Biscotti
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These are everything you want biscotti to be—buttery, lightly sweet, crunchy, and perfect for dunking any time of day!
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
Inspired by the biscotti recipe from the renowned Zuni Cafe in San Francisco, these almond-studded Italian cookies are made by shaping a fragrant dough into loaves, partially baking it, slicing it, and then baking it again. The result is everything biscotti should be: buttery, lightly sweet, and crunchy without being tooth-shattering. Perfect with morning coffee, dessert wine, or afternoon tea, this biscotti recipe also pairs beautifully with sweets like vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, or hot fudge sundaes.
What You’ll Need To Make Biscotti
- All Purpose Flour: Provides the structure for the biscotti. Measure by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off to ensure accuracy.
- Cornmeal: Adds a slight crunch and unique flavor.
- Baking Powder: Leavens the dough, giving it a light texture.
- Anise Seeds: Imparts a subtle licorice flavor that complements the almonds nicely. You can omit the anise seeds if you like, but I think it brings the cookies to life (and I’m not a fan of licorice!).
- Butter: Adds richness and moisture.
- Sugar: Sweetens the biscotti.
- Large Eggs: Binds the ingredients and adds richness.
- Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the biscotti with its aromatic richness.
- Almond Extract: Intensifies the almond flavor of the dough.
- Slivered Almonds: The most common nut used in biscotti, almonds add crunch and flavor. Other nuts can also be used, such as hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Set the oven temperature to 350°F and place the oven racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, anise seeds and salt in a medium or large bowl.
Whisk until well combined and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition, followed by the vanilla.
Add the chopped almonds and dry ingredients to the batter.
Mix on low speed until just combined.
Dust your hands with flour and form the dough into two even disks. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
Divide each disk in half, and form the dough into logs about 2 inches wide and ¾-inch tall on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the dough is firm and golden around the edges.
Let the logs cool for about 15 minutes, then use a serrated knife to slice them diagonally into 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the biscotti cut side down back on the lined baking sheet and cook for 10 to 14 minutes more, flipping once in between. Cool biscotti completely on the baking sheet before serving. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month; freeze for longer storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, dried fruit can add a nice twist to your biscotti. You can add about 1 cup of dried cranberries, raisins, dried cherries along with the slivered almonds. If using dried fruit, consider also adding a teaspoon of lemon zest or orange zest to highlight the fruit flavor.
Absolutely! You can enhance the flavor of this biscotti recipe by adding spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, or even using different extracts such as coconut. Just be mindful of the quantities so the flavors don’t overwhelm the base. For recipe variations, be sure to check out my walnut cinnamon biscotti and chocolate biscotti.
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Almond Biscotti
These are everything you want biscotti to be—buttery, lightly sweet, crunchy, and perfect for dunking any time of day!
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with knife
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon anise seeds, crushed with the back of a spoon into a powder
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1⅓ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1¾ cups slivered almonds, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set the oven racks in the upper and middle thirds of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and crushed anise seeds.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the flour mixture and almonds and mix on low speed until just combined. Dust your hands lightly with flour and divide the dough into evenly into two disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide each disk into two equal pieces. Dust your hands with flour and form each portion into logs about 2-inches wide and ¾-inch tall directly on the lined baking sheets (if the dough is sticky, dust your hands with more flour as necessary). Leave about 4 inches of space between the logs to allow the dough to spread. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back midway through, until the loaves are firm to the touch and golden around the bottom edges. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.
- Once cool, transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion, cut the logs diagonally into generous ½-inch slices. (They will look a little undercooked in the middle.) Arrange the cookies, cut side down, back on one of the lined baking sheets. It will be a tight squeeze; it's not necessary to leave any space between the cookies. Return to the oven on the middle rack and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden on the underside. Remove the pan from the oven, carefully flip the biscotti over and cook for 5 minutes more, until lightly golden all over. Let cool on the baking sheet completely before serving. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a month.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months: Shape the dough into logs, wrap each securely in plastic wrap, and place them in a sealable bag. When ready to bake, remove the logs from the freezer, thaw the dough until pliable, and then proceed with recipe. To freeze after baking: After the cookies are completely cooled, double-wrap them securely with aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (48 servings)
- Serving size: 1 biscotti
- Calories: 93
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Sugar: 6g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 2g
- Sodium: 60mg
- Cholesterol: 14mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Almond Biscotti turned out perfect. I had only star anise and just a handful of toasted/salted almonds that were chopped in a spice grinder. Otherwise followed recipe as written. We brought the Biscotti and your Chocolate Fondue recipe to a Raclette dinner last night. Delicious!
