Whole Grain Breakfast Biscotti

These Whole Grain Breakfast Biscotti mean that you can have cookies for breakfast and feel good about it.

Biscotti are hard, twice-baked cookies that keep very well. They are designed to be softened by quickly dipping in a beverage before eating.

Even bleary-eyed picky eaters will enjoy dunking these in the morning.

This version doesn’t use much fat or sugar, and loads up on grains with flax, oatmeal and whole wheat flour. The chocolate and cranberries can be switched out for whatever you prefer.

If you are a coffee-before-all-else kind of person, this could become your new favorite breakfast.

These keep well in an airtight container, so it’s worth making a double batch to have on hand for busy mornings or a quick pick-me-up at any time of day.

(And FYI – these rated extremely highly with my kids!)

5 from 1 vote

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Breakfast Biscotti

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 20 mins

 

Biscotti keep well, so these are great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or anytime pick-me-up. Even picky eaters will want to dunk these in the morning.

Servings: 24 -28 biscotti

Author: Mary Gillespie

Ingredients

• 1 cup / 250 ml bran
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml ground flax
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml oatmeal whizzed in food processor or blender for 1-2 minutes (see note)
• 1-1/2 cups / 375 ml whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 ml salt
• 1/3 cup / 80 ml olive oil
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml chopped orange peel optional
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml dried cranberries finely chopped*
• 1/2 cup / 125 ml dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips finely chopped*
• *for the cranberries and chocolate you can substitute a total of 1 cup / 250 ml of add-ins: for example nuts, other dried fruits, candied ginger, etc

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F / 177 degrees C.
2. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
3. In mixing bowl, stir together bran, flax, oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt.
4. In separate bowl, beat oil, sugar and eggs until thoroughly mixed. Add orange peel (if using) and vanilla and stir to blend.
5. Add flour mixture, cranberries and chocolate and stir into oil mixture until completely blended. The dough will be slightly sticky.
6. Turn dough out onto a cutting board and form into a smooth ball. Divide the ball in two pieces and shape each piece into a log about 1 inch / 2.5 cm high and about 3 - 4 inches / 7.5 - 10 cm wide.
7. Place logs on one of the prepared cookie sheets and bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
8. Remove logs from oven, and reduce heat to 325 degrees F / 163 degrees C.
9. Let logs cool for 10 minutes then cut each log into slices 1/2 inch / 1.25 cm thick (there should be 12 to 14 slices in each log). Use a sharp serrated bread knife and saw the cookies into slices gently. The logs will be a bit crumbly, but will set during the second baking.
10. Place slices cut side down on the cookie sheets (you will need both this time). Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. You can turn the cookies over and bake for an additional 5 minutes to make crunchier cookies.
11. Remove cookies from oven and let cool completely. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container. They will keep for several weeks.

Recipe Notes

If you don't have a blender or food processor, you can use the oatmeal as is. It will change the texture of the biscotti somewhat, but they will still taste as good.

Make sure any add-ins like nuts or dried fruit are finely chopped. This will make it easier to cut the logs into slices for the second baking.