GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT BISCOTTI WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS & DAIRY-FREE INSTRUCTIONS

Posted by Bryna Bear aka Gluten Free Baking Bear

     I saw a photo of chocolate biscotti and I wanted some.  We eat with our eyes and pretty photos of food makes us want to eat that food.  I knew I was not going to find some in a bakery or store that was gluten free, so I looked for recipes that I could convert to GF.  
     Most recipes were similar and I decided to make the biscotti recipe that I posted last month into a chocolate version.  I added 1/2 cup of cocoa to the oil recipe.  It was a bit too sticky so I added 2 more tablespoons of cocoa.  If using butter in the recipe I would add 1/2 cup of cocoa and reduce the tapioca flour by 1/4 cup.  
     The orange zest and almond and vanilla flavoring go really well with the chocolate cookie and adds a delightful depth of flavor.  The biscotti are hard, but not ‘break your teeth’ hard.  You can easily bite into one and the cookie does not crumble or fall apart, but you will have lots of crumbs so eat it over a plate.  They are definitely ‘dunk-able’. 
     We recently found out that my daughter-in-law is allergic to soy.  I used soy free vegan chocolate chips.  I did not realize before that almost every chocolate treat has soy in it in the form of lecithin.  Lecithin acts as an emulsifier that helps keep the chocolate smooth.  I was adding oil and sugar to baking chocolate to make chips or chocolate covered almonds until I found the Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips.  They taste great and have no soy, gluten, dairy or nuts.  Plus they are kosher and vegan.  The store here only carries mini chips and these work really well in the biscotti.

     You could dip one end in melted chocolate to make them even more decadent, but it is summer now and too hot to do this here...maybe in the winter. 

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI

WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Ingredients

1 cup	Sorghum Flour
1/2 cup*	Tapioca Flour  *If using butter use 1/4 cup of Tapioca Flour
1/4 cup	Chickpea Flour
1/2 cup*	Cocoa Powder  *If using oil and the batter is too sticky add 2 Tbs. more cocoa powder.
2 1/2 tsp.	Baking Powder
1/2 tsp.	Xanthan Gum
1/8 tsp.	Sea Salt
1 cup	Macadamia Nuts-lightly toasted and coarsely chopped.(You can use almonds, walnuts, pecans or whatever nuts you like.)
1/2 cup	Chocolate Chips (Mini ones work well.)
2 Large	Eggs
1/3 cup	Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil) or Melted Butter or Margarine.
1/2 cup	Sugar (I used evaporated cane juice crystals)
2 tsp.	Vanilla Extract
1 tsp.	Almond Extract
2 tsp.	Orange Zest - finely grated (The zest from 2 medium oranges.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
2. In a small bowl mix the flours, salt, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, nuts and chocolate chips.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl add the eggs, sugar, oil or butter or margarine, vanilla extract, almond extract and orange zest.  Mix well.

   

   Wet ingredients on left and dry ingredients on right.

4. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix together well.
5. Divide the dough in half and form two loaves (about 12-inches long and 3 or 4-inches wide) on the baking sheet.  Wet your hands before shaping the dough in order to keep the sticky dough from getting all over your hands.  The dough did not spread while baking, but keep a few inches between the loaves just in case.

   

   Dough divided in half and shaped into two loaves.

6. Bake the two loaves for 20-25 minutes until the  center is firm and not mushy.
7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes or longer.  If you do not allow the loaves to cool enough they will crumble apart when cutting them.

   

   Baked loaves, they did not spread much.

8. Place one loaf on a cutting board and slice into 1-inch thick slices with a sharp serrated knife.  Someone recommended using an electric knife for this to get perfect cuts.  Sounds like a good idea, but I did not try this yet. 

   

   Loaf cut into slices with a sharp serrated knife.

9. Place the slices, cut side down, back on the baking sheet.  
10. Repeat  steps #8 and #9 with the second loaf.
11. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.  Turn the slices over and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

    

    Slices on lined baking sheet ready for the second baking.

12. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  These stay fresh for up to two weeks.

GLUTEN FREE CHOCOLATE BISCOTTI WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS Ingredients 1 cup Sorghum Flour 1/2 cup* Tapioca Flour *If using butter use 1/4 cup of Tapioca Flour 1/4 cup Chickpea Flour 1/2 cup* Cocoa Powder *If using oil and the batter is too sticky add 2 Tbs. more cocoa powder. 2 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum 1/8 tsp. Sea Salt 1 cup Macadamia Nuts-lightly toasted and coarsely chopped.(You can use almonds, walnuts, pecans or whatever nuts you like.) 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (Mini ones work well.) 2 Large Eggs 1/3 cup Oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil) or Melted Butter or Margarine. 1/2 cup Sugar (I used evaporated cane juice crystals) 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract 1 tsp. Almond Extract 2 tsp. Orange Zest - finely grated (The zest from 2 medium oranges.) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. In a small bowl mix the flours, salt, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, nuts and chocolate chips. Set aside. In a large bowl add the eggs, sugar, oil or butter or margarine, vanilla extract, almond extract and orange zest. Mix well. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix together well. Divide the dough in half and form two loaves (about 12-inches long and 3 or 4-inches wide) on the baking sheet. Wet your hands before shaping the dough in order to keep the sticky dough from getting all over your hands. The dough did not spread while baking, but keep a few inches between the loaves just in case. Bake the two loaves for 20-25 minutes until the center is firm and not mushy. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes or longer. If you do not allow the loaves to cool enough they will crumble apart when cutting them. Place one loaf on a cutting board and slice into 1-inch thick slices with a sharp serrated knife. Someone recommended using an electric knife for this to get perfect cuts. Sounds like a good idea, but I did not try this yet. Place the slices, cut side down, back on the baking sheet. Repeat steps #8 and #9 with the second loaf. Bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven. Turn the slices over and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. These stay fresh for up to two weeks.

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