Learn how to make biscotti with my tried and tested recipe. Making homemade biscotti are not very hard to do, even for a beginner baker.
This almond biscotti recipe is incredibly good and completely addictive!!
Table of Contents
So what are biscotti?
Biscotti generally refer to the twice baked, oblong Italian cookie (biscuit) that is dry and crunchy. The dough is shaped into logs, baked, cooled and sliced and baked again until dry and crispy.
The original biscotto is from Prato in Tuscany and didn't contain any fat. Being free from moisture, the original biscotto keeps very well and became a favourite of sailors and other travellers embarking on long journeys.
These cookies are also known as cantucci, cantuccini or biscotti di Prato and are full of almonds and often flavoured with anise, amaretto or lemon. And hard biscotti are always dunked in vin santo (Italian sweet dessert wine) or a coffee to soften.
Why you'll love this recipe
On my recent travel to Italy, I sample lots of biscotti in Tuscany and purchased a Tuscan cookbook with the original recipe. But when I tried making biscotti without butter or oil, according to the recipe, the result was such a hard cookie that it would cause dental problems! Has that happened to you?
Today in Italy, most biscotti contain a portion of butter except for for those not baked the second time.
So for this recipe, I tested and retested multiple times with different flours, quantities of butter or oil. You'll love that this recipe makes a cookie that is firm and crunchy but not too hard but won't fall apart when you dunk!
For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card bottom of the page.
Ingredient notes
This recipe is loosely based on the traditional recipe from the little cookbook I purchased in Siena.
- Flour: all purpose or plain flour
- Sugar: simple granulated white sugar
- Whole eggs: I like free range
- Almonds: unblanched (skin on) and toasted
- Butter: It does contain a little bit of butter which means these biscotti will not break teeth. The butter also carries and intensifies the flavour of the almonds and lemon.
- Baking powder: just a little for a slightly lighter crumb
- Flavourings: honey, lemon rind and vanilla
Instructions
- Toast the almonds and set aside to cool.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients and combine.
- Bring the ingredients together by hand.
- Gently form it into a smooth ball.
- Divide into four pieces and roll into a log.
- Place onto baking paper lined oven tray.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly until you can handle the loaves.
- Reduce heat to 150°C/300°F
- Cut at a while still warm.
- Bake again for 10-15 minutes.
Tips for success and FAQ's
- Always toast nuts. This applies to any recipe where you use nuts. Toasted have much more flavour.
- Don't overknead. Gently form into a dough.
- This dough is meant to be sticky. Don't add more flour.
- Allow room for spreading otherwise the logs will stick together.
- Cut while warm.
The main key is in the second baking. Too little and your biscotto will be soft. Too much and your biscotto will be too hard. I have found good results at 10-12 minutes. When removed from the oven the cookies will be a little soft but will harden on cooling. In fact, storing for a day or two in an airtight container will improve the crunch even more.
Because this recipe contains butter, these biscotti will not keep as long as the traditional ones. But in an airtight container, you will still be eating a biscotto for at least the next week with your morning coffee. However, this is a recipe that works perfectly well to be made ahead and baked cookies can be frozen in airtight containers.
When defrosting, you must leave the lid on your containers until completely defrosted. Otherwise condensation may cause the biscotti to become soft. All is not lost if this occurs. Simply refresh by arranging on baking trays and bake in an oven preheated to 150°C/300°F for 5-8 minutes.
Serving suggestions
According to the "Italian food rules", these cookies are served with a small glass of vin santo. Vin santo is translated to "holy wine". Dip these cantucci into the wine to soften and sweeten the cookies. Serve these delicious crunchy cookies with espresso or cappuccino or even tea which is becoming more popular in Italy for its 'health' benefits.
These cookies are also perfect alongside a creamy dessert like these:
- Nutella Panna cotta
- Cinnamon Panna cotta
- Creme Brulee
- Caramelised Yoghurt cream
- Avocado Chocolate Mousse
Making biscotti at home is incredibly easy and rewarding. It doesn't matter if you don't make them perfectly the first time or even the next time because these cantucci will still taste delicous! Bake these today to bring a little of Italy into your home.
If you enjoyed this recipe, I'd really appreciate a star rating and a comment or tag me on instagram @marcellina.in.cucina.
Either way, I love to hear from you!
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Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (250grams) almonds
- 2½ cup (300grams) all purpose plain flour (all purpose)
- 1 cup (200grams) superfine (castor) sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest from 1 large lemon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
- 2 eggs
- 3 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (85grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Spread almonds onto baking tray and toast in the oven for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Leave the oven on. Line a large baking tray or two smaller baking trays with non-stick baking paper.
