Today I decided to bring you a recipe that combines two seasons in one, the pumpkin season and the baking season. This fusion has resulted in a batch of beautifully fragrant vegan pumpkin biscotti that are begging to be dunked in your beverage of choice – black coffee or rooibos with plant milk in my case.
I’ve always had a soft spot for biscotti. When I worked a mind numbingly boring office job, I used keep a box of biscotti in my drawer at all times to keep my sprits up until I finally broke up with my job and my biscotti habit. I still like biscotti but as I found a way to make a living doing something far more fulfilling I don’t rely on them anymore.
These vegan pumpkin biscotti is a nod to autumn as they feature pumpkin puree and a bunch of autumnal spices: cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and a pinch of cloves. They are also stuffed with quintessentially autumnal hazelnuts and a bit of orange zest is a great addition too. These are delightful with or without a drizzle of melted white chocolate or naked, dipped in a cup of coffee or tea. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we have.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
VEGAN BUTTER|: Biscotti use just a little bit of butter, but not too much. I simply replaced regular butter with vegan butter but you could use coconut oil as well.
SUGAR: You can use any sugar you like, I have made biscotti recipes with caster sugar before but here I used light muscovado sugar for that autumnal flavour.
PUMPKIN PUREE: As these are vegan pumpkin biscotti they require pumpkin puree. I made mine myself but you can use shop bought too. I made mine by baking my pumpkin in an oven (using no oil) and blending roasted flesh with a stick blender until smooth.
SPICES: I used a mixture of warming spices I like: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and ginger but you can also use a ready pumpkin pie spice mix if you want – 2 tsp or so.
VANILLA: All baked good benefit from a touch vanilla and these vegan pumpkin biscotti are no different so I added some. If you don’t have any, you don’t need to run to the store as there are so many other flavours going on so it’s not the end of the world.
FLOUR: Plain flour is what I used to make these vegan pumpkin biscotti. If you wanted to make them gluten-free, be sure to use a well balanced gluten-free flour mix – one that contains a few different gluten-free flour and some starches for binding.
HAZELNUTS: Hazelnuts are my favourite autumn nuts and they go well with pumpkin so I used them in these vegan pumpkin biscotti. If you would rather use something different, almonds or pecan would work just as well.
ORANGE ZEST: Orange zest is an optional mix-in, but its citrusy Xmassy notes go well with pumpkin and warming spices so I added it in and love the addition. You can skip it if you wish.
WHITE CHOCOLATE: This final ingredient is more for looks than anything else although the flavour does go well with other flavours. I’ll admit that you are planning to dunk these biscotti in your coffee or tea, chocolate may not be that practical so feel free to skip it.
HOW TO MAKE IT?
1) WHISK WET INGREDIENTS
Combine softened vegan butter and sugar, whisk for a minute or so, until soft and creamy. Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, spices, salt and orange zest. Whisk until well mixed.
2) GENTLY ADD FLOUR & HAZELNUTS
Slowly mix in flour and hazelnuts. The mixture is meant to be sticky so don’t worry, it’s meant to be like that.
3) SHAPE INTO LOGS & BAKE
Divide into half and shape it rough logs on a lightly floured surface, transfer to a lined baking tray and shape the rough logs into fairly flat 25 cm / 10 inch long and 5 cm / 2 inch logs.
3) SLICE & BAKE AGAIN
Allow the logs to cool down for 15-20 minutes before cutting into slices with a serrated knife. Arrange on a baking tray, cut side down, and bake again. Drizzle with melted white chocolate once cold.
- 55 g / ¼ cup vegan butter (I used Naturli), softened
- 140 g / scant ¾ cup sugar (I used light muscovado)
- 115 g / ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp cardamom, ½ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, pinch of cloves
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- zest 1 large (unwaxed) orange
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 250 g / 2 cups all purpose white flour or GF flour mix (I tested this one*)
- 75 g / ¾ cup hazelnuts, chopped roughly
DECORATION (optional)
- 100 g / 3½ oz vegan white chocolate
- Set the oven to 175° C / 350° F (155° C / 310°F on a fan setting) and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
- Place softened vegan butter and sugar in a large bowl, whip for 2 minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add pumpkin puree, vanilla, spices, salt, orange zest (if using). Whisk on low speed to combine. It may look like butter has split, don’t worry, that’s perfectly fine.
- Gradually fold in flour and baking powder until just combined. Finally add in chopped hazelnuts if using.
- Divide the dough in half – it will be sticky! – and roll each half into a rough log on a lightly floured surface.
- Transfer the rough logs onto a large baking tray and shape them into fairly flat 5 cm / 2″ wide and 25 cm / 10″ long logs. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place in the hot oven for about 30-35 minutes, until the log’s surface is firm to a gentle pressure and lightly browned. Do not switch the oven off as these will need to be baked again. Turn the oven down a little, to 150° C / 300° F.
- Let the logs cool down for 15-20 minutes before cutting them. Cut it into 1-1½ cm / 0.4-0.5″ slices with a serrated knife and a gentle back and forth sawing motion – be very gentle as the dough will still be quite fragile at this point. Place the slices on a baking tray cut side down and return them to the oven for the second bake. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until your biscotti achieves the desired crispness and colour – remember the longer you bake them the harder they get.
- Once cool, dip the biscotti in the melted chocolate if you wish (if making them a long time in advance, skip the chocolate until closer to the consumption time as it might spoil). Arrange them on a drying rack for the chocolate to harden. Keep them in an air-tight container for 3-4 weeks or freeze.