This biscotti is what I like to think of as a Hole in One Recipe. And I know what you’re thinking, “Deb, golf? You never seemed the type.” And you’d be exactly correct; willingly standing outside in the heat and humidity for hours at a time wearing funny shoes is an enigma to me. But a hole in one? This I can compute.
You see, sometimes it takes several tries to come up with the recipe you’d hope for to make the thing you crave exactly as you are sure it should be–for example, I have not yet found the perfect yellow layer cake and I’m still remiss over my two recent butterscotch pudding disasters. But biscotti? I got what I wanted on the very first try.
Well, two years ago I did. But, being me, the type that is always looking gift horses in the mouth, I was unable to leave well enough alone and tried a different recipe last month that was plenty tasty, but a little sweet, not crisp enough and had a funny grit to it I couldn’t get past. So I sighed heavily and dramatically (while chomping on an admittedly delicious but still not my ideal biscotti) and dusted this recipe off. But did I make it the way I always had, the way I had always loved? Of course not. I had to tweak this and change that and ended up with something that was distinctly off. This time I actually screamed, cried and threw a few things but finally resigned myself to the fact that I will just never learn.
So without further ado, here is the biscotti recipe you are owed, that I should have never messed with. They’re lightly sweet, perfectly crisp and have just enough almond, orange and vanilla to make you sigh, without overwhelming the cookie. They keep deliciously for a week or up to two–though they won’t last that long–and they’re a real show-off when you have people over, especially when you dunk them into some chocolate pudding or lean them against a dish of fennel ice cream. Pretty much the only thing they don’t do is create world peace. Fortunately, another cookie has that covered.
Almond Biscotti
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 1999
They’re supposed to make 3 dozen, but my batch yielded at least 45
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup whole almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped or sliced almonds
1 large egg white
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Mix sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, orange liquer and zest in large bowl. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Mix in almonds.
Divide dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each dough half into 13 1/2-inch-long, 2 1/2-inch-wide log. Transfer both logs to prepared baking sheet, spacing apart. Whisk egg white in small bowl until foamy; brush over top and sides of each dough log.
Bake logs until golden brown (logs will spread), about 30 minutes. Cool logs completely on sheet on rack, about 25 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
Transfer logs to work surface; discard parchment paper. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices. Arrange slices, cut side down, on same baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Turn biscotti over; bake until just beginning to color, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool.
Do ahead: Can be prepared one week ahead, though mine have kept even longer. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
Those look gorgeous! I was wondering how well they keep. I have yet to find a biscotti that doesn’t turn from delightfully crisp to toothbreaking rock hard after about a day.
I made chocolate chip biscotti yesterday from an internet recipe and it was not great, okay, but not great. I have a recipe for hazelnut biscotti that is fantastic so I modified it to do another batch of chocolate chip biscotti; this time it bombed completely. Tonight I’ll be attempting the third batch. I do love the biscotti!
Biscotti are interesting, I’ve only had homemade ones because my husband was aghast at buying cookies that in his opinion were hard as rock, dry as dust and flavorless. I do not know where he had biscotti at some point in his life, I only know he’s been emotionally scarred ever since. Luckily the biscotti I tried making at home were taster-iffic. So perhaps he’s beginning to heal. I only made chocolate ones but now I’m thinking these might be pretty yummy too. It doesn’t hurt that I have a ton and a half of oranges to do something with before Mother Nature does. I will add this recipe to my to *make n’ bake* list and try them some day soon perhaps!.
SO. TIRED. GOING. TO. DIE.
oh yum. i love biscotti. thanks for the tried-and-true recipe.
yellow layer cake–there was a recipe in this month’s cook’s illustrated that made me drool just reading about it. it was all fluffy… with chocolate frosting…
This is the first post from a longtime admirer of smittenkitchen.com. Anyway, these biscottis look yummy! May I also recommend Alice Water’s recipe in her new “The Art of Simple Food.” I use her recipe as a base and then tweak it to make chocolate chip and hazlenut biscotti or dried cranberry and walnut biscotti. Both are equally delicious!
Ditto on what Joc said. And THEN SOME.
Oma — Did you make it? I saw the recipe but was hoping to see if anyone else had tried it first.
Katy — I don’t think these get too hard or stale. We’ve kept them well over a week in the past.
I’ve been researching tea as of late, and the photos of this biscotti sure make it look like the perfect accompaniment. I agree with Lauren… Alice Water’s recipe is wonderful, but having TWO great biscotti recipes is divine!
These sound amazing. I would change it to whole wheat pastry flour because rising is not of importance, plus I like the nutty taste of whole wheat and think it would complement the almonds. I’ve been looking for a recipe for biscotti for a while and I think this may be it. Outstanding! Thanks!
– The Peanut Butter Boy
Two votes for Alice Waters! I am always years behind on cookbooks, but wouldn’t you know I bought her Vegetables cookbook this week. And now I need another? Sigh. This does not bode well for our already-bursting bookcases.
I live for baking biscotti. I’m the queen of double chocolate walnut biscotti — in fact, they’re my TRADE MARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here is my favorite recipe for yellow layer cake. From Cooksmart by Pam Anderson. It’s easy and moist and has excellent flavor.
Read the recipe carefully. The steps are unusual.
Yellow Layer Cake
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
4 tsps baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 sticks butter (16 Tbs.), softened
2 cups granulated sugar
Directions:
1: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans.
2: Mix first four ingredients in a large bowl. Mix milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a 2-cup measuring cup. With an electric mixer, beat softened butter into dry ingredients, first on low, then increased to medium, until mixture forms pebble-size pieces. Add about 1/3 of the milk mixture; beat on low until mixture is smooth. Add remaining milk mixture in two stages; beat on medium speed until batter is just smooth. Add the sugar; beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
3: Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Set pans on a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the pan perimeter and dump cakes onto rack. Let cool completely, at least 1 hour. (Cakes can be double-wrapped in plastic at room temperature for a day or frozen for a few weeks.)
Deb, thanks for another awesome recipe + pictures! Do you think fresh orange juice, maybe boiled down and reduced would work in place of the liquer? Would adding crystallized ginger bits be too crazy?
