This Almond Biscotti has a nice crunchy light texture, and a very nutty Almond flavor. Unlike traditional Biscotti that are quite harder and drier, this is far from that but in a good way. The light crunchy texture makes it easy to eat, I promise you this will not break your heart and your teeth 🙂 The Biscotti is loaded with real Almonds, a combination of toasted Almonds were mixed in the cookie dough and a decent amount of Almond flour was used in combination with cake flour.

This is such an easy recipe to make and offers a lot of opportunity for variations. Once you have the base cookie batter, you can add different mix-in to create different variation. From nuts, dried fruits and chocolate, you will not regret it. Check out how I made this Biscotti in the short video I made. I hope this will inspire you to add this in your baking to do list.

I started a delicious addiction with Biscotti since I made my very own homemade Biscotti. Last year, I shared a video recipe for Almond Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti which I love so much. The texture was spot on, at least to my preference. It has a nice crunchy texture, it was light as opposed to dense Biscotti and it was absolutely delicious. Since then, I started making different variation of Biscotti and this one I think is a great variation for the Holiday season.

Light & Crunchy Texture

This is a simple Almond Biscotti which uses my Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti as the base recipe. If you missed my post for that recipe. This Biscotti has the same light, crunchy texture. Instead of Pistachio and Cranberry I added thinly sliced Almonds and increased the amount of Almond flour as well. This little change gave a really nice nutty flavor and made the cookie batter more manageable to shape and handle. I noticed that in my Pistachio and Cranberry Biscotti that the cookie batter is quite sticky which makes it challenging to shape. So this recipe is an enhance version of that in terms of flavor and batter texture. This Biscotti is great with tea or coffee, or just to have it as snack on the go. Breakfast grab and go, or mid day snacking while you are relaxing or working on something. Once you learn how to make this Biscotti, you will fall in love with it. It is a simple process, easy to follow and you can make different variations.

What is Biscotti?

Biscotti is a twice baked cookie or biscuit (as other people may call it) which originated from Italy. It is a dried out cookie, sometimes sliced thick and sometimes slicked thinly. It could be plain, with nuts or with dried fruits. The cookie is shaped into a log or rectangular shape then baked until cookie is slightly browned. It is then sliced and baked the second time to further dry it out and make it crunchy crispy. Because of it’s dried out texture, this cookie is the perfect cookie for dipping in coffee, tea or hot chocolate.

Making a Biscotti is a relatively simple process, although it requires baking the cookie twice, the entire process is still pretty simple and easy.  One of the characteristic of Biscotti is its dried out crunchy texture, and this is the reason why this cookie is bake two times. Although we want a dried out crunchy crispy Biscotti, we certainly do not want a broken tooth when you bit on the Biscotti, we want to make friends by sharing this cookie, not enemy. So let us stay away from hard Biscotti, agree?

Just so you know, I actually have my fair share of making rock-hard Biscotti, and I learned my lesson and vowed never to repeat it again. After carefully and patiently making this cookie over and over again, I finally ended up with a Biscotti that I can share with you and with my friends. This is one cookie that I love to add when I am making edible gifts. For once, they last longer and even taste better the following day.

Ingredients for Very Nutty Almond Biscotti

• Cake Flour – while a lot of recipe uses all-purpose flour to make biscotti, I decided to use cake flour for this recipe. Cake flour is lighter and my aim for this cookie is to have a lighter crumb, dried out and crunchy but not rock-hard. If you do not have cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour. I have made this using all-purpose flour when I made the plain version of this.
• Almond Flour – to give a nice almond flour, I opted to use almond flour. Almond flour also make biscotti slightly soft, I really do not like a hard biscotti.
• Salt – always good to add salt for taste
• Baking Powder – this will give the biscotti a slight rise, but not too much.
• Sliced Almond – You can also use same amount of chopped toasted Almonds. If using raw Almonds, toast the Almonds for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool completely and chop to small pieces.
• Olive Oil– A lot of recipe uses butter, I like using oil instead to avoid a rock-hard biscotti. If you like to use butter instead, you can do that too but the texture will slightly change. Taste wise, we all know butter taste better than oil.
• Sugar– to add sweetness, nothing much. I wouldn’t recommend using liquid sweetener like honey or maple syrup as it will make the dough too wet and I can imagine it will be a disaster handling the dough to shape it into a log.
• Vanilla Extract– for flavoring. You can also use Almond extract as substitute or skip it if you do not have it.
• Egg – Room temperature egg is VERY important so that it mix well when you beat it. Simply submerge the egg in warm water (NOT hot) and leave it for 5 minutes or you can take it out from refrigerator 30 minutes before using it.
• Chopped Almonds – For additional Almond flavor and crunch. I used raw Almonds and had it toasted for 8 minutes at 300F then let it cool and chopped it.

How to Make Very Nutty Almond Biscotti

As I said earlier, making a Biscotti is a simple process and you can also see that in the video. Here is the quick summary, check the Instructions below for the details.

