Guilt-free Pumpkin Biscotti

 Holiday food talk revolves around the meal its self and what to do with the leftovers.  When families travel or are visiting, there are other meals than dinner to consider. If you want something that can take off the edge until the next meal, these low fat pumpkin biscotti are just the thing to make and have on hand.  They make a great gift too.  Pack a few in your purse when you head out to do your holiday shopping!  You may end up saving yourself about 500 calories and 50 gms of fat by bringing your own treat and passing up Starbuck’s holiday spread.
This is a recipe I created, inspired by the varieties of fruit butters that can be found at Trader Joe’s markets.  It took some time for me to become a TJ fan but now I love all the cool raw materials that can be found buried under that mass of prepared food and bagged veggies.   I’ve been tinkering around with lowering fat and/or sugar but still maintaining taste and texture in my baked goods for a while and I think this recipe is a keeper.  The pumpkin butter replaces the butter normally used in many cookie recipes, it adds tremendous flavor and maintains the same texture of a full fat biscotti.

I make biscotti often and my baking method is designed not to break people’s teeth or require a sugar level test after eating.  It’s about the combinations of flavors and a few very basic ingredients.  These have the pumpkin paired with roasted pecans and a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice.  Unfortunately I was out of any booze to infuse these with (rough cold season) but I think honey whiskey or a splash of a ginger brandy, cognac, or SNAP would add even more depth to the flavor. 

Guilt-free lowfat Pumpkin Biscotti
makes approx 18 cookies
3 ¼ cup all purpose flour

1 T baking powder

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T fresh chopped ginger or 1t ground ginger

1/3t salt

1 cup of sugar

2/3 cup Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter

1T canola oil

3 large eggs (room temperature)

½ T vanilla extract (or 1/2T vanilla and 1/2T liquor of preference)

1 cup whole pecans, toasted, coarsely chopped

1 egg white, lightly beaten

3T raw sugar

Preheat oven to 325 convection bake (if you don’t have the option, use 350). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 
1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a medium bowl.  In the bowl of a mixer, combine the sugar, pumpkin butter, oil for a few minutes on medium speed.  Add the 3 eggs, extract/booze and beat on medium high until all the eggs are thoroughly incorporated and a little frothy, about 5 minutes.  On low speed, add half the flour mixture to the egg mixture.  After incorporated add the rest of the flour, mix until the flour is just incorporated, do not over mix.  With a wooden spoon, mix in the chopped pecans.  Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.  Make ahead: Dough can be refrigerated overnight.

2. Divide the dough in thirds.   Spoon and shape the dough into 12 inch long, 1 ½ inch wide logs directly on to prepped baking sheets.  Two logs on one sheet (about 3 inch space apart), the third on the other sheet.  *This dough is more like thick batter, don’t be tempted to add more flour, you will kill the light texture that these have!  Brush the log tops with egg white and sprinkle with sugar.

3. Bake logs until golden orange, logs will spread, 20 minutes convection, 25-30 minutes convention.  Switch sheets top to bottom , front to back, half way through the baking time if baking both sheets at one time.  Cool logs for at least 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temp to 300.

4. Transfer the logs with a spatula to a cutting board.  With a serrated bread knife, cut the logs on the diagonal into 1 inch wide slices.  Arrange the slices on the baking sheets, cut side down.  Bake 10 minutes and turn biscotti over and bake another 5 minutes.  The color will deepen a little but they will feel slightly toasted to the touch.  The longer you keep biscotti in the oven during this second bake, the more they dry out and become hard.  Without a ton of sugar in this recipe I have found that they do not become overly crispy, but do have a nice crunch.

Transfer to a rack and cool.  Store in an airtight container for up to a week.  Freeze very well for up to a month.