Have you ever wondered how to make Biscotti at home? These classic, twice-baked Italian cookies are incredibly easy to make and can be customized with your favorite add-ins. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Perfect Italian Cookie, Made Easy
These super easy Italian biscotti couldn’t be more different from the soft and chewy cookies that I usually share with you. If you’ve ever had biscotti before, you already know they’re not soft at all. Instead they’re hard and crunchy, and despite the fact that I usually avoid these two characteristics like the plague when it comes to cookies, I love these biscotti. In fact, I think they’re ridiculously delicious. But then again, aren’t all Italian desserts?
I used to think that biscotti were challenging to make (kind of like cannoli), but they’re actually not–not even a little bit. Biscotti are made with a very simple dough that you can customize with your favorite extracts and add-ins. They’re different from most cookies, because instead of scooping the dough, you’ll form it into two logs, bake them, let them cool completely, and then slice and them bake again. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you can also dip or drizzle your biscotti with chocolate, but that’s totally your call (obviously, I’m team chocolate 🙋🏼♀️).
Let’s dive right in!
What You Need
Prepare yourself: these ingredients are SUPER basic, but they yield amazingly crisp and flavorful cookies. Here are the stars of today’s recipe:
- Butter. While some recipes use oil, I like to use butter for a better flavor and texture. Use unsalted, softened (not melty!) butter.
- Sugar. Since they are cookies, biscotti should be sweet! Stick with granulated sugar for this recipe.
- Eggs. We’ll add these one at a time and will mix the batter thoroughly after each addition. If you can remember, set your eggs out beforehand so they’re room temperature–they’ll incorporate better that way!
- Vanilla. Two teaspoons will give us a lovely vanilla flavor. If you like your biscotti to taste more traditional (think pizzelle cookies), you can always reduce your vanilla to 1½ teaspoons and add a splash of anise extract (I’ve included instructions in the notes).
- Flour. All-purpose flour works best here. If you have trouble with the dough sticking while trying to form it, feel free to flour your hands.
- Almonds and chocolate chips. While I use chocolate chips and slivered almonds here, you can substitute whatever you like. You can use about 1⅓-1½ cups of your favorite add-ins; raisins, dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, and pistachios, all are popular choices!
- Chocolate. This is optional, but if you’d like to either dip or drizzle your biscotti with extra chocolate (who doesn’t?!) melting wafers work well. You could also use chocolate chips.
SAM’S TIP: If you have a stand mixer, use it! While you can get away with using an electric hand mixer, this dough gets pretty stiff and difficult to mix, so save yourself some effort and use a stand mixer.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Biscotti
- Cream together the butter and sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition until well incorporated. Stir in the vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them into the wet ingredients.
- Stir in your add-ins.
- Divide the dough into equal pieces and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Form the dough into logs with lightly floured hands.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 350F, then cool completely.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the loaves diagonally. Place the biscotti cut side down onto your baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove your biscotti from the oven, flip them over, and bake for another 10 minutes. Allow the biscotti to cool completely before dipping or drizzling with chocolate.
SAM’S TIP: Use care when flipping your biscotti as they come out of the oven; they are much more fragile and likely to break while they are warm. I recommend using tongs and a gentle hand to turn them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Because they are baked twice, biscotti are hard and crisp. They’re great for dunking in a hot cup of coffee (cookies for breakfast ❤).
Since they’re are already pretty hard and dry (I promise, they’re delicious and supposed to be that way!), they don’t go stale fast at all. Biscotti will keep for least several weeks when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Shallow cracks on the surface are normal and nothing to be worried about. You can always dip them in melted chocolate to cover them up.
Enjoy! And if you’re looking for a chocolate version, be sure to check out my chocolate biscotti!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter softened (141g)
- 1 ⅓ cups sugar (265g)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (see note if you would like to use anise extract)
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose cups flour (406g)
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- ⅔ cup slivered almonds (66g)
- ⅔ cup mini chocolate chips (113g)
- ½ cup dark chocolate melting wafers or chocolate chips for dipping biscotti optional (170g)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until creamy and well-combined.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture into butter mixture, stirring until completely combined.
- Stir in mini chocolate chips and almonds.
- Using lightly floured hands, divide dough into two equal pieces and place on prepared baking sheet. Form dough into two separate logs approximately 10-12″ long by 2-3″ wide, and be sure to space them at least 4″ apart as biscotti will spread (you may use separate cookie sheets to bake, if needed). If dough is too sticky, lightly dust with additional flour and lightly powder your hands with a thin layer of flour.
- Bake 30 minutes on 350F (175C), or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow biscotti to cool completely. (Note that you will need to return the biscotti to the oven after it has cooled and you have sliced it, so you may wish to leave your oven on while the biscotti cools or set yourself a reminder to turn it back on).
