Cranberry-and-nut-biscotti-recipe

4 Tips to making Perfect Biscotti

I love these Cranberry and Cashew Biscotti , they’re perfect with coffee, as a breakfast on the go, with an afternoon tea as a sweet snack, or after dinner for a light dessert. Seriously I can’t get enough of them. These are my 4 tips to making perfect biscotti. 

Biscotti can sometimes be very hard and crispy, but the addition of cranberries makes for some soft chewy fruity flavours in this delicious  recipe. Biscotti as its name implies, means “twice baked”, and double baking is the secret to these crunchy Italian cookies. Their hard texture makes them perfect for dunking into your hot drink, or even wine.  To make biscotti, the dough is shaped into a loaf shape and baked. The baked loaf is then cut into slices that are baked again until they become dry and hard. Once you’ve mastered making a traditional biscotti, your variations are endless.

Biscotti-recipe

And as for my new blue mixing bowl, how gorgeous is it?  Just like my mother used to have, except back in those days they were all cream.  I think I am definitely going to head back to the store and buy another one in a different size , it somehow seems very lonely on its own.

Baking-biscotti

 4 Ways to make perfect biscotti.

  • Always use a serrated knife (preferably a bread knife) in a sawing motion to cut nice smooth clean slices.
  • If you want long slices like a coffee shop biscotti, slice the logs at an angle.  I normally just slice straight, but that is my preference.
  • 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.
  • After the second bake make sure that the biscotti cools on a wire rack to allow them to crisp completely.

making-biscotti-first -bake

Biscotti-instructions-Second-Bake

Biscotti can be kept in airtight containers for weeks, and as this recipe makes about 50-60 depending on how thick you cut the slices ,  that means cookies with coffee for awhile.

Biscotti-recipe

Try these Traditional Scottish Shortbread , Lemon Drop Cookies or  my all time favourite Cinnamon Cookies  if you are looking for great cookie recipes.

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4 from 2 votes
Cranberry-and-nut-biscotti-recipe
4 Tips to making Perfect Biscotti
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
40 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Course: Baking
Servings: 50
Author: shades of cinnamon
Ingredients
  • 2 cups (300g) plain flour
  • 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 eggs (medium size) or 2 (large)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
  • Finely grated rind of one orange
  • 100 g dried cranberries
  • 100 g raw cashew nuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 160ºC (325ºF).
  2. Sift flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a large bowl.
  3. In another bowl whisk eggs, vanilla and orange rind.
  4. Add the cranberries and broken up cashew nuts into dry ingredients.
  5. Add egg mixture and combine with a wooden spoon.
  6. Mix with your hands to combine completely into a ball.
  7. Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface and knead until smooth.
  8. Keep adding flour if mixture gets too wet.
  9. Divide into two equal portions and roll into 15cm long logs (or shorter if you want larger biscotti).
  10. Place on a silpad or well greased baking sheet.
  11. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm.
  12. Set aside and allow to cool for 10minutes before slicing with a serrated knife into 3mm thick slices.

  13. Place the slices on baking trays lined with baking paper or silpad and bake for a further 8-10minutes until golden and crisp. Watch at this stage as you dont want them to go too brown .
  14. Allow to cool on trays.
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21 Comments

  • Reply MyCookingSerects.com June 12, 2015 at 3:00 PM

    Thank you for sharing those tips. The biscotti look delicious..!

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon June 12, 2015 at 4:07 PM

      It’s a pleasure, I hope your team can make good use of them, and thanks so much for visiting my blog

  • Reply Lorraine June 12, 2015 at 3:04 PM

    Oh my word!!!!! I think these are so nice and I have never made biscotti before so will definitely try this recipe. Thank you for the tips

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon October 3, 2015 at 12:14 PM

      They are definitely easier than you would think Lorraine. Hope they turned out great

  • Reply Jenny June 12, 2015 at 4:09 PM

    Great biscotti – gonna make me some

  • Reply Georgina @theamazingflavoursofbrazil.com June 14, 2015 at 3:17 PM

    Hi Ev, I ‘ve never tried to make biscotti, so I am definitely using your tips on my first attempt . I am also curious to try them with cranberries and cashews, exactly how you made. I will have them with a good cup of tea! Gorgeous pictures, as always.

