This year we’ve decided to add biscotti to our Christmas baking. They’re fun to make and keep well in the freezer, making them a perfect bake ahead treat.
Our biscotti recipe is butter-free and results in a crispy dryness that I find particularly appealing, regardless of whether or not I have a cup of coffee to dunk them in. After trawling the internet and cookbooks for ideas, I was surprised by how consistent the formula for basic biscotti is in terms of ingredients and quantities.
This recipe can be adapted in a myriad of ways, which means the biscotti you bake can be uniquely yours!
Here’s my recipe, with grateful acknowledgement to Mark and Bruce’s recipe from The Ultimate Cookbook, David Lebovitz’ Chocolate Biscotti recipe, Paul’s recipe at the Mellow Bakers, and a recipe I read online which was attributed to Carol Field’s The Italian Baker.
The biscotti can be made using an electric mixer, or by hand. I’ve outlined both methodologies below, but I usually make them by hand – I really enjoy getting my fingers into the dough. One point to note – I prefer to bake the cookies until they’re very dry and hard, and then I store them in an airtight container for a couple of days before eating. They soften up a little over time to a perfect dunking consistency.
All the biscotti freeze brilliantly, even the ones coated in tempered chocolate, which makes this a great do-ahead gift for the festive season.
- 2½ cups (375g) plain (AP) flour (see note #1 below)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt (preferably sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (220g) white sugar
- 3 large (59g) eggs
- 1 cup (140g) coarsely chopped nuts (I used slivered almonds)
- 1 cup (180g) inclusions (see note #2 below)
- 1 egg, beaten, for eggwash
- demerara or crystallised sugar
Note #1: for chocolate biscotti, substitute 2 cups (300g) plain flour and 75g (¾ cup) sifted cocoa, preferably dutched.
Note #2: I usually include ½ cup (100g) dark chocolate chips and ½ cup (80g) dried fruit – in this case, a mix of cranberries and chopped Turkish figs.
. . . . .
Hand Mixed Method
1. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. Whisk together the flour, sifted baking powder, sifted bicarb (baking) soda and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to beat the 3 eggs and sugar together until combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract.
4. Gradually add the flour mixture, whisking to incorporate. When the mix becomes too thick for the whisk, switch to a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
5. Stir in the nuts and other inclusions. Knead the inclusions into the dough by hand, mixing well to ensure that everything is evenly combined.
6. Divide the dough into two, and turn each half onto a well floured bench. Roll the dough into a long thin log. Place each log on the lined baking tray.
7. Gently flatten the top of each log, then eggwash the tops and sides of each and sprinkle generously with demerara sugar. Bake the logs for 25 – 30 minutes, rotating once during the baking time. The logs will be firm to touch when baked. Allow to cool on trays for at least 15 minutes.
8. With a sharp serrated knife, slice each log into 1cm / ½” slices.
9. Lay the slices onto the parchment lined tray – they won’t spread any more – and bake for 20 – 30 minutes at 175C / 350F or 160C/320F with fan. Rotate the trays halfway through the baking time to ensure the biscotti bake evenly.
Electric Mixer Method
1. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 175C/350F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. Whisk together the flour, sifted baking powder, sifted bicarb (baking) soda and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the 3 eggs and sugar together until well combined, then gradually add the flour mixture, beating until all the flour has been incorporated. Turn the mixer to low and gradually mix in the nuts and inclusions.
4. Continue from step 6 in the hand mixed method above.
If desired, the finished biscotti can be given a coating of tempered chocolate, as the chocolate and ginger version below has been.
Click here for a printable version of this recipe
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
My oh My! I Love biscotti, it is soooooooo good! :) And I gotta say that chocolate biscotti in the piccy above is to die for. Yum, Yum, Yum…. yep, thanks Celia, have decided that I will bake some biscotti for the fam for our Christmas day feast.
Hey Anna, love the new piccy! :) Hope you like this recipe…
I’ve only made biscotti once and the result was very disappointing, as the dough spread sideways a lot during baking, resulting in very shallow finger shaped biscotti. I will try your recipe before Christmas, Celia, as I know I can trust your recipes – these look as if they have a lovely crisp texture.
Suelle, thank you! The logs are a bit fiddly to move to the tray, but the dough isn’t too soft and doesn’t spread overly on the first bake.
I just love warm biscotti with a cup of coffee in the morning. I love your recipe and step by step tutorial. It make this look easy and I wanna try it :)
Tes, that’s a lovely thing to say, thank you! :) It’s actually pretty easy to mix up – I guess the only fiddly thing is moving the logs to the baking tray. The dough can be a little sticky too, so it needs a bit of flour for rolling out.
I love biscotti- and lemon rusks – and peppernuts- all those dried and hard cookies that crunch and dip!
I think I’ll make some up and put onto cookie trays with my gingerbread cutouts.
Thanks for the recipe, Celia!
Heidi, I’ve never heard of peppernuts! I’m going off to google now. You might also like our recipe for gingernuts? I’m not making any of those – at least not until closer to Christmas – because I can’t be trusted to keep those in the house.. ;-)
A great Christmas gift idea, Celia – I always send a box of cookies to my girls, and most get beat up on the way – but biscotti are immune to such injuries.
Thanks, it’s on my list.
Doc, you’re right, they’re pretty sturdy! I also like the fact that they keep in an airtight container for ages, and also that they seem to freeze with absolutely no detriment to their texture or taste! Thanks.. :)
How did you know that today would be the day I’d start pondering what kind of Christmas cookies to make this year? Thanks for helping me figure out how to start off the list–these look fantastic!