- Once cooled, slice loaves diagonally into slices about 1 ½" thick (I recommend using a bread knife for this). Place biscotti cut-side down on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Return to 350F (175C) oven and bake for 10 minutes. Flip each biscotti over gently, and then bake another 10 minutes on 350F (175C). Biscotti should be lightly golden brown when finished baking.
- Allow to cool completely.
- If desired, melt chocolate in 20 second increments (stirring in between) until melted and use a spoon to drizzle over cooled biscotti. Allow chocolate to harden before serving (this will take much longer with chocolate chips than with melting wafers).
Notes
Add-Ins
Feel free to substitute the almonds and/or the chocolate chips with an equal amount of your favorite add-ins, or leave them out entirely!Anise Extract
Classic Italian biscotti are often made with anise extract. Feel free to add 1-2 teaspoons of anise extract or 2 teaspoons of anise seed (in addition to the vanilla extract) if you so desire.Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Biscotti will keep for at least two weeks. Biscotti may also be frozen in an airtight container for several months.Chocolate Version
See my chocolate biscotti recipe.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Patty
I have tried NUMEROUS biscotti recipe, but just couldn’t get exactly what I wanted. I tried your recipe and it is, by far, the easiest and best I have ever made. Love your recipes. Thanks for sharing them!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Patty! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
Bharti Bhandari
Good morning
I need a substitute for eggs for the biscotti recipe.. Please let me know what can i use as a substitute
Thanks
Bharti
Sam
Hi Bharti! Unfortunately, I haven’t tried an egg substitute so I can’t say for sure what would work and how it would turn out. 🙁
Liz
I’ve always been afraid of making biscotti, seemed to be too difficult, but after seeing your recipe, decided to give it a try. It is fantastic!! Can’t wait to try it in a cup of coffee tomorrow for breakfast. I probably have already spoiled my dinner for tonight. Your recipes have never disappointed me, I can always count on them to be delicious and for the most part easy. Thank you!!
Sam
Thank you so much, Liz! I hope you love the biscotti! 🙂
NRS
Hi Sam! Due to nut allergies, if i just wanted to use the chocolate chips and no almond slices, should i stick to 2/3 cup of mini choc chips or increase or 1 or 1 1/3 cup? Thanks!
Sam
You could increase the chocolate chips if you’d like but it’s not necessary. 🙂
Izzy
Yum! & so simple to make. Love this!
CAAN
Would this recipe work with gluten free flour? My little one has a new diagnosed allergy to that so we are figuring things out.
Sam
Honestly I have never tried it with gluten free flour so I can’t be sure how it will turn out. If you do try it out I’d love to know how it goes. 🙂
Trisha
Hi there I am definitely going to make your biscotti based on these wonderful reviews. However I recently made my old recipe and they were bitter! Could this be because of my older aluminum cookie sheets? Would you recommend using parchment paper or silicone mats on the pan so cookies don’t bake directly on pan??
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Trisha! Bad baking powder may actually be the culprit for the bitter taste. We’d recommend checking that!
Trisha
OMG I think you’re right!! I smelled it right after I baked the biscotti and I thought I had detected a weird smell so I threw it out!! That has never happened to me before. Thank you soooo much for your help – I’m off to make yours! Can’t wait 🙂
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Glad it was helpful!! Definitely let us know how your next batch turns out 😊
Lynne
I followed directions to a tee and my mixture was more than a little sticky! I added a bit more flour and floured my hands but it still was overly sticky! What did I do wrong? Hoping indidnt ruin recipe by added too much added flour. Thanks for any help!
Sam
Hi Lynne! You may have just needed more flour. As long as it isn’t overly stiff it should probably be fine. 🙂
Deb
Love ya videos …question I want to make this coconut flavor how much coconut extract shall I add as I know it’s potent ..
Amd can ya add flaked coconut ?
Sam
Hi Deb! I’m not sure exactly how much coconut extract to add. I would try adding just a little bit because it is so potent. You could certainly stir in some coconut flakes. 🙂
Joanna
I’ve made this recipe at least 10 times now. I’ve tried other Biscotti recipes that do not compare to this one. Thanks for sharing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
That’s so nice to hear, Joanna! We’re happy you are loving our recipe ♥
Fazz
I have never made Biscotti before, this recipe was so easy to make and came out perfectly! They were delicious and I loved it! Easily customized with the various add-ins. I also used slivered almonds but swapped the chocolate chips for black raisins. I dunked it in a hot cup of coffee. Yummy! Thanks for this amazing recipe, can’t wait to make Pumpkin Spice Biscotti and Chocolate & Walnut Biscotti. Stay tuned!🥰
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thanks so much for your review, Fazz! We’re thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the biscotti and were able to customize them to your liking. Let us know how you like the other recipes too 😊
May
This is an amazing biscotti recipe! I split the dough in half and did mini chocolate chips + chopped almonds for one log and cranberry + pistachio for the other log. It was a huge hit! Great with coffee or tea! This will be my go-to recipe from now on. I did measure the flour using my scale and it turned out perfect!