Nut & Seed Biscotti
Thin, biscotti-style crackers densely pebbled with all manner of nuts and seeds - green pistachios, rust-toned hazelnuts, and black poppy seeds.
I set out here to make thin, biscotti-style crackers. They were to be densely pebbled with all manner of nuts and seeds - green pistachios, rust-toned hazelnuts, and black poppy seeds. I envisioned nuts and seeds packed together like pebbles in concrete, with barely enough flour and egg to bind everything together. I'd double-bake them - first in a loaf pan, after which I'd slice them thinly. Then back in the oven on a baking sheet until crisp. They turned out fantastic, a welcome addition to any cheese board.
These biscotti make a nice, three-bite base for a generous slather of goat cheese topped with a bit of chutney or chile jam.
Pro-tips
The best of the best of these biscotti were the ones I sliced thinnest. They had good snap, toasted up beautifully, and were notably better than their thicker counterparts. As I mention in the recipe, I used a serrated knife and a combination of two knife techniques. 1. A back-and-forth slicing motion (if there were lots of nuts at the surface of that particular slice) 2. A fast and decisive single cut. But the real key to easy slicing is making sure the loaf is well baked through.
Switch It up: Variations
You can incorporate any number of spices, herbs, or zests into the biscotti dough. You can experiment with your own medley of nuts and seeds. The next time I bake these I’ve made note to slice them the long way. It might bit more challenging to slice, but the results will be even more dramatic. You can see the dough below here.
More Biscotti Recipes
- Sicilian Pistachio Cookies (Biscotti al Pistacchio)
- Chocolate Dipped Biscotti
- - all cookie recipes
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Nut & Seed Biscotti
The seed mixture for the biscotti pictured was a blend of 1 cup lightly toasted hazelnuts, 1/3 cup each of lightly toasted walnuts, pistachio nuts, and pumpkin seeds, and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds. If you don't have white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour will work.
- 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds
- scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup natural cane sugar, fine grain
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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Preheat oven to 300°F degrees. Rack in the middle. Lightly butter or oil a 1-pound loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
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Combine the flour, nuts and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl whisk together eggs and sugar. Add the flour-nut mixture to the egg mixture and stir until combined. The dough will be quite thick. Scoop into the prepared pan and press the dough into place using damp fingertips. You want to be sure everything is nice and compact, level on top, with no air bubbles hiding in there. Bake for 45-50 minutes - or until the loaf tests done. If you under-cook the loaf at this stage, it makes slicing difficult. Remove loaf from the oven, and turn the oven up to 425°F.
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Immediately run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the loaf, remove it from pan, and set the loaf upside down on a cutting board. Allow to cool a bit. Using a thin serrated knife (or the thinnest, sharpest knife you have), slice the loaf into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet. Brush tops with a bit of olive oil and bake for 3-4 minutes or until the bottoms are a touch golden and toasty. Pull them out of the oven, flip each one, and brush the other side with olive oil. Bake for another 4-5 minutes or until nice and crisp. Let cool.
Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen.
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Comments
Hi, all - I second the recommendation of using an electric knife for slicing. I use mine when making regular biscotti, as well as for slicing angel food cake, pound cake, quick breads, etc. One of the nice things about it is no real downward pressure is needed if the knife does the work of cutting. It only needs to be guided, resulting in smooth, clean slices as thin as you can get them. I would also be inclined to wrap and chill the loaf a while to firm it up before trying to slice it thin. This recipe has just been moved to the top of my to-make list...bumps down the chocolate tortillas for the ice-cream enchiladas that will eventually be made for dessert one day... LadyBanksia99
What a unique idea!!! Do you think this could be made with barley? HS: Let me know if you try it Nirvana.
hooray! i've been waiting for just this kind of biscotti recipe...something to satisfy a cookie craving but made with healthy ingredients. i like that these can be made into a savory snack too. Will be making these soon, probably with lemon zest and candied ginger too! also, will whole wheat pastry flour work?
MMM! I will be trying this today,only going to try Quinoa for my Gluten Free friends. Any thoughts on this? Les
Have always loved biscotti, and now I get to try to make some. My home will smell heavenly !!! Thank you, and love your site !!!!
