I tend to think of biscotti as a hall pass dessert. No butter, no oil, no calories. Right? To this day, I scoff at biscotti recipes that call for butter. It's just so not necessary for delicious whole wheat biscotti!
I've been making them ever since. They are the only large-batch recipe on this site. Wait, this coconut pumpkin pie is a full-size pie, but 2 out of 500 recipes means they're something special. They are the one dessert that I allow myself to eat with abandon. I refuse to believe they're bad for me. Yes, they have sugar, but ⅓ cup for 14 mini cookies. I can handle that. In fact, the next time I make the recipe, I'll play with it and see if I can use honey. And then I'll be eating these for breakfast, lunch and dinner because they're practically a health food at that point. They have quinoa flour, oat flour, wheat germ, cornmeal and whole wheat pastry flour. Plus lemon zest and pistachios and love. They superiorly crunchy yet light, flavorful yet perfect for dunking, healthy but sweet. Gosh, I love them so.
I love all my desserts because mini things are just dang cute, but I'm especially partial to this recipe. Maybe it's the lack of guilt associated with indulging, but maybe it's the pretty pistachios and friendly lemon. I'm positive you could make different flavor variations. I haven't tried it because I'm so in love with citrus + pistachios, but I have a feeling hazelnut + cacao nibs would be lovely. Maybe if we come up with enough flavor variations, we really can eat them for all 3 meals a day?
Another recipe that uses whole wheat flour is my healthy chocolate chip cookies recipe. If you buy a bag, you'll have plenty leftover for more desserts.
Whole Wheat Biscotti
Delicious biscotti that's perfect to serve with tea or coffee.
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons wheat germ
- 3 tablespoons oat flour*
- 2 tablespoons quinoa flour*
- 1 tablespoon fine cornmeal
- 1 large egg
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 large lemon
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350, and have ready a parchment-lined mini baking sheet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flours, wheat germ, and cornmeal.
- In a medium bowl, beat the egg, sugar, and baking powder on medium-high using a hand-held mixer for 2-3 minutes, until pale yellow and fluffy.
- Add the salt, lemon zest and vanilla and beat to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir with a spatula to combine.
- Stir in the pistachios.
- Gather the dough into a log, and press it out into a rectangle about 8 x 4" long. Do this on the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the sheet from the oven and turn the oven down to 300.
- Let the log cool for 15 minutes.
- Thinly slice the log into 14-15 slices. Place the slices back on the baking sheet.
- Bake for another 20 minutes.
- Let cool and serve.
Notes
*To make oat and quinoa flour, I grind it in the coffee grinder. It takes roughly the same amount of whole grains to make the amount of flour. So, grind 2 tablespoons of quinoa to make 2 tablespoons of quinoa flour.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
14Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 132Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 83mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 2gSugar: 6gProtein: 4g
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I totally agree with you on the NO BUTTER IN BISCOTTI shenanigans. 'Cause then I can eat a whole batch with my morning cofffee and be GOOD TO GO. Love that these crunchy little treats are multigrain girlfriend. Now, send me some for this morning..please?
Monica says
I also love biscotti and favor the ones without butter. I don't mind them very, very crunchy. And orange zest-pistachio is one of my faves. Must try it with lemon zest and honestly, I haven't met a biscotti flavor I didn't enjoy. These look just wonderful. The multigrain aspect is most definitely an extra bonus.
dixya @ food, pleasure, and health says
this is basically a health food! i totally agree :) i love the combination of almonds and anise..will definitely try it.
Abby @ The Frosted Vegan says
Oh I love a good biscotti! For the longest time I only experienced the really hard old ones from the pre-packaged part of the grocery store, so I thought I didn't like them. Once I made my own..BAM, I was sold! Lovely seeing you last week xoxo
Nicole ~ Cookng for Keeps says
I feel like biscotti gets a bad rap sometimes, which is sad because I LOVE it! A piece of biscotti, a cup of coffee and I'm set. So in love with these!!!
Alexandra @ Vandy Vagabonds says
Goodness gracious - the combination of lemon + pistachio + all those hearty, crunchy grains just made my stomach growl with anticipation. I'm going to have to figure out where to finagle more counter space in my RV to be able to make these in my motorhome kitchen! Or I may have to convince the husband that we need to visit my family sooner rather than later so I can have use of their luxurious, spacious kitchen. Yum!
Christina Lane says
Just use your coffee grinder-quick, small and easy! Best of luck! :)
Leila says
Can I subregular flour or oat flour or additional wheat germ for the quinoa flour. No quinoa or quinoa flour in the house and I don't want t o buy for 2 T....
Christina Lane says
I only tested the recipe the way it was written. Feel free to experiment, but I cannot guarantee good results. Best of luck!
Annalise @ Completely Delicious says
Gosh these look perfect. And all that healthy stuff you put in there? SOLD!
judy gonzales says
I totally l love the sound of these. About the quinoa. I have to rinse mine before using. With just 2 T can I get away without doing that? I really want to do this.
Christina Lane says
I haven't rinsed quinoa in years ;) The box I buy says 'pre-rinsed' though...
Cakespy says
Multigrain? Officially health food and therefore acceptable for breakfast.