Ultimate Biscotti Recipe: Irresistible & Easy!

These crunchy Italian cookies are easy to make, but require a bit of special handling. Biscotti are baked twice: once as a log, and again as individual slices.

Before Baking

• Line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Mix your dough, adding “extras” of your choice: toasted nuts, chocolate, or dried fruit. Common flavors are anise, orange, almond, and hazelnut.
• The dough will be sticky; wetting your hands before forming the loaves will help you shape them without having to add more flour.
• Form biscotti loaves as big or small as you like—create dainty little tea cookies or jumbo dunking-sized coffee companions.

Slicing Made Simple

After the first bake, the biscotti loaves should be firm and very lightly browned, but not hard.

• Loaves are ready to cut when you can touch them without burning yourself. It’s easier to cut them while they’re still warm.
• Use a long serrated knife—especially if you have nuts or dried fruit in your biscotti. A bread knife will allow you to slice neatly through the loaves without using too much pressure.
• Slice on the diagonal for long biscotti or straight across for shorter ones.

The Crunch

Time for bake number two: the point of this second baking is to dry out the biscotti without browning them too much, so a low oven temperature and a slow baking time are key.

• Arrange the cookies on their bottom edges on the baking sheet for better air circulation.
• For softer cookies, simply bake them for a little less time than the recipe specifies. For biscotti that can stand up to dunking, bake until they are as crunchy as you like.

Beautify Your Biscotti

Once the cookies have cooled, you can decorate them: try drizzling them with one or several kinds of melted chocolate, or dip them in chocolate then roll them in chopped nuts.

Pictured: Biscotti

Ready to bake? Let’s get started!

Here are a few of our top-rated biscotti recipes.

1) Cranberry-Pistachio Biscotti

“This is the cookie recipe I make a couple times a month. It is so easy, perfect as written or adaptable to other nuts.” – LaurSavvy

2) Chef John’s Almond Biscotti

“I have been making this recipe for the last few years and [it’s] became a Christmas staple in my home. Easy and delicious.” – gm5t2x7vjr

3) Anise-Walnut Biscotti

“This recipe was given to me by my Grandmother Nancy (Saccuzzo). She was a great little Italian Nana. Enjoy with your favorite red wine or coffee.” – Michele Flannery

4) Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

“These are one of my favorites. I make them every holiday season. They are great for mailing and keep for weeks!” – Jennifer Wall

5) Brownie Biscotti

“I have made this many, many times, and love having these around the house to have with coffee.” – Rob Squizzero

More Cookies To Try

• Browse our complete collection of Biscotti Recipes
• 25 Italian Cookies You’ll Love
• 19 Italian Christmas Cookies to Try This Year