If there is one recipe that I have made a zillion times and still not tired, it would be this Italian Almond Nut Biscotti. It was my number one selling item during my home catering business days. This recipe is very very special to me. I adapted this recipe from my very old autographed cook book, Dessert Circus by Jacques Torres. Jacques Torres in his book mentions that he learnt this recipe when he worked for Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque. He learnt it in Italy in a small town called Montecatini. Traditionally, the Italians bake biscotti two times to produce a hard cookie that they like to dip in sweet wine. This recipe has been adapted so the cookies are not quite hard and are great by themselves or to be dunked in coffee. I have made kilos and kilos of this biscotti for my clients. Just try it once and you will be hooked. This recipe is in grams. I like to weigh my ingredients for baking as its more accurate and gives consistent results every single time.
Here is how to do it. We will be using toasted nuts for the recipe. Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the almonds and pistachios evenly on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. You will be able to smell the nuts when they are ready. A good test is to break a nut in half and check to see if it is light brown on the inside. Toasting the nuts brings out their natural flavor. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
Place the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined, about 5 minutes; the mixture will hold together in a soft dough.
Chop the toasted nuts coarsely. Add the cooled, chopped toasted nuts and mix until they are evenly incorporated, about 1 minute. If you are using a hand-held mixer, you may want to knead in the nuts by hand to avoid burning out the motor of the mixer.
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place on a plastic cling wrap surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Wet your hands and roughly roll each piece into a log with your hands.
Cover the dough with cling wrap and nicely roll the dough. Use the palms of your hands to roll to create an even log that measures about 12 inches – 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Each rope should be even and fit on your baking sheet lengthwise. Roll firmly to remove any trapped air bubbles.
Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of one hour up to overnight. I always refrigerate the dough overnight. I feel the flavor improves tremendously.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place the biscotti ropes on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheet.
Use ONLY a serrated knife to slice the biscotti on a diagonal into 1/2-inch thick cookies. If you do this while the biscotti are still warm, they will not crumble. The biscotti will harden as they cool. Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F (150°C) for another 10 to 15 minutes.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks.
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Biscotti Recipe – Easy Almond Biscotti
Easy Italian Almond biscotti recipe. With eggs. Measurement in grams. Recipe adapted from Jacques Torres.
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 mins
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
Ingredients
- 100 grams Whole Almonds
- 50 grams Whole pistachios
- 100 grams Cold unsalted butter
- 150 grams Granulated sugar
- 250 grams All-purpose flour (Maida)
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 large eggs
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread the almonds and pistachios evenly on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Toast for about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
- Place the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined, about 5 minutes; the mixture will hold together in a soft dough.
- Chop the toasted nuts coarsely. Add the cooled, chopped toasted nuts and mix until they are evenly incorporated, about 1 minute. If you are using a hand-held mixer, you may want to knead in the nuts by hand to avoid burning out the motor of the mixer.
- Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place on a plastic cling wrap surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Wet your hands and roughly roll each piece into a log with your hands.
- Cover the dough with cling wrap and nicely roll the dough. Use the palms of your hands to roll to create an even log that measures about 12 inches – 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
- Refrigerate the dough for a minimum of one hour up to over night.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Place the biscotti ropes on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the baking sheet.
- Use a serrated knife to slice the biscotti on a diagonal into 1/2-inch thick cookies. If you do this while the biscotti are still warm, they will not crumble. The biscotti will harden as they cool. Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F (150°C) for another 10 to 15 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three weeks.
Notes
You can add 1/4 teaspoon anise seeds if you like the flavor of Anise.
- Prep Time: 90 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Category: Snacks, Sweets
- Cuisine: Italian
Tastes great! Eating something delicious right now …….
Thank you 🙂
Fantastic recipe Suguna! Tried it once. Will definitely be using it again.
Thank you!
Your recipes are awesome. All the ones I tried turned out great
Thanks
Maya
Hello Suguna, can you pls tell me whats the substitute for eggs in this recipe.. Love your blog.. You explain it so nicely and make it look so simple and easy.. Thank you for such wonderful recipes.
Wish to make Biscotti using this recipe. My daughter is allergic to nuts, can I skip the nuts and go ahead with your recipe ?
Thanks, Anusha
Sure Anusha. You can skip the nuts. Hope your daughter likes it. Sorry to know about her allergy.
Hello Akka
Can Maida be substituted with wheat flour? Please advise.
I have never tried.
Sugu sis.,
Vanakkam. Wanna try this. Happened to eat one. Tat was written as cake biscotti on the label. What’s the difference between the one you posted here and tat. . pl clarify.
The traditional biscotti recipe does not have any fat added to it and so its kind of hard. Its supposed to be for dunking in coffee. Just like rusk. Cake biscotti is more like a little cookie with butter and leavening.
Hello Suguna,
I dont have a mixer. Is it ok if I beat the eggs and mix in the flours next by hand? should i seive maida and baking powder too.
by the way.. great recipes.. thank you
Sure you can mix by hand. No need to sift for this recipe.!
What do you mean by cold butter? Is it right from the refrigerator?
That’s right!
Are you still making them for business purpose?
We tried this yesterday and the taste was amazing! The only thing that didn’t work was the cutting. For some reason, the biscotti crumbled a lot when I tried to cut them. Do you think it could be because they are already too hard to cut (left them cooking too long)? I will try cutting them a little earlier (before 30 mins) next time. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! Biscottis make a great snack.
Thank you so much Sridhar. Do the cutting when its very slightly warm. They might crumble when cut hot. Oh, if it was too hard to cut, then it baked for too long. Try to bake it a little less. Each oven temperature varies slightly. So make note of the timings this time so you can be cautious next time. Happy Cooking!
Can the ingredients be cut into half to make 15 biscotti’s?
Sure.
Hi can u please tell me how many cups of sugar will amount to 150 g.
I dont have cup measurements for this recipe.
I tried this today and it was a hit at home! Thank you so much 🙂
wow! thats so nice. Share a picture if you have in our facebook page.
Hello! What changes do I have to make to get chocolate biscotti instead? Also, do I have to wait for the rolls to cool to room temperature before popping them in the oven, or can I bake them immediately after taking them out from the fridge? Thanks for the recipe! Very detailed and neat!
will post a different recipe for chocolate biscotti soon! the rolls can be directly sent to the oven !
Yummy…. I love biscotti. Will try this very soon. Have you tried this with whole wheat flour? Can I try with that? Can I use oil instead of butter and jaggery instead of sugar? Please do reply. Thanks a ton. Keep posting many recipes and tips. You inspire me a lot…
Aw….thats too many substitutions there Maryam. Try with 50% whole wheat and substituting oil may not yield desired results with the recipe as the dough will become loose. Thank you so much for your kind words Maryam!