Galangal Honey Almond Biscotti

It is not always a bad thing when things turn out to be different from what you planned. This is one of the examples. 

I was planning to bake gingerbread biscotti for my mom. She asked me to make any kind of 'gingerbread' type of baked goods. To be honest, gingerbread is not a common type of cookies that you can find in Bangkok's bakeries. It may be because of the molasses which is a rare ingredient over here. Lucky me. My sister brought some back for my mom when she visited home last time.

When I started prepping, I realized that we didn't have ground ginger. Oops! However, we do have ground galangal. So, I decided to use that instead.   

So, what is 'galangal'?

Well, galangal is similar to typical ginger that you find in grocery store. However, it is whiter in color and has more peppery taste than ginger. Galangal root is often used in Thai cuisine. If you have Thai Tom Yum soup before, this is one of the ingredients that they used to make the Tom Yum broth. Where to find this ground galangal? You should be able to find it at your local Asian grocery store. It is easier to find the dried version than the fresh one in North America. 
  

So, this is how the plan was changed. The recipe that I adapted from is from Anja's Food 4 Thought. There are couple things that I changed. I used ground galangal instead of ground ginger, and also used honey instead of agave syrup. I got my honey from my grandma who happens to make her own honey from the bees in her longon farm.  I recommended you to use a good quality honey that you can find in your local store or farmer market.

Final result?

My Galangal Honey Almond Biscotti turned out to have a wonderful honey flavor with a hint of galangal. My mom enjoyed it even though it's not gingerbread biscotti that she expected. The biscotti would go very well with spiced type of tea such as chai tea. I hope you enjoy!

Galangal Honey Almond Biscotti
(Adapted from Anja's Food 4 Thought; Make: 10-12 pieces)

1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground galangal
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C almond, coarsely chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C honey
2 tbsp molasses

Preheat at 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, galangal, nutmeg, salt, and chopped almond. In another large bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, honey and molasses together. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture. Mix until incorporated.

Turn the dough onto the floured surface. If the mixture is too wet, add a little bit of all-purpose flour at a time. Knead the dough for several times or until the dough does not stick to the surface. Form the dough into a log, approximately 1 inch high and 5 inch wide. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Once the centre is firm to touch, remove from the oven. Let it cool for 15 minutes before cutting them into 1/2 inch pieces. 

Reduce the temperature to 300F

Place the sliced biscotti on the baking sheet. Bake for another 20 minutes. Let it cool completely on a rack.