Triple Chocolate Whole Wheat Biscotti with Almonds

These Italian treats are usually healthier than most cookies and made
even healthier in this recipe with the combo of whole wheat flour, olive oil,
almonds and dark chocolate. They're low in sugar, too!

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It's time for another Secret Recipe Club (SRC) recipe. In case you're new to this, here's how it works. Each of the food bloggers participating in the SRC is secretly assigned another food blog. The assignment is to choose a recipe from that blog, make the recipe (or an adaptation of it) and feature it in a post. The blog matches are a secret to the other blogger until reveal day. That day is today! Make sure you read to the end of this post for links to the other participants and their recipes. Someone will be blogging about one of my recipes, but I don't know who. That's why it's called:

Thanks to Amanda of Amanda's Cookin' for creating and overseeing this fun club,
and to Jane of The Heritage Cook for hosting this round of the SRC. 

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This month, my assignment was to choose a recipe from Passionate About Baking. It's a beautiful blog by Deeba Rajpal who lives in Gurgaon, India, a suburb of New Delhi. One of my favorite things about blogging is the way it connects people from all over the world. Not only is browsing Deeba's blog a culinary delight, but it's also a trip to another country on the other side of the world. As I read about Deeba, wife and mother of two with a love of cooking, travel, nature, and photography, I felt an instant kinship with her. We have much in common even though we live in different countries and cultures. I encourage you to spend some time browsing Deeba's blog. It will become immediately clear that she is as much an artist as a cook. Her photos are breathtaking--among the best I've seen. Truly a feast for the eyes.

It took a long time to select a recipe from many enticing possibilities. Deeba's recipe index has an extensive array of amazing cakes, cookies, and Indian cuisine. I eventually settled on Deeba's recipe for Chocolate Almond Olive Oil & Whole Wheat Biscotti. I've been wanting to make biscotti for awhile, and I loved that she'd taken a traditional recipe and made it healthier by adding some whole wheat flour and olive oil and reducing the sugar. That is right up my alley. I decided to "healthify" it even more by eliminating all of the white flour and using 100% whole wheat pastry flour. This recipe is so rich in chocolate that it completely masks the whole wheat and olive oil flavor; honestly you'd never know they're there. I also dipped some of my baked biscotti in melted chocolate--admittedly not consistent with the healthifying theme--but it does increase the chocolate decadence of these delicious treats. Plain or chocolate-dipped, these are yummy.

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WEIGHT WATCHERS PointsPlus for 35 biscotti per recipe:

• 2 points per biscotti (plain, not dipped in chocolate)
• 3 points per biscotti (dipped in chocolate)

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Step-by-step photos for making
Triple Chocolate Whole Wheat Biscotti

Step 1. Assemble the ingredients: whole wheat pastry flour, cocoa powder (use a good quality cocoa), olive oil, baking soda, salt, eggs, sugar, vanilla & almond extract, almonds, dark chocolate chips, coarse or demerara sugar

Step 2. Toast the almonds by placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet and baking at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until fragrant.

Step 3. Coarsely chop the toasted almonds.

Step 4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

Step 5. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, olive oil, and extracts.

Step 6. Gradually stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until completely combined. It forms a very thick, stiff batter.

Step 7. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds. I had to switch from a rubber spatula to a wooden spoon to handle the thick batter better.

Step 8. Divide the batter in half by running a table knife through the center. 

Step 9. Grab half of the batter and form it into a long thin log. Place the log on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the 2nd half of the batter.

I didn't divide my batter very evenly; I ended up with a 12" log and a 15" log. Doesn't matter really; the important thing is that they are the same width and fit on your baking sheet.

Step 10. Use your hand to slightly flatten the tops of each log.

Step 11. Whisk an egg and brush it lightly all over the surface of the logs. 

Step 12. Sprinkle with coarse or demerara sugar. This step is optional, if you'll be dipping the biscotti in melted chocolate; but it adds some nice crunch to plain, undipped biscotti.

Step 13. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Step 14. Let the biscotti cool for 15 minutes and use a serrated bread knife to cut each log into diagonal 1/2-inch slices. Place slices on parchment lined baking sheet(s) and return to oven for another 20-30 minutes.

Step 15. Cool completely and store biscotti in an airtight container.

You may prefer your biscotti plain. This is how King-Man likes them. If you aren't familiar with biscotti, don't expect these to be a sweet, chewy cookie. Biscotti, originally from Italy, are dry, crunchy, and less sweet than most cookies. They're often paired with coffee for dunking.

If you prefer to kick them up a notch and make them more cookie-like and sweet (like me), you can dip them in a variety of melted baking chips. Pick your flavor. Butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, vanilla or white chocolate chips, milk/semi-sweet/dark chocolate chips. This chocolate biscotti would be good paired with any of these flavors.

I prefer the rich taste of dark chocolate for dipping my biscotti; plus, the darker the chocolate the better the health benefits. In moderation, it's actually good for you (among the greatest scientific discoveries in recent years!) It's easy to melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Just add a little canola oil, and follow these directions:

view Melted Chocolate for Dipping and Drizzling recipe

Dip a third to a half of the biscotti in the melted chocolate and place it on parchment paper to harden.

I dipped a few in melted white chocolate chips, too--not as healthy, but yummy!

Once the chocolate hardens, they are ready to eat. 

They're crunchy and chocolaty, just the way I like 'em.

I made these with almonds, but they're also good with pine nuts.

Perfect with an afternoon coffee, espresso, or tea.

You can also add color to the white chocolate (use oil-based candy coloring) and decorate them with sprinkles if you want to customize the biscotti for special occasions. 

Thanks to Deeba for the inspiration. I'll be following her blog regularly, enjoying her stunning photography, and trying more of her recipes. I hope you do, too.

Make it a yummy day!

If you like mint and chocolate together,
you'll love this variation of dipped biscotti.
View recipe for Creamy Mint Glaze for dipping Biscotti

Triple Chocolate Whole Wheat Biscotti

By Monica              Servings: makes 35-40

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cups good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup almonds, toasted and very coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
• FOR GLAZE (optional)
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2 tablespoons coarse or demerara sugar
• FOR DIPPING BISCOTTI IN MELTED CHOCOLATE (optional)
• 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips (dark, semi-sweet, white chocolate; or any flavored baking chip)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons canola oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly mixed. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, sugar, and vanilla & almond extracts until well blended. Gradually stir the dry flour mixture into the egg mixture until completely combined. It forms a very thick, stiff batter. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds. Divide the batter in half, forming each half into long logs, each approx. 13" long; place on parchment lined baking sheet. With your hand, slightly flatten the tops of each log. Lightly brush surface of each log with whisked egg (you will not need all of the egg). Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 25 minutes until dough feels firm to touch; remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Use serrated bread knife to gently cut each log diagonally into 1/2" slices. Place slices cut side down on baking sheets and return to oven for 20 to 30 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway through. Cool completely.

MELT CHOCOLATE CHIPS FOR DIPPING (optional): In microwave safe bowl, combine choc. chips and canola oil.  Cook on full power, checking at 20 second intervals, stirring each time. Stop heating when most, but not all, of the chips are melted--there should be a few chunks left. Stir until it is smooth and chips are completely melted. (Approx. 60 sec. total.) Be careful not to overcook. Dip a third to a half of each biscotti in melted chocolate; place on parchment paper until chocolate hardens. Store in air tight container.

WEIGHT WATCHERS PointsPlus for 35 biscotti per recipe:
2 points per biscotti (plain, not dipped in chocolate)
3 points per biscotti (dipped in chocolate)

Recipe adapted from PassionateAboutBaking.com by Deeba Rajpal