Crystallized ginger bits?!!! A thing of beauty!!! Now I can’t think of making these without them.
I made the yellow cake from this month’s Cooks Illustrated and I can vouch for its deliciousness. It replicates the tasty fluffiness of cake from a box but without the tinny chemical notes. Super good.
Mmmmmm. If only it wasn’t late in the evening I would like to have those with cup of good coffee :)
They do look quite delicious, indeed, but I can’t have them …. sigh. :( I’ve lost most of my teeth.
Yellow cake? Now that’s a different story! I’ll be asking my wife to make up one from the Cooksmart recipe when she gets off her shift (a registered nurse).
Thanks!
Wonderful! Biscotti has always been a stumper-recipe for me. I’ve tried a bunch but they never seem right. Thanks!
biscotti is my favorite kind of cookie. I love to bake a large batch and chuck most of them into the freezer and serve them with after dinner tea/coffee when we have guests. Only you can make biscotti looks so seductive. :)
These look really awesome with the coconut. I like crisp biscottis, so I’m definitely going to try this recipe!
I made these, but found the dough really wet. I needed to put them back in the bowl and add a lot more flour. Did I miss something? Did you mean for all the eggs to go in or should it have been just yoke for one? They are in the oven now.
I love this recipe! I’ve made a version with crystallized ginger and almond that was a hit, but the basic almond biscotti is to die for. Thanks deb!
This is killing me. I have been without a full-equipped kitchen for months. I haven’t baked anything for months. biscotti are my favorite! I almost caved and bought a box of half-way decent looking ones at Marshalls today. I know better, however. store-bought varieties usually pale in comparison. can’t wait to try this recipe!
ali
so golden and yummy looking!
what about biscotti’s Jewish cousin, mandelbrodt. Anyone have a tried and true recipe for that?
Deb,
Thanks for the recipe! I tried my hand at making gluten-free sweet-potato (like, um, pumpkin) biscotti over Thanksgiving. What a disaster! Yours looks so much better!
Also, have you tried Shuna Fish Lydon’s Yellow Cake? It may be your salvation:
http://eggbeater.typepad.com/shuna/2006/10/yellow_cake_wit.html
Hey Deb..yummo looking biscotti you got there!! But I have a similar one that I would like you to try…it’s called almond bread, the texture and method are very similar with that of biscotti but just without egg yolks and butter…BUT trust me it’s insanely delicious!!! and you can EAT MORE!! hehehe…
Almond Bread
Ingredients
3 egg whites
½ cup castor sugar
1 cup plain flour
125gm (4oz) unblanched almonds
Method
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually beat in castor sugar, beating well after each addition until stiff.
Fold in sifted flour and whole almonds.
Spread mixture into greased 25cm x 8cm bar tin. Bake in a moderate oven for 30-35 minutes, or until just firm to touch. Turn out of tin to cool.
When cold, wrap in aluminium foil and put in the fridge for a few hours. Using a very sharp knife, cut the bread into wafer thin slices. Place the slices onto oven trays and bake at 120°C for 15 minutes, or until dry and crisp and slightly coloured.
Store in an airtight container, where almond bread will keep for a long time.
So there it is ! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make it one day …. it’s soo SOOOOO SOOO good!!
Cecilia that sounds reeeallly good. Do you need to bake thin slices of it? Does it turn out like biscotti? Does it work just as fresh almond bread? Is it moist?
– The Peanut Butter Boy
thanks for the recipe! last time i baked biscotti i meant to bring the batch into work and well, that didn’t happen, much to my tastebuds delight. i love classic almond, and will definitely try this recipe (but hopefully not end up eating all of them!)
Look at the color of that biscotti! Perfect! All I need is some espresso now!
Mmmm, biscotti! I make an anise flavored biscotti that has people yelping for more. They keep well in a tin without getting rock hard, the butter keeps them from tasting dry.
But how did you manage to slice them so beautifully? Even with using a serrated bread knife, some of my edges always crumble.
These look great! I was never a huge fan of biscotti, but I’ve come to realize that I’ve also never had it fresh, so my only experience has been eating rocks cut out in the shape of biscotti. I think I’ll have to give this a try!
Your recipe for almond biscotti looks terrific. During the Christmas holiday my husband was in a rehabilition facility and I made different types of mandelbrot almost every day. Every one was delighted with the cookies. I am tempted to make your recipe but I only have self-rising and whole wheat flour and wonder if I can use these flours to make your recipe.
What’s the difference between biscotti and Jewish mandelbrodt? (translation: almond bread) One you serve to the Junior League and the other you serve playing mah jong. The mandelbrodt recipe I have tends to be a bit heavier than biscotti, but they are basically the same.
Trudy — I would not use self-rising in this but you could probably get away with whole wheat in either a portion (which I know works) or using it entirely (which I haven’t tried).
These look so good! I love biscotti.
Oh, goodness me! These are a must-try! I’m salivating just thinking of eating one with a mug of tea.
There are no cookies that make me want a large milky coffee more than these. hardly a magic trick, but definitely something magical.
These look wonderful! Hope to try it soon, but the more I bake, the more I get scared of the results because of my ‘history’ with baking. Sigh.
I have a question — did you use unbleached or bleached flour? I never noticed it before until someone pointed it out to me. Thanks!
I know that some people have strong opinions about unbleached versus bleached, but at least according to my bread-baking instructor last year, they honestly work the same. That said, if I see both, I grab the unbleached and even the organic. If I don’t have an option, though, I have no problem using Gold Medal.
Just beautiful Deb! I think almond is the perfect flavor for biscotti.
Hi Nick! I’m soo glad you’re interested in the recipe!! :)
Yes it’s really good! The texture is really like a biscotti – crispy n stuff…I don’t know why do they call it almond bread coz it’s definitely not bread-y or moist to me !! I’m don’t think you can treat it as a bread coz of the texture and stuff…
Yea i think it’s best to slice it thinly but I’m not too sure if you can get away with slicing it thicker, maybe try one thickly slice and see how it goes?! And you can also add one tsp of vanilla essence to make it tastier. Oh and make sure you don’t over-baked the almond bread during the second baking time…coz it’ll turn rock hard – take it out when it turns just slightly golden.
