Gluten & Dairy Free Gingerbread Biscotti

Gingerbread is the scent of Christmas for me. I love a spicy cookie to dip in my coffee. This recipes is adapted from the NYT cooking website. The list of spices is lengthy, but worth the effort to assemble. There is no oil in this recipe making the cookies even more crisp and coffee perfect.

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Gingerbread Biscotti

Author: Erica Leazenby, MD
Makes: about 18-20 biscotti
Time: about 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 2/3 packed cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

• 1 whole star anise, finely ground (about a 1/4 teaspoon)

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (or 1/2 teaspoon coffee extract)

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

• 1 3/4 cup 1:1 gluten-free flour mix (look for a blend that contains xanthan gum)

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds (optional for additional texture)

• 2/3 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips (about 4 ounces)

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees (or 325 if using a convection oven). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the eggs, both sugars, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, star anise, espresso powder, salt, baking soda, almond extract and lemon extract. Beat the mixture on a low speed until all the ingredients are combined, scraping down the bowl and beater as needed, then increase the mixer speed to high and beat for a full 90 seconds or until the mixture is slightly paler, thick and ribbony.

3. Add the GF flour. Beat on low speed until the flour is mostly combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate any remaining dry bits into the dough. Stir in the almonds if using. The dough will be very sticky.

4. Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour your hands and mold the dough into two logs about 3 inches wide and 1 inch tall on the lined baking sheet. Bake the logs until they puffs slightly and spreads a little. They will turn golden brown at the edges and will be firm to the touch, about 15-18 minutes.

5. Remove the logs from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes. When the logs are cool enough to handle, transfer them to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs at a diagonal into ¾-inch-wide slices. Return the slices to the baking sheet, lying them on their sides. Return the baking sheet to the oven.

6. Bake the slices for an additional 8-12 minutes, flipping them halfway through. The biscotti should be dry in the centers. Extend the bake time if you like drier, crunchier biscotti. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the biscotti to cool. When the biscotti have cooled completely, turn the slices top sides up.

7. In a double-boiler or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate and coconut oil, stirring until completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat using care to not get steam or water in the melted chocolate. Use a small spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate on the tops of the biscotti. Alternately, dip the tops of biscotti in the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to sit at room temperature or in the refrigerator to fully set. The biscotti will last for a few of weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.

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More gluten and dairy free holiday treats:
TOASTED MARZIPAN
TIPS TO MAKE YOUR HOLIDAY COOKIES MORE WHOLESOME

Tips to Make Your Holiday Cookies More Wholesome

My first memories in the kitchen involve making holiday cookies to share with friends and family. As a functional medicine physician and chef, I’ve learned a few tips to make my holiday baking traditions more health supportive. For me, the perfect cookie is baked with minimally-processed ingredients, yet has crispy, lightly golden edges with rich flavor and just the right amount of sweetness. Here are some easy substitutions you can do at home this holiday season to bring a bit more nutrition to your favorite cookie recipes:

• Start with the best ingredients. Of course, the quality of the finished product is only as good as the ingredients you start with. Aim to use fresh organic ingredients when possible. The holiday baking season is a great time to take inventory of the products in your pantry. Check their expiration dates and check that dried spices have not become rancid with age. Try swapping sea salt for iodized table salt and use aluminum-free baking soda. Minimize artificial ingredients that may be found in imitation extracts and food colorings.

• Replace and reduce sugar. Cookies are a treat. As a general rule, minimizing sugar in our daily routine is important for our health, but life is meant to be celebrated especially at the holidays. There are ways to cut back on sugar yet still have a tasty show-stopping cookie. Instead of icing your sugar cookies, sprinkle with nuts, orange zest, dried flowers (I love crushed rose petals), seeds or drizzle with dark chocolate. Sugar adds moisture to cookies, but you can often decrease the sugar in a recipe (up to about 25%) with little compromise. Experiment with your favorite cookie recipe. You can add in a splash of your favorite extract like vanilla, almond or lemon for a sweet confectionary flavor. Natural nonnutritive sweeteners like monk fruit, erythritol or stevia can also be used as alternatives to granulated sugar. I like Lakanto brand monk fruit sweetener. It can easily be used to replace some of the sugar in a recipe. Beware, however, cookies using alternative sweeteners may become dry faster than their regular sugar sweetened counterparts.

• Upgrade your egg. Using a pasture-raised egg offers a slight nutritional advantage over a conventional egg. If you wish to make vegan cookies, replace each egg with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 mashed banana or with a flax egg. Applesauce works well in cakey cookies like snickerdoodles. For chewy recipes try the flax egg. For a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons warm water for each egg (up to two in a recipe). Let the mixture sit until cool before adding to your wet ingredients.

• Add some fiber. Change up your white flour for whole-wheat pastry flour as a cup-for-cup substitution. Whole wheat flour is made from the whole grain, so it contains more fiber and minerals. Whole wheat bread flour has a high protein content and will yield a tough finished cookie. Using whole-wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour gives your cookies about four times the amount of fiber in every batch.

