Italian Biscotti Recipe

4.92 from 48 votes

Biscotti are probably the most famous Italian cookie. Our biscotti recipe is easy and made with simple ingredients.

You'll get beautiful, crunchy, and nutty biscotti, perfect to dip in sweet wine or to eat on their own.

We show you how to make 3 types of biscotti: one with almond and hazelnuts, one with dark chocolate chips and cranberries, and another dipped in dark chocolate.

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Second Bake10 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: biscotti, cantucci, tozzetti

Servings: biscotti

Calories: 101kcal

Author: Nico

Equipment

serrated knife (bread knife)

Ingredients

FOR THE BISCOTTI DOUGH

Wet ingredients

⅓ cup almond milk or other plant milk
⅓ cup sunflower oil or other vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered sugar
½ zest of lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

1½ teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all purpose flour

PICK ONE OF THE FLAVOURS BELOW

Almond Biscotti

¾ cup almonds

Almond + Hazelnut Biscotti

¼ cup almonds
½ cup hazelnuts

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

½ cup dark chocolate chips

Cranberries Biscotti

½ cup dry cranberries

Chocolate Chip + Cranberries Biscotti

¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup dry cranberries

For the melted chocolate cover

¾ cup dark chocolate chopped
3 - 4 tablespoons plant milk

USA - Metric

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 340F or 170C. In a bowl, add the wet ingredients together. Whisk well, until all the ingredients come together into a smooth liquid.
Now add the flavouring ingredients and mix them with the liquid with a spoon. For example:
If you use almonds, add them, whole, and with the peel on. With a spatula, incorporate them into the liquid.
Same for hazelnuts or pistachios. You can combine one or more nuts.
If you use dark chocolate chips, or dried fruit like cranberries is the same process. Add those to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix them in with a spoon.
TIP: make sure to follow our quantities. If you put too many nuts or other flavourings, the dough won't be able to hold them in and it will fall apart while shaping it.
Add the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and with a spatula mix together until you have a thick paste/dough.
Transfer the dough to a lightly dusted worktop and knead with your hands for just a minute. You want to get to a compact dough ball without over-kneading.
Over-kneading will ruin the texture of the biscotti, making them less crunchy and harder to chew. Knead as little as possible and they'll be crunchy and friable.
Cut the dough into two parts, and shape each part into a long, flat, snake-like stripe.
Bake at 340F or 170C for 25 minutes. Then take them out of the oven and let them cool down on the tray for 20 minutes.
With a serrated knife (bread knife) cut the snake diagonally, into 1.5 - 2 inches (4 to 5 cm) long biscotti.
The snakes need to have cooled down for 20 minutes or they'll fall apart when you cut them.
Place the biscotti on the same baking tray, with the cut side facing down, and bake for 10 more minutes, or until golden. The second baking will make them crisp and tasty.
Fun Fact: in the Italian language, the word biscotti literally means "cooked twice" from "bis" (twice) and "cotti" (cooked).
Let cool down, transfer on a serving plate, and enjoy them as they are, or dipped in Italian sweet wine.

Video

Nutrition