Happy baking!! :)
Sounds great, I’ll be sure to try it soon! I’ll probably substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the regular flour. It will give it more of a nutty taste and make these super nutritious! I’ll post my results on my blog when I make it! Thanks!
– The Peanut Butter Boy
i always assumed these would be difficult.
but they look easy!
Holy cow! I wanted to bake something for my (horrifically spoiled) coworkers for tomorrow but I was tired of scones (most recent iteration: add lime zest, grated ginger, and 1/2 cup shredded coconut to your favorite scone recipe) and cookies are not always good breakfast food… but these are perfect! I baked them right up, omitting almonds since I am too lazy to go to the store and don’t care much for them anyway. I may have gone overboard on the orange zest but I wouldn’t say it’s a flaw… they are fruity and delicious. Thank you!
These look great, but I have always wondered about the directions in these recipes to shape into a log 2 and a half inches wide. When I have followed that direction, the cookies come out much, much smaller than “typical” biscotti — certainly they look smaller than yours. Your logs look much wider than 2 and a half inches. What am I missing here?
Hi Joan — I used a ruler to measure, so those sizes are accurate. I did use a slightly smaller than normal pan (which is why they merged together) due to our tiny oven restrictions. The logs spread, so you end up with biscotti that are 6 and more inches long.
Love love biscotti! And these look divine. Once upon a time I had a half-chocolate half-almond recipe that I made so many times to rave reviews that I could do it sans recipe with my eyes closed. Then I moved and lost the recipe and didn’t make them for a long time. The good news, I moved again and what should fall out of another long-lost cookbook? The recipe! I will be baking this weekend — and trying this recipe as well.
Another “first post” from a fan of your terrific blog, Deb!
The almond/biscotti combo is a “home run” for sure. I usually bake a version including white chocolate and dried apricots around the holidays which gives them a whole new dimension…crunchy, chewy with the white chocolate adding a little moisture so they’re not hard as rocks.
Heaven dipped into a milky cup of coffee as someone has already noted. Here’s the recipe — it’s a real keeper as they say, although prepare for utter exhaustion in the quest for biscotti nirvana…it’s a long process which always ends with me, barely awake, pulling batches out of the oven around
1 am.
http://theaperitif.blogspot.com/2007/12/agony-and-ecstasy.html
yummers. i really need to make homemade biscotti one of these days. although with easy access to so many amazing italian bakeries, it’s easy to get lazy.
re: golf, i’m with mark twain: “a good walk spoiled.”
It’s great that they don’t turn rock hard. Like Katy, I’ve never had any that kept well for longer than a day. As always, beautiful, beautiful photos.
I just made these for my Sunday-afternoon-try-something-new tradition, and they are INCREDIBLE. God, I love this site! Thanks, Deb!
I just made these and they are incredible. I didnt want to make so many so I only made a third of the recipe and it still turned out fine. I didnt have any vanilla essence on hand and substituted Cointreau for Grand Marnier. Still was AMAZING and there are none left even though I baked these some 4 hours ago!
Deb — Thanks for your reply. :)
This Biscotti recipe is so good. I am 100 % certain of this as I have made three batches of them. I made a few minor changes the second time adding, 1/2 tablespoon almond extract, 1 more tablespoon of orange zest and dare I say 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate morsels, which I froze for an hour before adding.
Thanks for a great recipe, I am having fun tweaking it and creating new flavors. Coconut white chocolate Almond is next……..Mentioned you and the recipe on my site.
Your recipes never fail me – made biscotti for the first time with this recipe and they were FANTASTIC, though they required a bit more time in the oven than yours because I swapped in some brown sugar. Also substituted plain old OJ for the Grand Marnier. I’m going to try them with dried cranberries next.
Hi,
I love almond biscottis. Last week, I was in Portland and went to a coffee shop, got some biscotti and they were amazingly good. They have used whole almonds in the recipe but I will first try yours and make adjustments.
Thanks,
I’ve just made this recipe but I’ve lowered the ingredients in half because it’s just me who is going to eat them and I didn’t want to make a lot. Unfortunately I had a problem with my dough. It was very crumbly. I know it’s supposed to be crumbly but mine didn’t come together at all. I used 2 eggs at the beginning because I couldn’t divide one of the eggs, and I used splenda instead of regular sugar and also I used 3 tbsp butter instead of 6. But I found some other recipes that didn’t need oil or butter, so I figured it must be fine.. But as I said my dough was very crumbly and it didn’t stick together.. So I cracked 1 more egg and mixed it into dough the last minute. After that the dough come together but it was a little wet, so I cooked it 45 minutes. So do you have any idea why my dough didn’t come together? And what else can I do to blend the dough instead of using an extra egg?? By the way the taste is pretty good. I put anise and almond extract and some walnuts as well.. Thank you for the recipe..
First – I love your website and use it often. Don’t ever stop or I’ll die… of starvation.
Secondly, I used this recipe yesterday and they came out perfect. I added 3/4 cup of dried cranberries and had no Grand Marnier in the house (seriously, who runs out of Grand Marnier?) but they still came out great. My husband is eating them at light speed. And I just had 3 for breakfast.
Thanks for this website!
I just made these biscotti and they turned out beautifully. I have never made biscotti with butter before and I think I am a convert. I dipped some of them in chocolate which was a nice touch. I blogged about them here (with credit to you of course): http://chefsquire.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/almond-biscotti/. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I love your blog and have many other recipes bookmarked as well!
Does anyone know of a recipe for Honey Almond Biscotti that does not require eggs or milk? I had the recipe a few years ago, but I lost it.
Thanks for a reply!
I made these biscotti tonight. They are just perfect. Tender and crisp with hints of orange and almond. I used Tuaca, the only liquor I had that said it had orange in it. I’ll tell ya, that was the darn stickiest dough to try and shape though. So, I just buttered my spatula and pushed it into shape; it worked well. I got about 48 from the two loaves cut 1/2″ thick. I will definately make these again.
