Almond Biscotti Cookies are classic buttery, crumbly Italian treats made with simple pantry ingredients, almond extract, and chopped almonds.
A crunchy biscotti recipe is the perfect delicate dessert or sweet Breakfast Treat with a cup of coffee. From our Italian Biscotti to Chocolate Chip Biscotti to these simple but delicious Almond Biscotti, there are so many ways to make these classic, crispy Cookies.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Almond Biscotti Recipe
While there are many flavors to add to your biscotti, this simple almond flavored biscotti is closer to the traditional cookies from Italy. They have a delightful crunch, with a nutty sweet almond flavor that is perfect to dunk in your morning coffee or tea. They are an easy recipe to start off your holiday baking season and a versatile treat that makes great gifts as well as breakfast on the go.
Along with their crisp texture, this version of the recipe also has an amazing almond flavor and nut mix-ins. The crunchy almond cookies are absolutely delicious and sure to be a favorite at brunches, cookie exchanges, or to enjoy during your afternoon coffee break.
Ingredients
Biscotti Dough: You can make the base of this Almond Biscotti recipe with pretty basic ingredients. Combine the oil and sugar into a simple egg mixture, then add the dry ingredients for the perfect crumbly Biscotti.
Flour: If you want to make Almond Biscotti Cookies more healthy, you can use wheat flour instead of white. Or, to make gluten-free Biscotti try almond flour or coconut flour.
Almond Extract: Mixing 2 teaspoons of almond extract into the Classic Biscotti Cookies is an excellent way to give them more depth of flavor.
Almonds: The chopped almonds add slightly sweet, nutty flavors to the Biscotti and give the biscuits an extra crunch. One thing to look out for is to make sure the almonds are chopped well. If the pieces are too big, they might lead to the biscotti cracking if your knife hits the nut while slicing.
How to Make
Time needed: 45 minutes.
- Prep Time
Preheat the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Then get out 2 baking sheets and line each sheet with parchment paper.
- Make Cookie Dough
Add the oil, granulated sugar, eggs, and almond extract to a large mixing bowl. Then whisk until the wet ingredients are well combined. Then add the all-purpose flour and baking powder. Stir the dry ingredients in, but be careful not to overmix the flour mixture. Finish the biscotti dough by stirring in the chopped almonds.
- Shape the Cookie Dough
Divide the biscotti dough into two pieces. Roll each piece of biscotti dough into logs. Place one dough log on each prepared baking sheet. Then roll them until they’re ½ inch thick and about 4 inches wide. You can add a little extra flour to your hands to make it so that the dough log doesn’t stick to you as you work it into the right shape.
- First Bake
Put both baking sheets in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Take the baking sheets out of the oven and let the hot dish cool for a few minutes.
- Slice the Cookies
Slice the biscotti loaves diagonally into ½ inch slices. Use a pizza cutter or sharp serrated knife to get clean slices.
- Second Bake
Turn the biscotti slices so that they’re facing cut side up and do a 2nd bake for another 8-10 minutes. Let the Almond Biscotti cool completely before enjoying them.
Can Almond Biscotti be made ahead?
The great thing about biscotti is that you can make it ahead in a couple different ways, either by making the dough ahead, partially baking them or storing baked cookies.
- Unbaked: You can prepare the dough, shape it into flat wide logs, and freeze them for up to 3 months. After you shape the dough logs, freeze them until they are solid, then wrap them up in plastic then foil. Since it’s shaped, you can just bake it from frozen, adding a few minutes to the baking time.
- Partially Baked: The cookies can be stored after the first round of baking. Cut them into individual cookies, freeze for an hour then store for a couple months in a freezer bag. You can bake a few cookies or the whole batch from frozen.
- Baked: After the final bake, biscotti cookies can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Cool them down before storing them to keep them crispy.
Nutritional Facts
What to Pair With Almond Biscotti
Drinks: Biscotti were originally made to go with a cup of strong coffee as a way to add a slight bit of sweetness and creaminess. Serve your Almond Biscotti with espresso or sweeten them up with Hot Cocoa. The nutty almond flavor also goes great with Hot Apple Cider in the fall!
Sauces: Coffee isn’t the only thing for dipping biscotti! Try serving it with some Slow Cooker Applesauce as a warm healthy breakfast or for decadent dessert serve it with Chocolate Gravy!
How to Store
Serve: Make sure you let the Homemade Biscotti Cookies cool down on a wire rack before you eat the crisp Almond Biscotti. Almond Biscotti Cookies keep best in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. Putting them in the fridge would just make them lose some of their crispness.
Freeze: To freeze the Biscotti, place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for an hour. Once the Biscotti has hardened, transfer it to an air-tight sealed container to store frozen for up to 3 months.
Ideas to Serve Homemade Biscotti
Chocolate Dipped Almond Biscotti: An easy way to spruce up these Almond Biscotti is to add a little chocolate. Dip them cut side down halfway into melted chocolate, then let it harden on a baking sheet with parchment or first dip them in more chopped nuts.
Candy Melts: You can dip the biscotti in white or different colored candy melts to add a decorative touch. Add festive sprinkles, drizzle them with another color of melted candy melts, or press chopped up bright glace cherries into the melted candy before it sets.
Frequent Questions
Technically, traditional Biscotti were made without oil or butter. However, many more modern takes on Classic Biscotti Cookies use oil or unsalted butter. I like adding ½ cup vegetable oil to the classic biscotti recipe because it makes them slightly less dry but still maintains their crunchy texture.
This delicious recipe is actually lighter in fat and sugar than most other cookie recipes. So, Homemade Biscotti Cookies are a perfect sweet treat if you want healthy cookies.
It can be easy to crack the Almond Biscotti recipe if you aren’t careful when you slice the log. Make sure you let the Biscotti cool a little otherwise, it will crumble. But don’t let it cool completely, or the Classic Biscotti recipe can crack.
In order to give these Italian biscuit-like cookies their famously crisp texture, it’s essential to make your batch of biscotti with two baking times. During the first cooking time, the dough is still in on big log. Then once it’s already slightly baked, you slice it into the thin biscotti cookie shape and bake again. Take them from the oven and let the classic twice-baked Italian cookies cool before you enjoy them.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 3 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup almonds , chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together oil, sugar, eggs and almond extract.
- Add in the flour and baking powder whisking until just combined.
- Stir in the almonds.
- Divide the dough into two pieces and roll into logs almost as long as the baking sheets.
- Place the dough on the baking sheets and roll to about ½ inch thick, about 4 inches across.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Using a pizza cutter, roll the slicer across the log in 1/2″ slices.
- Turn the cookies to showing the cut side up and bake it an additional 8-10 minutes until the tops are slightly golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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Variations
Cranberry-Lemon Biscotti: There are a lot of amazing flavor additions that you can make to homemade Biscotti Cookies. Try adding a fruity flavor with dried cranberries and lemon. Replace half the almonds with chopped up cranberries and swap 1 teaspoon almond extract with lemon juice and add some fresh lemon zest.
White Chocolate Orange Biscotti: You can also make white chocolate biscotti with citrus flavor. Just mix the orange zest into the dough. Bake as usual, and wait for the Biscotti to cool before dipping them in melted white chocolate then finely chopped roasted almonds.
Italian Almond: For a fancier, authentic Italian Almond Biscotti flavor combination, you can add a tablespoon of anise seed, and also use extra-virgin olive oil instead of plain vegetable oil. Drizzle with a touch of honey right after they are baked.
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