Orange Cranberry Biscotti - Easy and Customizable Biscotti Recipe (2024)

Orange Cranberry Biscotti are easy to make at home, and taste far better than what you can buy from the store. Biscotti truly taste best freshly baked! Enjoy them on their own, or pair with creamy make-ahead desserts likeButterscotch BudinoandCreme Brulee.

These Biscotti taste like Christmas. Spiced with cinnamon and cloves, and studded with orange zest and cranberries, they have a warm and cozy spirit.

Orange Cranberry Biscotti - Easy and Customizable Biscotti Recipe (1)

Biscotti were one of the first cookies I ever fell in love with, because they have TONS of crunch, and I’m a crunchy foods fanatic.

They’re also extremely versatile, and this dough can be adjusted to many different flavor combinations.

I’ve done chocolate chip biscotti, orange lavender, and lemon white chocolate, to name a few.

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Because they’re more of a dry cookie, they lend themselves well to gifting.

Just wrap it up in cellophane and tie with a ribbon, and you have a really personal and delicious holiday gift.

How to Make Biscotti:

Biscotti can be made by hand, in the stand mixer, with a hand mixer, or in the food processor. There are so many ways to make them!

I’m going to show you how to make them with by hand, but the recipe box has instructions for all methods.

For the dry ingredients, combine all purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and sugar:

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The spices are optional, and can be substituted with other warm spices like nutmeg and cardamom.

Whisk that together, then add eggs and melted butter:

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Mix until a dough forms, and add orange zest, cranberries, and pistachios:

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These mix-ins are optional, and you can feel free to try other kinds of ingredients.

Between the orange zest and spices, the house will smell wonderful while you’re baking these. And ditto toBaklavaandBread Pudding.

Mix in the ingredients, until evenly distributed:

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Split the dough into two, then shape them into rectangles:

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Keep in mind they will spread as they bake, so I make them no longer than 4″ in length.

Bake for about 35 minutes, until the edges start to get golden brown.

Let the biscotti cool for 15 minutes, then slice them with a sharp knife, about 1/2″ thick:

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It is important you let them cool slightly, otherwise the dough will tear.

Place the biscotti slices back onto the pan, cut side up:

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Bake them in a slightly cooler oven for about 25-30 more minutes, flipping the biscotti over halfway through, until they are thoroughly golden and crunchy.

Let the cookies cool completely. During cooling, they will get even crunchier.

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Shortbread Cookies,Molasses Cookies, and Chocolate Crinkle Cookiesare some of my favorites for Christmas.

I also loveCut Out Cookiesfor decorating. Enjoy!

More Holiday Treats:

  • Peanut Brittle
  • Snickerdoodles
  • Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies

Orange Cranberry Biscotti - Easy and Customizable Biscotti Recipe (11)

Orange Cranberry Biscotti

Servings: 24

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

These Orange Cranberry Biscotti are spiced with cinnamon and cloves, and studded with dried cranberries and orange zest.

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Ingredients

  • 10 oz all purpose flour by weight (2 cups, if measuring)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • zest of one orange (about 2 tsp)
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup salted pistachios

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

  • Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

  • Add the butter and eggs and mix together with a sturdy spatula, until combined and clumped together into a dough.

  • Gently mix in the orange zest, cranberries, and pistachios, until evenly distributed.

  • Divide the dough in two and place on the parchment lined baking sheet. Shape each piece into a rectangle, no longer than 4 inches in length, and about 1" thick (and for reference, mine were about 10" wide, but width doesn't matter). The dough will spread as it bakes.

  • Bake for 35 minutes until the edges start to brown slightly. Turn the oven down to 325F and take the biscotti out.

  • Let the biscotti cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then slice with a sharp knife vertically into 1/2 inch thick pieces.Let the knife do the work for you, and use light pressure so the cookies don’t break (and if your dough tears, let them cool for 5 more minutes).

  • Place the biscotti slices back onto the baking sheet cut side up and bake for 25-30 more minutes, flipping the biscotti halfway through, until they are golden brown and crunchy.

  • Let the cookies cool completely before enjoying.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from James Peterson's recipe in his Baking cookbook(affiliate).

