Biscotti for Caleb
I still do make biscotti a lot, almost every week, and since Caleb my grandson was small, he has enjoyed chewing on them. However, there is sugar in biscotti, and the mommies don’t like sugar is babies’ foods, which make a lot of sense.
One night, Jenny and I were working on a project and poor Caleb was fussy, we had tea and biscotti on the table, and obviously, we were not going to give him tea! So he got a biscotti, he immediately quieted and in fact, we worked almost an hour without a peep from him, I realized it is also a good teething cookie.
Then I started mulling over how could I make the biscotti healthier, there are only two ingredients I was targeting, the flour and sugar. I wanted to replace the flour with spelt, but then realized, spelt has a different texture and I could not use just spelt, so I cut it with whole wheat flour, almost half and half, I also replaced the sugar with maple syrup, yes it is still a form of sugar, but it also has wonderful proprieties and minerals, so the cookie would have some sweet component, but it would not compare to a commercial cookie.
So this morning, after working out the ingredients, I went at it carefully and happily, after all, these cookies are for my grandsons…
INGREDIENTS:
2 large eggs
½ c. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour
1 c. spelt flour
½ c. diced dried apricots
½ c. slivered almonds
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Beat first three ingredients together for 3 minutes.
In mixing bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients.
ON a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, form two even logs and bake in 350° for 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Lower oven temperature to 325°.
After 10 minutes slice the logs into half inch pieces and set on their sides on the same parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes, turn over and bake for another 10 minutes.
Cool the biscotti and see if baby likes them!