I have made this recipe twice. The second time I substituted pistachios for the almonds and again, they turned out heavenly. My boyfriend’s mother has a biscotti recipe that has 8 or 10 different extracts in it. I am glad that my boyfriend can have TWO favorite biscotti recipes, both made by women who love him. The only reason why this recipe might come out on top is that his mom only makes biscotti once a year: at Christmas time. I am going to make it year-round!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I have tried several others from your website and have been completely enamored of all of them.
I have been craving these. Gosh, they’re good. Love the melted butter. Having to cream butter and sugar always stops me in my tracks. Too cold from the fridge, too warm on the counter and back again. I ran out of almonds so half have walnuts. Cut them thick so I made only 28. My mom’s used to be thick so I may have been cutting with that memory in mind. Used Amaretto liquor. The house smells like almond heaven.
Also made rice pudding with short sushi brown rice. Maybe not such a good idea since it took forever to soften the rice. Tastes great, but a little chewy as expected.
i love love love making biscotti- it’s definitely my trademark recipe. i use my grandmom’s madel brait recipe, though. i recommend using almonds, raisins, and mini chocolate chips and then sprinkling cinnamon sugar on top. turns out delicious anytime, no matter how much you tweak it.
These are delicious! I think this recipe might be foolproof because I didn’t have Grand Marnier so I added a tbs of fresh orange juice and 1/2 tbs extra of grated orange zest. The dough was REALLY sticky but that might be because I used “00” flour? I added extra (about 1 cup) flour and the biscotti still came out really well. Any tips for working and shaping the dough?
I will be enjoying them for breakfast over the next few days (or as long as they’ll last!) =)
This is a great recipe, I made it the other morning cause I had a craving and between me and my girls they are gone so this morning I added cranberries to it. So, delicious. Thanks again for sharing the recipe. Oh, by the way if you smear a little melted semi sweet chocolate on one side!! To die for!!!
I just made these as part of my series of posts on Christmas cookies, and wow, they are amazing! You’re right – the perfect biscotti. I love them. Of course, I also drizzled them with chocolate to add a little extra sweetness. Oh, and I used frozen orange juice concentrate instead of orange liquer. This will be my go-to biscotti recipe. And I posted about it on my blog as well, if you’re interested. :) Thanks!
Does any one have a glaze recipe I could drizzle on almond biscotti?
I substituted cashews for the almonds and dipped them in chocolate. Absolutely decadent:
http://headcheeseandjellybeans.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/chocolate-dipped-biscotti/
These really came out nicely! I didn’t have almonds so used walnuts and added some chopped orange flavored currents from Trader Joe’s. I like that they aren’t too hard to bite into. Really pretty with the orange zest (I used 2 T. just because I love that flavor). Thanks for a great recipe! i will definitely make these time and time again.
I just read about these on the Cupcakes and Cashmere blog. They sound delicious, with the orange liqueur and almonds!
I just made these and they are absolutely delicious. Mine, however, didn’t have the beautiful golden color like yours. Any tips?
Beautiful website, beautiful pictures. Thank you for this recipe. I’ve also had some bad luck with biscotti. First, I tried Patricia Wells’ recipe from her “Trattoria”, and those were pretty terrible, but I blame that on the lack of any fat to the recipe. Then, I found a recipe that uses 1/2 cup oil for about the same amount of flour as your recipe, and it came out just great, not too hard, but crispy, and kept for a long time. Here’s the full recipe:
http://www.recipestudio.com/2010/10/best-biscotti.html
Would you guess that butter would have a different effect? E.g. would the butter or the oil version go stale first?
Masha — From what I understand, traditional biscotti has no butter. It was made to dunk, so being dry/sturdy/even stale was not an issue. The biscotti we make here are more like and eaten as cookies, with oil and or butter. Like the one above.
These came out fantastic Deb, thanks for a wonderful recipe. I dipped one end in dark chocolate because, well, everything is kicked up a notch with chocolate!
I do need to ask, however, do you have any tips for cutting the biscotti? Mine always fall apart and I lose like half my “log” to crumbs. No problem, the crumbs make awesome sunday toppings, but I would rather have the biscotti!
Thanks!
I’ve made these twice and absolutely love this recipe. Like some of the others, I subbed the Grand Marnier with some of the juice from the zested orange (also added a bit more zest). I add dried cranberries and have made one version with dark chocolate and another with white. Both were met with rave reviews. My only concern is the color of the biscotti after the second bake – they take on a golden brown coloring and brown a bit on tops/edges. The actual taste is fine but I feel like all store bought biscotti is pale in color and doesn’t have the ‘browned’ coloring these biscotti take on. Perhaps my oven is too hot? I’ll continue experimenting as I love this recipe…
I made these last night for Christmas gifts! So yummy! Going to drizzle chocolate on them tonight. Thanks for all your recipes!
Wowzah this was a messy one! My biscotti crumbled a lot when I was cutting it. I think if I would have let it go for 35 min in the first stage of baking I would have been better off but I wasn’t sure how to tell if it was done and didn’t want to chance it. Still delicious tho!
Amazing! I used cashews because that’s what I had, and substituted honey for part of the sugar because I ran out of sugar. Despite my lacking pantry they turned out wonderful! I shamelessly licked the crumbs off the cutting board after slicing them.
I have a recipe for hazelnut biscotti that is really great. I can’t wait to try this one. It’s a must try.
Deb you have done it. I have been making biscotti for many y ears. My recipe is delicious has no butter or oil of any kind, but. It lacked a depth of flavor and texture that you have captured. I made them last week without adding the anise from the Bon appetit 1999 version you note. They were gone in two days. My niece lives in Italy and her only comment about my recipe …..very similar to yours was that Italians don’t put that much almonds in. I love them. Toasted the fresh whole, not skinned ones and coarsely chopped by hand. They do not hinder slicing in any way. The dough is too sticky to roll into the snakes. I had to put the dough in the frig for about half an hour and it still stuck to the silpat until I used lots of flour to cover. Also they were easier to handle as four smaller shorter loaves. No baking times had to be adjusted. Thank you for reuniting me with my beloved biscotti. These are one and two dollars everywhere e I have priced them, PER single biscotti!! Can you believe it. They are really better than the store bought ones too. To all who think the no butter or oil are the only authentic ones wrong. This biscotti is the real thing from oe who has eaten biscotti all over Italy and all over the world. This one is it.
