Crispy low carb almond flour biscotti with a touch of cardamom and orange. This is a deliciously grain-free way to start your day!
I am in full-on cookie-baking mode. I’m all about the low carb Christmas cookie recipes right now and I don’t seem to want to make anything else. Sorry, kids, I forgot about making dinner again, I was too busy dreaming up Christmas cookie ideas. I didn’t actually develop this cardamom orange biscotti recipe for the holiday season, but somehow it still fits. The warm spices and the orange zest in a cookie you can dunk into your hot drink…yep, seems like a Christmas cookie to me! Truth is I was just craving biscotti one morning and want a new and different flavour. Cardamom offers such a unique taste which goes well in both sweet and savoury dishes, I am rather enamored of it.
I really do love the Christmas baking season, and the majority of my baking does focus on cookies. Cakes, pies and other desserts are all very well and good, but Christmas cookies are in my blood. They are part of my heritage. My mother used to make huge batches of her roll-out Christmas shortbreads and we kids would decorate for hours. No icing, just cut up dried fruit and little sprinkles and coloured sugar that we would press into the soft dough before baking. She would give them away like crazy and we’d still end up with dozens in the freezer that would last well into February. Not that we minded.
And on the other side of my family, my father’s wife also had her traditional Christmas cookies, the pecan crescents. These were also shortbread-like in nature, but shaped by hand into plump crescents and filled with finely chopped pecans. And then topped with a sweet white glaze and sprinkles. She made many other wonderful cookies, but those were my favourites. I actually attempted my own low carb version a few years ago and they were quite good, but not quite the same. I’ve actually gotten much better at low carb baking and I think I could try again and get an almost exact replica. I may get to that, I may not. I have way too many ideas for low carb Christmas cookies, and not nearly enough time.
Ah well…in the meantime, enjoy these not-quite-Christmas Cardamom Orange Biscotti!
Cardamom Orange Biscotti
Ingredients
Biscotti:
- 2 cups almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve sweetener, or granulated erythritol
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- ¾ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Orange Glaze:
- ¼ cup powdered Swerve sweetener
- 1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, granulated Swerve, baking powder and xanthan gum. Stir in orange zest and cardamom.
- Stir together melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
- Turn dough out onto baking sheet and form into low, flat log, 10 x 4 inches. Bake 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250F.
- With a sharp knife, gently cut into 15 even slices. Place slices back onto baking sheet cut-side down and bake for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit inside until cool.
- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered Swerve with the orange juice. Drizzle over cooled biscotti and let set 30 minutes.
Notes
Saturated fatty acids: 2.65g
Total fat: 11.06g
Calories from fat: 99
Cholesterol: 8mg
Carbohydrate: 3.91g
Total dietary fiber: 1.79g
Protein: 3.75g
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Can I use cane sugar ?
I am sorry, I don’t really bake with sugar anymore so I can’t advise.
I made these and they were fantastic! Delicious. My first time making biscotti. Half of them went to my mother for Christmas.
The most unique and wonderful smelling baked treat ever ????tastes delicious and so easy to make. Thanks for sharing this divine recipe ????????
These are absolutely incredible!! Thanks for this delicious recipe!
MAGIC – Love your recipe Carolyn, I switched the butter to coconut oil and the sweetener I hadn’t heard of ( in New Zealand) so I used Rapadura Sugar, I also tried them with Maple Syrup, Walnuts and Mixed (Dutch windmill biscuit spice to be precise) spice, all good. Lemon zest and mixed spice worked too. Next I’m going to try with crystalised ginger in them.
Served with roasted fruits and whipped coconut cream…. mmmm
Hi Carolyn, I love your biscotti and have tried several variations. I just had a knee replacement and the dry biscotti is helpful with my pain meds. Which I hate to take but necessary right now. Helps with the nausea. And they are quite simple to make. I can mix up the dry ingredients and then rest before finishing if I need to. I have found i need to increase baking time for first and second baking usually leave in oven overnight or till oven is cool. Sometimes have to turn oven back on. Anyway, thanks for great recipes!
You’re welcome. Glad to hear it helps with the pain meds too!
Wow, Carolyn, I followed your recipe exactly. They did not dry out and get crisp. They taste good and I will eat them, but they are more like a soggy shortbread than a biscotti. Also, how do you get the Swerve to dissolve in the orange juice to make the glaze? It does not dissolve. I’m just wondering what I did wrong . . . ?
What brand of almond flour did you use? If it wasn’t the finely ground stuff, that might be the issue. Also, were you using powdered Swerve for the glaze?
Do I need to use xanthum gum? I have everything else in the house and they look good!
No, you don’t need to. They will be a touch more fragile.
Oh cardamom.. how I love it.. I miss German Stollen.. it’s the flavor of that for me.. I’m tempted to drag my very sick self into the kitchen and make these. 🙂 Nah.. better wait.. maybe I’ll ‘wheedle’ a little helper I can ‘instruct’ in making these (and maybe she will grow up to bake low carb, gluten and grain free).