Yes, You Can: Dairy-Free Christmas Cookie #3: Biscotti

Of course you can have Biscotti cookies for Christmas and stay on your dairy-free diet - yes, you can!

Zia Silvia (Aunt Silvia) never called these anything but Anise Toasts. So I was somewhat surprised when the Biscotti that appeared in coffee houses in the 90s turned out to be our familiar Christmas cookies.

Zia never dipped her Biscotti in chocolate, either, or flavored them with anything other than anise. But beyond honoring family tradition, there's no reason not to go hog-wild with this basic Biscotti recipe; go ahead and try different flavors, nuts and glazes. I have no idea whether Zia used butter or oil in her Anise Toasts. The Biscotti recipe here gets all its flavor from the lemon zest, almonds and vanilla, so no one will miss the butter.

Recipe: Dairy-Free Lemon Almond Biscotti

 2 eggs
3/4 c. raw sugar (fine or coarse)
1/2 c. canola oil
Zest of two lemons
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. all-purpose unbleached flour
(may use up to 1 c. spelt or whole wheat)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. almonds, coarsely chopped

Combine eggs, sugar, oil, zest, and vanilla and mix well.
Add dry ingredients and stir until all the flour is moistened. The batter will be quite stiff.
Turn out batter onto a baking pan covered with parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet.
Divide dough in half and with floured hands, shape each half into a log about 2" wide.

The logs will spread as they bake, so place them about 4" apart.
Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and keep it on, set at 350 degrees.
Let the baked logs cool until they are comfortable to handle, about 10 minutes.
Move logs gently to cutting board.
Use a good serrated knife to cut the logs diagonally into slices about 3/4" thick.

Place slices flat on baking sheet, return to oven and bake another 20 minutes.
Cool completely on wire racks.

Options:
> Dust cooled Biscotti with powdered sugar, or with sugar mixed with cinnamon.
> Eliminate lemon zest. Dip cooled Biscotti into melted chocolate.
> Replace almonds with walnuts or pecans; replace lemon zest with 1 tsp. cinnamon.
> Add dried cranberries or dried cherries to batter.
> Replace almonds with 2 tsp. whole aniseeds.

While you're at it, why not make several different sorts? After all, it's Christmas, and when it comes to serving Dairy-Free Cookies - yes, you can!