This Cranberry Orange Biscotti recipe makes the absolute best light and crunchy biscotti cookies. Flavored with orange zest, dried cranberries and toasted pistachios, these Italian biscotti cookies are perfect to dunk into your favorite drink and a great addition to your holiday cookie plate!
We love making these Italian cookies during the holidays and any other time of the year. Some of our other favorite homemade cookies are these Linzer Cookies and these Lemon Ricotta Cookies.
Biscotti
I absolutely love Italian style biscotti. The dry, crunchy, double baked cookie crumbles to the bite and although they are dense enough to withstand getting dunk in a steamy cup of coffee or hot chocolate, they have an almost soft center that just melts in your mouth.
Why You Will Love That Recipe?
- These biscotti cookies are packed with flavor! Fresh orange zest, sweet cranberries and toasted pistachios make these Italian cookies irresistible!
- This recipe makes biscotti that is not too sweet so you have the perfect excuse for having cookies for breakfast!
- Unlike the hard as a rock individually wrapped biscotti cookies found at coffee shops, this recipe makes cookies that have crispy and crunchy edges and are slightly softer in the middle.
- Simple ingredients that can be customized to your taste. Don’t like pistachios? switch it up by using almonds or pecans. Not a big fan of orange flavor? Almond extract is a great substitution. Do you want to impress your boss? Drizzle or dip them in melted chocolate for an over the top scrumptious treat!
- Because of their sturdy texture, biscotti is a great cookie to give as a gift during the holiday season. Wrap them up, put a bow on them and give them away to teachers, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
What Is Biscotti
Biscotto or Biscotti (plural) is a twice baked Italian biscuit that is made into a loaf, then baked, sliced into individual cookies and baked once again. The intensely crunchy cookie is great for dipping into dessert wine, coffee or any warm beverage. Although these cookies can be flavored with many different ingredients, some of the most popular are anise seeds, almonds and hazelnuts.
Homemade Biscotti Ingredients
- Flour: I use all-purpose flour.
- Granulated Sugar: These Italian cookies use a lot less sugar than most regular cookies. Some people refer to them as healthy cookies. Although I wouldn’t go that far, they are certainly less sweet than most.
- Leavening: This recipe uses baking powder.
- Eggs: I use large whole eggs as a binding agent.
- Flavorings: Kosher salt or sea salt, fresh zest from an orange and orange or almond extract.
- Fruits and Nuts: I use roasted pistachios and dried cranberries. Chopped almonds and dried cherries can also be used.
- Butter: Although some recipes don’t call for butter, we use a small amount for richness and flavor.
- Coarse Sprinkling Sugar: This is optional however, I love the look of the sparkly glistening sugar and the sweet crunch that it adds to the biscotti.
How To Make Biscotti From Scratch
- Get Ready: Preheat the oven and lightly grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt Butter: In the microwave melt the butter and allow it to cool while mixing the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pistachios, dried cranberries and orange zest.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, the slightly cool melted butter and the orange extract.
- Add Wet To Dry: Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Divide Dough Into Logs: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times until the dough comes together. Divide dough into two logs.
- First Bake: Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle some of the sparkling sugar if using and bake until lightly golden around the edges.
- Lower Oven Temp: Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, cool the dough for 5-8 minutes.
- Cut Into Slices: Transfer the baked dough to a cutting board and with a sharp knife, cut into slices that are about 1-inch thick.
- Second Bake: Arrange the slices on the baking sheet cut-side down and return to the oven. Bake flipping once.
- Cool: Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.
Is Biscotti a Bread or a Cookie?
Biscotti is a double-baked, oblong-shaped Italian cookie that originated in the region of Tuscany. Biscotti are dry and crunchy and usually flavored with anise and nuts.
Why Is Biscotti so Hard?
Biscotti get their distinct crunch from double baking treatment! These popular Italian cookies are baked twice which makes them dry, crispy and crumbly however, good biscotti should have crispy, dry crunchy edges with a slightly softer middle. They should not be baked for so long that they become jaw-breaking hard and difficult to chew.
How Do You Eat Biscotti
The dry and crunchy texture of Italian biscotti makes them the perfect cookie to be dunked in hot coffee, steamed milk, hot cocoa or sweet dessert wine. Although, I love to eat them as is, serving them with a scoop of ice cream or as a dunker for chocolate fondue is always a good idea.
Can You Freeze Biscotti
Absolutely. Biscotti freezes well and can be made ahead.