1. First is to beat the wet ingredients – Oil, sugar, egg, vanilla extract (if using).
2. Once done, gradually sift the dry ingredient into the wet ingredients. Mix until just halfway combined then add the sliced Almonds and mix until distributed.
3. Shape into 3 x 7-inch Log Shape: Shape the dough into a log shape.
4. Pre-Bake at 300F for 30 minutes. This is the first baking, take it out of the oven and lift to check if still sticks to the parchment paper. If it does, return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more until the bottom is baked and it no longer sticks to the parchment paper. Let it cool. Make sure to cool it completely before slicing to avoid breaking the cookie.
5. Once cooled, slice into 1/2-inch and arrange in a cookie sheet.
6. Bake each side of the cookie at 300F for 20 minutes on one side and 15 minutes on the other side
7. Take out from the oven and let cool completely. The cookie will harden as it cools. Take a bite and enjoy, no need to worry in breaking your tooth because this Biscotti has a nice light crumb, crunchy but not hard.

Tips in Making Biscotti

Although making Biscotti is quite simple, I have compiled few tips to make sure you end up with a delicious Biscotti just like what is shown in the photo.

1. Sift the Dry Ingredients: Sifting aerates the flour, thus giving a lighter crunchy Biscotti
2. Room Temperature Egg – Room temperature egg mix easily as compared to cold egg. Leave the egg on the counter at least 30 minutes before using it, or submerge the egg in warm water for 5 minutes before using it.
3. Add Dry Ingredients in Two Addition – Adding the dry ingredients gradually will avoid over mixing, and sifting it again will help create a light cookie crumb.
4. Manual Mixing – I know we all love convenience, but skip using the mixer when you are mixing the dry ingredient to wet ingredients as it will definitely knock-down or deflate the air that was build up from creaming the egg. I only used the mixer few seconds and switch doing it manually to avoid deflating the batter.
5. Flour the Working Surface as well as  Your Hand – For easy handling of the cookie batter, generously sprinkle flour on your work area and your hands will make the shaping easier and less sticky. If you have a bench scrapper, that will help a lot too.
6. Let it Cool Before Slicing – The Biscotti is only halfway cook, so it is still soft especially when hot. Cutting the Biscotti while hot could break it apart.
7. Use a Serrated Knife in Cutting – To get a nice clean cut and to avoid breaking the Biscotti, a serrated knife is recommended.
8. Be Patient – Biscotti is a twice baked cookie, so do not take a short cut on this. The second baking is what will make the Biscotti dry and crunchy. Bake it twice, let it cool completely to allow it to harden. It is worth the wait, promise 🙂

Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoon mild Olive Oil (or any flavorless oil)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated Sugar
• 1 Large Egg (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon pure Vanilla Extract (or Almond Extract) – optional flavoring
• 3/4 cup Cake Flour (sifted)
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon Almond Flour (sifted)
• 1/4 cup sliced Almonds

TIP: Almond Flour can be substituted with cake flour. The texture will be slightly different but it will still be ok. Almond Flour gave a nice grainy texture that dries up nicely when baked in a low temperature. This gave the lighter and airy Biscotti texture that snaps when you break.

Instructions:

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 300°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a stand mixer, mix the olive oil and sugar on medium speed until blended. Switch the machine to low, and add the egg and vanilla extract (if using) and continue to mix until well blended and pale in color.
3. Dry Ingredients + Wet Ingredients: Sift the the dry ingredients onto the wet ingredients and mix until partially blended, with remaining raw flour showing.
4. Add the Chopped Nuts: Add sliced Almonds or chopped toasted Almonds and mix to distribute throughout the batter. Expect the dough to be slightly sticky but is manageable to shape.
5. Shape into 3 x 7-inch Log Shape: Using a spatula, give the mixture a final stir to be sure that everything is incorporated from the bottom of the bowl and well blended. Lightly flour your hands and sprinkle also flour on the working surface. Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it into the floured working area. Shape the dough into a log, about 7 inches long and 3 inches wide. The cookie is going to spread a little bit more as it bakes, so you will get a wider log. Transfer in a parchment lined cookie sheet.
6. Pre-Bake the Log: Place the log in the pre-heated 300°F oven and bake for about 30  minutes, or until the dough is just cooked through and the side is lightly browned. Remove from oven lift to check if still sticks to the parchment paper. If it does, return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more until the bottom is baked and it no longer sticks to the parchment paper. Let cool about 10 – 15 minutes.
7. Slice the Biscotti: Make sure that the cookie is properly cooled before cutting, do NOT cut while still warm as it could break. This cookie is quit fragile and light because it uses cake flour and oil (instead of butter). Carefully lift the parchment paper and place on a cutting board. Using a sharp, thin, preferably serrated knife, cut the log into 1/2-inch slices.
8. Bake Until Lightly Browned: Arrange the sliced cookie in the baking sheet, arranging them cut side down. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip the Biscotti to cook the other side. return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. The edges of the Biscotti should be nicely browned while the center is lightly pale and soft. It will get harder as it cool. If you wait for the entire cookie to harden during the baking time, that means it will even get harder when it cool down. For drier crunchier cookie, you can add 5 more minutes each side, but not too much.
9. Cool and Store: Cool the Biscotti on a rack. You can enjoy the Biscotti as is at this stage if you do not want to coat the bottom with melted chocolate. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or freeze for several months.

Recipe Notes:

• Don’t skip sifting the flour. Sifted flour tends to give a lighter Biscotti cookie.
• If you do not have Almond flour, you can replace it with cake flour, but bear in mind that the texture will be slightly different. Almond gave the light grainy crumb to the Biscotti.
• You can use semi-sweet, dark or white chocolate for dipping

Holiday Baking Inspiration Videos:

Checkout my video collection of cookies and other treats that are great for holiday gift giving or for everyday baking. All the recipes can be found in my website. Enjoy!

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