Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Biscotti

My mom's been wanting me to make biscotti for a very long time. I never really understood why. They seemed too nutty and bland and crunchy for me. So crunchy that you'd have to dip them in coffee in order to be edible. Not that I've ever tried biscotti before but still, I would much prefer a chewy chocolate chip cookie than the so-called Italian delicacy. Regardless, I decided to try out this recipe to please my mom and I was amazed at how delicious biscotti can actually be.

What IS biscotti, first of all? According to Wikipedia, it's an Italian cookie thats twice-baked  Which means, according to my previous self, a dry and overcooked cookie that old people ate with their coffee. 

Boy, I was wrong.

These had the perfect crunchiness and the flavours melded well together. I actually tried a piece before baking it the second time and I couldn't agree more that these taste better baked twice.

These were such a hit with my family that I'm expected to make them again. Tomorrow. And maybe the day after that and the day after that and the day after that and...You get my drift. Looks like we'd better stock up on oranges and hazelnuts.

It's incredible how the combination of chocolate, hazelnut and orange can taste so magical.

As I was making these yummies, I caught a whiff of a chocolatey-orange scent and was reminded of muffins that my mom used to make. Oh how times have changed...now I'm the one who does the baking!

Dip them in coffee or eat them alone, either way they're a great treat!

Chocolate Hazelnut Orange Biscotti
From Swiss Paleo

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• juice from half an orange
• zest from half an orange
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips

1. Mix the almond flour, arrowroot flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add the egg, honey and orange juice mix well with a spatula.
3. Stir in the chopped nuts (I used a mortar and pestle to chop them), chocolate and orange zest.
4. The dough is very sticky, so get your hands wet and the dough won't stick to you. Grab the dough up and place it onto a parchment lined baking sheet and form it into a parallelogram as shown in the picture below. I made mine 1" thick.
5. Place in a pre-heated 300 F oven for 25 minutes.
6. Remove to cool completely.
7. Once cool, slice on the diagonal with a knife.
8. Place cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet and place back in the oven at a 250 F.
9. Bake for 12-15 minutes and then flip over and cook on the other side for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 14 pieces