Hi Mamakat — I am so glad that you enjoyed these. Of interest, traditional biscotti contain no butter or oil. They are intended purely for dunking (and, of course, not leaving those little oil droplets at the surface of one’s coffee). It’s only over here that we make them cookie-like, so that they taste good whether or not they are dunked. I learned this a while back and thought it might be interesting to share. I have a more traditional-ish biscotti recipe in the archives but like you note, the flavor isn’t as deep as those enriched with butter.
Dear Deb,
Thank you so much for your comments. What is your suggestion about the sticky dough issue. Do you offer any resolutions? Would it be stiffer if we cremed the butter rather than melted it? have you ever tried that? thank you again. I have just arrived home after vacationing with grandchildren in San Francisco and Phoenix for 5 weeks, and cannot wait to try them again, but was concerned about the soft and sticky dough, too much flour addition, will make them hard and tough.
I haven’t had a lot of trouble with stickiness (the butter-less biscotti, however, are the stickiest dough on earth and it makes a mess and then you clean up and eat them and forget about the trouble they caused); I mean, they are sticky but I just keep my a) hands floured and b) also use a spatula to kind of smear it into the right shape and don’t fuss over it. It spreads in the oven to a biscotti loaf shape mostly on its own.
Creaming butter is used to incorporate air and lightness. It’s used a lot in cakes; it is a less useful technique for cookies, especially biscotti, since we want them to be crisp. In short: creaming butter for softness; melted butter for crunch.
I LOVE this recipe – just made some with the addition of dark chocolate chips like a previous commenter had mentioned. I cannot wait for them to come out of the oven!!
I’m making these as I type! They’re cooling between the first and second baking. The loaves turned golden brown at 25 minutes so I took them out of the oven but they didn’t seem to spread out as much as yours did. I don’t know why, but I’m hoping they’ll be good as short, chubby pieces.
I also want to mention– and I’m surprised no other commenter has tried this!– that I added some whole fennel seeds to the dough. Bout half a tablespoon. Would have done a whole tablespoon but my dude doesn’t like fennel nearly as much as I do, and I still want them to have a dominant almond flavor. I hope they come out well! I’ll be giving a bunch to a friend who taught me to roast my own coffee beans– seemed to me like an appropriate thank-you-gift for a fellow coffee lover!
Your recipes are frikin awesome, as always. Your Jacked Up Banana Bread is my man’s favorite thing to eat, seriously. And don’t get me started on the New York Cheesecake…
i swear this must be the 15th recipe of yours i’ve made (yours is BY FAR, my favorite cooking blog).
i made these tonight for a sort of italian themed potluck at work, and mistakenly put too much butter (as in the entire two sticks, forgetting that i was only to use /4th of the second stick – that’s what i get for multi tasking while baking). they came out a little crumbly and almost cake-like, making them frustrating and messy to cut after they cooled, BUT they still taste amazing.
thank you for continuing to provide my friends/family and me with fantastic meals and snacks!!
Wonderful Biscotti BUT I discovered something I WON’t do next time. I used whole almonds and when I went to slice the loaves, it caused them to break apart where the almond was or had been. Stay with the coarsely chopped version for better slices!
I made these yesterday and they were absolutely delicious! Firm on the outside and soft on the inside. I baked them in a convection oven and pulled them out after 21 min. Even though the middle was uncooked in the middle when I sliced them 30 min later, the second baking cooked them through and made them nice and “fresh” tasting, with a slightly soft interior. Next time I will cook them for the required time. Fresh biscotti is certainly the best, and these taste very similar to my sugar cookies. I also put in 1 tsp of almond extract and I used orange extract instead of liquor. This will be my “go to” biscotti recipe going forward.
I keep making these biscotti – they’re the best I’ve run into in years of looking. Thanks for posting the recipe!
I like using 1:1 almond flour to flour (so 2 cups of each, no slivered almonds) and dried cherries, with a bit of orange zest grated in; the combination comes out great (and a bit chewy from the meal).
I’ve never made biscottis and I am going through the process right now. I put the almonds into the batter as indicated but it appears after baking my logs they didn’t spread that much. Now I will have 3″ biscottis rather than 6″. It appears the images don’t show almonds being mixed in and rather coconut is the in the biscottis. Any thoughts on why these logs didn’t spread?
Figured it out!
I am indeed Smitten with your Kitchen, Deb. I made the Honey Cake first and now this. People are beginning to believe I am better than I really am. I just follow instructions, you, my friend, are an artist. Thanks for making me look good :)
Also, have you tried dipping these in Vin Santo? It’s a Tuscan tradition and your biscotti’s are the perfect pairing.
Another success. I feel like I’m living the Julie and Julia project, but with you. Love each and one of your stories and recipes. Here’s my take on your biscotti. Happy weekend! http://theearlyriser.blogspot.com/2011/11/leftovers-but-cookies-for-cookie-jar.html
Can I swap orange juice for the orange liqueur in a pinch?
This recipe is awesome!! The hint of orange, brilliant. StarBucks charge £1 per slice. Got about 30 slices for about £5, bargain!!
Just made these!!! added mni semi sweet choco chips, dried cranberries and apricots. They are delicious. taste amazing. they are so simple and i will be giving them as a christmas gift. so much cheaper then buying them premade! i did save the ends for a little treat with some coffee! they tasted great even before the second round of baking.
First-time commenter, long-time lurker! I absolutely love your blog! Have used many of your recipes and they never disappoint! We have made these 2 years in a row for Christmas gifts and they are a hit! I left out the orange liqueur and zest and added 1 tsp almond extract to make the almond flavor stronger. They are heavenly! Thank you so much for all you do! This is my go-to site for new recipes to try!
Hole in one! I made these for gifts last night and they are great. Your site is a regular stop for me in my odyssey of fine dining for seven without breaking the house or leaving the house, for that matter. Thank you for your hard and delicious work!!! PS try dipping these in some Vin Santo for a grownup dessert!
These are absolutely delicious. I accidentally ended up browning the butter instead of just melting it, but used it anyway. I don’t know if it’s better since I haven’t tried the recipe as is, but they are really really good. :) Thanks for the recipe.
