For the past few days, I have been busy sending out job applications, packing up work stuff and preparing for Christmas. Yet, all these tasks seem to be kind of uncompleted to me. *sign*
Perhaps I might be a little overwhelmed with too many things lately but I'm pretty sure that some baking will help me to feel a lot better! LOL!Like I always do for every Christmas, I will be baking many gifts for this year. And I need to kick start something really soon because there is actually one month to go.While I'm busy getting myself composed for everything, I would also like to share a well-tried-and-tested recipe that I didn't managed to share previously. It is a Vegan Coconut Biscotti recipe that has been very well-liked by many of my friends and colleagues. And I can clearly remember the days when I baked and gave away these biscotti..."Here. Try these coconut biscotti... They are very nice!"
Knowing that these crunchy crispy coconut biscotti are very delicious, I thought that I have to give some to my colleagues to enjoy and one of my colleagues has actually brought it home to share with her family.
On the next day, first thing in the morning at work, she came excitedly looking for me and said..."You must give me this recipe! Your coconut biscotti are very nice!"Like I always do, I gave my colleague the recipe very happily and willingly.
Many of our friends who have tried these coconut biscotti said that they love them!!! Even my fussy husband who doesn't like coconut in his cookies and cakes likes these biscotti as I can see that he can't stop munching on these biscotti. LOL!
Clearly, I can see that this is a HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED recipe!!! And a perfect recipe to bake for Christmas.
Vegan Coconut Biscotti
Unlike most biscotti, these coconut biscotti contain NO eggs. These biscotti are egg free and dairy free because this recipe uses a moderate amount of coconut oil and coconut milk to bind the biscotti dough together. Isn't it nice to know that these biscotti are 100% vegan and animal friendly?
Like most biscotti, these coconut biscotti are easy to bake too as all you need is a wooden spoon to mix and also your hand to knead and shape the dough. However, I must say that slicing them perfectly after its first bake can be a little tricky. While slicing, some of the macadamia nuts might fall off from the slices and some parts of the well-risen dough might be a little too crumbly to slice. Due to this reason, I would like to emphasize that the timing for its first bake is critical. If the biscotti is under-baked during its first bake, it will be too soft to slice. Worse if the biscotti is over-baked during its first bake, the dough will be too hard to slice and the strenuous struggle during slicing might cause the slices to fall apart into small pieces!!! Best thing to do is to bake the biscotti at 180°C in between 25 to 30 minutes or until the log is just firm enough to touch and it is a must to use a serrated knife to cut every slice very carefully.
More baking tips to share:
If you like your biscotti to be less crunchy, you can bake each side of your biscotti during their second bake at 150°C for 10 minutes or less. If you like your biscotti to be more crunchy, you can bake each side of your biscotti during their second bake at 150°C for 10 to 15 minutes.
Please do not over-bake the biscotti during their second bake because they will become extremely hard and dry to chew!!! Less or more crunchy? If you can't decide, you can test-bake your first batch of biscotti at 150°C for 10 minutes or less during their second bake and if you prefer them to be crunchier, you can always bake them a little more later. If you think that your biscotti are too hard and crunchy for you, you can't reverse the bake anymore and so do consider this factor if you are after the most desirable crunch in your biscotti.
If you think that slicing the biscotti after its first bake is a daunting challenge and wants your biscotti more structurally stable for slicing, you can either omit the addition of the nuts completely or add roughly chopped nuts instead of adding the whole intact nuts into the biscotti dough. Personally, I prefer my biscotti with the addition of the whole macadamia nuts because I like the look of the biscotti with the intact sliced nuts. And, I also think that the biscotti with the intact nuts tastes better with more crunch!
Not bragging but if you wish to bake your coconut biscotti as fragrant as mine, I would strongly suggest not to skip the coconut pre-toasting step as it will make the coconut extra fragrant and extra nutty and super yummy!!!
Plus, I would strongly encourage the use of the best quality unrefined coconut oil to bake these biscotti. So for me, I have used extra virgin cold pressed ones to bake mine.What are unrefined coconut oil? Virgin or extra virgin coconut oil are unrefined coconut oil. Due to the fact that the virgin coconut oil are made from the first pressing of fresh raw coconut without the addition of any chemicals, they retain more coconut flavours and fragrance in them and will make your coconut bakes more delicious. Having said that, for our health, I like to emphasize again that all coconut oil whether it is refined or unrefined are high in saturated fat and should be used for baking and cooking moderately.
These coconut biscotti are very yummy!
How I wish this photo can be multi-dimensional illustrating to you...
The crunch, crisp and fragrance of these biscotti!
Here's my one minute video showing you how I baked these beautiful biscotti.
I guess that the only way that you can taste these biscotti is to bake these yourself! And I hope that you will try baking these and let me know if you love it ^-^
Like my recipes? To get the latest updates of my blog and recipes, you can follow me at either my Facebook at here or here or my Instagram @zoebakeforhappykidsHere's the recipe that I had optimised heaps from an old magazine.
Makes about 25 cookies
100g (1 cup) fine desiccated coconut
300g (2 cup) all purpose flour150g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
35g (1/4 cup) whole macadamia nuts*
1/3 cup (80ml) coconut oil, melted - please use the best quality virgin ones.
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (90ml) light coconut milk with 13% fat**
* You can use roughly chopped nuts or omit this addition completely if you want to make the slicing step easier.
** If you can't find light coconut milk with 13% fat (13g in 100g), you can replace this addition with 45ml (3 tbsp) regular coconut milk with 24% fat plus 45ml (3 tbsp) water.
Preheat oven to 180°C/350ºF. Line baking trays with baking paper.
Spread desiccated coconut on one baking tray and bake for 3 mins or until fragrant and the edges of the desiccated coconut are golden - Please see my video. Set aside to cool slightly.
Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix until combined. Stir in the toasted desiccated coconut and macadamia nuts and all are well distributed.
In another bowl, combine melted coconut oil and coconut milk briefly. Add coconut oil mixture into the desiccated coconut mixture and stir briefly to combine. Then, use your hand to knead until mixture forms a dough.
Divide dough into half and shape into two 22 x 5 cm (9 x 2 inches) logs. Place each log in each prepared tray and bake for 25-30 mins or until the log is just firm enough to touch. Do not under or over bake the logs - Please read the above paragraph before the recipe.
Reduce oven temperature to 150°C/300ºF. Allow the logs to cool slightly for about 10 mins. Use a serrated knife to slice the log diagonally into 1.5 cm (2/3 inches) thick pieces. Arrange slices in the lined baking trays and bake each side for 10 to 15 mins. Flip the slices and continue to bake the other side for another 10 to 15 mins or until the biscotti has achieved its most desirable crunch - Please read the above paragraph before the recipe. Do not over-bake the biscotti!
Transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve or store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 1 week.
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