Hearty Whole Wheat Biscotti

Now I know what happens when I eat unhealthy foods. For the past 5 weeks I have been very diligent about what I eat and my workouts. I'm still working out 5 days a week, and I still count my calories, but I hadn't had a cheat day in all of those weeks. Then yesterday we had a potluck at work. I made mini cupcakes, and they were not healthy, but they were delicious. I will definitely post the recipes soon. Anyways, I decided that yesterday was going to be my cheat day, and I celebrated it well. :) Of course I ate the most veggies and fruit I could, but my calorie intake was a bit more, and cookies were involved. Then today we had a community service type thing for work and I helped with the grilling. My cheat day then kind of turned into a cheat weekend. Well, I realized that as the day goes on I feel groggy, and tired. As much as I love eating cupcakes and greasy hot dogs, I really don't like the hang over the next day. Tomorrow I will be doing a little extra kickboxing. 

This is where you will add a little more flour if your dough is sticky, or just work slowly and press together firmly if it seems too crumbly.

Go Cougs :) :)

Hearty Whole Wheat Biscotti
adapted from Food.com


Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract*
1 cube Baker's Baking white chocolate (or any baking chocolate; optional)

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients.
2. Add remaining ingrediens and mix well.
3. Divide dough in half. On greased baking sheet, form 2 logs about 2in. wide and 13in. long.**
4. Bake for 25 minutes at 350º, then cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes.
5. Slice with serrated knife at 1/2 inch intervals, lay each piece on it's side.
6. Return to oven for 5-6 minutes, turn pieces over, than cook for another 5-6 minutes. (Time depends on how crunchy you like your biscotti)
7. Cook completely, then brush bottoms with melted chocolate, if using.

*If you do not have almond extract, like me, vanilla extract is a perfect substitue. Almond is stronger than vanilla so double what the directions say, unless the recipe already has strong vanilla. I just added the equivalent of vanilla to almond. Make it 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. 

**If you are have trouble handling the dough because of stickiness, add a little more flour, but not more than 1/4 cup. Try oiling your hands or using a rubber spatula and wax paper. If your dough looks a little crumbly, it's okay. Just work slowly and press it together with your hands after mixing all ingredients. Biscotti is a crumbly cookie! :)

Makes 29 cookies

Nutrition: (per cookie with white chocolate) Calories 47; Fat 1g; Carbs 4g; Protein 1g; Cholesterol 18mg; Fiber 0g;