Nancy, I hope you like these – look forward to seeing what variations you come up with! :)
The biscotti sounds wonderful, I just might give it a try this year :). I just wanted to pop in and say how much I enjoy reading (and learning from) your blog!!
Hi Brooke, thanks for popping in to say hi! :) Hope you enjoy the biscotti..
great idea! i’m sure your friends and family will appreciate these! happy holidays!
Foodie lady Aleida, happy hols to you too! :)
You said you had been working on your biscotti! Crunch and Munch! Lovely step by step and great pics. I’ll put them on the list for December…. xx
Hello love, yes, been batch testing! There are biscotti everywhere. Bless my lovely neighbours who’ve all been patiently eating them, even though they know they’ll be getting them for Christmas!
My gorgeous friend El told me yesterday that she’d eaten all of hers and was desperate so she bought some at the supermarket. She said she took one bite and had to spit it out and throw the packet away! Of course, I was so flattered I then had to run home and bring her a couple of boxes out of the freezer.. ;-)
Celia, biscotti is on my list for Christmas gifts this year, but I hadn’t thought to make them ahead and freeze, so thank you for that tip. That’s this weekend sorted.
The other one I thought I could probably do in advance was candied orange dipped in chocolate – never tried that before though.
Choc, serendipitously I’ve just found glace orange rind at Harkola, and was thinking the same thing! Again, that’s something I’m not sure would last here until Christmas.. ;-)
Much later than I was hoping, but I did make the biscotti today – a chocolate version of course. I’m really pleased with them. Will be packaging them up tomorrow and delivering them with cards. Now we finally have snow, I’m starting to get in the festive spirit. Last weekend I did the oranges and dipped them in chocolate today. I had a vague attempt at tempering, it didn’t work, but they look quite good anyway.
Hooray! Happy to hear you’re pleased with them, Choc, thanks for letting me know! I think you’re going to nail tempering very soon.. ;-)
I so love the idea of your patient neighbours – ha ha. I just so wish I was one of them :)
Great idea with the chocolate…I made cantucci biscotti last weekend..still no time to post, hopefully soon!
Our head chef has english as his second language and sometimes things get lost in translation. Last week he ordered sponge fingers instead of biscotti for a dessert. When we noticed, he asked me to whip some up quickly before service,he still didn’t realise they needed double baking. We actually had to buy some from Woollies!! I will take him in this recipe so he has the best one in town, and there will be no more misunderstandings. Thanks Celia, I’m sure these are infinitely nicer than anything from Woolworths!
Biscotti are on my list for Christmas as well this year, far easier than a last minute dash of baking. I love the look of the chocolate ones they look delicious.
I’m working on a chocolate ginger biscotti, decidedly average so far. Got to keep tweaking, so like you, a sea of biscotti… It could be worse ;-)
Choc, I have the best neighbours in the world! :)
Yvette, look forward to reading about your biscotti!
Chef, that’s very kind of you – don’t know that it’s that good, but we like it! :)
Brydie, the chocolate ones are actually chocolate with crystallised ginger in them! I’m not 100% sold on them, so I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with. If it’s of any use, I found the David Lebovitz chocolate biscotti recipe to be a good starting point (link is in the post above).
I’ve never made biscotti, your post is an awesome lecture on how to make them!
Fantastic, thank you!
Celia, I have been giving my friends ginger biscotti at Xmas for years now – and if I don’t they all want to know why! They really are a popular and easy homemade gift.
Celia, your biscotti looks wonderful! Love the mix of ingredients you’ve chosen… and the chocolate coated ones! Can’t wait to see what other Christmas baking you will be doing…
I love biscotti. I want one now.
What a fabulous walk through, thanks Celia, and as always, perfection from your kitchen.
:-) Mandy
Delicious! And they almost seem healthy!
Yum yum yum! I have to stop reading everyone’s blogs or everyone will end up with a mountain of food for Christmas presents! I might substitute something with these though. They look so good and festive too.
Sally, thank you!
Amanda, isn’t it lovely when friends ask for a repeat gift? Means they really enjoyed it and didn’t just bin it.. :)
Honey, not much baking yet, but the jam making has started.. :)
Debra, thank you! I meant to ask you and Yvette if they look right?
Mandy, you are very kind, thank you! :)
Anna, they are delicious! I was thinking the same thing today – they don’t seem too bad, no butter, only one cup of sugar in about 60 biscotti…
You are so organized Celia. Impressive effort (and end results) as usual!
Thanks SG! They were fun to make!
Great job Celia! And I like how many “bits” you used-the fruit and nuts are always my favourite part. But then you went ahead and coated the second one in chocolate and I fell in love :P
Will have to bake you a batch! :)
Yum looks gorgeous!
I wanted to stop by and say thanks for posting on the side bar about about The Perennial Plate. The luxury of holidays has allowed me to watch all the episodes over the last few days and I love them! I do also adore HFW from River Cottage. Thanks for putting me on to this great resource :)
Amy, thank you! Glad you’re enjoying the videos as much as I am, they’re just great, aren’t they? I’ve been super impressed with Daniel’s production quality as well.
Ohhh, these look great Celia. I’ve never been a fan of biscotti and haven;t had them for years. They were probably supermarket ones – not anything like yours! So I might have to return! Thankyou, Craig
Cheers, Craig! You might really enjoy these – they’re a bit of a breadmaker’s biscotti, if that makes sense. :)
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