YUM. So good! I subbed almond extract for the Grand Marnier but doubled the orange zest, and then dipped in melted chocolate with a teaspoon or so of orange zest stirred in… super yum. Thanks for another great recipe!!
This recipe looks really good, except I would leave out the orange zest. I use a recipe from the American Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and it comes out really well. It also describes how to adjust the fat content in the recipe to get a softer cookie. I like this, because then I get a cookie that isn’t hard as rock, but still crunchy :) Eager to try your recipe, and also to make pistachio biscotti. Thanks for the recipe!
The recipe looks great but I’m getting a little tired of the ‘cutesy cool’ writing style of so many food writers like this one. Frankly, I really don’t care about how humid
the room was nor any cute comments about ‘world peace’. Point blank- its nauseating. But thanks for the recipe. :-)
This is truly a gold-star recipe. The biscotti came out just perfect, with a beautiful crisp glaze on top, thanks to the brush of egg white! I used twice as much orange zest and twice as much liquer (1 T. Cointreau, 1 T. Grand Marnier) and 1 1/2 T. of vanilla (I couldn’t resist upping the quantities a bit and wanted to make sure the orange and vanilla both had a presence)…the combo, along with the almonds, resulted in a flavor SOOO good (and deep, and fragrant…). I just came across your blog when searching for a biscotti recipe and I now fear I will heretofore be forever and compulsively checking your site!
Made these today. Added about 1/2 cup of craisens in addition to the dry roasted almonds I chopped up. They just came out of the oven and I’m going to have to put them away quickly or they’ll disappear before anyone gets to have any!
I am eating the crumbs as I type. Best biscotti I’ve ever made!
I love biscotti and used this recipe as my first try for my holiday baking this year. It was not only my favourite, but my husband’s and oldest sons. The smell is divine.
Amazing! came together super easy and it had a lovely depth of flavour while remaining light. mine didn’t turn out as pretty as yours so I should work on that :)
I thought these came together well and liked that they didn’t spread out too much so they look fantastic. But, they are WAY too sweet for my taste.
does antone have a recipefor biscoti with almond paste?
What kind of Orange liquor did you use? Is the orange zest and liquor necessary? By the way I have try some of your other recipes and so far everything has turn great! I can’t wait to try these recipe!
Issa — I used triple sec or cointreau. If you don’t wish to buy liqueur, you can use a couple drops of orange oil instead. The orange flavor is only necessary if you think you’d like it there (we did, of course.)
These. Are. Amazing. I made them a while back and I made them again tonight. I didn’t have orange liquor either time so I subbed an extra T of vanilla extract. I actually didn’t bake them a second time because I like them soft and cookie-like. They lasted a least a week and I froze half for later. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just wanted to chime in with my experience of this recipe – which may be characterised as AMAZING. I’ve made these twice now and both times I tweaked (I too cannot leave well enough alone) the recipe by adding LESS sugar – I found one heaped cup yielded more than enough sweetness (I never want biscotti to be too sweet) and since I made this when I couldn’t get hold of oranges (both times!! Ahh!!) I used lemon zest and omitted the liqueur and the flavour was great! These are actually a rare form of cookie that truly gets better the more days you leave it. Perfect for making ahead. Never goes rock hard at all and lasted well over the week. I made these for a tea party and one of our guests was a very accomplished chef who sought out the creator of the biscotti to compliment their taste! So, thank you Deb!! About to make another batch to give as a gift and I’m so grateful that you shared this recipe :)
Hello Deb! Thanks for this recipe, I wrote about making my take on this at http://www.ashleymarieskitchen.com/2013/05/orange-almond-biscotti.html if you want to check it out :) Would love to hear from you. Thanks again!
These are oh so fab! Had never made biscotti before and it was so easy. Loved them! Swapped out the orange zest and liqueurfor lemon zest and liqueur and they were swoonworthy! I hurriedly boxed most of them up and delivered them to my neighbours as soon as they had cooled as I knew hubby and I would have devoured all 45 in a flash otherwise.
Is it possible to add raisin in the mixture ?
imene — I see no reason why not.
Do you think I can substitute some of the flour for almond flour?
Every time I make biscotti this thick it turns out hard as rock and teeth breaking.
So I have ended up slicing it really thin about 2-3mm instead. But is there a trick for the thick? I’m very careful not to overwork it. I used to use the thick ends as rusks for
Oh and as a flavour combo – try pistachio and rosewater!
I made these yesterday, and they are awesome. We dipped some of them in melted bittersweet chocolate that I had left over from another holiday recipe I made. Yum!
Hello Deb,
Is it OK to use raw almonds in this recipe? I have some, but don’t want to raost them first. Do you think I can get away with it? Thanks!
Laura — They’ll be fine. Roasted just give you more of a depth of flavor.
These are the best! Very easy to make and they are still very tasty after almost a week. I will be making these again. No changes needed to this recipe.
Here I am three years later and I am still making your delicious biscotti at least twice a week. My whole family adores them. My 88 year old mother eats a cookie tin full every few days (she has great teeth), my grandsons enter my house, go straight for the pantry where I keep a large glass cookie jar full, and start eating your biscotti practically before they say hello, and for me it is my favorite go-to food any time of day or night.
Sometimes I am lazy and only use one stick of butter instead of ten tablespoons and I cannot tell the difference. They are so good. Thank you again for such a scrumptious addition to our pantry.
Deb, your recipes are always foolproof for me – and that’s not always the case with baking, as we all know too well. I just made these for the first time and am couldn’t be happier with the result. Thanks so much..I can’t wait for your next book! ;)
Fantastic biscottis! I made them with 1/2 butter and 1/2 oil and they still turned out great. The only “mistake” i made was I shaped them too wide and so ended up with enormous biscottis. ;-)
Deb, I love these biscotti! I get many compliments when I make them. I want you to know about a trick I learned on a Julia Child you tube video. If you place the cut biscotti on your cooling racks and place them in the oven like this for the second baking you don’t have to flip them. Works like a charm!
Robin — Such a great tip, thank you.
These biscotti smell and taste fantastic! I substituted orange extract for the liqueur and they turned out great!
