Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Biscotti - Vegan recipe

It's the time of year when everyone is baking cookies.  With so many people dealing with food allergies and intolerances, I decided to look for a biscotti recipe that I could adapt to be gluten free, dairy free and egg free.  I found a recipe on the PETA website.  Yes, there are recipes on the website for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

I halved the recipe  and used white rice flour in place of the wheat flour.  Two small Macintosh apples yielded the perfect amount of applesauce for the recipe.  (I peeled and cored the apples, then, microwaved them until soft - just a few minutes was perfect.)  And, I melted a little extra chocolate to drizzle over the top.

The result?  Beautiful biscotti!   I thought they were delicious.  Kim said he couldn't believe how good they were, considering they were gluten free and vegan.

Let me know if you try the recipe and how it comes out for you.  Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn.  Hope you'll visit again, soon.

Love,

Susan

Almond Chocolate-Chip Biscotti (slightly adapted from "Biscotti Bliss")

Yield:  15 - 18 biscotti

1 1/2 cups rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 ounces applesauce (2 small apples, peeled, cored, microwaved, mashed)
1 1/2 teaspoons  oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup  dark chocolate chips

• Preheat the oven to 325°F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper..
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, applesauce, oil, and extracts.
• Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. As a firm dough starts to form, knead in the chocolate chips with your hands.
• Shape the dough on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet into a log.
• Bake for about 25 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 10 - 20 minutes.
• Carefully slice biscotti to desired thickness - about 1/2".  If the slices fall apart a little, just press them back together.
• Place the slices back on the cookie sheets, cut side down.
• Bake for 10 minutes, flip the slices and bake the other side for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let the biscotti cool for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
• If desired, melt 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of the biscotti.)
• Store in an airtight container.