I’ve made these several times as written and they’re great! I’ve also swapped out the almonds for hazelnuts with success. I’m wondering if you think there’s a good way to adjust them to use coconut? I’ve had really delicious coconut biscotti before, but any recipe I’ve found for them is sub par. I’m thinking swap out the nuts for coconut and add in coconut extract?
Hi Michelle, So glad you like them! I actually have a coconut biscotti on page 208 of my second cookbook. If you don’t own the cookbook, let me know — I’d be happy to email you the recipe.
Hi Jenn,
Hope all is well with you and your family. Wondering if I can eliminate the anise and want to add dried cranberry? If so, how much of the cranberry do I add, or should I do half almond and half cranberry totally 1 3/4 cups?
Yes and yes 🙂
Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen, I love anise, but all I have is star anise. Can I grind this to make a powder and use this in the recipe? I’m not familiar with cooking with anise. I’ve only used anise extract in the past. Thank you for this delicious looking recipe. Can’t wait to make it.
Yes, that should work; just keep in mind that star anise is more potent than anise so be judicious with how much you use. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jen, just made your almond biscotti. They are wonderful but I find them a little salty, and I think for my taste I would like to add a little anise extract, or more crushed anise, but they came out perfect. I cooked them using the convection setting just had to watch them more closely, next time I will use conventional bake. My favorite almond biscotti are La Dolce Vita. I normally buy them at Costco, but these are so much better and cheaper to make. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
I made biscotti from another website and was very disappointed. My wife said it tasted like dry cake. I fed it to the squirrels. Their reception was lukewarm. Eventually they buried it. I had made wonderful recipes from your website, including French apple cake and peach cake. I checked and yes, you had a biscotti recipe. My wife and I made it and she remarked, “Now this is what I call biscotti!” The anise was the perfect touch, and there were plenty of almonds in every bite. Absolutely delicious, great instructions. The smell fresh out of the oven is spectacular.
“I fed it to the squirrels. Their reception was lukewarm. Eventually they buried it.” Thank you for making me laugh! Your review was an absolute delight to read. I just made this recipe too and it indeed came out wonderful. No feeding to squirrels required.
haha…that’s great!
Hi Jenn, so I’m going to making these again this weekend and I was wondering if you could dip them into chocolate? If so, what type of chocolate (not white…I don’t like white chocolate unfortunately even though my husband does) would you recommend and would you only just dip one half of it in? By that I mean, just one end or just a little tip of an end?
Hi Judy, sure, you can definitely dip these in chocolate – I think these would be nice with semi-sweet, but what you choose is really a personal preference. And regarding what part to dip, you can do one end of each piece or even the bottom side of each one. Please LMK how they turn out with chocolate!
What a fantastic idea! I never thought about dipping both ends. Thank you!!! Can’t wait….mmmm
Not sure what I did wrong but the chocolate was more like paste sadly. So I had to put it on with a knife. Tastes good but they don’t look so pretty. I microwaved the chocolate and then added some soft butter from things I read to make it shiny and dippable. Not so much. ☹️
Hi Judy, Sorry you had a hard time with the chocolate! I often microwave chocolate to melt it, but sometimes if you overdo it, it can seize up. If you try this again, you may want to use the double boiler method like this.
I just read 1/2 cup if adding fruit. Which would you suggest; dried cranberries, craisins, or cherries? Thank you!
Hi Chris, Dried cranberries and craisins are the same thing, but either craisins or dried cherries would work nicely so it’s purely a matter of personal preference. 🙂
These are delicious! Can you add chopped cranberries or craisins to this recipe? If so, how much?
Hi Chris, Glad you like them! Craisins would be nice here. I’d add 1/2 cup to start.
I made these the other day. Once again, your recipe did not fail to impress. OMG, were these ever incredible! They had a lovely buttery texture and just the right amount of crunch and almond flavour. Way better than any store-bought that I’ve ever had. And my husband agrees. As a matter of fact, I tried offering a few cookies for our cleaners and he was upset with me later saying why are you trying to give away my cookies lol? Needless to say these will be made again and again and again… Happy new year! 🎉