Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci {SRC Reveal}

It's the first Monday of the month which means one thing: Secret Recipe Club reveal for Group A. This month I was assigned to Claire K Creations, a blog written by, yes, Claire, who is a Brisbane-based blogger. She was a self-admitted picky eater until 2010 when she took a trip to Europe when she "discovered the world of food." Now she grows it, cooks it, serves it, eats it, and photographs it. I perused her blog for hours. What a tough choice to pick a single recipe! Which one of these would you have picked? She has a recipe for Hummingbird Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing, Avocado Loaf Cakes, Citrus Salt, Thai Larb Moo, and Beetroot Hummus. Okay...here's what I made...

Chocolate-Kalamata Cantucci

adapted from Claire K Creations / Chocolate Olive Biscotti

I started with her recipe and made some adaptations: I added ground almonds, skipped the pinenuts, and added dried cranberries and espresso powder. Thanks, Claire, for the impetus to add kalamata olives to a chocolate treat. Wow. Che squisito!

2 C white whole wheat flour

2 T ground almonds

1 t baking powder

2/3 C extra virgin olive oil

1 C coconut sugar

3 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 T instant espresso

2 eggs

dash of ground cinnamon

dash of ground cardamom

dash of ground nutmeg

1/4 C chopped olives (I used pitted kalamata)

1/4 C chopped dark chocolate

1 C dried cranberries

In a large bowl, mix together olive oil, coconut sugar, and eggs. In another bowl, combine flour, ground almonds, baking powder, cocoa powder, instant espresso, and spices; mix into egg mixture to form a stiff dough. Mix in chocolate pieces, chopped olives, and dried cranberries.

Divide dough in half, and shape each half into a roll the length of the cookie sheet. Place rolls on cookie sheet, and pat down to flatten the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 250.When cool enough to touch, cut into 1-inch thick diagonal slices. Place sliced cantucci on cookie sheet, and bake an additional 15 minutes on each side, or until toasted and crispy.

Serve with espresso, a cordial, or something bubbly!