Perfectly crunchy, chocolatey and all round delicious. These vegan chocolate biscotti make a great Christmas gift of festive snack to dunk in your coffee

**prep time** 20 mins **total time** 1 hour 30 mins **makes** 8-10

I seriously love Biscotti and I’ve finally created the perfect vegan recipe for this Italian classic. Plus it’s perfect for the festive season to gift your friends and family to share your love.

To start with find a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, mixed spice, pinch of sea salt and sugar. Followed by the orange zest which you can simply stir in.

Add in the wet ingredients, then the almonds, chocolate chips and raisins and stire. Mix with a spoon and then use your hands bring the dough together.

With wet hands, transfer the dough onto a lined baking tray and shape into a log a few inches wide. Now it’s time to bake in the oven for half an hour for the first bake.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking tray for about 15 mins. Using a serrated knife slice into fingers at an angle to get that classic biscotti shape. Place the slices onto the baking tray and bake in to the oven for a further 10 minutes more and then turn over and bake the other side for a further 10 mins.

When they’re baked to crispy perfection, remove from the oven and allow to cool. To finish I dunked one end into melted dark chocolate and coated with flaked almonds. You can leave plain, or get creative with this step using your favourite toppings. Dark chocolate and almonds worked perfectly with this mix to compliment the ingredients of the biscotti.

And finally, wrap up with some finishing touches to give away to friends and family this Christmas season! I used an old jar, some string I had kept in the drawer, some foraged holly and a piece of card from a package that would have gone in the recycling. Completely free, nothing new and beautifully presented!

Ingredients

125g flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
½ tsp mixed spice
75 g golden caster sugar
Zest of an orange
2 tbsp water plus more if needed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla essence
30g toasted sliced almonds or mixed nuts of your choice
25g vegan chocolate chips
20g raisins

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a baking tray with a silicone sheet or parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, mixed spice, pinch of sea salt and sugar. Stir in the orange zest.
Next add the wet ingredients: water, oil and vanilla essence.
Start stirring in the centre, mixing liquid and dry ingredients until all mixed. If needed add a little more water. The end result should be sticky but not too wet so that it comes together in a dough.
Add the almonds, chocolate chips and raisins. Mix these last ingredients in well, and then use your hands to bring the dough all together.
Using wet hands, place the dough onto the lined baking tray, and shape to make a log. You’ll want this to have some height, and not to be too rounded or flat.
Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until the surface is just firm. Reduce the heat in oven to 150°C (300°F).
Remove from oven and cool the log slightly on the baking tray for about 15 mins. Using a serrated knife carefully slice the logs at an angle into 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the slices individually on a baking tray cut side down and return to the oven . Bake for about 10 minutes and then turn over and bake for a further 10 mins until crispy. These will last for up to a week stored in an airtight container.