Triple Gingerbread Biscotti

I love giving away goodies for the holidays. People always need to eat, so gifts of foods are always especially nice, in my opinion. Of course I’m not talking about the waxy tasting food baskets that so many people like to send out as gifts. Most (not all) of those should be not be called food, made with so much nasty processed stuff. No, I’m talking about yummy homemade treats that someone might not normally buy or make for themselves, such as the Triple Gingerbread Biscotti that I’m sharing the recipe for today.

Biscotti is one of my favorite things to dip into tea and just sit back and enjoy the morning with. And while I really do enjoy it, it’s also something that I rarely buy and have never made before now. I’ve never made it before because I always thought it was something hard to make and time-consuming. I’m not scared of the hard part but quite often the time-consuming part is a problem.

Well guess what? Biscotti is very easy to make and not time-consuming at all, unless you want to count the cool down time and the dipping part. I really don’t count cool down time because I have plenty of other things to do and it’s not like I’m sitting there watching it cool (that would be like watching grass grow in the summer). And as for the dipping, this biscotti is just as good un-dipped as  dipped, so if I’m running low on time, I can skip the chocolate dipping and maybe just do a drizzle. This time ended up with dipped because I’m giving it away as gifts.

You might think that I went crazy when I added three versions of ginger and over did it but this really is a wonderful smooth ginger flavor that just imparts the perfect gingerbread. It’s warm and spicy! Just perfect for dipping into tea or coffee for breakfast and giving away for a yummy gift to others. In fact, I’m shipping some out for my sister, so that she can enjoy it as well.

Triple Gingerbread Biscotti

1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (optional, but recommended)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. crystallized ginger bits

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. vanilla

1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 cup water

1 cup white chocolate for dipping

Preheat oven to 350° F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Using a mixer or food processor, combine the eggs, molasses, vanilla, fresh ginger and water until mixed well. Slowly add the flour mix into the wet ingredients, until it forms a ball.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide in half. Gently pat the dough into a 10″ x 2″ log and place about 4″ apart on the baking sheet. Bake for about 25 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently touched. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Do not throw away the parchment paper.

If you turned off the oven, preheat back to 350° F. Place the cooled logs on a cutting board and using a serrated knife, such as a bread knife, cut the log into 3/4″ slices. Place the slices, cut side down, back on the parchment lined baking sheet (it’s okay to reuse the parchment paper from the first baking instead of getting new). Bake the biscotti slices for 10 to 20 minutes, flipping over the pieces at the halfway mark (baking time depends on how dry you like the biscotti. The longer the time, the dryer! I did mine for 14 minutes and it was perfect).

Remove biscotti from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving or dipping into chocolate.

For chocolate version: melt 1 cup of white chocolate pieces in the microwave using 30 second bursts and then stirring. Once chocolate is completely melted, dip the pieces or drizzle and lay back on the parchment paper to harden. Enjoy!

Makes about 24 biscotti pieces.

More biscotti recipes for your dipping pleasure:

Vanilla-Chocolate Chip Biscottis from My Culinary Trial Room

Chocolate Biscotti with Cinnamon and Cocoa Nibs from Food Apparel

Rustic Orange Pistachio Biscotti with Cranberries from Liv Life

Gingerbread Biscotti from the Busty Baker

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti from Noshing with the Nolands