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Lazy Cat Kitchen

A food blog with plant-based recipes from all over the world

Christmas vegan biscotti

December 5, 2020 by Ania - 22

baking, easy, gluten-free, Italian, Xmasgo to recipe

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christmas vegan biscotti chocolate

And it’s this time of the year again, cookie baking time. As I’ve only just started, I am still enthused by it all although my healthy eating seems to have gone out of the window all of a sudden – can you relate? Oh well, at least I am back running again as my back injury has thankfully healed. I’m also sticking to a 30 minute back-centric yoga session every morning as my recent bout of pain reminded me if I don’t like how back pain feels, I need to take preventative steps daily. As my job involves a lot of hunching over a countertop (pastry work, styling dishes, photographing), giving my back an opportunity to move in other directions and strengthen its core muscles seems like a wise thing to do.

So going back to cookies, today I have a tray of deliciously Xmassy biscotti cookies, which I have decided to make first as since they are already pretty dry, they keep for ages – unless, of course, your strong will melts at the mere sight of a cookie jar (mine does!!)… This version is very Xmassy, it includes flavours that make me instantly think of Xmas like orange rind, gingerbread spices, nuts, stem ginger and a glug of Amaretto, which you can substitute with more plant milk if you don’t have it or don’t fancy it.

I have also had an opportunity to test a gluten-free version of these puppies and a combination of a good gluten-free flour mix and some flax eggs passed the test with flying colours. Gluten doesn’t do much heavy lifting in these and so they aren’t in any way inferior to the wheat flour version at all, in my option. They also appear to be a touch gentler on the teeth than their regular counterparts so that’s nice, but please execute the cutting the logs into slices with some extra care as gluten-free logs are a little bit fragile at that stage – it’s a good idea to allow them to cool off fully. I hope you’ll enjoy these cookies, they are really easy to make, perfect for dunking in hot beverages and keep for ages so there is lots to like.

PS: If you make these Christmas vegan biscotti, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram as @lazycatkitchen and use the #lazycatkitchen hashtag. I love seeing your takes on my recipes!

christmas vegan biscotti ingredients mixed

christmas vegan biscotti forming log

christmas vegan biscotti cutting

christmas vegan biscotti

christmas vegan biscotti drying rack

5.00 from 8 votes
Print
  • makes: 30
  • prep: 15 min
  • cooking: 55 min

Ingredients

DRY INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tbsp ground (I use golden) flax seeds (for GF version only)
  • 250 g / 2 cups all purpose white flour or GF flour mix (I tested this one*)
  • 140 g / scant ¾ cup caster sugar (or coconut sugar for unrefined sugar version)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • ½ tsp cardamom (optional)
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • zest 1 large (unwaxed) orange
  • 100 g / ¾ cup hazelnuts or almonds, chopped roughly
  • 5 stem ginger balls (in syrup), finely diced

WET INGREDIENTS

  • 75 ml / ¼ cup + 1 tbsp soy or almond milk
  • 50 g / ¼ cup coconut oil (I use the odourless one) or vegan butter, melted
  • 60 ml / ¼ cup Amaretto liqueur (or more plant milk for alcohol-free version)
  • 1½ tsp vanilla extract

DECORATION (optional)

  • 100 g / 3½ oz vegan chocolate

Method

  1. For gluten-free version only, mix ground flax with plant milk and set it aside to thicken.
  2. Melt coconut oil / vegan butter gently over very low heat – switch the heat off before it has fully melted, it will continue to melt in the residual heat.
  3. Set the oven to 170° C / 340° F (20° C / 70°F less if using fan) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
  4. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, spices, salt, orange zest, chopped nuts and stem ginger in a large mixing bowl.
  5. Combine all the wet ingredients together using a wire whisk. If making GF version, this will include the flax eggs we prepared in the first step – make sure they have thickened before adding the rest of the ingredients in.
  6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and bring the dough together gently (unless you are making them GF, in which case you don’t need to worry about handling the dough too much). The dough should be not too dry or too sticky. If it’s too dry, add a touch more (1 tsp to begin with) plant milk or a touch more flour, if it’s too wet.
  7. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a long, thick log on a lightly floured surface.
  8. Transfer the logs onto a large baking tray and flatten it into a 3-4 cm / 1-1½” wide and 25 cm / 10″ long log.
  9. Place in the hot oven for about 30-35 minutes, until the log’s surface is firm to a gentle pressure and lightly browned. Do not switch the oven off as these will need to be baked again. Turn the oven down a little, to 160° C / 320° F.
  10. Let the logs cool down for 15-20 minutes before cutting them. Cut it into 1-1½ cm / 0.4-0.5″ slices with a serrated knife (that’s a must) and a gentle back and forth sawing motion – be very gentle as the dough will still be quite fragile at this point. Place the slices on a baking tray cut side down and return them to the oven for the second bake. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until your biscotti achieves the desired crispness and colour – remember the longer you bake them the harder they get.
  11. Once cool, dip the biscotti in the melted chocolate if you wish (if making them a long time in advance, skip the chocolate until closer to the consumption time as it might spoil). Arrange them on a drying rack for the chocolate to harden. Keep them in an air-tight container for 3-4 weeks or freeze.

Notes

 *This flour mix is made up of rice and buckwheat flour with the addition of tapioca, potato and corn starch. I am pretty sure that a similar mix will work just as well as long as it contains some starches.

This recipe is an adaptation of my previous biscotti recipe.

If you want more info on some of the ingredients that we use in our recipes, check out our glossary.
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This recipe has been written by Ania. She is the cook, stylist and photographer behind Lazy Cat Kitchen. You can read about her journey into food blogging here. You can also check her out on Pinterest and Instagram.

