Easy Biscotti Recipe - Daily Appetite (2024)

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Here is an easy recipe for biscotti. This vanilla biscotti recipe is the perfect base to add all types of flavor variations. I have listed out ingredient variations from almonds to cranberries so you can create your own unique recipe.

Easy Biscotti Recipe - Daily Appetite (1)

Make this delicious classic Italian treat easily at home with this vanilla biscotti recipe. Get baking and add in your favorite flavors and spices to make your own delicious homemade biscotti.

What is biscotti?

Biscotti is a crunchy cookie that is baked twice and most often paired with coffee. Coffee and cookies…Yes Please!

This classic combination of coffee and cookies is an absolute treat. Biscotti means “twice cooked” in Italian, and this tasty treat embodies what makes it so special.

Biscotti is crunchier than other cookies due to its double baking process, which also gives it a longer shelf life. This makes the biscotti a perfect pairing with coffee, tea, or espresso since its crunch will hold up in the hot liquid.

Whether you enjoy it with a latte or just by itself as a snack, biscotti is a delicious treat that can bring a little bit of cozy comfort to any day.

Easy Biscotti Baking Tips

Follow these tips for making the best biscotti.

  • Biscotti is actually really simple to make. It is just like making cookies. You just have to bake it twice to get it nice and crunchy.
  • You can use a Biscotti Pan
  • Using a rubber spatula (because the dough is sticky) and a rolling pin I formed the dough into an oblong shape and rolled the dough starting from the outside edges and rolling towards the middle. This formed the classic biscotti oblong shape.
  • It is very important to let the biscotti completely cool before slicing it otherwise it will crumble.

Easy Biscotti Recipe Ingredients

As mentioned before, these are just the base ingredients for vanilla biscotti. There are so many ways you can flavor biscotti.

  • 6 Tbs butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

If you don’t have butter you can substitute it with vegetable oil.

Easy Biscotti Recipe Directions

Learn how to make a classic Italian treat with this step-by-step guide.

First, get prepped. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease one large cookie sheet orBiscotti Pan. You will also want to gather your ingredients and measure them out.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and baking powder until the mixture is smooth.

Mix in any additional ingredients you desire. This could be chopped nuts or spices like cinnamon. See the list below for all variations.

Next, beat in the eggs. The batter may look curdled. Put your mixer on low speed and add the flour, stirring until smooth.

Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Shape the dough into one oblong log or divide the dough for shorter biscotti cookies.

Straighten the logs, and smooth their tops and sides with a rubber spatula and rolling pin.

Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven heat to 325F. While the oven heat is reducing let the dough cool on the counter.

Once the dough has cooled down use a serrated knife and cut the dough into 1/2-inch wide slices.

Separate the biscotti slices and place them back in the oven. Bake for 30 more minutes at the reduced temperature.

Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool and store in an airtight container.

Variations:

You can add kinds of fruits, nuts, and spices to your biscotti recipe. Since this is a basic vanilla biscotti recipe here are some variations to try.

  • Dried fruit: Apple pieces, cranberry, figs, cherry
  • Nuts: Almonds, pistachio, walnuts, hazelnut
  • Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, anise
  • Extracts: Almond, lemon, orange.
  • Chocolate: Melt the chocolate and dip the biscotti or mix in chocolate chips.

A Note about adding other ingredients:

  • A good starting point when adding spices is with one teaspoon.
  • When adding dried fruit or nuts a good amount is 1/4 cup.
  • Adding additional extracts start with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

After you get used to making homemade biscotti and experimenting with flavors you can add more to your taste.

How to Shape the Biscotti Dough by hand

  • Lightly grease the largest size cookie pan you have. I shaped the dough directly on the pan.
  • The shape you want is a rectangle with rounded corners. With the dough slightly higher down the middle. Like a little hill.
  • The dough is sticky so I use a rolling pin and a rubber spatula.
  • With the rubber spatula, I keep the rectangle sides straight. I use the rolling pin to smooth out the dough starting from the outside working in. This pushes the dough to the center to create the little hill.

Easy Vanilla Biscotti Recipe

Easy Biscotti Recipe - Daily Appetite (6)

Easy Vanilla Biscotti

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Make this delicious classic Italian treat easily at home with this vanilla biscotti recipe. Get baking and add in your favorite flavors and spices to make your own delicious homemade biscotti.

Ingredients

  • 6 Tbs butter
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease one large cookie sheet or Biscotti Pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla and baking powder until the mixture is smooth.
  3. Mix in any additional ingredients you desire. *See notes below.
  4. Beat in the eggs. The batter may look curdled.
  5. Put your mixer on a low speed and add the flour, stirring until smooth.
  6. Place dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
  7. Shape the dough into one log or two depending on how big you want your biscotti.
  8. Straighten the logs, and smooth their tops and sides with a rubber spatula and rolling pin.
  9. Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven.
  10. Reduce the heat to 325F. While the oven heat is reducing let the dough cool on the counter.
  11. Once cooled down use a serrated knife and cut the dough into 1/2 inch wide slices.
  12. Separate the biscotti slices and place back in the oven.
  13. Bake for 30 minutes.
  14. Place on a rack to cool and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Since this is a basic biscotti recipe here are variations.
Dried fruit: Apple pieces, cranberry, figs, cherry
Nuts: Almonds, pistachio, walnuts, hazelnut
Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, anise
Extracts: Almond, lemon, orange
Chocolate: Melt the chocolate and dip the biscotti or mix in chocolate chips.