- To Freeze Biscotti Before Baking: Mix the dough and shape it into logs. Wrap the logs with plastic wrap and store them in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container. Freeze for 2 months. When ready to bake, thaw the dough in the refrigerator until pliable and follow the recipe as written.
- To Freeze Biscotti After Is Baked: Cool the cookies completely. Wrap them in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and store them in a resealable plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer for about 2 months. Thaw on the countertop and serve at room temperature. You can also crisp them up in a 300 degree oven for about 5 minutes making sure you don’t dry them up too much.
Welcome To Freaky Friday!
Freaky Friday is a secret blog hop created by my friend Michaela from An Affair From The Heart. For Freaky Friday, each participant is randomly assigned to another blogger in the group – then we pick a recipe from their blog, make it and post it on a selected Friday – all at the same time! It is fun to see which talented blogger you get and finding out who had your blog, and which recipe they chose is always so exciting!
This round I was assigned Angela LeMoine from LeMoine Family Kitchen. Angela’s site is full of so many mouthwatering delicious recipes that I had a hard time choosing just one.
Andrea is Italian, lives in New Jersey and is married to her high school sweetheart. Together they have two boys.
Even though Angela attended Rutgers University and studied Environmental Policy, she wanted to attend – and was accepted – into culinary school. Although she decided not to attend, her tried and true recipes are a testament of her culinary talent and her passion for good food.
Some of the recipes that had my heart singing are Angela’s Baked Gnocchi with Fontina and Spinach, her classic Chicken Marsala (We love this dish so much we had it at our wedding) and her Chocolate Chip Scones! I love me some scones!!
Homemade Biscotti Recipe Tips
- You can slice the dough diagonally or straight across. Both ways make beautiful cookies.
- After the first bake, let the loaves cool 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cutting board to be sliced into individual cookies. The dough will be easier to handle after it cools a bit.
- Change the flavor profile by switching ingredients. Add anise seeds, almond extract, chopped almonds, lemon zest, etc. The possibilities are endless!
- Bake the sliced cookies for less time if you want them to be slightly softer.
Recipe adapted from LeMoine Family Kitchen
Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup pistachios, shelled and lightly chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Zest of a large orange
- 1/2 tsp orange extract or almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- Coarse sprinkling sugar optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter in the microwave and allow it to cool while mixing the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, pistachios, dried cranberries and orange zest in a large mixing bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, the slightly cool melted butter and the orange extract.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times until the dough comes together. Divide dough into two logs.
- Transfer the logs to the prepared baking sheet and form into two rectangles of approximately 4-inches wide x 8-inches long and 1-inch thick. Allow some space between the two pieces so they can spread while baking. Sprinkle some of the sparkling sugar if using.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges.
- Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, cool the dough for 5-8 minutes.
- Transfer baked dough pieces to a cutting board and with a sharp knife, cut into slices that are about 1-inch thick.
- Arrange the slices on the baking sheet cut-side down and return to the oven. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, flip to the other cut side, then bake for another 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container or freeze for up to 3 months.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- I use shelled roasted and salted pistachios that I lightly chopped to get a few smaller pieces.
- You can slice the dough diagonally or straight across. Both ways make beautiful cookies.
- After the first bake, let the loaves cool 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a cutting board to be sliced into individual cookies. The dough will be easier to handle after it cools a bit.
- Bake the sliced cookies for less time if you want them to be slightly softer.
- Biscotti freezes well unbaked or baked. Instructions in the post above.
Nutrition
Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Holiday Cookie Exchange Recipes:
- An Affair from the Heart – Candy Cane Puppy Chow
- The Carefree Kitchen – Christmas Linzer Cookies
- Devour Dinner – Peppermint Meltaways
- Family Around the Table – Chocolate Overload Cookies
- The Foodie Affair – Easy Pecan Pie Crust Cookie Recipe
- Fresh April Flours – Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- The Fresh Cooky – White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies
- Hostess at Heart – Crumbl Cookie Recipe
- House of Nash Eats – Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog – Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Lemoine Family Kitchen – Lemon Thumbprint Cookies with Strawberry Jam
- Lemon Blossoms – Cranberry Orange Biscotti
- Life Currents – Chocolate Mint Rugelach
- Life, Love & Good Food – White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
- Soulfully Made – Polar Bear Paw Cookies
- The Speckled Palate – Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Sue Bee Homemaker – Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Take Two Tapas – Sugar Cookie Truffles
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