Take yourself to Italy with a bite of these tasty biscuits.
A classic Italian biscotti is a type of biscuit or cookie. It’s also called cantuccio, a classic pairing to the Vin Santo.
This biscuit often takes on an oblong shape. It is twice-cooked, leading to a distinct dry and crunchy texture.
Over the years, many biscotti variations have featured nuts, chocolate, and fruits.
If you want to try a biscotti, there’s no need to book a ticket to Italy.
Transform your kitchen into a cucina. Then, make yourself a crunchy biscuit using the best biscotti recipes I’ve collected.
1. Traditional Biscotti
Let’s start our list of recipes for twice-baked Italian cookies with the most classic of all – the traditional biscotti recipe.
You can use this almond biscotti to build on other flavors. It’s simple but captures the essence of this beloved Italian cookie.
To prepare, you’ll need flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, sugar, and butter. For flavors, you’ll need vanilla extract and almond extract.
You can add nuts, lemon zest, orange zest, chopped almonds, and other ingredients to the biscotti dough.
You can also dip your cooked classic biscotti in melted chocolate. You can use white or dark chocolate.
2. Anise Biscotti
One of the most traditional and unique biscotti flavors is anise. Anise incorporates a flavor like licorice, especially when there’s a lot of it.
It’s easy to make and slightly different from the biscotti recipe above. For one, it uses vegetable oil instead of butter.
For the flavors, you’ll need vanilla extract and anise extract. If you don’t have the latter, you can use anise seeds or Anisette liqueur.
There’s no need to shape these biscotti cookies. You’ll pour it into a cake or loaf pan to bake.
Then, slice the cooled biscotti loaf into pieces and serve with coffee.
3. Chocolate Biscotti
Chocolate biscotti makes an absolutely great partner to coffee. Make yourself one for a better and tastier morning.
You’ll need classic ingredients like flour, baking powder, and granulated sugar. Add to that the brown sugar, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.
To make, you’ll need to prepare the dry flour mixture before adding a sugar and butter mixture. You’ll add the vanilla extract and chocolate chips last.
You’ll shape the biscotti logs by hand. Once done, lay them on a prepared baking sheet.
When serving, you can drizzle chocolate on the biscotti. They add flavor and make the cookies cute.
4. Chocolate Chip Biscotti
The previous biscotti recipe had a chocolate biscotti base, chocolate chips, and chocolate drizzle. Reading that, it does seem overwhelming.
If that’s too much for you, but you still want some chocolate goodness, don’t worry. This is the perfect recipe.
It’s a classic biscotti base with added chocolate chips. You’ll need butter, brown sugar, vanilla, flour, baking powder, eggs, salt, and mini chocolate chips.
After you’ve made the dough with chocolate chips, you can shape them into logs. Place the logs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Once the baked dough has cooled, serve them with milk.
5. Lemon Biscotti
This wonderful recipe combines many flavors – lemon, hazelnut, and almonds. But of course, the star is the fresh and bright citrus.
As you’ve noticed, biscotti leaves great room for creativity. You can incorporate many flavors, whether chocolate, fruity, or nuts.
This recipe takes its primary flavors from lemon juice and zest.
The hazelnut and almond contribute flavors and texture, too. But you can swap it for walnuts, macadamia, or any of your favorite nuts.
You can also exchange the juice for limoncello if you want a more Italian feel. Top it with a homemade lemon glaze for the complete package.
6. Almond Pistachio Biscotti
This recipe elevates the classic almond biscotti. There’s a pistachio addition, which contributes an enjoyable sweetness.
Biscotti by itself is a crunchy biscuit. The nuts transform the biscuit’s texture, especially since the nuts’ crunch isn’t as dry as the biscotti.
This recipe uses almond and all-purpose flours. The almond flour highlights the nut flavor and texture.
You’ll use these extracts: anise, almond, and vanilla. You can use all three for complexity, but you can also just choose any two.
Lemon juice and zest are also included for moisture, but they also bring the flavor profile into another dimension.
7. Cranberry Orange Biscotti
This recipe gives you a very fruity biscotti. The dried cranberries and orange zest provide an interesting flavor profile that pairs well with your coffee.
There’s also a hint of almond, which makes the flavors more complex.
A white chocolate drizzle ties the package together, making this a very exciting biscuit.
While it seems like a lot is going on, it’s straightforward. You just make these biscuits, lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, bake, and then serve.
They can be kept for as long as two weeks. But, come on, would you even let them last that long?
8. Cherry Pistachio Biscotti
I really find this combination – cherry and pistachio – interesting.
The cherries would feel soft and taste sweet, while the pistachios would have a bit of crunch and sweetness.
The ingredients list is lengthy compared to the usual biscotti. You’ll need three types of sugar: light brown, granulated, and turbinado.
There’s also a subtle trace of cinnamon, which contributes flavor and aroma. The cherries you’ll use must be dry and whole.
Like the almond pistachio biscotti, the recipe calls for two flour types: almond and all-purpose. Thus, you can expect complex flavors from all the nuts, cherries, and cinnamon.
9. Cherry Almond Biscotti
I find this biscotti really cute. There are flecks of bright cherry red across the biscotti, like faded polka dots on the surface.
The flavor profile of this biscotti is sweet and salty. The sweetness comes from the maraschino cherries, while the almonds provide the salty.
Aside from a pop of sweetness, the cherries make the dough moister. To balance it, drain them so you won’t get robbed of the expected biscotti crunch.
You can serve the cherry almond biscotti dipped in or drizzled with melted white chocolate. But if you want to keep it plain, feel free.
10. Biscoff Biscotti
This is the best biscotti for you if you’re still not over the Biscoff hype. It’s the perfect blend of cream, spice, sweet, and crunch.
As I think about it, it’s a fantastic concept too. Biscotti is the traditional biscuit/cookie, whereas Biscoff is more modern.
With that, you’re making a biscuit with the flavors of the past and the present. Cool, right?
This recipe needs flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, eggs, Biscoff spread, and water. Combine all those, bake, slice, and then bake again.
Once it’s crispy, let it cool before serving it with some hot coffee.
11. Cinnamon Chip Biscotti
I’m a fan of cinnamon desserts. They’ve got an enticing aroma with an interesting flavor profile to match.
So, of course, I’m down for this cinnamon chip biscotti. Within two hours, you’ll have 60 biscotti cookies for yourself, enough for a week (or maybe just a day).
Ingredients are pretty standard to a biscotti, except for the shortening. You won’t use margarine, butter, or oil, just shortening.
There are also some chopped walnuts for crunch and taste. The highlight is Hershey’s cinnamon chips, which provide the primary flavors.
You’ll also make a white creme chip drizzle to top the biscotti.
12. Coffee Walnut Biscotti
So I’ve often said that biscotti and coffee are a great duo. But why not marry those flavors into one biscuit?
This coffee walnut biscotti is an absolutely perfect concept. All the flavors complement each other – coffee, walnut, and chocolate.
It also looks elegant.
You’ll coat one side with dark chocolate. The uncoated biscotti is a light brown with white flecks.
You need a few ingredients to make this recipe. These are caster sugar, egg, flour, instant coffee granules, walnuts, and dark chocolate.
Two types of flour are used: self-raising and all-purpose. You can keep the biscotti for a month.
13. Vanilla Biscotti
Most of our delicious recipes have been a fantastic complex of flavors. For now, we’re going with something simpler but nonetheless elegant.
Vanilla has a rich aroma and taste, making it a favorite for desserts and pastries. I find the flavor to be pretty subtle as well.
This recipe uses pure vanilla extract. This is to imbibe the biscotti with intense flavors, such that it’s unmistakably vanilla.
The rest of the ingredients are already standard, like flour and butter.
Because vanilla is such a clean flavor, you can dip the biscotti in melted chocolate for another flavor dimension.
14. Brown Sugar Cinnamon Biscotti
Brown sugar and cinnamon are one of the best pairings. For me, they’re like the sweet taste of autumn.
But you don’t need a cinnamon roll or autumn to taste this classic duo. Just make your own brown sugar cinnamon biscotti!
The author had two versions of this recipe – American-style and Italian. Of course, I picked Italian for the authentic, crunchy exterior.
You’ll have two sources for the cinnamon flavors: cinnamon and cinnamon chips. You’ll also need some chopped nuts, such as pecans.
If you don’t like coffee with your biscotti, pair this with a cup of hot chocolate instead.
15. Mini Biscotti
These almond cantuccini are absolutely adorable and amazing. It’s got the look, crunch, taste and comes in more convenient sizes.
While the usual biscotti tends to extend horizontally, this mini biscotti doesn’t. If I have to say, it looks like an oddly-shaped cookie even.
The ingredients list is also like the usual almond biscotti. But, instead of almond extract, it uses almond liqueur, like Amaretto.
Chopped and ground almonds are also added into the mix. Thus, every inch of this biscotti exudes intense almond flavors.
Dry your mini biscotti in an oven if they’ve softened due to storing.
16. Cappuccino Biscotti
I found this recipe by happenstance, and I think this is really awesome for cappuccino-lovers out there.
Cappuccino is an Italian espresso drink with milk foam. Instilling this into a traditional Italian biscuit just seems appropriate.
The instant coffee granules and optional coffee liqueur contribute to the cappuccino flavors. Although the liqueur is optional, I highly recommend it.
Besides the cappuccino flavors, there are walnuts, milk chocolate, brown sugar, and cinnamon. This gives the biscotti several flavor dimensions, making the taste profile amazingly complex.
I suggest serving this biscotti with a hot cup of cappuccino. It really completes the experience.
16 Crunchy Biscotti Recipes
Make a great biscotti for your cup of coffee, milk, or chocolate!
Ingredients
Traditional Biscotti
Anise Biscotti
Chocolate Biscotti
Chocolate Chip Biscotti
Lemon Biscotti
Almond Pistachio Biscotti
Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Cherry Pistachio Biscotti
Cherry Almond Biscotti
Biscoff Biscotti
Cinnamon Chip Biscotti
Coffee Walnut Biscotti
Vanilla Biscotti
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Biscotti
Mini Biscotti
Cappuccino Biscotti
Directions
- Select your favorite recipe.
- Organize all the required ingredients.
- Prep a biscotti in 30 minutes or less!