Sweet and nutty with a hint of orange this biscotti is the perfect accompaniment to my morning coffee. Coffee with biscotti is, for me, a small compensation for the fact that it’s morning and I am awake. It’s not that I don’t like mornings, I just wish they weren’t so early in the day!

My morning caffeine fix has always been important to me (and to those who live with me) but it has become more important in recent years. My son turned three this week and I could probably count on one hand the number of times he has slept through the night. So in the absence of adequate sleep I have come to rely on caffeine to get me through the day. I do love coffee, but oh how I miss sleep!

Even if you don’t drink coffee you can still enjoy biscotti. It works well with any hot drink, as a layered dessert with liqueur/cream/fruit or even simply crumbled over ice-cream.

The recipe below has been adapted from one by Jolinda Hackett (http://vegetarian.about.com/od/breakfastrecipe1/r/honeybiscotti.htm)
This biscotti recipe is egg and dairy free and vegan bakers could easily substitute the honey with golden syrup.

Are you a morning person? Do you enjoy biscotti? What do you have with your morning caffeine fix?

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup raw almonds (and/or raw pistachios), roughly chopped
3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp spice (I used cinnamon and clove)
zest of 1 medium orange
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup orange juice (juice from approx 1 medium orange)
1 tbsp almond liqueur (such as Galliano Amaretto)

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line the base of a large rectangular tray with baking paper.

Mix together all of the dry ingredients and orange zest in a large bowl. Create a well in the centre and add the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Tip all of the ingredients on to the baking try and form into two logs. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least ten minutes. Cut into slices, as thin as possible, on the diagonal if you want long elegant pieces, using a serrated knife. Place the slices on a baking tray, with the cut side up, and bake for about 15 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool. The biscotti will harden as it cools.

Makes around 48 pieces