Walnut & Cinnamon Biscotti
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These walnut and cinnamon biscotti are a perfect holiday treat—great for gifting, since they keep for up to a month, and wonderful with coffee, tea, or ice cream!
Many years ago, my Aunt Sharon gave me a lovely little cookbook that I’ve returned to time and again: Biscotti: Recipes from the Kitchen of the American Academy in Rome by Mona Talbott and Mirealla Misenti. It’s filled with delicious cookie recipes and charming stories that make you want to drop everything, fly to Rome, and bake in the Academy’s kitchen.
These biscotti were inspired by one of the book’s recipes, Cantucci di Noce e Cannella (Walnut and Cinnamon Cookies). They’re the perfect holiday treat, especially for gifting, as they keep for up to a month. Plus, they pair wonderfully with coffee, tea, or vanilla ice cream.
What You’ll Need To Make Walnut & Cinnamon Biscotti
- All-purpose flour: Forms the structure of the biscotti. To ensure accuracy, use the spoon-and-level method to measure.
- Cornmeal: Adds a slight crunch and unique texture to the biscotti.
- Baking powder: Helps the dough rise.
- Salt: Enhances flavor and balances the sweetness.
- Black pepper: Adds a subtle, unexpected warmth.
- Ground cinnamon: Infuses the biscotti with warm, holiday flavor.
- Unsalted butter: Creates a crisp-tender texture and rich flavor.
- Sugar: Sweetens the biscotti.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients and adds structure.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a warm, sweet aroma and rounds out the flavor.
- Walnuts: Add crunch and nutty flavor to every bite.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
Whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and walnuts.
Mix on low speed until just combined.
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in two. Directly on the lined baking sheet, form each portion into logs about 1½ inches wide and ¾-inch tall. Leave about 4 inches of space between the logs to allow the dough to spread.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Once cool, transfer the cookie 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 the lined baking sheet; return to the oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden on the underside. Remove the biscotti from the oven and flip over; cook 5 to 7 minutes more, until lightly golden all over.
Let cool on the baking sheet completely before serving. The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for up to a month; freeze for longer storage.
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Walnut & Cinnamon Biscotti
These walnut and cinnamon biscotti are a perfect holiday treat—great for gifting, since they keep for up to a month, and wonderful with coffee, tea, or ice cream!
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (4 oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, pepper and cinnamon.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour mixture and walnuts and mix on low speed until just combined. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in two. Directly on the lined baking sheet, form each portion into logs about 1½ inches wide and ¾-inch tall. (If the dough is sticky, dust your hands with flour.) Leave about 4 inches of space between the logs to allow the dough to spread. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Once cool, transfer the cookie 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 the lined baking sheet; return to the oven and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly golden on the underside. Remove the biscotti from the oven and flip over; cook 5 to 7 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: To freeze the dough: Shape 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 (32 servings)
- Serving size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 77
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 9g
- Sugar: 4g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 45mg
- Cholesterol: 10mg
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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Hi
This is the second time that i have tried the recipe. The flavor is wonderful. The first time they came out amazing, the second time the taste was the same, however they went in as two logs and came out as pancakes what could I have done wrong?
Thank you
Wendy
Hi Wendy, Is it possible you left out the baking powder?
Hello, I am a huge follower of your blog. Quick question on this recipe. If cornmeal is not available can we skip it or substitute it? what would be the change in the taste?
Hi Mohit, I’m glad you like the blog! Sure, you can just replace the cornmeal with extra flour. The taste will remain the same, but the texture will be slightly different. (The cornmeal adds a slight “graininess” that I like.) I think you’ll still really enjoy them!
I baked some a few days ago and they were very tasty. Definitely will make it again. Your website is the one I turn to when I am looking for baking or cooking ideas. You’re the best. Can hardly wait for your book to publish. It will definitely be added to my other collections. Thank you again for sharing your great recipes.
These were absolutely delicious! I used pecans instead, and they were a hit. I will definitely make them again. And I like that they aren’t overwhelmingly sweet. Thanks!
This recipe for walnut cinnamon biscotti was a treat. it is sweet and crunchy and tastes great with a cup of coffee. I gave a bag full of this biscotti to another teacher and she was excited to have home made biscotti. She told mea few days later She did not share with her family because it Is her special scrumptious treat. Thank you a wonderful easyt to follow recupe.
I just made these and they are absolutely delicious and so easy. This recipe is a keeper and I’m sure I’ll be making these all the time. Thanks Jenn!
A new favorite to go with morning coffee. I’ve shared these with co-worker and he raved about them. I’ve made them twice in less than a week now.
I made a batch of these today. They were so good I made another!
Glad you enjoyed them and thanks for being the first to review!
I can’t wait to try these – the black pepper and corn meal intrigue me. I will add one suggestion though – I alost exclusively bake biscotti in my household over traditional cookies, and for my 2nd baking, I just slice the cooled log and spread out the log so the biscotti pieces are standing up – if you bake on convection, this eliminates the flipping step during round two!
Hi Jen. This recipe looks delicious and I’m eager to make it for Christmas. My question is about the size of the logs; the recipe states making them 1 1/2 inches wide but only 3/4 of an inch tall? I know that can’t be correct.
Hi Cathy, It’s correct; they spread to about 3 inches wide. It’s hard to tell from the photo but they are smaller than your typical coffee shop biscotti. If you want longer cookies, you can make the logs a bit wider and slice more on a diagonal.
I guess what I should have asked was what the approx. length of each log should be. Sorry about that. No coffee = not awake yet 🙂 Thanks Jenn!
🙂