Gluten Free Biscotti With Apricots And Walnuts

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This is the best Gluten Free Biscotti recipe ever! These cookies are perfectly crunchy, filled with gluten-free flour, ginger, cinnamon, walnuts, and dried apricots. They are super delicious, but are also low in sugar, healthy and vegan too!

Biscotti cookies are so incredible, and one of my favorite afternoon snacks is dipping a crispy cookie into a hot cup of coffee or tea. Even if you don’t drink coffee or tea, they are a special treat that everyone will enjoy.

Because of my love of biscotti cookies, I knew that I wanted something that was a healthier low sugar dessert than the traditional versions and also gluten-free.

I am excited to say that these gluten free biscotti are gorgeous, baked to perfection, and every bite is perfectly crunchy and sweet.

Not only they are gluten-free, but these cookies are also vegan biscotti, thanks to the use of aquafaba in place of egg whites. Next time, I may add chopped cranberries or raisins!

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You may not know that the word biscotti means “twice cooked” — because you bake the loaves once, slice, and then bake the biscuits again.

While this does take longer than your traditional Italian cookie recipe, I promise, it is worth it in the end. I’m excited to hear what you think after you try them!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why This Recipe Works

🥘 Ingredients

• A Gluten-free flour blend is obviously necessary to make these biscotti gluten-free! I recommend using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1:1 Flour. Other baking flours include a combination of xanthan gum, tapioca starch, oat flour, almond flour, or buckwheat flour. King Arthur flour also makes an excellent cookie. Their King Arthur gluten-free biscotti recipe is spot on!
• Aquafaba makes an excellent vegan-friendly egg substitute in this recipe. And it’s just the juice from a can of chickpeas or beans! I recommend using the liquid from either canned chickpeas or white beans since it’s the most neutral in flavor. You could try other vegan egg substitutes (like flax eggs), but I’m not sure they’d work as well.
• Warm spices like cinnamon and ginger add a delicious fall feel, but you can use any warm spices you enjoy like: nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, or even pumpkin pie spice!
• Walnuts & Apricots are fun mix-ins but aren’t necessary for this biscotti. You can also change them up with any dried fruit & nut you like!
• Granulated Sugar is used as a sweetener, but you can also substitute brown sugar or coconut sugar if you prefer. A little bit of sea salt brings out the sweetness of these Italian cookies even more.

📖 Variations

There are so many ways to change up this recipe – which is one of the best parts! Here are some of our favorite cookie variations:

• Use any kind of dried fruit that you enjoy. I went for an apricot biscotti, but raisins, cranberries, dried cherries, or anything else you think sounds good would be a fit for this vegan gluten-free biscotti recipe.
• Try out some different varieties of nuts to see what you like the best. I went for a walnut biscotti, but chopped almonds, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, and all other nuts would work too. 
• Add a bit of almond extract, or vanilla extract for a hint of flavor.
• Try candied nuts for even more decadence!
• Omit the sugar or replace with stevia or monk fruit to make a sugar-free biscotti recipe.
• Drizzle a little bit of melted chocolate or white chocolate of your choice over the cookies and let it set up before eating, or dip them in dark chocolate so that half of the cookie is covered with chocolate! It’s a fun way to add some flavor and charm to this gf biscotti. 

🔪 Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the oven temperature to 350° F. Line an 8” x 4” loaf pan with parchment paper.

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients, flour, ginger, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. Coarsely chop walnuts. Slice apricots into ¼” pieces. Set both aside.

Step 3: Using a stand mixer with a whisk attachment or a large bowl and hand mixer, whip aquafaba until foamy on medium speed (about 1 minute). Add salt and continue whipping on med-high until soft peaks form (about 5 minutes).

Step 4: Add sugar 1 tbs at a time to aquafaba, beating well after each addition. Once all sugar is incorporated, switch to high power and beat until stiff peaks form, an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Step 5: Sift 1/3 of flour and spice mixture into the whipped aquafaba. Gently fold into aquafaba in a circular motion, maintaining as much of the volume as possible.

Step 6: Add the remaining flour mixture in 2 more additions (always sift the flour in), folding after each addition. Fold until no flour pockets remain.

Step 7: Fold chopped walnuts and apricots into batter until well distributed.

Step 8: Gently scrape the dairy free biscotti dough into the prepared loaf pan and level out with the spatula. Bake for 35-40 minutes until starting to brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Step 9: Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes. Remove from pan and allow the flat log to cool completely, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Step 10: Preheat the oven to 250° F to bake a second time. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Place the loaf on a cutting board. With a sharp serrated knife, carefully cut ¼” thick slices crosswise from the loaf. Do not exert too much pressure at the top of the loaf, use a gentle sawing motion to start each slice.

Step 11: Place slices on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Step 12: Dry out in the oven for 25-35 minutes until a slight hint of color is present on the cookies, and they are crisp. Flip ½ way through for a more even browning. Do not allow them to get to golden brown on top or they will be burnt underneath. Allow to cool and enjoy. Gluten Free Biscotti can be stored for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temperature.

❓ Recipe FAQs

❄️ How To Store

Make sure your biscotti has completely cooled before storing it. Then place them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you place them in the fridge, they will likely get soft and lose their crunchy texture.

💭 Expert Tips

• When making this biscotti recipe, make sure you only use raw walnuts. If you don’t, they will overcook during the second bake.
• Never use a plastic bowl when mixing the ingredients. You should use glass or metal to yield the best results. 
• Because this gluten-free biscotti recipe has multiple “stages” and two baking times, you can break up the steps and do them over a couple days. You can make the dough 2 days in advance and refrigerate it until ready to use (and then just bring the dough to room temperature for 30 minutes before you bake it). You can also store the baked biscotti (after the first bake) for 1-2 days before slicing and baking again.
• Make sure you measure your flour using the spoon and scrape method (spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off with the back of a knife).
• After the first round of baking, make sure your biscotti loaf has cooled completely. If you cut into it too early, the entire loaf will fall apart! Also – use an extremely sharp knife when cutting the loaf into cookies.
• The longer you leave the cookies in the oven, the more crunchy your biscotti will be.

🍪 More Healthy Desserts!

• Keto Peanut Butter Cookies
• Sesame Tahini Cookies
• Gluten-Free, Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
• Oatmeal, Raisin, Coconut, and Chia Seed Cookies
• Vegan Rice Krispie Treats

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