Gingerbread Biscotti

Gingerbread Biscotti

In our house, biscotti means a delicately sweet twice-baked cookie flavored with vanilla and ground fennel.  But, around the holidays, we throw out all the stops.  Hazelnuts, chocolate, chestnuts and gingerbread spice appear at random.  To me, nothing says Christmas more than a house bursting with the scent of gingerbread.  Filled with tons of butter, sugar, molasses, and honey, real gingerbread is an indulgence we save for Christmas Day (and Thanksgiving).  With only a fraction of the sugar and a minimal amount of oil gingerbread biscotti takes away most of the guilt and offers plenty of satisfaction.

Gingerbread Biscotti

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground clove

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir until well-blended.  Make a well in the center and add the remaining wet ingredients.  Stir gently with a wooden spoon until just barely combined.  The dough should come together to form a firm ball.  (If the mixture is too wet add heaping tablespoons of flour until desired consistency is achieved.)  Use your hands to shape dough into one long narrow loaf on a cookie sheet covered with parchement.  Sprinkle and press 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar into the top of the biscotti loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let it sit for a couple minutes.  While still warm, carefully cut the biscotti into 1 inch slices.  Return to oven and lower heat to 300 degrees.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from the oven and turn biscotti slices over.  Then, bake for another 10 minutes.  Remove cookie sheet from the oven and let biscotti cool completely.  Stack on a plate and allow to dry uncovered for several hours.