Coconut Palm Sugar aka Coconut Sugar Cantuccini
Another great recipe for biscotti, or technically "cantuccini".
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole almonds or sliced almonds
- ⅔ cup tightly packed sugar (can use coconut, brown or even brown Truvia)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ⅔ cups all purpose flour 210 grams
- 2 large eggs (or jumbo)
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- An egg lightly beaten for brushing tops of loaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick foil
- Place almonds in a single layer on cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl using a large spoon, mix the sugar with the orange zest. As you mix, press the zest with the back of spoon to release its essence. Stir in the cinnamon, baking powder, salt and toasted almonds. When well mixed, stir in the flour.
- Make a well in the dry mixture. Whisk the eggs and vanilla together in the well, then stir everything together. Mixture will be very thick and dry, so using lightly floured hands, keep squeezing the mixture until it comes together in a ball. If you used large eggs as opposed to jumbo, the batter might be even a little bit dryer. It should still bake up just fine. Divide that ball into 2 equal pieces.
- On a lightly floured surface or a large sheet of non-stick foil or parchment, shape one piece of dough into a log shape that is approximately 10 inches long, 2 inches wide, and ¾ of an inch high. Wetting your hands with a little water makes this process a little easier. Repeat with remaining dough so that you have two big logs. Place the logs on a baking sheet spacing them out as much as you can to leave room for spreading. Each log will spread out about another inch or so.
- Brush tops with lightly beaten egg.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes, or until the tops of the loaves are dark and siny. Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before slicing. Keep the oven on during the 20 minute cooling period.
- After 20 minutes, turn off the oven. Place a loaf on a cutting board, and using a large serrated knife, slice cookies ¾ of an inch thick on the diagonal. Place slices on their sides back on to the baking sheets; place in the still warm oven with the temperature off and the door closed for 30-60 minutes. The longer they stay in the oven, the harder they will become. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in a tin.
- Makes about 24