And if you find out that you have no orange liqueur, substituting Campari also works and tastes subtle but gives a little dimension. Great recipe!
Biscotti are my ultimate weakness – I have to have one every time I have a coffee. I can resist the mostly scrumptious-looking cake in the coffee shop, but I have to have a biscotti. And then I dunk it into my coffee – bliss!!
I know this is an old post but thank you so much for the recipe! Making it for Christmas gifts. I am a totally noob baker, and I did not have vanilla extract and orange liquer so I used orange extract instead and it turned out tasting sublime even after the first bake. Wow. Thank you so much!
Hi! I’ve been making this recipe for years. Everyone loves it! Question.. we are going to have a marathon baking session and I want to prepare some of the dough ahead of time.. think this dough can be made ahead? Thanks!!
Deb: I have now made a dozen different recipes this week for holiday gifts to satisfy my obsession with getting the right recipe. One trick I found is standing up the slices so both sides brown at the same time–works perfectly! Another is a bit less sugar, but then I melted some semisweet chocolate and brushed it on the bottoms after the second baking and cooling them. I’ve used anise and orange flavored dried cranberries (Trader Joe’s), and have also put a few grinds of black pepper in them for a bit of heat which is really good. So now, for my final bake, will try yours. Oh, and I also used 1/4 finely ground cornmeal for an extra crunch which was good.
I made these tonight in an extreme rush and used 2 sticks of butter instead if 19th so by mistake!! And used orange blossom water instead of orange liqueur. And they came out delicious! They were the hit of the ruach shabbat! Yay butter lol.
Forgive my typos. Used 2 sticks butter instead of 10tbsp.
I love the Almond Biscotti and make it all the time, everyone LOVES it. However, the logs spread out quite a bit and make very long cookies which I cut in half. Can I add a bit more flour or do something to keep them from spreading like that???? They are still delish but would like them don’t like cutting them in half. Maybe I am doing something wrong, would really appreciate your comments.
Trudy — They’re supposed to spread; that’s why you start with them much narrower than you’ll want the final biscotti to be and it gives them their typical biscotti shape. If you’d like smaller biscotti, you can definitely make a narrower log to begin with. You’ll want to watch the baking time of course; it will need less.
has anyone used almond extract instead of the vanilla? It was outrageously yummy as written and I would have liked more of an almond flavor.
I draw out the loaf size on one side of the parchment paper and then turn it over. Having those guidelines results in more uniform loaves!
bonnie — I definitely think you could use almond here (in fact, I was confused because I thought I always had, but apparently not) but I would not use a full tablespoon unless you’re obsessed with the flavor because almond is much stronger than vanilla, I find.
I recently made a similar version – almond with some orange zest. The orange really gives it a wonderful flavour! I didn’t use butter, though, so mine are rock hard. But we just dunk them our tea. The funny thing – I made them for my Italian mother in law, but she said they are too hard for them and send them home with me! Apparently they don’t dunk. So much for hard and fast Italian food rules :)
I make another version with oil, and I find they keep softer and won’t break a tooth. But, as others have mentioned, they also won’t keep as long.
I’m making a batch of almond cranberry biscotti. I’m going a little off book but I’m confident they will turn out great. It’s just very tough to cut them and not have them fall apart. Tips?
I tend to prefer biscotti made without butter, not only to a dairy allergy in the house but for longevity. There is a recipe in The Joy of Coffee by Corby Kummer that fits the bill if you need such a thing.
Oh gosh, I’ve been looking for a good biscotti recipe and here one is! I plan to swap out the almonds and orange liquor for pecans and cinnamon, however.
Made these biscotti but what on earth did I do wrong the dough is very crumbly and hard to put together into a log. I just hope they don’t break apart after cooling. They do taste good though I cracked off a bit at the end. Please advice about the crumbly texture.
Mary — I’ve never found the texture here to be too crumbly to work with, but it is a little bit, and especially fragile after the first baking. Once they have baked the second time and cooled, however, they should be crisp and set. I hope you found this to be the case.
I’m making these now … I bet they’ll be delicious regardless but my logs only spread to about 3 inches. Any ideas?
Kate — It can happen but shouldn’t be a problem at all in the end.
Oh my gosh, these are delicious! I make biscotti for my dad every year for his birthday, and I am certain he will love these. Thanks for a great recipe!
I found these this winter and had the same feeling as you: I just couldn’t leave my own recipe well enough alone and had to start tweaking. :) Here’s my version (vegan for allergies) of your version of the Bon Appetit recipe: http://foodallergypantry.weebly.com/the-cookbook-apothecary-blog/double-tries-for-double-baked-cookies
They were so yummy and disappeared almost overnight!
The recipe was great. I halved the recipe as I didn’t want 36-45 biscotti. Instead of 1 1/2 eggs, I used 2 eggs after reading the comments about the dough being too dry. (I ended up having to extend the baking time by a good 10-15 minutes.) I decided to use 1 Tablespoon of almond extract in lieu of the orange liqueur, even though I had Grand Marnier, because I wanted more almond flavor. Also, I didn’t have any almonds so the almond extract was too compensate for that.
The next time I make this, I’ll try it with the Grand Marnier and the almonds. Fantastic recipe.
Forgot to add – I left out the orange zest as I had no oranges.
Sounds good
I whipped up a half recipe for a small Tgiving dinner, subbing choc chips for the nuts, and only got about 12 biscotti. Should have just made the full batch. They were tasty and popular, a tad softer than traditional (maybe cause I cut the bake/cool cycle short in a rush), so they tasted great on their own, but I wouldn’t dunk these. they’d probably dissolve. Will make again!
This is my go-to biscotti recipe. I still have the page ripped out from my Bon Appetit December 1999 magazine and made some yesterday. The original calls for aniseed but I sub in Anise Extract. For my next batch I will try your suggestion of orange liquer and zest, which sounds wonderful! Happy Holidays from Pittsburgh!
Very lovely flavors! I wanted to dress it up a little for Christmas presents, so I sprinkled a handful of dried organic lavender blossoms from my garden into the batter, and drizzled with white chocolate after the slices cooled. It was amazing!!