• Mind the gluten. Gluten sensitivity is increasingly common. Luckily there are numerous alternative baking mixes available. I love to bake with almond flour and enjoy recipes from the Sweet Laurel Cookbook. You can also make your own alternative flour mix. Here is a recipe from my culinary alma mater, The Natural Gourmet Institute: try mixing 2 cups white rice flour with 2/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. Treat this blend like it is all-purpose flour. You can also store it in an air-tight container.

• Mind the quality of your fats. Steer clear of ingredients that contain partially hydrogenated oil (or trans fats), like margarine and vegetable shortening. If you use butter, aim to buy organic cultured butter, which contains probiotics and no antibiotics. If you have a dairy sensitivity or wish to make vegan cookies, consider swapping butter or margarine for coconut oil. For every stick (1/2 cup) of butter, use 5 tablespoons coconut oil plus 3 tablespoons coconut cream. Use this for recipes that require creaming the butter and sugar together, like sugar cookies and shortbread. 

• Chocolate is your friend. There is always a bit of trial and error when experimenting with recipes. If your cookies are good but a bit less than perfect, try dipping or drizzling them with melted chocolate. When it comes to chocolate, the darker the better. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants.

 A PRIMER ON GLUTEN-FREE FLOURS
HOW TO REPLACE BUTTER WHEN BAKING

Tips to Make Your Holiday Cookies More Healthy

My first memories in the kitchen involve making holiday cookies to share with friends and family. As a functional medicine physician and chef, I’ve learned a few tips to make my holiday baking traditions more health supportive. For me, the perfect cookie is baked with minimally-processed ingredients, yet has crispy, lightly golden edges with rich flavor and just the right amount of sweetness. Here are some easy substitutions you can do at home this holiday season to bring a bit more nutrition to your favorite cookie recipes:

• Start with the best ingredients. Of course, the quality of the finished product is only as good as the ingredients you start with. Aim to use fresh organic ingredients when possible. The holiday baking season is a great time to take inventory of the products in your pantry. Check their expiration dates and check that dried spices have not become rancid with age. Try swapping sea salt for iodized table salt and use aluminum-free baking soda. Minimize artificial ingredients that may be found in imitation extracts and food colorings.

• Replace and reduce sugar. Cookies are a treat. As a general rule, minimizing sugar in our daily routine is important for our health, but life is meant to be celebrated especially at the holidays. There are ways to cut back on sugar yet still have a tasty show-stopping cookie. Instead of icing your sugar cookies, sprinkle with nuts, orange zest, dried flowers (I love crushed rose petals), seeds or drizzle with dark chocolate. Sugar adds moisture to cookies, but you can often decrease the sugar in a recipe (up to about 25%) with little compromise. Experiment with your favorite cookie recipe. You can add in a splash of your favorite extract like vanilla, almond or lemon for a sweet confectionary flavor.

• Upgrade your egg. Using a pasture-raised egg offers a slight nutritional advantage over a conventional egg. If you wish to make vegan cookies, replace each egg with 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 mashed banana or with a flax egg. Applesauce works well in cakey cookies like snickerdoodles. For chewy recipes try the flax egg. For a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons warm water for each egg (up to two in a recipe). Let the mixture sit until cool before adding to your wet ingredients.

• Add some fiber. Change up your white flour for whole-wheat pastry flour as a cup-for-cup substitution. Whole wheat flour is made from the whole grain, so it contains more fiber and minerals. Whole wheat bread flour has a high protein content and will yield a tough finished cookie. Using whole-wheat flour in place of all-purpose flour gives your cookies about four times the amount of fiber in every batch.

• Mind the gluten. Gluten sensitivity is increasingly common. Luckily there are numerous alternative baking mixes available. I love to bake with almond flour and enjoy recipes from the Sweet Laurel Cookbook. You can also make your own alternative flour mix. Here is a recipe from my culinary alma mater, The Natural Gourmet Institute: try mixing 2 cups white rice flour with 2/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. Treat this blend like it is all-purpose flour. You can also store it in an air-tight container.

• Mind the quality of your fats. Steer clear of ingredients that contain partially hydrogenated oil (or trans fats), like margarine and vegetable shortening. If you use butter, aim to buy organic cultured butter, which contains probiotics and no antibiotics. If you have a dairy sensitivity or wish to make vegan cookies, consider swapping butter or margarine for coconut oil. For every stick (1/2 cup) of butter, use 5 tablespoons coconut oil plus 3 tablespoons coconut cream. Use this for recipes that require creaming the butter and sugar together, like sugar cookies and shortbread. 

• Chocolate is your friend. There is always a bit of trial and error when experimenting with recipes. If your cookies are good but a bit less than perfect, try dipping or drizzling them with melted chocolate. When it comes to chocolate, the darker the better. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants.