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Candy Cane Marbled Biscotti

 

I seriously don’t know how to describe these bad boys. Like majorly embellished Thin Mints? A tribute to all that is glorious and wintery in crunchy cookie form? Abso-friggin-lutely fantastic with coffee?

Let’s go with all of the above.

Every year I always make some sort of confection with all the striped candy that is hanging around (um, literally) during the holiday season: usually bark, or cupcakes, or cookies. Oftentimes even just a simple hot chocolate will do. This year, though, I wanted to make something that truly screams indulgence. And, since it’s the season for hot bevvies, biscotti seemed apropos. But, I was craving a biscotti that not only would stand up to coffee, but enhance its bold flavor. Also, I needed something that exclaims “Happy Holidays!” because when giving away food for holidays, one rule I like to keep in mind is: the more festive, the better.

Enter Candy Cane Marbled Biscotti. In posts past I have divulged to you guys my affinity for biscotti and the reasons for such. I think adding a hefty coat of chocolate and an extra dose of sugar makes it all the better. It’s like candy and biscotti… in one!

Did I mention that this stuff is perfect for gift giving? Not only does it razzle and dazzle, but it also lasts up to a month!

Candy Cane Marbled Biscotti~ Vegan and Gluten Free

  • 1/2 cup granulated organic sugar
  • 1/2 cup vegan margarine
  • 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup sorghum flour
  • 3/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup potato starch
  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 cup nondairy chocolate chips, melted
  • 1 cup crushed peppermint candy canes
  • 1 additional cup chocolate chips, melted for drizzling

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and the sugar. Add in prepared flaxseed meal and vanilla and mix well.

In separate bowl, combine sorghum flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt. Stir well to evenly incorporate.

Slowly mix in flours with the creamed margarine mixture until clumpy. Dive dough into two sections, leaving half in the mixing bowl and set the rest aside.

Gently stir in the 1/2 cup melted chocolate chips with one half of the dough until very well combined, scraping bowl as needed.

Now you will have two sections of dough: one chocolate and one vanilla. Fold the 1 cup crushed candy canes into the vanilla dough and shape into two balls.

Shape the chocolate mixture into two balls as well. Then, roll each section into long ropes, so that you have four long ropes of both chocolate and vanilla–about 10 inches long each.

Place one chocolate rope and one vanilla rope side by side and then twist over one another. Gently press down to form a flat log about 3 inches by 10 inches. I find it easiest to do this on the actual cookie sheet I will be baking them on. Be sure not to grease the cookie sheet.

Bake in preheated oven 28 minutes, and then remove from oven and place on wire rack to let completely cool. Slice diagonally into 3 inch by 1 inch cookies and then place sideways onto ungreased (updated… use parchment or silpat lined to avoid sticking) cookie sheet.

Bake cookies for 10 minutes. Flip and bake 10 more minutes. Flip one more time and bake 5 more minutes. Let cool completely and then drizzle or coat one side with more melted chocolate and immediately garnish with additional crushed candy canes.

For an easy tute on cutting biscotti, see here.

Store in airtight container for up to one month. Dip into piping hot coffee or hot chocolate for the ultimate biscotti experience.

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17 Responses to Candy Cane Marbled Biscotti

  1. mo says:

    Hell to the yes. This is gorgeous!

  2. Gena says:

    Absolutely incredible looking. Happy 2012, Alyson! May this be the year we meet.

  3. Pamela says:

    Hi Allyson,

    I saw your note on the recipe about the parchment. Just wanted to update that they mostly stuck in the first baking round. I placed them on parchment after that so they wouldn’t stick on the second and third. They are tasty though and family loved them today!

  4. Katherine says:

    Hi. Just another comment. I had problems with the candy cane part too. I crushed the canes quite small, less than 1/2 inch, and there was maybe 1/4 of it quite powdery.
    I also stick problems with parchment (or non-greased baking paper). And mine were very crumbly, I had a lot of trouble cutting them and I don’t think they’re going to go hard even on the second bake. How dry/moist should the dough be? Would it be feasible to mix/fold in extra water when trying to shape them into logs? They do taste very nice though…

    • allyson says:

      so I am thinking it must be the crushed part of the candy making them stick… not sure about the crumbly texture, but perhaps the added sugar (the crushed candy canes) would do it? although i’d be more tempted to say it would make them spread out a bit more than usual. I would definitely add a little water if it’s not holding together… maybe a tablespoon or so depending on the dryness. Since gluten free flours can be so darn finicky, this could easily happen. :\ The dough is similar to a typical cookie dough… maybe a little less moist than a tollhouse cookie. (sorry if that’s not a helpful comparison!)

      with all this crushed candy cane input, i will definitely do a little tute on the correct texture of candy canes on my next recipe that includes them! <3

  5. Christine says:

    I couldn’t wait to make these! However when they came out of the oven (the first time) the vanilla dough with the candy cane in it melted like crazy. I was able to shove it together with a bench scraper but will have to see if it cuts when it cools and how the second round of baking goes. Does it matter how fine your candy cane bits are? Maybe that’s my problem. Any thoughts? I will try again though! Oh – and I don’t know if brand matters either but only one store had any left (out of 4). Happy holidays!

    • allyson says:

      Hey Christine!

      Bummer! You know, you are the second person today to comment about melting candy cane disasters when baking (one stuck to the pan)… I wonder if it is the size with yours? I leave mine pretty chunky, maybe 1/4 inch pieces. There were a few stragglers of powder, but mostly they were solid. Were yours smaller or bigger? I’ll make a note in the recipe either way. :)
      Happy holidays to you too!!!

  6. Pamela says:

    Not sure how you managed this without parchment paper. Mine stuck to the pan like crazy when the candy cane bits melted and I can’t get it off. What a mess! Not sure if I have the patience to do this one again for Christmas but I will use parchment next time.

    • allyson says:

      Oh, so sorry to hear about the mess. :\

      Yeah, I didn’t have any problems with sticking whatsoever on any of the bake times (did yours only stick on the final rounds? or did you not make it that far?)… but parchment is probably a good idea regardless. Thanks for the input!

  7. Looks so yummy! And what a great gift idea. I can see this being a hit with the coffee fanatics around the office.

  8. carmela says:

    These look great! Good enough to gift but even better to eat yourself! teeheehee! I want to make them but I don’t have any of those flours available. What would the equivalent be in unbleached all purpose flour?
    And the 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal mixed with 6 tablespoons water, is that equivalent to 3 eggs? can I use ener-g egg replacer for that instead?

    Sorry so many questions! I just want to make these ASAP with items I have on hand.
    Again, they look beautiful!

  9. shannon says:

    Yum! I love biscotti. That sounds perfect to go with a bag of fancy coffee beans!

  10. bitt says:

    this looks amazing!

  11. love the marble look to those biscotti! looks delicious!!!

  12. Laurel says:

    mmph mmmphh mummph