Pumpkin Gingerbread Biscotti

Biscotti takes me straight back to Christmas 2008, which I spent wandering around Italy with my parents after studying abroad. It was cold but we got to see the Pope and we didn’t have to wait in line for anything. Anyways, throughout our 2 week vacation, my parents and I went through countless bags of biscotti. It was relatively cheap, widely available, and extremely delicious.

Ever since then, my mom has been asking me to make biscotti for her. Every single time I respond to her request by saying, “It’s really easy to make. I’ll make it for you!” And then I never do. I really have no idea why because it is one of the simplest things to make. It requires no kneading, no scooping, no whipping, no rising…

In fact, all you have to say is “biscotti” and it magically appears before you. Kidding, but wouldn’t that be nice?

For my first ever batch of biscotti, I decided to make it Pumpkin Gingerbread flavored with cranberries and pecans mixed in. The holidays are in full swing and so is my infatuation with molasses.

The pumpkin comes from a little bit of pumpkin butter and pumpkin pie spice. You could leave it out if you’re not a fan of pumpkin, but why would you ever consider such a thing?

These would make great [last minute] holiday gifts, baked or unbaked. I am including a Pumpkin Gingerbread Biscotti In-A-Jar recipe at the end of this post that you could assemble for holiday gifts.

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Let’s get started, shall we?

The process of making the dough is pretty standard—mix dry and wet ingredients separately and then combine together. I used 3 different grains. Rolled oats, oat flour, whole wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour. The combination worked out really well. As in, it tasted like 100% white flour even though it was packed with whole grains. The best of both worlds.

I usually don’t think rolled oats when I think biscotti but it really gave it a nutty texture.

Tip: It helps to massage the dry ingredients with your hands to crumble up the brown sugar.

Like I said, I added pumpkin butter to the wet ingredients to give it a kick in the flavor department.

The mixture is very dry, so be patient when mixing it together. At first, it seems like there is way too much flour but it all works out in the end.

Don’t leave out the mix-ins! They are the best part.

Biscotti means “twice-cooked/baked” in Italian. Basically, you bake your log, cut it up and then bake it again.

Baked once…

Cut it on a diagonal…

(take 50 photos)

Turn biscotti on it’s side and bake again…flip…bake again.

Done and done. Easier than you thought, right?

Try it for yourself…

Pumpkin Gingerbread Biscotti

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 TBSP pumpkin butter
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350* F. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, powder, soda, spices). Use your hands to crumble up the brown sugar to break down the large clumps, if needed. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, molasses, pumpkin butter, oil, vanilla). Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Mix in pecans and dried cranberries (or desired mix-ins).

Form the dough into 2 mounds and roll out each mound into a 2 x 12 in. log on a lightly floured surface. Place both mounds a few inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake both logs at 350* F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove logs from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut logs on a diagonal into 1″ pieces. Lay the pieces down on their sides and bake at 275* F for 8 minutes. Flip biscotti over and bake for another 8 minutes. Allow the biscotti to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

I also layered the [dry] ingredients one by one in a large jar to give as a present. That way the recipient can dump the contents in a mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients and make their very own Pumpkin Gingerbread Biscotti.

To make the jar, layer each dry ingredient in order (rolled oats through pumpkin pie spice). Be sure to gently tap the jar on the counter between each layer so the ingredients can settle down.

Then handwrite or print the directions on a card and attach it to the jar. Don’t forget to tie a big bow around it to make it look fancy schmancy.

Live Laugh Eat’s

Pumpkin Gingerbread Biscotti In-a-Jar

What You’ll Need:

• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
• 2 TBSP pumpkin butter
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350* F. In a large mixing bowl, dump contents of jar and mix thoroughly. Use your hands to crumble up the brown sugar to break down the large clumps, if needed. In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (eggs, molasses, pumpkin butter, oil, vanilla). Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Mix in pecans and dried cranberries (or desired mix-ins).

Form the dough into 2 mounds and roll out each mound into a 2 x 12 in. log on a lightly floured surface. Place both mounds a few inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake both logs at 350* F for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove logs from the oven and allow to cool.

Cut logs on a diagonal into 1″ pieces. Lay the pieces down on their sides and bake at 275* F for 8 minutes. Flip biscotti over and bake for another 8 minutes. Allow the biscotti to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

You can also include a small bag of the mix-ins if you want (3/4 cup pecans + 3/4 cup dried cranberries).

Biscotti: twice baked and twice the fun.