COFFEE & ROASTED ALMOND BISCOTTI...a handsome combination!

"I am not a glutton, I am an explorer of food"

Erma Bombeck

Coffee & Roasted Almonds...a handsome combination

I have my biscotti moments...at times, I will suddenly alight & set off to make a biscotti with a 'flavour of the moment' off the top of my head. This particular moments' flavour turned out to be coffee & roasted almonds.

A delicious, crisp biscotti!

I made these some time ago, & am tempted to set off & bake some now...only problem being that I've cut a nerve in the palm of my right hand & am incapacitated as far as baking/cooking goes. Which leaves me with very little to do; torturous, but my own fault. Was careless & got a shard of broken ceramic do the damage...:0(

Biscotti date to Ancient times. The term literally means "twice baked." These hard biscuits fueled armies and fed travelers. Flavor variations and culinary techniques evolved according to time and place. German zweiback, Jewish mandelbrot, British ship's biscuit, and American hardtack are similar in purpose and method.

Ingredients:
Granulated sugar - 2/3 cup
Olive Oil – ¼ cup (or canola oil; I used olive)
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt -1/8 tsp
Flour - 1 1/4 cups

Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Instant Coffee Powder - 2 tbsps
Almonds– 1 cup/roasted & roughly chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees C.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat sheets.
• Sift the flours + salt + baking powder.
• Beat the olive oil with the sugar.
• Add the vanilla extract + eggs + coffee & beat well.
• Stir in the flour mix; & gently turn the almonds into the dough. Mix in.
• Transfer the dough to your parchment lined baking sheet and form into 2 logs, about 12” X 3 ½”. The dough is sticky, so you may have to dampen your hands to form the log.
• Bake for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch & light golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
• Transfer the log gently to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 2 cm slices with a sharp serrated knife.
• Reduce oven temperature to 135 degrees C. Place the biscotti, cut side down, on the baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes, turn slices over, and bake for another 8 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container.
• Makes about 20 - 24 biscotti
• Note: Roast the almonds at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes, till the skin begins to crack open. Allow to cool, & then chop. Roasting brings out the sweetness & flavour in almonds. Can be done in advance.

This is a healthier version of the biscotti which I normally make. Have substituted some of the plain flour for whole-wheat flour & was quite pleased to see the kids enjoy them as much as we did. It's always a good idea to gradually substitute plain flour with a portion of whole-wheat flour to increase the nutritive value...these are good, healthy cookies with no butter. Made with olive oil & full of nuts, they're headed for Ivy @ Kopiaste & Ben @ What's Cooking US for an event we can't do without...Fat Chefs or Skinny Gourmets? (an event co-hosted by 2 of my fave bloggers). The call is to make something that you consider Diet Food for its nutritious value (high in vitamins and other nutrients and low in calories). I think we all need a little nibble at tea & this quite fits the bill!