Date Walnut Biscotti

!!! My website has moved: please update your bookmarks to debunix.net !!!

Dry, crunchy, nutty without being too sweet; these keep well enough to go backpacking

Sheets lightly greased Oven 300 -->250 degrees F Time 55 minutes total baking time

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses
4 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk

Mill together:
    125 grams rice
    175 grams oats
    300 grams soft wheat

    1/2 stick cinnamon
    10 cloves
    1/2 inch of vanilla bean

OR substitute
    4 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour
OR
3 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour PLUS 1 cup rice flour
and
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped dates
1 cup toasted walnuts, finely chopped

Cream together butter, oil and sugar. When smooth, beat in molasses, eggs and buttermilk.

Combine the flour/spices, soda, salt, dates and walnuts. Stir together to coat the dates with flour so they won't clump.

Mix the dry into the wet ingredients.   Scoop about a sixth of the dough onto cookie sheet. With wet hands, shape into a loaf 2 or three inches wide, 1 inch high, and however many inches long will fit. I find it works best if I plan to fit four or five loaves side by side, leaving at least one inch between them, across a jelly roll pan.

Shape the rest of the dough. Bake for about 25 minutes at 300°. Turn the oven heat down to 250°.

Remove the pans from the oven. Very carefully, slide the baked loaves off the sheet onto a cutting board.   Using a sharp knife, cut the loaves into 3/4" slices. Set the slices, cut side down, back onto the baking sheet (pack them all in tightly--no expansion room required this time).

Return the cookies to the oven for about 30 minutes. When they come out, they should be firm but not rock hard. They'll firm up as they cool. These should be crunchy outside, crumbly and almost soft inside.
Makes 6 dozen cookies @ 87calories:
        37% fat       55% carbos            8% protein

Date Buckwheat Biscotti

This is a very crumbly variation, not really ready for prime time (make them at your own risk! they're just here so I won't forget to try to fix the recipe), but they're a tasty start on a gluten-free variation:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar

4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Mill together:
    125 grams rice
    125 grams soft wheat
    350 grams buckwheat (toasted)

    2 sticks cinnamon
    10 cloves
    1 inch of vanilla bean

OR substitute
    4 cups unbleached or whole wheat pastry flour (will not be nearly the same without the buckwheat)
OR
3 cups toasted buckwheat flour PLUS 1 cup rice flour
and
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups finely chopped dates (this works well with very dry deglet noor dates, like those that were forgotten in the back of the fridge and are now unappealingly hard; pit them and whirl them in the food processor with a little of the flour or sugar, until they're quite finely chopped but not quite fine dusty crumbs)
1 cup toasted pecans, coarsely chopped

Prepare as before, but be prepared for longer first baking and second baking/drying time--the buckwheat is slower to cook.

Return to Recipe Index

Return to Diane's Food Page

Return to Diane's Home Page