    • Reply Madeline December 11, 2015 at 3:20 AM

      I’ve made two batches of biscotti (have made them many times before) and both of them have come out
      very flat after the first bake. Can’t figure out why. Checked baking powder, it’s fine as far as test with
      tblsp water to look for bubbles, checked product date, it’s ok, checked for ratio of baking powder to flour.
      What else? Any ideas or suggestions?

  • Reply Shades of Cinnamon December 12, 2015 at 5:28 PM

    Hi Madeline, My biscotti doesn’t really rise much at all. Roll the biscotti the size you want them. I always make a sausage shape (quite big) and it flattens slightly on the baking tray. Have a look at my images above of the biscotti before it is baked and then the ones next to it once they are baked – see they are slightly flatter as they spread rather than rise. A great way to cut them is on a slight diagonal and then it isn’t serious if they are too flat because you can still get a nice size .

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon December 12, 2015 at 5:31 PM

      Hi Madeline, Roll the biscotti the size you want them as they don’t really rise much at all. In fact they spread rather than rise. Have a look at my images of the rolled dough before and after cooking. If they flatten out too much and you want them to look bigger, cut them slightly on the diagonal. This makes lovely size biscotti. Hope this helps

  • Reply Sava June 18, 2019 at 12:32 PM

    I followed the recipe but it’s come out too crumbly, what am I doing wrong

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon June 19, 2019 at 10:17 AM

      Hi Sava, Is your mixture wet enough when you roll it into a ball? Is the mixture too crumbly at that stage? If so, mix up another egg and gradually add a little bit at a time to the mixture to make it bind. I have never had that problem as it is normally slightly wet and I have to add more flour. When you shape the dough it should be the size you want the baked biscotti to be, as it does not rise much.

    • Reply Matt December 21, 2021 at 10:09 PM

      I have always loved making biscotti. No matter how many serrated knives I tried ,I had minimal success slicing the logs. Finally I discovered the perfect method. I use my hacksaw from my tool box , after I wash it of course, with a new blade. Either 24 or 32 teeth per inch work equally well. Try it you will be surprised with the results.

  • Reply Prof. D. r. Safreno February 8, 2020 at 2:56 AM

    I’ve always had a problem with them not being crisp enough after the second bake and I add too much candies in ( I love caramel z) thanks for the hints. Mine are baking right now snd I have high hopes— cooking this batch with half a cup of chocolate morsels and a cup of shelled pistachios .any hints as to the best coffee (I like strong)

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon February 9, 2020 at 1:06 PM

      Fantastic please let me know how they turn out. Unfortunately I am not a coffee drinker, so am definitely the wrong person to ask. Have a great day.

  • Reply Luci July 4, 2020 at 2:49 PM

    Hi do we not use butter in this recipe ?

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon July 6, 2020 at 9:45 AM

      Hi Luci, No butter is required for this recipe, the eggs are used to bind the dry ingredients. Take care

  • Reply Donizette Emmanuel February 8, 2021 at 8:32 PM

    There is no butter or oil in there. Is that right?

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon February 11, 2021 at 8:48 AM

      Thats right, no butter or oil. If you add butter it makes the biscotti soft and therefore not traditional, or suitable for dunking.

  • Reply cecily j squier February 12, 2021 at 11:03 PM

    Hi, I found your recipe to be so dry that I had to add extra egg. I originally used 2 XL eggs and the batter was way to dry. I added another egg and it moistened it somewhat but I feel like I had played with the batter too much at this point and these came out like tooth breakers. Did this happen with anyone else?

    • Reply Shades of Cinnamon February 24, 2021 at 9:42 AM

      Hi Cecily, I use three eggs in mine, and the mixture is fairly dry but wet enough to mould the biscotti rolls. Remember that these are hard, that’s the point of them, as they are traditionally made to be dunked into Vin Santo ( a sweet Italian dessert wine) but these days they can be dunked into coffee or tea. I hope that helps. Take care and stay safe.

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