Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti

I couldn't let the month of October slip away without sneaking in ONE more pumpkin recipe.  I'm a girl who openly rejects all pumpkin spiced drinks but is obsessed with pumpkin flavored foods.  (I believe pumpkin should be eaten - not consumed in a  drink.)  🤷🏻‍♀️I love pumpkin so much that an obscene number of cans of the orange stuff have made their way into my kitchen this Fall.  I've tested new pumpkin recipes and made some of my pumpkin classics.  If you've never had  pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pancakes on a cool October morning - you are missing out.  

If you've ever baked with pumpkin, you know that there is a lot of water in canned pumpkin.  The moisture content in the puree translates to mostly soft and chewy pumpkin delicacies like pumpkin gingersnaps and pumpkin snickerdoodle cupcakes.  I knew that it was going to be a challenge to create a biscotti that would be crispy and crunchy and still bursting with pumpkin flavor, but I was up for it.  ​

Since I was making a new biscotti recipe, I figured might as well make it dairy free so my WHOLE family can enjoy them, right?  I figured that replacing the butter with oil might actually have the added benefit of helping to keep my biscotti from getting soft, too.  Adding nuts to my biscotti also seemed like an obvious way to add some crunch to my pumpkin biscotti.   

I'm happy to report that my pumpkin biscotti experiment was a success!  I actually created a true, twice baked, crispy, crunchy, spiced pumpkin biscotti, studded with toasted pecans.  And they're absolutely irresistible!  I ate at least 4 of these hot out of the oven - like so hot they burned my mouth.  #worthit 😅 After they cooled, I made a proper cup of tea and I sat down and ate at least 2 more.  See what I mean about irresistible?  These biscotti are downright addicting.  

Pumpkin Pecan Biscotti
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of salt
7/8 cup sugar 
1 Tbsp molassses
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup pumpkin purée
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans 

Combine flour, baking powder, spices and salt. 

Whisk together eggs, sugar, molasses, pumpkin, oil and vanilla.

Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. 

Stir in pecans. 

Gather dough on silpat baking mat.  Divide into 3 pieces. 

Shape each piece into a long thin log. 

Bake 25 minutes at 350.  

Slice logs into 1/2" wide strips.  Line up on baking sheet. 

Bake 10 minutes.  Flip.  Bake another 10 minutes. 

I had to really hold back because everything in me wanted to drizzle these biscotti with some creamy white chocolate.  Can you imagine how many I would have eaten if white chocolate was entered into the equation?   The real reason that I was able to resist was because I wanted to save these for my Thanksgiving brunch and I felt like they would freeze better without the chocolate drizzle.  Full disclosure:  I might actually drizzle some with chocolate when I pull them out of my freezer on Thanksgiving morning.  I can only resist for so long.  😂
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Ciao!

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