Lowfat Gingerbread Biscotti

   
2-1/4 cups flour biscotti
  
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1/2   teaspoon   ground nutmeg                
1/2   teaspoon   ground cloves
1cuppecans, coarsely chopped
3/4cupdried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/4cupmolasses
2largeeggs or egg substitute
2teaspoonsgrated orange zest or one capful orange flavoring
Position one of your oven racks in the center of your oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking liner.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, ginger, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda until well blended. Add the nuts and apricots and mix with a wooden spoon briefly.

In a small bowl, lightly beat the molasses, eggs, and orange zest with a whisk.

Slowly add the molasses/egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until the dough is well blended and begins to form moist clumps, about 2 minutes.

Scrape the dough on to an unfloured work surface and divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a 1½ inch by 10 inch log. (The dough will be sticky so you may need to add more flour to your hands as you go along to accomplish this.)

Carefully transfer the logs onto your prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 4 inches apart. Place the baking sheet on the center rack of your oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top of the logs are cracked and spring back when gently pressed.

Remove baking sheet from the oven and place on a wire rack and allow the logs to cool about 20 minutes, (Leave the oven set at 350F degrees or reheat before resuming).

Transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs on a slight diagonal into ½-inch thick slices. Use a gentle sawing motion to cut through the logs.

Place slices on the baking sheet cut side down. It's okay if they touch since they won't spread. Bake the biscotti slices another 10 to 20 minutes, or until they are dried to your taste. At 10 minutes they will still be chewy and by 20 minutes they will be super dry and crunchy.

Place baking sheet on a wire rack and allow the biscotti to cool completely on the sheet. The biscotti will harden as they cool. Store in airtight containers.

Yields Approximately 3 dozen.