Italian Biscotti with Almonds and Orange Zest - The Healthy Way ❤

Ah, the tempting smell of fresh baked Italian biscotti... But if you're watching your weight, white refined flour or sugar (main biscotti ingredients) are exactly the products you need to stay away from. And here's more to motivate you - these products have a very bad influence on you health. Increased blood sugar affects your glands and significantly worsens your mood (hello depression, moodiness, grumpiness, irritability and PMS!). Whereas, white flour delays elimination of waste material in the body and disrupts normal digestion. Now to the good news! What I did the other day has been one of the most successful culinary experiments I've made! I'm so excited  and happy to share with you a recipe of an absolutely delicious Italian biscotti made the HEALTHY way! Warning: it may well be the best biscotti you've tasted! ;)

INGREDIENTS:

♥ 230g of organic rolled oats (I used these - http://tidd.ly/bd384a14) finely ground in a coffee grinder or chopper to make them almost flour-like
♥ 2 large organic free-range eggs
♥ 100g almond flakes. Alternatively, you can toast whole almonds for 8 minutes in an oven, let cool and coarsely chop.
♥ A zest of 1 organic orange, finely chopped
♥ 1 tsp vanilla powder
♥ 1 tsp baking soda slaked with vinegar (just pour few drops of vinegar onto a teaspoon with baking soda to make a fizzy mixture) or baking powder
♥ 1/5 cup organic agave nectar (http://tidd.ly/bfdd22dc) or honey.
(You can also use stevia (http://tidd.ly/fdc3196), but each brand has its own conversion equivalent)
♥ 1/4 tsp salt
♥ Non-stick parchment paper (http://tidd.ly/1652d27a)
♥ Optional: 1 tsp almond extract
♥ Optional: 1 tbsp rum or cognac (for adults only)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C degrees.
2. Beat eggs and agave nectar or honey with a mixer for about 5 minutes until they become thick and white.
*3. Optional: Add almond extract and/or cognac or rum.
4. Add flaked or chopped almonds. Gently stir the mixture with a wooden spoon.
5. In a separate large bowl mix ground oats, salt, vanilla powder and chopped orange zest. Finally, add baking soda.
6. Combine egg mixture (described in steps 2-4) and oats mixture (described in step 5). I find it most helpful to do it with a large table spoon and finish with my clean bare hands.
7. Transfer your mixture onto a baking tray covered with non-stick parchment paper and form a log. Usually, it is recommended to make it approximately 30 cm long and 9 cm wide (your biscotti will expand in size a bit during baking).
8. Bake for about 25 minutes until your biscotti log becomes firm. Don't worry, it does not need to be 100% solid yet.
9. After 25 minutes, take your biscotti log out of the oven and let it cool for about 8-10 minutes.
10. Carefully transfer your log onto a chopping board. Reduce your oven temperature to 160°C. Using a sharp knife cut your log into 2cm thick slices. Carefully put your biscotti flat on their widest part on the parchment paper and bake for another 10* minutes.
11. Turn biscotti over and bake for another 10* minutes.
12. Let cool and enjoy!

* This time hugely depends on the air humidity and that's why it will take longer for biscotti to become dry. So your best bet is to put a timer on 10 minutes first and then to regularly check you biscotti and leave them bake longer if necessary. 

With Love,
Natalia