honey shouldn't be given to babies under 12 months.
Nourishment Notes
Biscotti means "twice-baked" in Italian, and the technique creates a crisp, dry cookie made for dunking. Biscotti have been baked across Italy for centuries as long-keeping cookies that travel well. The most famous are cantucci, the almond biscotti of Prato in Tuscany, traditionally dipped in a glass of sweet vin santo after a meal. Lemon zest, almonds, and dried fruit are a classic Italian combination.
Almond flour and almonds — vitamin E, magnesium, and monounsaturated fats.
Pasture-raised eggs — complete protein, choline, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2.
Dried apricots — beta-carotene, potassium, iron, and fiber.
Ceylon cinnamon — polyphenols that help moderate blood sugar.
Lemon zest and orange oil — d-limonene, the aromatic compound that gives citrus its bright fragrance.
Raw honey and maple syrup — unrefined sweeteners with trace minerals.
As a circadian treat, biscotti belong to the morning or early afternoon, alongside a small cup of espresso or strong tea, or as an afternoon snack with a glass of cold raw milk.
For your cycle: The almonds' magnesium and the apricots' iron make these a nourishing little treat in the luteal and menstrual phases.
Sourcing
Almond flour and almonds — organic, blanched almond flour (kept in the fridge); unpasteurized Spanish almonds, like Terrasoul's
Pistachios — organic, California or Sicilian
Arrowroot or tapioca flour — organic
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, from a local farm or Alexandre Family Farm
Dried apricots, cranberries, cherries, and figs — organic and unsulfured (unsulfured apricots are brown rather than bright orange), like Eden Foods or Made in Nature
Raw honey and maple syrup — organic, local, unfiltered raw honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup, like Coombs Family Farms
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
Ceylon cinnamon — organic and non-irradiated, from Sri Lanka
Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Orange oil (optional) — organic and food-grade
Dark chocolate (variation) — organic, 70% or darker, with no refined sugar, like Hu or Pascha
Baking soda — aluminum-free
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall