This is a chocolate version of Biscotti, or Cantucci cookies. Usually made with plain flour and almonds, I made these wholemeal cookies adding chocolate, hazelnuts and spelt flour to the traditional recipe. I also tried using less sugar, but they didn’t taste as good.  These cookies go well with coffee and tea, and kept a tin box they last for a long time.

Chocolate spelt biscotti with hazelnuts and almonds.

Ingredients

for 2 large trays of biscotti

150 g (5.29 oz) plain flour (unbleached all-purpuse flour)

150 g (5.29 oz) whole spelt flour

70 g (2.46 oz) hazelnuts, whole and some crushed

70 g (2.46 oz) almonds, whole and some crushed

3 eggs

170 g (5.99 oz) sugar

2 drops sweet orange essential oil (or some grated orange zest)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

80 g (2.82 oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids) finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon acacia honey

4 g baking soda

marsala wine to taste (or milk )

a pinch of salt

Method.

1. Sift the flour with the baking soda and cocoa powder.

2. Add the chocolate, the hazelnuts, the almonds and a pinch of salt to the flour. Stir well.

3. Separately, mix two eggs, with the honey, the orange essential oil and sugar.

4. Combine all the ingredients together and mix well, adding some marsala wine (or milk) if the mixture is too dry.

5. Divide the dough into four equal pieces, roll into the shape of four ropes and then brush the dough with an egg.

6. Bake at 190 ° C (374 °F) for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cut the cookies at a 45° angle, then bake for 5-10 minutes more at 190 ° C (374 °F).

7. Let the cookies completely cool and store in a sealed tin box.