Today's recipe is one I baked last week and have been eating ever since. It evolved from the fact I felt like baking banana bread, but knew no one would eat it but me and thus, decided to make a type of "banana bread" that would stay fresh for a long, long time. Taking a cue from Blue Ribbon Gloria, who recently baked a batch of biscotti using a cake recipe, I used the same technique for this banana biscotti.
In my opinion, this recipe was slightly better than the other banana biscotti recipe, but maybe I just liked it due to the fact I was really hungry at the time. A second opinion would be great, so if you try it let me know!
Here are some notes:
Because the batter is softer than usual biscotti, you bake it in a pan. If you make mandel bread, it's a similar process.
I made mine in an 8 inch square pan and got a rather small batch of biscotti. If you make it and love it, you can double the recipe and make two 8 inch pans.
The second bake time, or the baking period that toasts or dries out the biscotti, was about an hour at 250F. I suspect it's because this dough had more moisture thanks to the bananas.
And finally, I used white whole wheat flour, but all-purpose should be just fine. If you experiment with regular whole wheat, I'd be curious to know how that turns out.
Banana Biscotti
1 ½ very ripe bananas
1 large egg
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¼ cup (5.6 oz) white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ scant teaspoon salt
½ cup oats
⅓ cup chopped, toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8 inch square metal pan with foil and spray with non-stick baking spray.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mash the banana and then beat it until smooth. Beat in the egg, followed by the brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla and oil.
In a second bowl, thoroughly mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually stir flour mixture into banana mixture to make a very thick batter. Stir in the oats and pecans. Pour into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake on center rack for 32-35 minutes or until top appears brown. Let cool for about an hour or until completely cool. Remove from pan by lifting foil.
Transfer cake to a cutting board and with a large serrated knife, make ½ to ¾ inch thick slices cross-wise and slightly on the diagonal. Lay the cut pieces on a baking sheet and bake at 250F for about an hour, checking and turning every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool & crisp. Biscotti may not be completely crisp when you take it out, but it should crisp as it cools. If not, just put it back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes.
Anna says
Hi Marilia,
Thanks for the review! I love your ingredient additions and will have to try them. No white sugar, eh? Wow!
Marilia says
Anna I made these biscotti today for my twins Grandaughters, very nice. I use Wholemeal Spelt Flour, I add 2 t flaxseed oil, 2 tb LSA and 2 tb White Chia seeds and I didn't add the white sugar. I didn't whant to be to sweet. I did want a healthy biscotti for my Girls. Are dark colour, and you can feel the crunch of the Chia seeds. Next time I will add an extra tb of LSA. Also I use 3 bananas, Did take a good hour to dry but not to hard. as the Italian biscotti. I will make again with pumpkin or sweet patatos.
Katherine says
I made these today and really enjoyed them. I swapped out the pecans for chocolate chips. They are a perfect teether for my 9 month old. She was all smiles gnawing on them... it was mess, but adorable! Great recipe Anna.
Ashley says
This looks wonderful! And I just so happen to have a few bananas that I want to use up soon...
melissa says
What a great idea, Anna! I love making pumpkin bread -- I bet I could make pumpkin biscotti with your method!
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
I have some bananas in the freezer, so I may have to make these this weekend!
Anna says
Thank you so much for trying it! You are the first person other than me who has made it, so thank you so much for the second round of testing.
catering services in charlotte nc says
Amazing recipe!
I have tried it yesterday and have eaten it this morning with my homemade coffee... it was delightful!
Katherine says
As soon as I get overripe bananas I will be making these. I'm always looking for something new to make with bananas. Biscotti never occurred to me. Great idea! I think I'll throw in chocolate chips too.
Katrina says
You KNOW I want to try this. When I do, I'll use whole wheat flour and let you know. I just made a banana bundt cake today and used 5 overripe bananas! (But I have a bunch in the freezer, too.)
Anna says
Adam, that's a good question. I almost always stand my biscotti during the second bake, but this version was kind of delicate so I had to bake it on its side.
Adam says
The Italian in me is horrified, the banana bread lover in me is overjoyed. Meh, I don't speak Italian anyways 🙂 and I've got about 3 dozen frozen bananas right now. This is on the shortlist for the upcoming weekend. For the second bake would the biscotti be stable enough to stand rather than baking each side and flipping? (I usually prefer to do my biscotti this way.. I'm lazy :))
Sue says
I hope I remember this the next time I have overripe bananas!
Gloria says
Anna, thanks for the shout out! I love banana everything so I'm going to try these this week! I'm wondering if the world could make biscotti out of every cake batter flavor? You could have funfetti biscotti, lemon, etc.!