Orange Cranberry Biscotti
Orange Cranberry Biscotti are an absolutely amazing cookie with zingy orange flavor and tang dried cranberries.
Just like my classic almond biscotti, these are crispy, crunchy, and perfectly dunkable. Unlike many, this recipe won’t disappoint. These cranberry orange biscotti are everything a good biscotti should be!
Biscotti are the darling export of Italy. Loved around the world for its versatility, adaptability, and yumminess! These Orange Cranberry Biscotti are the perfect accompaniment to a cappuccino, espresso, or wine. Easy to make by following all of this recipe and all my tips, this cranberry orange biscotti recipe is ideal for gift-giving and all festive occasions!
A good biscotto (singular for biscotti) should be firm but able to absorb liquid. At the same time, you don’t want it to turn into mush when dunking. Most of all, it should have a satisfying crunch when you bite into it, but be crisp enough to crumble pleasantly in your mouth. Luckily, these Orange Cranberry Biscotti tick all the boxes!
Why you’ll love this recipe
Dunking – Like most biscotti recipes, this one is perfect for dunking either in your tea or coffee or, as in the Italian tradition, in vin santo. Cranberry Orange Biscotti are firm enough to not fall apart when dunked but still tender and delicious to eat.
Citrusy Flavor – The citrusy flavor in this biscotti recipe is undeniable but perfectly balanced. Orange zest is rubbed into the sugar releasing all the delicious orange oils and creating the prominent natural orange taste. Use extra oranges to make my Fennel Orange Salad!
Sweet Tart Combination – Dried cranberries add the ideal touch of tartness to these Orange Cranberry Biscotti so that they’re just the right combination of sweet and tart that appeals to many people.
Gift Giving – What could be better than receiving a gift of homemade Orange Cranberry Biscotti? A little bit of your time baking can turn into a memorable gift for those you love.
Versatile – This recipe is based on my traditional almond biscotti recipe and can be varied according to your tastes. Dip or drizzle with white chocolate, add pistachios or almonds or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, it’s quite an easy recipe to be creative with.
For complete ingredient quantities and full instructions, please scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Ingredients
- Almonds – Skin on or skin off is up to you but fresh is best!
- Orange – You’ll only be using the orange zest so you can save the rest for a snack.
- Granulated white sugar – Just white granulated sugar is what you want for this recipe. Luckily it doesn’t go bad so store leftovers in a dry pantry for the next time you bake biscotti.
- All purpose plain flour – Use regular all purpose flour from the supermarket in these Orange Cranberry Biscotti. Because there’s added baking powder in the recipe you don’t need self-rising flour.
- Baking powder – If you have some in the pantry that hasn’t been used in over one year, it’s probably best to buy a fresh box. It does lose rising power over time, probably not all of it but it won’t be at its best.
- Salt – Just a little fine salt to bring out the flavors.
- Eggs – Use whatever type you usually buy and like. I prefer free range but it’s up to you.
- Unsalted butter – Unsalted butter is my choice for most baking recipes because it gives me the ability to add salt as I like. If you’ve only got salted butter that’ll be fine in this recipe just omit the added salt.
- Sweetened dried cranberries – These are easily available at most supermarkets in many parts of the world. If you can’t find them, check out my substitutes below.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and line a large baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Spread the almonds onto a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, rub the orange zest into the granulated sugar.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt with the sugar and make a well in the center.
Add beaten eggs and melted butter and mix together with the dry ingredients.
As the mixture comes together, add the almonds and cranberries and form into a dough.
Divide in thirds and roll each portion into a log. Place logs on the prepared baking sheet and bake.
Cut logs while warm into 20 slices then arrange cut side up on baking trays. Bake until crunchy.
Hint: It’s important to cut the Orange Cranberry Biscotti after the first bake with a thin, sharp serrated knife while still quite warm. Once the biscotti log cools, it’s difficult to cut without crumbling.
Substitutions
- Orange zest- Use a little orange extract or oil if you don’t have fresh oranges.
- Almonds – Blanched, chopped or slivered almonds can be used instead. Ground almonds though won’t work for this recipe.
- Sweetened dried cranberries – Use low sugar or unsweetened dried cranberries if you prefer biscotti that are less sweet.
Variations
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti – Substitute equal quantities of pistachio for almonds in the recipe.
- Deluxe – add a few drops of almond extract to bump up the almond flavor!
- Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies – Substitute chocolate chips for cranberries.
- Sweetened Dried Cranberries – any dried fruit can be used instead. Think golden sultanas, raisins or currants.
Equipment
You will need the usual baking essentials like baking sheets, bowls, spoons, spatulas, and measuring cups and spoons to make these Italian cranberry orange cookies. Plus a sharp, serrated knife is important to be able to cut the biscotti easily.
