Vegan Paximadia
Greek biscotti
By: Eleni Saltas
Nistisima Paximadia (Vegan Biscotti) is a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth during Orthodox Lent. Made by substituting bananas in lieu of dairy products, this treat is arguably better than the real thing.
Prep Time:
10min
Total Time:
80min
Makes:
~60 cookies
Good For:
Breakfast/Dessert/Lent
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup orange juice*
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 small overripe banana
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 5-5 ½ cups sifted flour
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or almonds, or a combo of the two (if preferred)
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two baking sheets and set aside. Peel and mash banana and set aside.
Step 2
Add vegetable oil, orange juice, sugar, and vanilla to a large bowl and beat well with a whisk or an electric hand mixer. Beat well until smooth. Whisk in mashed banana.
Step 3
Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder) and add slowly fold into mixing bowl with a rubber spatula. Make sure the ingredients are combined until a soft, but sticky dough forms. Incorporate the dark chocolate chips or chopped almonds if using.
Step 4
Divide the dough into 5 parts and place on baking sheets. Shape the dough into long loaves (about the length of baking sheet) and about 2 ½ inches wide and 1 inch thick. Smooth the tops and the sides of the dough with your hands or a wet bowl scraper. Score the loaves with a serrated knife (I like this so it is easier to cut through later). Cut lengthwise into ½ inch diagonal slices.
Step 5
Bake for 22-25 minutes and remove from the oven. Let the loaves cool for 5-10 minutes, and cut through the precut slices. Lay the cookies cut side down and bake for another 10-15 minutes, turning the cookies over at the halfway mark. Note, the cookies will get crispier the longer they bake—so this is all preference! I like to make one batch crispier for dunking into coffee, and one batch less cooked to just eat plain. The cookies will harden even more as they cool as well.
Step 6
Once ready, take out of the oven and cool. Enjoy!
The recipe has too much baking powder or baking soda. The cookies come out as having a very strong bitter taste. Other than that, the texture was perfect.
I can totally see that. Those measurements of baking soda/powder came from my regular paximadia recipe, and I didn’t think to adjust correctly with the vegan recipe. I appreciate the feedback!