Blue Zones recipe: Wild Blueberry Biscotti

Blueberries from the Hermosa Beach Farmer's Market. Photo
Blueberries from the Hermosa Beach Farmer's Market. Photo

Blueberries from the Hermosa Beach Farmer’s Market. Photo

By Winy Chen, Registered Dietitian at Beach Cities Health District

Did you know not all blueberries are alike? By comparison, cultivated blueberries are larger and contain more juices, whereas wild blueberries have more flavor and antixodiants by weight.

I’m actually very fond of dried wild blueberries. I package them in individual snack bags as my “grab-n-go” treats. It’s also very easy – and nutritious – to add them to breakfast cereal.

However, when I’m in the mood to give my kids a serious treat, I make blueberry biscotti. Biscotti is a twice-baked biscuit with no added fat. It’s actually quite easy to prepare – the only challenge is baking the biscuits twice!

 

Wild Blueberry Biscotti

Ingredients

  • 1/3 c toasted, unsalted almonds
  • 2 ½ cup self-rising flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 Tb. fennel seed
  • 2/3 cup dried wild blueberries
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 ½ Tb. honey
  • ½ tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 drops almond extract

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
  2. Mix all dried ingredients into a large bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: eggs, honey, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
  4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients together to form stiff dough.Cut the dough in half to form two sausage lengths. Flatten shapes slightly and transfer to baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack.
  5. Cut each dough diagonally into ½ inch thick slices.
  6. Bake the slices for another 25 minutes at 300 F.

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