I’ve been struggling with the intention-versus-time issue of making challah for co-workers’ gifts when this recipe appeared on the Instagrams. Problem solved. I banged out this recipe last night, swapping in almond extract and orange oil for the orange and liqueur I didn’t have, and using part white whole wheat to increase dunkability. These are just stupid delicious. Tonight’ll be the Parmesan-black pepper version. Thanks, Deb.
Can you dip these in chocolate?
I am amazed that no one has commented on the use of 1/3 tsp measure. In the absence of that measure do you use rounded 1/4 tsp as someone on the Internet suggested? Thanks!
Girl. These are ridiculous! I was in Italy in October and if I close my eyes while eating these I can imagine myself still there. They are exactly as you described: PERFECT!
These are perfect. The only modification I made was to use 2 cups white flour and 1 1/4 cups white whole wheat. The dough at first seemed a little dry but with further mixing came together perfectly. Drizzled some with chocolate and voila! Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi, I am glucose intolerance,is there any ways i can substitute sugar with splenda or any other sweetener?
I haven’t tried it but here is a comment from someone who used Splenda, and their notes: https://smittenkitchen.com/2008/03/almond-biscotti/#comment-624359
Which almonds did you use in your recipe, in the photos above? Silvered almonds or did you use whole almonds? I wanted to follow exactly the ingredients that you used. thank you
I used sliced.
HOW DO I PLACE YOUR RECIPES ON PINTEREST?
THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE,
Suzette
I have made these many times, and they are always perfect. I usually switch the vanilla for almond extract, and throw in a handful of dried cranberries.
Today I was short on butter so I did half butter, half coconut oil. They came out a little softer than usual, but still great tasting. I didn’t get any coconut flavour, just almond.
I make this every year for christmas– absolutely wonderful!! I do add some coarsely chopped dark chocolate and add an egg yolk (i hate leftover egg yolks) they are a huge hit with family friends and clients — thank you!
So good! Some comments:
-I didn’t do the egg wash, didn’t seem to matter except they won’t brown as reliably on top in the first baking
-A sharp non-serrated knife worked better for me for cutting – less crumbling
-I didn’t include orange liqueur but did include the zest of a whole orange and the orange flavor is definitely present
-Don’t overtoast your almonds beforehand because they’ll be baked twice more
-If one of the logs is bigger than the other, it’ll likely need more than 30 minutes (or this was my experience). Logs are fragile when warm (hence the cooling step is important)
-They make the house smell really, really good
I love this recipe and make it frequently. I add other nuts, particularly pistachios and sometimes pecans, and increase the quantity to about 1 1/2 cups of nuts. I add about a teaspoon of almond extract along with the vanilla and orange liqueur. I cut them with a serrated tomato knife. They always come out crisp and flavorful. We keep them in an air tight box for as much as two weeks and like to dunk them into coffee or tea. Always a big hit. As with all the Smitten Kitchen recipes I’ve tried it’s very tasty and relatively easy.
This recipe is fantastic! I’ve been making the biscotti for a couple years now and they are always a hit. I have kept mine well over a week if stored in an airtight container…and only if I hide them from my husband. My preferred choice of container is the flip-tite style container (Felli brand).
I’ve used Grand Marnier and Cointreau but I think the Cointreau offers the most orange flavor. But either/or, these are just delicious!
I have a recipe that says to refrigerate the dough overnight before proceeding to bake. So this is not necessary?
I promise I’d tell you if you needed to here!
Hi Deb, I’d like to Jaír star anise biscotti. How would you suggest substituting the spice into this recipe?
I think it would definitely work here, but I’m not sure how much I’d add without testing it out.
I made this yesterday and it is a big hit in our household! Since we are currently sheltering in place, I’m trying to conserve ingredients so I cut the recipe in half. Followed all the steps except for not having an orange to zest so lemon zest was a great substitute. I definitely agree with others about lightly toasting the almonds – it definitely adds more depth to the biscotti. Enjoy everyone!
This is my go-to recipe for biscotti. I also substitute different flavors. The original is delicious. I also have added cranberries and done macadamia nuts instead of almonds. You can do almonds and anise for a different flavor. Pistachios and lemon. The possibilities are endless!
I love the flavor but find them to be too sweet. How can I reduce the sugar by half to maintain the texture required for a successful bake?
Why did mine crumble so much even after cooling?
The biscotti crumbled and crumbled. I have made biscotti many times and they crumble. So today I decided to make this recipe. I am so sorry to say these crumbled the most. I know SK recipes are great. What did I do wrong?
I followed the instructions as best as I could. I might as well make Biscotti crumbs out of this batch.
Any thoughts what I could have done so wrong???
When do they crumble?
They crumbled when I was slicing and crumbled more when I was trying to turn them to bake the other side. The texture was not smooth like the ones you have shown in the picture. I would very much appreciate your suggestions to prevent them from crumbling so much. They tasted very good. Thanks
I made these yesterday and they’re excellent. The only change I would make is to use double the amount of almonds; they’re pretty sparse with just one cup. I used Trader Joe’s Unsalted, Dry Toasted Slivered Almonds and they were perfect. The dough was pretty wet, but rather than adding flour, I chilled it for a half hour or so and then it was easier to handle. The whole house smelled incredible for a full day after they were done, and the biscotti are the perfect texture and delicious. Thank you!
Fantastic flavor, biscotti stays crisp, and this is one of my favorite recipes.
The biscotti flavor and taste were good. However they were very crumbly. I have made biscotti several times. This was the most crumbly biscotti I have ever made. I sure would like to know the reasons why the biscotti would turn out crumbly. I used some of the crumbs on the cereal!!!
Excellent recipe…I added golden raisins…and did second bake on rack on top of cookie sheet — thanks to whoever shared that! I also left the biscotti in the turned-off oven and that made them deliciously crunchy.
This has been my go-to Christmas cookie recipe for over a decade! I don’t typically like orange & almond flavors but these are soooo good. Seriously! Make them and you won’t be sorry. My friends and family look forward to me making these every year :)
I’ve made these countless times over the years and they’re reliably delicious and always popular. I recently discovered that you can toast the almonds in an air fryer, which is a game changer for me since I tend to burn them when toasting on the stovetop or oven. Thanks for such a great recipe!