ANoteabout adding other ingredients:
A good starting point when adding spices is with one teaspoon.
When adding dried fruit or nuts a good amount is 1/4 cup.
Adding additional extracts start with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

Read the article above for all tips and tricks for making the perfect biscotti.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 139Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 162mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g

All amounts are estimates and DailyAppetite takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier.

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Easy Biscotti Recipe - Daily Appetite (2024)

FAQs

Is butter better than oil in biscotti? ›

The choice is yours; just keep in mind that those made with butter or oil will have both a softer texture and a shorter shelf life. As for fillings and flavors, biscotti get along with a host of ingredients, including dried fruit, nuts, spices, liqueurs and chocolate.

Are biscotti healthier than cookies? ›

In terms of health regular cookies are a high-calorie treat because of their higher moisture content, which also causes them to contain more fats and sugars. However, because of their drier texture, biscotti usually have lower fat and sugar content. However, it is vital to practice portion control, for both options.

How many calories in a homemade biscotti? ›

Forget going out to eat or ordering takeout every time you crave Mediterranean food. Try making Traditional Almond Biscotti at home. This dessert has 101 calories, 3g of protein, and 4g of fat per serving.

How do you keep homemade biscotti crispy? ›

Before placing the biscotti in an airtight container, line it with paper towels. This helps absorb any excess moisture that may seep into the biscotti, keeping it crispy. 1.> Sealing the biscotti in an airtight bag such as a polypropylene bag after they have cooled to room temperature will help to keep them fresh.

What does baking soda do in biscotti? ›

Baking soda – baking soda helps the biscotti rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn't expired. Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.

How healthy are biscotti? ›

Unlike many traditional cookies, biscotti are often lower in fat and sugar. Add some heart healthy nuts and you have a satisfying and relatively light treat! This delicious cookie can easily be made vegan & vegetarian friendly.

Why does my biscotti crumble when I slice it? ›

A: Overbaking the logs of dough during the first baking can make the slices crumble as you are cutting them. Also, even if the logs of dough are perfectly baked, they will crumble if they are sliced while still warm, so be patient. The logs crumble when you use a dull knife, too.

What is a substitute for vegetable oil in biscotti? ›

Melted butter also works as a 1:1 swap for vegetable oil in baked goods — try browning the butter for even more flavor! If you are cutting calories or fat from your diet, here's another great sub for vegetable oil: In baked goods, replace up to half of the vegetable oil with plain unsweetened applesauce.

What is the healthiest cookie to eat? ›

Depends on your metric of “health,” I guess. Oatmeal raisin probably has the best fiber/whole grain, flourless chocolate is better if you're trying to be low carb, meringues are probably lowest calorie. I'd say oatmeal raisin is a very nutritious cookie.

What's the difference between biscotti and cantuccini? ›

The main difference between Cantucci and Biscotti is their origin, Cantucci is from Tuscany, and Biscotti is from the region of Emilia-Romagna. Cantucci is typically made with almonds, while Biscotti are made with all-purpose flour and a variety of nuts and chocolate or nothing.

What is the difference between American and Italian biscotti? ›

Here it is, a biscotti recipe everyone can enjoy — unlike classic Italian biscotti, which are quite hard, these are light and crunchy. Biscotti bake twice rather than once, and thus take a bit longer start-to-finish than normal drop cookies.

What is the shelf life of homemade biscotti? ›

Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely. (Biscotti can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month.)

Is there a lot of sugar in biscotti? ›

Nutrition Facts

Biscotti contains 20 mg of cholesterol, 70 mg of sodium and 9 g of sugar. Of its 4.5 g of fat, biscotti contains 2 g of saturated fat -- 10 percent of the daily value for saturated fat based on a 2,000-calorie diet. A homemade biscotti might contain 20 g of sugar and 5 g of saturated fat.

Why are biscotti baked twice? ›

This technique calls for the baker to shape the dough-y batter into loaves, bake them once & then slice them down and bake the product once again. This second bake ensures that the result is a reliably hard, crispy crunch that comes from slowly drawing all the moisture out of said batter.

What method is commonly used to achieve the desired light airy texture in biscotti? ›

To make these cookies, start by whipping eggs and a couple of extra egg yolks together with sugar, vanilla, and almond extract. This step is key to making biscotti that are crisp but not hard. Get the mixture very pale, thick, and airy. All that air will help lighten the biscotti.

Why do my biscotti crumble when I cut them? ›

A: Overbaking the logs of dough during the first baking can make the slices crumble as you are cutting them. Also, even if the logs of dough are perfectly baked, they will crumble if they are sliced while still warm, so be patient. The logs crumble when you use a dull knife, too.

Should biscotti dough be chilled before baking? ›

My recipe says to refrigerate biscotti dough 30 minutes before the first baking.

Should I chill biscotti before baking? ›

Because the dough can be sticky and hard to form, it's important to chill the batter for a good 30 minutes before baking the first time.

References

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