I am a chocolate girl, dark chocolate that is.   I was going to try to have a chocolate recipe days ago, in time for Valentines Day but I am just not that organized.   I have actually spent the better part of the last week and a half on the couch with my son who is not feeling  well.   It’s been rough seeing our little guy in pain. But if I have to watch another Max & Ruby or Dinosaur Train show I am likely to go mad.   I had to take a break and get a little baking done.    The Trailhead Children’s Museum is having a bake sale this weekend and these yummy biscotti will be on the selling table!

I bought the kids a baking kit on Zulily, which is a discount website that I have a slight addiction to.  I am not allowing myself to make any more purchases for a while…well, unless they have an amazing deal on something I sort of need…I mean NO … I am not buying anything else for a while.  But I have gotten some really good deals on kid stuff as well as kitchen items, and maybe a couple of things just  for me:)  The kids were very excited for their kitchen tools and Cecilia helped me with this recipe.

I did some experimenting with this recipe, as far as the sugar/fat ratio.   My first challenge was trying to get them to look like biscotti instead of regular cookies and then I wanted to make a more wholesome recipe.   These are softer than traditional biscotti, but you could cook them longer if you want.     I am including two recipes in this post (3 counting my Gluten Free Flour Blend) – a more decadent version and a slightly healthier version.   The first batch was very low in fat, but high in sugar, and the final batch has more fat and less sugar.

I remember in high school when all the “fat-free” products came on the market.  My friends and I would buy boxes of Snackwell’s cookies and eat Swedish Fish by the handful.   I mean, they were fat-free after all.   Little did I realize that in taking out the fat, they just added more and more sugar.   Hydrogenated fat is bad,  Period.  But healthy fats are good for us and we shouldn’t be scared of some good healthy fats in our diet.

Baking at 9,000 feet can be challenging.  You usually need about half the leavening as the recipe calls for, a little less sugar and a little more flour.    But Gluten Free Baking at 9,000 feet can be down right frustrating.   It takes some experimenting and some disappointments but one important thing is not to add too much leavening (baking powder/soda).   I started making my own Gluten Free Flour Mix but if you don’t want to do that, Pamela’s  has a nice one as well as Bob’s Red Mill.   I read a great article on gluten the other day by Dr. Mark Hyman explaining how wheat has changed in the last 50 years and why it is contributing to so many diseases.  Click here to read the article.    A lot of people don’t understand why suddenly everyone seems to have a wheat allergy.    The wheat we are all eating is not the same wheat our great grandparents ate.

Of course, if  you want to eat wheat, you can just use regular flour instead of the GF variety.

Happy Baking!

Decadent Chocolate Orange Biscotti Recipe

1 3/4 Cups Gluten Free Flour Mix *

1/4 Cup Date Sugar

3/4 Cup evaporated Cane Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup dutch Processes or Raw Cocoa

3/4 tsp baking powder (1 1/2 if you are at sea level)

1/8 tsp baking powder (1/4 if you are at sea level)

1/4 tsp salt

3 Eggs

1 Egg White

Zest of 1 Orange

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Orange Extract

1/2 Cup slivered Almonds, pistachios, or your favorite nut (optional)

1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.    In a large mixing bowls, combine flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.    Mix well.   In another bowl, add Eggs, Orange Zest, Vanilla and Orange Extract.  Mix well.   Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.   Let batter sit for a few minutes or put in the Fridge for about 10 minutes.   It will be sticky.   On a lined baking sheet, spread out half the batter into a long thin log…about 12 inched long x 3 inches wide.

Bake for 20 minutes.   Delicately and with a serrated knife, mark the biscotti at an angle into 1 inch wide pieces.   Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Wholesome Chocolate Orange Biscotti

1 3/4 Cups (+ 2 TBS at high altitude) Gluten Free Flour Blend *

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa

1 tsp Baking Powder (double if at sea level)

1/8 tsp Baking Soda (double if at sea level)

1 tsp Salt

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 TBS Ground Flax Seed

6 TBS Water

1/2 Cup Rice Bran Oil ( Coconut or Vegetable Oil)

1/2 Cup Honey

Zest of 1 Orange

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Orange Extract

Preheat the Oven to 350.   In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.  Mix well.   In a small bowl, add the ground flax-seed and water.   Mix well and let sit for a few minutes.  In another bowl, add the eggs, orange zest, honey, oil, vanilla and orange extract and the flax-seed mix. Mix together well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until well mixed.  Let sit for about 5 minutes.   The batter will be sticky.   On a lined baking sheet, spread out half the batter into a long thin log…about 12 inched long x 3 inches wide.

Bake for 20 minutes.   Delicately and with a serrated knife, mark the biscotti at an angle into 1 inch wide pieces.   Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Let cool and slice all the way through.

Gluten Free Flour blend
I make a big batch and store it in a glass container in the fridge.

4 Cups Brown Rice Flour

2 Cups Almond Flour

1 Cup Tapioca Flour

1 Cup Sweet Sorghum Flour

1/2 Cup Cornmeal

1/3 Cup Coconut Flour

1 tbs Xanthum Gum