Chocolate and Almond Biscotti (Vegan / Dairy-Free / Egg-Free)

It took me a while to pluck up the courage to trying baking biscotti. I always thought it would be a challenge to achieve the perfect, crunchy texture. However, as soon as I spotted the biscotti recipes in Isa and Terry’s Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, I knew it would all work out fine. This amazing little recipe book has never let me down yet.

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Baking biscotti is way easier than I ever imagined… even with the double bake aspect to it.  I love experimenting with different flavour and ingredient combinations for the biscotti.  The chocolate and almond version has especially been a hit with everyone that’s tried it 🙂

Almonds and Choc Chips

The recipe is based on Isa and Terry’s ‘Kitchen Sink Chocolate Biscotti’ recipe. The ingredient quantities are only given in cups, so I weighed them today for anyone that doesn’t use measuring cups (and that includes most of my friends and family!) Cups are readily available in the UK now so, if you do fancy trying more US/Canadian/Australian recipes, I highly recommend buying a set. You’ll find them in the larger supermarkets (like Asda-Wal-Mart and Tesco), kitchen shops, as well as Amazon.

Chocolate and Almond Biscotti (Vegan / Dairy-Free / Egg-Free) | Bit of the Good Stuff

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Makes: about 18 biscotti

Hands on time: 15 minutes    Cooking time: 1 hour    Ready in: 2¼ hours

Ingredients
60ml / ¼ cup soya milk
2 TBSP ground linseed (flaxseed)
100ml / ½ cup rapeseed (canola) oil (preferably organic)
200g / scant 1 cup unrefined caster sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
135g / 1 cup plain (all purpose) flour
70g /
½ cup fine wholemeal (wholewheat pastry) or chapatti flour
55g / ½ cup cocoa powder
1¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
75g / ½ cup whole almonds, roughly chopped
100g / ½ cup dark choc chips

Method

Get prepared:

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F.
Line a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.
Grind the linseed (if not pre-ground).
Coarsely chop the almonds.

Ready, set, go!

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and linseed with a fork. Whisk in the oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth and caramel-like.  Sift in the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Stir to form a smooth dough, then knead in the almonds and choc chips. Push any pieces that pop out back into the dough.

Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet and form a log about 25cm / 10 inches long by 10cm / 4 inches wide. Use a silicon spatula to level it out and round the edges. Bake for 30 minutes until the log is puffed and firm. Some cracking is okay. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack, turn off the oven and allow the log to cool for at least 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 160C / 325F. Very carefully slide the log off the baking sheet and onto a cutting board. With a sharp, heavy knife cut the log into ½-inch thick slices, using one quick and firm motion, pressing down into the log. Discard the end pieces if they are too browned. Very gently move the slices back onto the baking sheet, standing them on their bottom edge. Bake the slices for 26-28 minutes (they should appear dry, though the choc chips will still be wet and melted). Allow the biscotti to cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully move them to a wire rack to complete cooling (warm biscotti will be fragile).

Check each biscotti slice and gently trim off any edges that are too browned using a sharp, heavy knife. I also like to slice the biscotti pieces in half again, as this makes a good size piece to enjoy with a cuppa (plus you can always go back for ‘seconds’ 😉 )

Store the biscotti in a loosely covered container (to prevent it going rock hard), where it should last a good couple of weeks.

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Products used in this recipe
Aasani almonds, found on the world food aisle in Tesco
Tesco Chapatti Flour, found on the world food aisle
Tesco Organic Rapeseed Oil
Morrisons Dark Choc Chips

Chocolate and Almond Biscotti (Vegan / Dairy-free / Egg-free) | Bit of the Good Stuff

I’ve made lots of batches of biscotti this month. I don’t know why, but I always think of December as ‘biscotti month’!  I’ve really enjoyed sharing them with friends, family, my study group… and a homeless guy in Bath. His dog loved it too! (Don’t worry, it wasn’t the chocolate version 😉 )

I also made a batch today to give to Lil’ L’s teacher as a ‘thank you’ gift.

Chocolate and Almond Biscotti Holiday Gift | Bit of the Good Stuff

Do you like biscotti? If so, what’s your favourite flavour?

Have you ever tried making it at home? If you’ve got any great recipes, please do link up below x

 

18 thoughts on “Chocolate and Almond Biscotti (Vegan / Dairy-Free / Egg-Free)

  1. Those biscotti look thoroughly amazing! Isn’t it good to have a failsafe reference for recipes? I’m like Goldilocks, I’m super finicky and always moan when things aren’t ‘just so.’ Have to say, your blog is one of those perfect places for me – always assured of a good result from anything you post 😉 Have a great Christmas and New Year x

    1. Thank you so much for your kind comments and all the support you’ve given me this year. It’s very much appreciated it ♥ I’m so glad that we found each other in ‘blogging world’. I love your posts and look forward to sharing lots more recipes in the New Year. Here’s wishing you a very merry Christmas ♥ xx

  2. They look wonderful! I adore biscotti too and have a recipe for “Chocolate Sesame Biscotti” on my blog (using tahini). It’s also a variation on the biscotti from VCIYCJ. I’ve made a few of the biscotti recipes from the book- the white choc & cranberry, chocolate hazelnut and matcha 🙂

    1. Chocolate sesame biscotti sounds scrumptious. I love sesame!
      The biscotti recipes in VCIYCJ do sound tasty, but I never seem to have all the right ingredients. What I do always have on hand though is tahini and sesame seeds 😉

      1. I’ll just use Doves farm flour instead of the wheat flour, I might make them after Christmas for a treat – I’ve pinned the recipe under Christmas – it depends on how much time I’m going to be in the kitchen and away from my family!

        Have a lovely Christmas xo

    1. So lovely to hear from you Olivia ♥ Yes, this is a great egg-free biscotti recipe (thanks Isa & Terry!) It’s very versatile, so you an easily sub the almonds for some dried fruits/seeds, or simply omit them altogether x

    1. I’ve never had a biscotti go soft, but I sometimes have the opposite problem where it goes super hard. I’d read that this can happen if you keep biscotti in an airtight container. At least a soft biscotti isn’t going to break your teeth 😉

  3. One night, I was watching BBC news and it mentioned about Boxing Day. I was a bit confused with the term earlier, and finally realized it now! Did you find anything good on Boxing Day? I had biscotti before I became a vegan, but never had a vegan version of it nor the chocolate flavors. The recipe looks fairly easy to try! What a lovely ‘thank you’ gift idea, you’re so kind!

    Hope you had a wonderful holidays! Wishing you a Happy New Year, Sharon!

  4. I tried this recipe exactly as written and it was a tremendous hit. Three non-vegans were incredibly impressed. It is just a great recipe, period – never mind the fact that it’s vegan. Thank you so much – this will get a lot of rotation in my kitchen. It was quick – it used all pantry ingredients – and the biscotti are fabulous. What more could you possibly hope for?? Thank you very much!!

    1. Hi Babs. I am thrilled that they were such a big hit! Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know ♥
      Your feedback will also be valuable for other readers that are checking out this recipe 🙂
      Here’s wishing you a wonderful weekend xx

  5. Thanks for this great recipe – I added some orange oil because I love the choc/orange combination and I didn’t bake them a second time because I wanted soft biscotti. They were a big hit.

  6. I make these often–they are the best biscotti EVER! All my friends love them, vegan or not. Thanks, Sharon!

    1. Hi Mary. Your comment sure did make me smile a lot! 😀 I’m so happy to hear how much you and your friends are enjoying the biscotti! xx

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