Pumpkin Biscotti

Let's celebrate this fall season by making something crunchy and crispy with pumpkin!

This recipe is very unique because pumpkin is used to make a crunchy and delicious treat. Most pumpkin recipe are for whoopie pie cookies, bread, muffins, and pies, all soft baked deliciousness. This is the case because the water content in pumpkin is very high, thus making pumpkin best for soft baked goods. After reviewing the few recipes I found which were all modification from the original recipe at Simply Recipes, I applied what I learned from making biscotti, studying other's experiences, and from making it a couple of times to end up with this recipe.  Here are the sites where I got inspiration from, Pate a chew, Red Ramekin, F.M.O.H, and King Arthur.

Pumpkin naturally has a very mild favor. People often associate pumpkin flavor with the aroma from fall spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, All Spice). This recipe will work with and without the inclusion of pumpkin. The only change to the recipe will be the baking time.

Taste: The thin coat of bittersweet chocolate complements the mildly sweet biscotti. Once dipped in a hot cup of tea, the melting chocolate on the biscotti is even more enjoyable. The mild pumpkin flavor is enhanced by the aroma of cinnamon and spice.
Texture: Super crunchy and crispy! The whole wheat texture is almost unnoticeable because it is masks by the natural texture of this cookie.
Modification: I reduced the sugar content greatly and made it completely whole wheat so this treat will still be nutritious, yet tasty.

Ingredients Depending on size, yield: 30 to 40 biscotti

Organic Whole Wheat Flour (I used King Arthur's)	2 cups (9.6 oz)
Organic Sugar (cane or coconut)	⅓ cup (95 grams)
Organic Eggs (room temperature)	2 whole eggs
Baking Powder	1½ teaspoon
Cinnamon (I use Simply Organic)	1 teaspoon
Nutmeg (I use Simply Organic)	¼ teaspoon
Cloves (I use Simply Organic)	¼ teaspoon
Ginger (I use Simply Organic)	¼ teaspoon
Salt	½ teaspoon
Organic Butter (room temperature)	6 tablespoons
Vanilla Extract	1 teaspoon
Pumpkin Puree (canned or homemade. I used homemade puree from my mother-in-law)	½ cup (118 grams or 4.2oz)
*Chocolate Chips (bittersweet, milk, or dark)	1 cup
*Chopped Walnuts	1 cup
*Crystallized Ginger

* These are optional ingredients. Free feel to add one, two, or a combination of three of these optional ingredients. Only add up to a total of 2 cups of these optional mix-ins altogether. I haven’t tried it, but the combination of chips and ginger may be a bit strange.

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a bowl and set aside. 
3. Beat room temperature butter, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, and pumpkin puree together until mixture is smooth and creamy. Scrape down sides of bowl if needed. The batter may look slightly curdled. 
4. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stir batter until ingredients are incorporated and until batter is smooth. I used a wooden spoon to stir. If using a hand-held mixer or stand mixture, set it on low speed. The dough will be sticky.
5. Plop dough onto a floured working surface. Roll dough into a log. Then with your hands or rolling pin, roll dough out until desired thickness is achieved. Keep in mind that the length of your biscotti is not the length of the dough but the width. Lightly flour your work surface, dough, and hands as needed. 
• Long biscotti: roll dough out into a 16" x 7" log with a thickness of ¾”. 
• Small biscotti: divide dough in half and shape it into two 9½" x 2" log, about ¾” thick
6. Move logs to prepared baking sheets. Give room for the dough to bake. They will get bigger. 
7. Bake for 35 minutes then remove from oven. Either turn off oven or reduce oven temperature to 325F. 
8. Cool biscotti on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Use a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water or a moist towel to lightly moisturize the top and sides of the logs. This will make the slicing of the biscotti easier. 
9. Preheat oven to 325F if it is not at it already. 
10. Slice the log with a serrated knife for ½ to ¾ inch thick slices.
• I cut mine diagonally for longer but fewer biscotti.
11. Set biscotti on prepared baking sheet and bake for anther 15 to 20 minutes.
12. Take biscotti out and flip them onto their other side and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until they feel very dry and golden. If they feel a tiny bit moist in the center, it is okay since they will continue to dry out as they cool.
13. Remove biscotti from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Store airtight at room temperature. 

Optional Steps

Chocolate Coat: Dip biscotti into melted chocolate then place onto parchment paper. For a thin coat of chocolate, I used a wooden spoon to lightly scrape off excess chocolate. Melt chocolate by microwaving it or by stove top. Make sure that no water gets onto the chocolate. If a single drop of water gets into the chocolate, the entire batch is ruined.

• Microwave: heat chocolate for 30 seconds then stir. Heat for another 15 seconds if 50% of the chocolate is not melted. Heat chocolate in small increments of time until 70-80% of the chocolate is melted. Stir chocolate after each heating session. When 70-80% of chocolate is melted, stir chocolate until the remaining chocolate chunks are melted.

• Stove top: Place chocolate pieces in a metal boil over simmering water. Stir to melt chocolate evenly. Once chocolate is melted, remove from heat. 

Walnut/Almond Coat: Once a chocolate covered biscotti is made, dip it into your container of chopped walnuts or sliced almonds before letting the chocolate cool and harden.

• I placed my chopped nuts in a large even and flat container. A cutting board would work too. You can also sprinkle the nuts onto the chocolate covered biscotti.