I'm a big believer in cookies, albeit cookies that are not too terribly bad for you. Hence all the biscotti recipes you'll see in this blog. My latest offering to you is a cookie that's made for munching with your after-dinner fruit, coffee, or tea. Orange-Ginger Biscotti are low in fat, not terribly sweet, and redolent of juicy oranges. A bit of crystallized ginger gives the cookies some bite, but not so much as to be overwhelming. I chop the crystallized ginger with kitchen shears, but a sharp knife will do.
You can bake the biscotti to your desired level of crunch. My son prefers the biscotti somewhat softer, so I bake them for only 15 minutes during their second round in the oven. If you'd like your biscotti crunchier, just leave them in the oven a little longer. Also keep in mind that the biscotti have a tendency to absorb moisture from the air. If that happens and the biscotti become softer than you'd like, just pop a couple of biscotti in the toaster for a minute or two. You'll have nice warm, crunchy cookies.
Orange-Ginger Biscotti -- Makes about 24
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup of white whole-wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
3 eggs
1/2 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of orange juice
Zest of a small orange
1/2 cup of crystallized ginger, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup of chopped almonds (optional)
Extra cinnamon and sugar for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and coat two cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray or line them with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk the flours, baking soda, salt, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, and allspice together. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, orange juice, and orange zest well. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and mix everything together with a wooden spoon until the flour is all incorporated. Stir in the crystallized ginger and almonds, if you're using them. On one of the prepared cookie sheets, form the dough/batter into two logs, each about a foot long and a couple of inches wide. The dough/batter will be soft and spread, but don't worry. Just do the best you can and leave 2-3 inches between the logs. Sprinkle the tops of the logs with a little cinnamon and sugar if you'd like. Bake the logs for about 30 minutes or until just firm. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes then, using a sharp knife, cut each log crosswise into about 12 pieces, each about 1-inch thick. Distribute the cut cookies, cut sides down, on the two cookie sheets, return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 7-8 minutes on each side for softer biscotti or about 10 minutes on each side for crunchier cookies. Let the cookies cool for about 10 minutes before munching on them. Store the completely cooled biscotti in an airtight container or plastic bag.