- Place flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
- Break the eggs into the well and add honey, vanilla and melted, cooled butter
- Whisk together the wet ingredients slowly incorporating part of the dry ingredients.
- Before the dry ingredients are completely mixed in, switch to a wooden spoon or clean hands to finish incorporating the dry ingredients.
- As the mixture starts to come together add the almonds.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly.
- The mixture will be sticky and can be refrigerated for 30 minutes to make the dough easier to handle. Otherwise you can go right onto the next step.
- Divide the dough into four equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a 12in/ 30cm log. There are a lot of almonds: if the nuts pop out just poke them back in a smooth the dough over.
- Place logs onto lined baking tray and, this is optional, with a wet hand smooth the surface of the dough.
- Bake 25 minutes until browned.
- Removed from the oven and cool on baking trays for 10 minutes.
- Reduce oven to 300°F/150°C.
- While still warm, cut each log into 20 slices. Check my tips below on how to cut biscotti easily.
- Arrange cut side up, onto lined baking trays and return to the oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Always toast nuts. This applies to any recipe where you use nuts. Toasted have much more flavour.
- Don’t overknead. Gently form and press together into a dough.
- This dough is meant to be sticky. Don’t add more flour!
- Allow room for spreading otherwise the logs will stick together.
- Cut while warm.
- Cut while still warm.
- Use a sharp serrated knife.
- Make a little cut using a sawing motion
- Then press the knife down firmly and sharply in one motion.
Nutritional Information Per Serving
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. For accurate results, it is recommended that the nutritional information be calculated based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Kareen
This recipe and the tips are great! Am enjoying the biscotti so much with my morning coffee 😀
This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Thank you Marcellina!
Marcellina
Thanks Kareen! My family loves these so much and I'm happy to hear you do too. Enjoy!
Anita Maemone
Amazing biscotti recipe! I have made many and this by far is the easiest, tastiest (without being too hard!). Can you please tell me how you would change the recipe to make them anise flavored (my favorite)?
Thank you again for sharing your love with us!
Marcellina
Thank you, Anita! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe which I tested and tweaked multiple times to achieve the final version. I haven't tested it to make anise biscotti but I would begin with omitting the almonds and the lemon zest. Then add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of anise extract (depending on your taste) and continue with the recipe. It still may need some tweaking but I think that would work quite well.
Cecile
Hi Marcellina,
Your recipe is just perfect. I made these and my 2 children love them. It is good to find recipes from someone with a lot of experience in cooking 🙂 Thank you for sharing
Marcellina
Hi Cecile! Thank you for such a lovely message! I'm so glad you and your children love them as much as we do.
Kathy
This is a very good biscotti recipe and the amount of toasted almonds to dough adds a nice crispness that has been lacking in other recipes I’ve tried, without being a tooth breaker. Not too sweet as well. I added 3/4 tsp of almond extract because I love the flavor, but that is a personal preference. The directions were nice and clear at possible error points. To cut I just used a very sharp knife and pushed straight down without problems. Do you have a recipe for Regina/ sesame cookies? Thank you!
Marcellina
Hi Kathy! Thanks for your review! No, at the moment I haven't posted my sesame cookies but that coming - stay tuned!!
Kurt
Steps are easy to follow and wow this recipe is delicious.
Marcellina
So glad you love this recipe as much as we do, Kurt!
Esther Abela Malta.
Hi Marcellina, I tried your recipe for the first time, and came out really well.There are so many recipes out there.I wanted to try them again because they are really tempting and finished in no time.Unfortunately I did not save the recipe and was really sorry.So I stared to look for it with no clue at all.I spent a lot of time yesterday with no result.I started again this afternoon and incidentally after looking at every cantuccini recipe, finally I came across yours, thank God I found it.I saved it for sure.Thank you.xxx
Marcellina
Hello Esther! Yes, you're so right! There are so many recipes for almond biscotti or cantuccini and many not very good, that's true. This recipe was tested on my family many, many times. Each time we compared mine with biscotti I had bought in Italy (I bought many packets and tucked them all into my suitcase lol). Each time my family would say what they liked and what needed to be changed until the biscotti were perfect. When I receive comments like yours and I make another family happy, then I know it's all worth it. Baci xxx
Joanne
I love your attitude….I’m the same way, love when someone loves my effort when I’m making food. Would eliminating the lemon juice totally change how the biscotti would taste. Thanks for all your help. Joanne
Marcellina
Hi Joanne! Thank you so much for your comment! It's lemon zest that used in this biscotti recipe not lemon juice and yes, it would change the taste. The addition of lemon zest is the key to these biscotti tasting the same as the ones I purchased in Italy. Of course, you can leave it out if you prefer.