The crunchy dunkable chocolatey snack you’re craving can be found in one of these Chocolate Almond Biscotti. They’re loaded with chocolate chips and almonds for super flavor and crunch, super easy to make AND they’re vegan and gluten-free. 8 wholesome ingredients and refined sugar-free so go ahead and enjoy!
My grandmother made a version of these. She called them chocolate mandel bread. I loved them so much….but I didn’t love the ingredient list which included sugar and oil. If you’re a traditional mandel bread lover, you should try my regular gluten-free almond flour biscotti recipe.
So, I did what I do and tweaked and tweaked the recipe until I had a delicious and crunchy chocolatey cookie with ingredients that agree with me.
My version of grandma’s mandel bread more closely resembles biscotti. They’re not as soft as hers because I love a dunkable dessert…so I slice and bake for a second time….and also because there are no eggs and no oil in these delicious chocolate almond biscotti. The almond flour and the almonds gives tons of almond flavor without the need for almond extract.
Doesn’t mean I don’t think of Grandma when I make them, or serve them….or that hubby doesn’t call them chocolate mandel bread…but it doesn’t matter, and you can call these double chocolate biscotti whatever you want too. Traditional Italian biscotti were made with no fat (neither oil nor butter) and no eggs. I’ve nailed it: Grandma nostalgia with a classic biscotti vibe!
Ingredients
- Almond flour: use superfine, blanched almond flour if you can.
- Cacao powder: minimally processed. Substitute with cocoa powder if that’s what you have.
- Apple sauce: acts as a binder and helps with moisture for these oil-free biscotti.
- Maple syrup: a natural sweetener that balances the cacao powder.
- Baking powder
- Dark chocolate chips
- Vanilla
- Almonds: sliced or slivered offer bonus crunch!
How to make them
Preheat oven to 350 and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place dry ingredients: cacao powder, almond flour and baking soda into a mixing bowl and use a fork to blend.
Mix together applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry.
Stir to combine. Resist the urge to overmix.
Add the chocolate chips and sliced almonds to the chocolate biscotti dough.
Stir to combine, evenly distributing the chips and nuts.
Turn dough out onto prepared pan.
Use wet hands to form cookie dough into a log about ½″ thick. The wider the log, the longer your biscotti slices will be.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300.
Pull parchment paper onto a cutting board and then cut into slices when cool enough to handle.
Turn biscotti slices onto their sides and place back into the oven for 10 minutes. Flip to the other side and bake for 10 more minutes.
Transfer to a wire rack and let the biscotti cookies cool completely before storing.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- For perfectly dunkable chocolate biscotti, consume right away (or after fully cooled) or follow the storage tips below.
- First baked almond biscotti will be easier to slice if you allow them to cool slightly.
- Slicing and then baking on each side is what dries out the biscotti and gives them that irresistible crunch.
- Keep a stash in the freezer….you can serve them straight from the freezer if friends drop by, or you need a last minute hostess gift. They’re adorable packed into a mason jar with a ribbon tied around the neck.
Storage Tips
- Cool COMPLETELY before storing. Any heat, sealed in, will cause biscotti to lose some of their crunchiness.
- IF sealed in an airtight container at room temperature, they will become a bit soft.
- Store in a metal tin or cookie jar. If you don’t have one, use a glass container lined with paper towel to absorb any moisture and let the biscotti retain their crunch at room temperature.
- A plate or cake pedestal with glass dome will also work well to keep these crunchy at room temp.
- Use freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- If your biscotti become a bit soft, you can re-crisp in a 250 degree oven for 15 minutes.
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Almond Biscotti (Vegan and Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup cacao powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a medium sized bowl, use a fork to mix together almond flour, cacao powder and baking powder.
- In a glass measuring cup, mix together applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and sliced almonds.
- Turn out onto the parchment lined baking tray. Wet your hands and then use them to form biscotti dough into a log approximately 4" wide and 12" long. The key indicator to look for is that the log of dough should be less than ½" thick.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven, turn temperature down to 325 and carefully lift parchment onto a cutting board. Cut into even slices about ¾" wide—or whatever you can manage.
- Turn biscotti slices onto their sides and then return to oven for 10 minutes.
- Flip biscotti onto other side and return to oven for 10 minutes.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Leave at room temperature for a week or transfer to the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
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