Biscotti

5 from 5 votes

Recipe video above. There are countless biscotti flavours these days but almond is probably the most traditional, and it's certainly the one I reach for most often!

This biscotti is crisp as it should be, but not tooth-breakingly hard like shop bought ones often are. They are the thinner which I prefer over those really chunky versions which I find is just too much crunchy biscuit in a mouthful.

Just make sure you use a sharp serrated knife to slice the logs, and let them cool fully before cutting so they’re less prone to crumbling or breaking.

Prep Time25

Cook Time50

Log and biscotti cooling1 30

Total Time2 45

Course: Biscuits, Cookie, Sweet

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: almond biscotti, biscotti, biscotti recipe

Servings:

Calories: 78cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups almonds , whole, raw, unsalted (Note 1)
60g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (or light olive oil - Note 2)
3/4 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
2 large eggs , fridge cold best (Note 3)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp almond extract
2 cups plain flour (all-purpose flour)
2 tsp baking powder (sub 1/2 tsp baking soda)
1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)

Cups - Metric

Instructions

ABBREVIATED RECIPE

Toast almonds 10 min, cool. Whisk butter and sugar, then remaining wet ingredients. Stir in dry ingredients with wooden spoon. Shape into 2 logs, bake 25 min at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan). Cool, slice 8mm / 1/3" thick, bake 25 min (flipping halfway) at 150°/300°F (130°C fan), cool on trays.

FULL RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan-forced).
Toast almonds - Spread the almonds on a tray and bake for 10 minutes, shaking the tray once. Fully cool before adding into dough.
Wet ingredients - Whisk the butter and caster sugar in a bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and almond extract, whisk to combine.
Dry ingredients - Add the flour, then scatter the baking powder and salt across the surface. Mix with a wooden spoon until the flour is almost completely mixed in. Add the almonds, mix until fully combined - it should be like a cookie dough, a bit sticky but just firm enough to handle. (If it's super sticky, refrigerate 15 min).
Logs - Divide the mixture into two and scrape out onto a paper lined tray. Shape into 2 logs 5 cm wide, 2 cm tall, 27 cm long (2 x 0.8 x /12"), set 7cm/2.5" apart - they will spread. (If the mixture is sticky, use wet hands, if really sticky, refrigerate dough for 10 minutes).
Bake 1 (30 minutes) - Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden. Fully cool - about 1 hour. (Cooler = easier to slice without crumbling, it's even easier the next day).

Bake 2 - crisp them!

Preheat oven to 150°/300°F (130°C fan-forced).
Slice - Using a sharp serrated knife, slice on the diagonal into 7mm / 1/3" thick slices. You can cut thicker if you want, but I like my biscotti thinner. I get ~40 pieces plus log ends.
Bake 2 (20 minutes) - Place on 2 lined trays. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 minutes or until light golden. (They will take longer if you cut yours thicker).
Cool on the tray - they will fully crisp once cool. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Raw almonds are best because baking them really brings out the almond flavour. If you've only got roasted almonds, that's fine, just cut the roasting time down to 8 minutes. For other nuts, use the same quantity and also roast prior to using (but for smaller nuts, shorten baking time!).

2. Light olive oil can be used instead of butter. Don't use extra virgin olive oil though, the flavour will dominate. If you don't have and don't want to buy light olive oil just for this, use 50/50 extra virgin with a neutral flavoured oil like canola or vegetable oil.

3. Fridge cold eggs rather than the usual "eggs at room temperature" usually called for in baking recipes helps keep the biscotti mixture firmer so it's not too sticky to handle with shaping into logs. This is also the reason the melted butter should be cool!

Keeps 2 weeks in an airtight container (fully cool before storing). If they lose crispiness (can happen if hot and humid), re-crisp in 150°C/300°F (130°C fan-forced) oven for 8 minutes.

Nutrition per biscotti, assuming 40 pieces. So modest! Have lots! :)

Nutrition