Dessert: Low-Fat Almond-Cinnamon Biscotti

There's no butter or oil in these crisp cookies, which are perfect with the Fruit In Spiced Wine For the best texture, be sure to slice them thinly. To keep them crunchy, carry them to the picnic in an airtight container.

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Low-Fat Almond-Cinnamon Biscotti

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped toasted almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease 18x12x1-inch baking sheet. Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl of heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat until well blended. Mix flour, almonds, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Gradually add to egg mixture, beating until blended (dough will be soft).
Turn dough out onto floured surface and gather together. Roll dough between palms and work surface into 16-inch-long log. Transfer to prepared sheet. Flatten log to 1-inch thickness. Bake until light brown and cracked on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer sheet to rack; cool log 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F.
Transfer warm log to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut log on sharp diagonal into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick slices. Arrange on baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes per side. Transfer to racks and cool (biscotti will harden while cooling). (Can be made ahead. Store airtight up to 1 week.)