coconut & almond biscotti

suddenly i have all the time in the world to bake, cook and blog. and i'm quite ok with this sudden change in employment status. i've tried twice to hold down a typical desk job. the first one, i was let go because i refused to attend scientology trainings. yep - goodbye. this last one, was simply because i was at the bottom of the food chain when the work load got too light to keep us all on board. strike two. 

so instead, i'm spending my time with activities i love. everyday involves some yoga, cycling or climbing, cooking, journaling, reading and other productive endeavors. it feels a bit housewifey, but i am relishing in being selfish with my time. funemployed. although job hunting really takes the fun out of unemployment. i'd rather spend that energy creating my next job. and lucky for you all, part of that involves designating more time to this blog. so you can expect more frequent posts in the coming weeks... or months, or years! as my morning coffee mug proclaims: life isn't about finding yourself, it's about creating yourself. 

for this particular creation, i didn't have any wheat flour on hand - it got used up in a massive pizza baking event this past weekend. so instead i used gluten free oat flour. you could use unbleached white flour just as well, or any other gluten free baking flour blend. the almond meal in these cookies adds a lovely chewiness to these 'twice-baked' crisp cookies. they are lightly sweetened and have a wonderful texture from the toasted coconut and almonds. i might be sneaking one of these with my pre-yoga morning tea for the next few days... 

coconut & almond biscotti ~ makes 20 

1+1/2 cup gluten free oat flour 

1 cup almond meal 

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

3/4 cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped 

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

3 tablespoons coconut palm sugar 

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 tablespoon milk (if needed) 

1 pinch salt

preheat oven to 300 degrees. on separate sheet pans, toast 3/4 cup coconut flakes and 3/4 cup almonds until lightly browned. watch closely, stirring every few minutes as the coconut will brown quickly. continue dry roasting almonds until fragrant and browned. let cool and then use a chef knife to roughly chop almonds, not too fine. 

i made my own almond meal by placing 1 cup of raw almonds in a food processor. pulse until ground into a flour but stop far before it becomes almond butter. 

in a stand mixer, bowl or food processor, combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. add flour, almond meal, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. if mixture is incredibly dry, add a tiny drizzle of milk. the texture should be dryer than cookie dough, hold together and be just a bit sticky. using a spoon or spatula, fold in the toasted almonds and coconut. 

line a baking sheet with parchment paper. wet your hands so that you don't stick to the dough, and form dough into two loaves - about 2-3 inches thick and 8-10 inches long. flatten slightly - the dough will not rise significantly, so form the longs into whatever height you desire. 

bake for 35 minutes, until lightly browned and starting to crack slightly. remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet or cooling rack for 20+ minutes. once cool, transfer loaves onto a cutting board. using a serrated knife, cut the log into 1/2 or 3/4 inch biscotti, cutting at a 45 degree angle to form longer cookies. my loaves made about 10 cookies each. place the cut cookies back onto the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for another 10 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly browned. flip cookies over and bake for an additional 10 minutes to brown the opposite side. let cool completely before storing in air tight container.