These cookies are easy to make by hand, simply with a whisk and a sturdy spatula. However, you can also make these in a food processor, briefly processing the dry ingredients, then processing in the eggs and butter, and then mixing the the cranberries, pistachios, and orange zest by hand, so the cranberries don't get sliced up by the blade.

You can also make these in the stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer.

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 56mg, Potassium: 75mg, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 205IU, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 0.7mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Fifteen Spatulas

Post updated in December 2018. Originally published inDecember 2010.

Orange Cranberry Biscotti - Easy and Customizable Biscotti Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Should biscotti dough be chilled before baking? ›

Because the dough can be sticky and hard to form, it's important to chill the batter for a good 30 minutes before baking the first time.

What does baking soda do in biscotti? ›

Baking soda – baking soda helps the biscotti rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn't expired. Sugar- we used granulated sugar for this recipe. You can use caster sugar as well.

Why are my biscotti crumbling when I cut them? ›

A: Overbaking the logs of dough during the first baking can make the slices crumble as you are cutting them. Also, even if the logs of dough are perfectly baked, they will crumble if they are sliced while still warm, so be patient. The logs crumble when you use a dull knife, too.

Is butter better than oil in biscotti? ›

The choice is yours; just keep in mind that those made with butter or oil will have both a softer texture and a shorter shelf life. As for fillings and flavors, biscotti get along with a host of ingredients, including dried fruit, nuts, spices, liqueurs and chocolate.

How do you keep homemade biscotti crispy? ›

  1. To store homemade biscotti and maintain its crispiness, follow these simple steps:
  2. Cool completely. ...
  3. Line the container with paper towels. ...
  4. Store in an airtight container. ...
  5. Store at room temperature. ...
  6. Consume within 2 weeks. ...
  7. Here's a visual guide to storing homemade biscotti:
Dec 12, 2023

Can you overmix biscotti dough? ›

Just like biscuits, you can't overmix the dough. I found that if the dough is mixed too much, the biscotti becomes dense and heavy.

How sticky should biscotti dough be? ›

The dough.

Biscotti dough is inherently sticky. I recommend adequately flouring your hands before working the dough, and if it's still too sticky to handle, add a little flour at a time but just enough so you can work with it.

What happens if you don't chill cookie dough before baking? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

What happens if you forget baking powder in biscotti? ›

Baking soda is a leavening agent. It creates air bubbles (technically, carbon dioxide) in your batter, when heated. Without it, your baked goods will not rise to the desired levels and the airy texture you're looking for will be adversely affected.

What happens if you forgot to put baking soda in cookies? ›

If you fail to add a teaspoon of baking soda or however much your recipe needs, the cookies won't have those bubbles inside them to rise up. If you forget to add the acid, too, the baking soda won't be able to react or produce carbon dioxide.

What are you supposed to dip biscotti in? ›

The Vino Dunk – Purists would say the only liquid to dip your biscotti in is wine. As they do in Tuscany, you can dip your biscotti into rich red wines, especially those on the sweeter side. Marsala wine and Vin Santo are the wines of choices for dipping.

What knife is best for slicing biscotti? ›

I want to show you a foolproof way. to cut something that's kind of dry, like a biscotti. The best tool to use is a serrated knife.

Do you need to sift flour for biscotti? ›

Measuring your ingredients is the only way to make sure you're getting a consistent crunch in your biscotti! Do sift the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Sifting your ingredients together help avoid the hard middle in your biscotti!

How long should biscotti cool before cutting? ›

After the first bake, allow the biscotti to cool for about 10 minutes but don't leave them too long. If you leave them too long the dough will become too hard and it will be difficult to cut, but if you cut them when they are hot the slices will crumble.

What are the ingredients in Heinz so yummy biscotti? ›

Wheat Flour, Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Apple Puree (8%), Soluble Corn Fibre, Skimmed Milk Powder, Barley Malt Extract, Raising Agents (Ammonium Bicarbonate, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Calcium Carbonate, Flavourings, Iron Fumarate, Zinc Sulphate, Niacin, Vitamin E, Riboflavin, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin A, ...

Should biscotti be hard or soft? ›

Are biscotti supposed to be hard? Yes! Because they are baked twice, biscotti are hard and crisp. They're great for dunking in a hot cup of coffee (cookies for breakfast ❤).

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