Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti …{chocolate+cranberries+ginger+walnuts}

“Eat clean. Think straight. Work consistently. Speak positively. Motivate others. Believe in yourself.” Toni Sorenson

Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti. It’s strange that I post biscotti every so often. Each time Mr PAB travels I brace myself for the request. “Do you think you’ll have time to make me some biscotti?” Yes he is that predictable. And me? Equally unpredictable. Even if I am torn for time, I know I will definitely bake a batch. The unpredictable bit is that I cannot make the same recipe over and over again.

That the biscotti was going to be healthy and wholegrain was a given. The beginning of the holiday season means a lot of additional flavours begin to dance in the head. Crystallised ginger, dried cranberries, orange, and walnuts of course… fun fun fun! Baking the batch gave me a chance to play around with this beautiful Acacia Wooden Cutting Board from Engrave that I recently received. Chopped the walnuts, ginger and cranberries on it, flipped it over and shot some more…

Meat or mushrooms, this rugged chopping board can handle it all. Hand crafted from a single block of Acacia wood, this rustic looking board is as comfortable in the lap as it on the kitchen counter. If you find one side is worn out from months if frantic chopping, flip it around for a second stint.

Engrave have got a whole lot of fun, innovative and interesting products online. I especially love the Acacia range, but there’s plenty more in the lifestyle range. Their engraving and personalized products really stand out. There is loads of creativity on offer that includes plaques, canvas, name plates, ipad engraving …

…. back to baking and the queen of substitutions kicked in. It was going to be a chocolate base. Most whole grains work really well with chocolate, so no question of messing around there. I like that this recipe worked out well. Plenty of wholegrain – buckwheat flour, wholewheat flour and oats, it’s packed with nuts, ginger, cranberries too … all good for the winters. The recipe is a healthier take on the chocolate almond biscotti I made several years ago…. and that brings me to the Fit Foodie meter.

As you might know, I was part of the Saffola Oats campaign led by Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna last year to develop healthy and tasty recipes.Using wholegrain and healthy ingredients like oats, buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, whole sugars etc., I discovered a whole new world! There’s been no looking back…I developed  bunch of fun and interesting recipes. You can now find these on the FIT FOODIE website. There were a couple of videos shot for Food Food Channel as well. They are on the Saffola Fit Foodie site and on you tube too.This year around, I have been invited to hop on board and join their ‘Fit Foodie Panel‘.

Our panel of experts is the one that creates, carefully scrutinizes and approves every recipe that is available on the site. Headed by Michelin starred chef, Vikas Khanna, it includes die hard foodies, eminent chefs, popular food bloggers and renowned nutritionists who ensure that the scale is perfectly balanced on both health and taste. They cook, they taste and yes, they share exactly what works to spin that delightfully healthy meal on the table!

The site offers another interesting concept that’s been developed by the efficient and creative team behind brand Saffola… the Fit Foodie Meter. It works hard to improve normally used recipes and give them a healthier makeover of sorts, yet keeps the tasty factor in place.

The Fit Foodie Meter score is in a comparative format. The meter always shows the score for two recipes: 1) The ‘Regular Recipe’ or the most commonly prepared form of the dish and 2) The ‘Fit Foodie Recipe’ or the recipe presented in this website, which is an improved/modified version of the original dish. For example, if one were to take pizza as the dish, the Fit Foodie Meter would show the score for a regular veg pizza (Regular Recipe) and that for the Green Pizza (Fit Foodie Recipe) whose recipe is presented on this website. The greater the difference between the two scores, the higher the nutritive value of the Fit Foodie recipe in comparison to the Regular Recipe.

So join us at Saffola Fit Foodie as we try and get you healthier takes on recipes. Feel free to request for ‘recipe makeovers’ . Together we can reach our goal of tasty & healthy recipes. You can submit your healthier versions of recipes too. It’s a lifestyle change. Come be part of it!

[print_this]Recipe: Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti {chocolate+cranberries+ginger+walnuts}

Summary: Crisp, chocolaty, and healthy, this Wholegrain Holiday Biscotti is a nice addition to the holiday cookie platter. With cranberries, walnuts, crystallised ginger and orange, it’s time to ring in the holiday season with this twice baked Italian cookie! Makes 25-30

Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes Ingredients:

• 75g wholewheat flour
• 40g buckwheat flour
• 50g oats
• 30g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 75g dark chocolate
• 75g unsalted butter, chilled, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 125g brown sugar
• 1tp vanilla extract
• Zest of 1 orange
• 50g walnuts, roasted, chopped
• 15g crystallised ginger,chopped
• 25g dried cranberries, chopped

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C
2. Place wholewheat flour, buckwheat flour, oats, coco powder, baking powder, pinch salt and dark chocolate in bowl of food processor and pulse to fine mix.
3. Add the butter and pulse at high speed again. Reserve.
4. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, brown sugar, almond extract and orange rind till fluffy, one minute.
5. Fold in the dry mix with the walnuts, ginger and cranberries. Form into 2 logs and bake for 30 minute
6. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes. Slice with a sharp knife.
7. Lay flat on sides on the baking tray, and bake again at 150C for 30 minutes.

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