HOT SHOT BISCOTTI

Recipe from THE ENGINE 2 COOKBOOK by Rip Esselstyn

MAKES 16-20

Hot Shots are the firefighters who are dropped into the path of a forest fire to try to stem its destruction. These biscotti are loaded with flavor, crunch, and enough calories to keep hunger away as you problem-solve the forest fires raging in your life. Grab a Hot Shot Biscot (sounds cool shortened like that, no?) and you are ready to trot!

INGREDIENTS

  • 2/3 cup walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup oat flour
  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup raw hazelnuts, toasted in a 350°F oven for 5 to 8 minutes or until fragrant
  • 1/3 cup pistachios
  • 1/3 cup nondairy chocolate chips and/or raisins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a food processor, blend the walnuts and water until the mixture becomes a lump. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and blend until uniformly mixed. Pulse in the flours and oats with as few rotations of the blade as possible; this keeps the flour from toughening up. Add the cranberries, hazelnuts, pistachios, and chocolate chips and/or raisins and blend a few times more.

Remove the biscotti dough from the processor and form into a roughly 9×3-inch log. Place on the lined pan and bake for 25 minutes. Set aside to cool. Decrease the oven temperature to 300°F.

When the biscotti log is cool enough to handle (5 to 8 minutes), use a serrated knife to slice into ½-inch slices. Place the slices flat on the same lined baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake again for 10 more minutes, until both sides are lightly browned. Cool and serve when crisp!