I find it is easier to slice biscotti if I chop up the nuts a bit before baking, esp. the hazelnuts.
I don't even know how to thank you Heidi. You are such an inspiration!
It's a snowy day in NY and when I woke up to check my email, this recipe was there waiting for me! They looked great - I check the kitchen and had all the ingredients! (for my nut and seed mix I used - slivered almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and poppy seeds) They just finished cooling and I couldn't resist trying one - wow, they came out wonderful! Thanks so much for your inspiration!
I have had great success using an electric knife for biscotti especially when using whole nuts. Am going to try making these as soon as I get home from work today! Thanks for the inspiration.
I'd like to try these with matzah cake meal for Passover. They probably won't taste as good as with spelt or whole wheat flour, but those grains together with rye, barley and oats are prohibited during Passover. Someone mentioned millet flour. Maybe I'll try that. Heidi, this sounds like fun AND not too complicated AND delicious. Thanks for the idea!
Biscotti-baking thoughts have been lingering in my mind for the last few days..now, they have a reason to materialize.. I am thinking of taking your recipe as a base, and making these twists: 1. using half millet and half whole-wheat pastry flour (please advice, if there is any reason I should use white whole wheat flour, instead of whole wheat pastr flour) 2. adding orange zest and a teaspoon of vanilla 3. nut mix: sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds (just because I have these on hand) This will be my first time baking biscotti..I will let you know how this experiment goes.. -G I'm not sure I'd go half-and-half with the millet, I might try with 1/4 or 1/3 millet flour first and then up the ratio in later batches if it is working. But please, report back - the orange zest sounds great :)
dear heidi, i always feel proud expecially when i got visitors. You really make me real man around the kitchen. keep up.
Never made biscotti but am looking forward to your recipes. On the subject of slicing thinly (whether cakes/cookie dough/making pinwheel slices of wraps with smoked slamon and cream cheese) I find that dipping my sharpest knife into very hot water helps enormously .
Dear Heidi, this would be wonderful with millet flour that we get so readily in Delhi. I cant wait to try this out with Pearlmillet or "Ragi" flour. It will make it even more nutty and nutritious. Thank you for all the inspirational meal ideas. You really lift my spirits!
I make all my biscotti recipes with spelt flour and they are great. This recipe is ideal for spelt flour. HS: That was my sense as well Helen, glad you are seconding the sentiment - maybe someone will give them a go. :)
Maida Heatter has a terrific nut and seed biscotti recipe; it's called Multigrain and Seed Biscotti on page 28 of Maida Heatter's Brand New Book of Great Cookies. It contains whole wheat, rye and unbleached wheat flours, as well as oat bran, cornmeal, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and honey. It is delicious. She makes it into logs for the first bake as you would normal biscotti. I regularly make biscotti with white spelt flour and it works just as well as with wheat flour. Also, I find when making biscotti in a loaf pan it is best to freeze the baked cooled loaf to facilitate thin slices.
Heidi, you're great. This is a must try.
Hi Heidi I just wanted to say thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I really look forward to my updates and not just for the recipes, wonderful photography and even the 'what to dos' and 'where to gos' if you're in portland/tokyo etc but the sheer inspiring nature of this blog. I look forward to experimenting with these biscotti and loads more of your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing. Mary x HS: Thanks Mary. I certainly get a lot of inspiration from all of you - the great comments, suggestions, and all-around encouragement.
Thank's alot for your healthy recipes which I always receive from you. Special for today the Nut n Seed Biscotti Recipe is one of my Favourite. thank's again. GBU
mmm. Can't WAIT to try these. Do you think a fine grain whole wheat flour would work? It's hard to get whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour in Europe. Maybe I will use spelt or rye flour and let you know how it goes (still have left-over rye from making the Swedish rye cookies!). Thanks as always for your wonderful healthy recipes that make me feel good about being a foodie and a vegetarian :) HS: I think I'd go the spelt route if you can get it. The whole wheat flour I get in the States is often hit-or-miss for substituting - I often end up with baked treats that are a bit on the dry side. I've had better success with spelt when I'm out of whole wheat pastry flour. Then again, it really depends on the recipe. Let me know how it goes! -h