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    Comments

    Leave a comment

  1. Edina says

    December 5, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    Hi Ania!
    I love your recipes. Can’t wait to try this one out.
    Do you think is possible to swap the stem ginger with any other dry fruit? Like stem apricots? Or would it mess with the texture and flavour?
    Thank you.
    Edina

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 5, 2020 at 11:45 pm

      Thanks so much, Edina! I really you’ll enjoy this one too! You could totally do that, stem apricots sound delicious – never heard of these. Dried apricots or cranberries would also work a treat. Ania

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    December 5, 2020 at 10:52 pm

    I’ve never seen ginger in balls, in syrup, but we have plenty of fresh ginger root at all of the stores. What do you think the equivalent amount might be?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 5, 2020 at 11:50 pm

      Hi Michelle,

      I’m sorry you cannot get that ingredient – I didn’t realise that it may possibly be just an English thing as it’s widely available here. It’s sweet and only a little slightly spicy so grated root ginger won’t quite fit the bill but candied/crystallised ginger cut into small dice would work just as well. Failing that you could use dried cranberries. I would use about 1/3 cup diced. Hope this helps! Ania

      Reply
  3. Milissa says

    December 6, 2020 at 8:29 am

    Oooh cant wait to try these. Yes in Australia we dont have that kind of ginger either but I might try it with pieces of dried fig!
    Thanks for the beautiful recipe!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 6, 2020 at 6:09 pm

      My pleasure. You could perhaps try finding candied ginger if you do want ginger, otherwise any dried fruit: figs, cranberries, apricots would work well too. Hope you’ll enjoy them. x Ania

      Reply
  4. Julie B says

    December 6, 2020 at 11:14 am

    Oh my gosh! Made these today (without the ginger because I couldn’t find it) and they are amazing!!! The orange and cardamom together… so tasty. Thank you for another easy and delicious vegan recipe

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 6, 2020 at 6:07 pm

      Aw, thanks Julie! I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed them so much. x Ania

      Reply
  5. Long says

    December 9, 2020 at 5:17 am

    These sound amazing! I’ve never thought of making biscotti without nuts before but now I want to give them a go. Thanks u for sharing this

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 9, 2020 at 12:07 pm

      My pleasure, I hope you’ll enjoy them! Ania

      Reply
  6. aimee says

    December 10, 2020 at 9:20 pm

    Wonderful recipe Ania! I used my own GF flour mix with brown & white rice flour, potato& tapioca starch… made a full batch yesterday as recipe is, apart from my almonds were slivered and I added a touch of almond essence, as I did alcohol free version… They were a hit! Tonight I’ve just tried doing half a batch, without any almonds and a few more cranberries, they’re currently sitting in the oven to crisp up! Just trying this out to make them a little more economical! The batter seemed slightly wetter than yesterdays, but I think that might have been because I was guestimating and not so accurate probably on the liquids! Smell amazing though! Thanks so much for another awesome recipe! X

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 11, 2020 at 1:47 pm

      Delighted to hear that you enjoyed these so much, Aimee! Thank you! And if your batter is a little wetter that’s okay, it will need a touch longer in the oven. x Ania

      Reply
  7. Justyna says

    December 22, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    Hi Ania, biscotti are already in the oven and l can’t wait to try them 🙂 l wanted to make sure however if l understood the recipe correctly, if l’m making the alcohol free version, how much plant based milk should l use altogether. Is it 135 ml (75 + 60)?

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 22, 2020 at 9:06 pm

      Hi Justyna,

      Yes, that’s right, 135 ml of almond milk if you are not using Amaretto is correct. I hope you’ll enjoy these! Ania

      Reply
  8. jordan says

    December 30, 2020 at 11:01 pm

    Lazy Cat Kitchen is by far the BEST vegan recipe collection I have come across. I read it everyday whenever I get the chance, and I’m so so grateful I found it, it helped me not only sleep better but also increased my overall energy. Hope this helps others!

    Reply
    • Ania says

      December 31, 2020 at 2:23 pm

      Thanks Jordan – lovely to hear! Ania

      Reply
  9. Stephanie Doublait says

    January 11, 2021 at 4:05 pm

    These are so insanely good! I made half with chocolate and half without. Everyone preferred without because the biscotti taste is so good and the chocolate overpowers it a bit. I will make these often!!!! Thanks for all the amazing recipes 🙂 <3

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 11, 2021 at 4:54 pm

      I’m so happy to hear that you and your loved ones enjoyed these so much, Stephanie! Perhaps I am a bit biased as I’m a massive chocolate fiend so I prefer with, but it’s totally optional if you don’t share my addiction 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to let me know that these were such a success – much appreciated. Ania

      Reply
  10. Bodka says

    January 17, 2021 at 3:16 pm

    These are delicious! I have made them several times, each time they turn up wonderful. Thank you for all your lovely recipes 😊

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 17, 2021 at 3:48 pm

      Thank you so much for your kind words, Bodka! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed these so much and many thanks for letting me know – much appreciated! x Ania

      Reply
  11. Shelley says

    January 21, 2021 at 3:04 pm

    I made this (without the dipped chocolate) and gave to friends for Christmas. They tasted great and much appreciated.

    Reply
    • Ania says

      January 21, 2021 at 4:09 pm

      I’m delighted to hear that you’ve enjoyed these, Shelley. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! x Ania

      Reply

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Ania Marcinowska
Hi, I'm Ania. I love good food but I love animals more! Adopting a plant-based diet has been the best decision I've made and that's how this blog was born. It's a space where I want to show you that creating delicious plant-based food isn't actually hard at all.
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