Storage
Homemade biscotti should cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Orange Cranberry Biscotti will keep well for a week at room temperature. Any exposure to humid air will make the biscotti lose their crunch. However, any softened biscotti can be easily refreshed in the oven at 300°F/150°C for 5-8 minutes.
For longer storage, I recommend freezing in an airtight container, with parchment paper in between the layers. If these Orange Cranberry Biscotti become soft when you remove them from the freezer, pop them into the oven on a baking sheet for a few minutes to refresh and crisp up.
Top tips
- Always preheat the oven when baking unless the recipe specifies a cold oven.
- Don’t skip toasting the almonds. This brings out the nutty flavor perfectly!
- The dough for these Orange Cranberry Biscotti will be a little sticky but should be manageable. Use a little bit of flour to help you form the logs. If the weather is warm, chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes to make it more manageable.
- Orange Cranberry Biscotti, like all my biscotti recipes, are twice baked. The first bake activates the baking powder and cooks the dough throughout.
- Use a thin, serrated knife to cut the biscotti and cut the logs while still warm. Be patient and take your time.
- The oven temperature needs to be lowered for the second bake so that the biscotti dry out but not brown too much. If the biscotti log hasn’t been baked thoroughly in the first bake, the second bake may take longer than specified.
- Keep in mind that the biscotti will become more crunchy on cooling.
FAQ
After thorough recipe testing, I have found that some butter in biscotti creates more tender cookies that are still perfectly dunkable but won’t break teeth. I prefer butter but oil can be used. You should read what I wrote about how to make biscotti.
Traditionally biscotti contain just eggs but neither oil nor butter and therefore are very hard and long-lasting. However, I’ve tasted and tested a lot of biscotti in Italy and beyond and have come to a conclusion. Traditional biscotti recipes that contain no fat are too hard for modern tastes. Biscotti should be crunchy but not “teeth-breakingly” hard.
If your biscotti didn’t get hard it could be because they weren’t baked long enough. You can return them to the oven to bake for a little longer. Also, if the day is very humid the biscotti may have softened during cooling. Preferably avoid baking biscotti on very rainy days or humid days. Don’t cool the biscotti by the door or window where there is a humid breeze blowing. This can soften the biscotti.
Made this recipe?
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Orange Cranberry Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (300 grams) all purpose plain flour See note 1
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup dried sweetened cranberries
- ½ cup almonds
- ⅓ cup (75 grams) melted unsalted butter
- 2 eggs See note 2
- 1 orange zest only
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C.
- Spread almonds onto a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Leave the oven on. Line a large baking sheet or two smaller baking sheets with non-stick parchment paper.
- Pour the granulated sugar into a large mixing bowl and finely grate the orange zest into the bowl and onto the sugar. With your fingertips or the back of a spoon, rub the orange zest into the sugar. The sugar will become an orangy color.
- Add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Break the eggs into the well and the melted, cooled butter.
- Use a fork to 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 (which may be easier), to finish incorporating the dry ingredients.
- As the mixture starts to come together, add the roasted and cooled almonds and the dried sweetened cranberries.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very lightly to form a ball.
- The mixture can be sticky and may 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 three equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a 12inch/ 30cm log. Place logs onto a lined baking sheet and, this is optional, using a wet hand, smooth the surface of the dough.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned and firm.
- Removed from the oven and cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the 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.
- Return the biscotti cut side up to the baking sheets and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes until beginning to dry. The biscotti will become more crisp as they cool.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Be sure to measure the flour correctly. Stir the flour to loosen then spoon into measuring cups without packing. Level the top off with a knife. Or use scales.
- Use large eggs.
- Be sure to preheat the oven.
- Toast the almonds for extra flavor.
- If the dough is sticky, chill for 20 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature for the second bake.
- Cut the biscotti while warm with a thin, serrated knife using a sawing motion.
- Bake for longer if the biscotti aren’t crunchy enough.
- Biscotti will become more crunchy when cooled.
Nutritional Estimate 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.
Orange Cranberry Biscotti’s are highly requested in my house. Thank you for sharing! The base recipe says it makes roughly 60 cookies but I seem to fall short. Not sure what I’m doing wrong as I’m following the recipe.
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how much these biscotti are loved in your household! With regards to the amount that you get from one batch…check that you are making 3 logs that are each 12inch/ 30cm long. After baking each of these logs are cut into 20 biscotti which should total 60 biscotti. If you’re making them larger and you get less but you love them like that, it’s perfectly fine. You make them how ever you like them best. Keep baking and keep enjoying!