Batter Up:  

 Baking with Avocados   

  

Tasty, creamy California avocados are easy to find in supermarkets everywhere now. In addition to being a must-have ingredient for all kinds of salads and of course, guacamole, they work as a baking ingredient, too.  

 

Since one of the objectives of the Mediterranean Diet is to lower your consumption of saturated fat, they're an important "healthy-eating food."  Over 75% of the fat in avocados is unsaturated, making them a fine substitute for ingredients high in saturated fat.  Try substituting the same amount of pureed avocado for the butter, oil, or shortening in your recipe.  

 

This healthy swap will help reduce your intake of cholesterol, fat, saturated fat and sodium. Studies show that replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat, while staying within calorie needs, is more effective in reducing the risk of heart disease than simply lowering total fat intake.  Additionally, the overall calories in a recipe can be reduced by substituting avocado for butter: Two tablespoons of avocado have 50 calories, two tablespoons of butter total 204 calories.

 

Here are two ways to test the power of avocados in baking. Reveal the secret ingredient after your friends and family have sampled these cookies.   

 

 

Avocado, Cranberry & Pistachio Biscotti  

Serves 32 (Recipe yields 32 Biscotti) 

 

Make a batch of these delicious treats as a thank you gift. They're delicious with coffee or tea.

     

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups dried cranberries

⅓ cup fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons grated orange peel

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup mashed ripe fresh avocado

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

¾ cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

⅔ cup shelled pistachios

1 tablespoon low-fat milk

 

Preparation 

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the orange peel, and let stand until ready to use. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

 

Combine the avocado, lemon juice, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the avocado mixture, beating well until blended. Add the vanilla and beat until smooth. With the beater at medium speed, add the flour mixture, one cup at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Beat until blended.

 

Add the cranberry-orange mixture and the pistachio nuts by hand, blending well.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide the mixture in half. Roll each half on the board until lightly coated with flour and form into logs, ½ -inch thick and 4-inches wide.  Brush the top of each log with milk.  

 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the logs to the baking sheet. Bake for 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 300° F. Remove the logs from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool for 20 minutes.

 

Slice each log into ½ -inch thick slices. Place the cooling rack on a cookie sheet and arrange some slices on it, cut side up. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn each cookie over and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Repeat the process with the remaining slices. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

 

Tip: 1/4 cup mashed avocado is equivalent to approximately 1/4 of a large avocado. Use the remaining avocado for other recipes, or mash and store it in the freezer for future baking.

 

Nutritional Analysis: 

Calories: 90, Fat: 2g, Sodium 105mg, Carbohydrate: 17g, Protein: 2g 

 

Recipe courtesy of California Avocado Commission.