Not all biscotti are created equal and there is no one perfect way to make it, but I found my favorite. And it’s unlike any biscotti I’ve ever tasted before. Crunchy without breaking your teeth, crumbly in all the best ways, melts in your mouth, and super flavorful with a brown-sugar base. This, my friends, is my best base recipe for biscotti.
From this base recipe, I’ve done chocolate almond biscotti, mocha chip biscotti, and my favorite: white chocolate cranberry pistachio biscotti. Maybe you prefer biscotti plain? Just add a sprinkle of cinnamon. To be honest, this biscotti tastes incredible with as much stuff or as little stuff as you want. But I like the stuff. And today we’re adding walnuts, lots of zippy orange zest, and plenty of dark chocolate.
So you get an idea of how the process works, here’s a video:
The general layout of biscotti making:
- make biscotti dough
- divide in half
- flatten into two slabs
- bake
- slice
- bake a little longer
Let’s start with the biscotti dough. Traditionally, the only wet ingredient in biscotti is egg, but I like to add a little butter and oil for a more flavorful and rich cookie. The butter is worked into the dough the same way I add it to scones, pie crust, and biscuits. Cold and cut into the dry ingredients. What’s the point? This method ensures that the butter doesn’t melt in the dough prior to baking. Instead, the cold butter will melt in the oven. This helps create pockets of crumbly flakes.
You only need 1 Tablespoon of oil, but it really does make a difference. Less teeth-breaky. What else? I sweeten the biscotti with brown sugar and add just enough baking powder for a little lift. Today’s goodies are cinnamon + orange zest + fresh OJ + walnuts, so add those too.
Divide the biscotti dough in half, then shape into 2 long slabs. Brush with an egg wash. Why an egg wash? To make the tops super shiny and delightfully crisp. Bake the slabs on separate baking sheets so they have enough breathing room. You can just bake both sheets in the oven at once.
Bake Twice!
Now here’s what makes biscotti so unique. It’s baked twice! After the slabs bake for about 25 minutes, cut into slices, then bake the cookies for 8 minutes on each side. That’s a total oven time of 40-45 minutes. Sounds like that length of time would dry out a cookie, no? That’s why we add butter and a smidge of oil. Our biscotti will be crunchy, but the fat guarantees it won’t taste dry.
A generous dunk into dark chocolate finishes things off in the fanciest way possible. By the way, this type of chocolate dunk is the best type of chocolate dunk. I used to only dip one end of these chocolate almond biscotti into chocolate, but that’s clearly wrong.
Each bite should be a chocolate bite!!
If you like biscotti (cool kid!) and you’re intimidated to try it at home or if you don’t like biscotti because you, too, think it tastes like cardboard sticks… I encourage you to try my biscotti recipe. You don’t need to chill the dough, no need for a rolling pin (save it for your pie crust and sugar cookies), no mixer required, and no cookie cutters involved!
And this concludes my 5th annual cookie palooza. I feel our cookie sheets and mixers deserve a major break after this, but we all know that won’t happen. Happy baking!!
See all cookie palooza recipes. And here are 75+ Christmas cookies with all my best success guides & tips. So many cookies, so little time!
PrintDark Chocolate Orange Biscotti
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
- Yield: 18 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
No more dry or bland biscotti, this dark chocolate orange biscotti has so much flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/3 cups (291g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for work surface + hands
- 1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- zest from 1 orange (about 2 scant Tbsp)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 3/4 cup (95g) chopped walnuts*
- 3 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) canola or vegetable oil (or melted coconut oil)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk or water
- two 4 ounce (226g) semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate bars, coarsely chopped*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (Always recommended for cookies.) Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl until combined. Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the walnuts. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, orange juice, oil, and vanilla extract together. Pour into the flour/butter mixture and gently mix together until everything is just barely moistened.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and with floured hands, knead lightly until the dough is soft and slightly sticky, about 8-10 times. If it’s uncontrollably sticky, knead 1-2 more Tablespoon(s) of flour into the dough. Divide the dough in two and place each half onto a baking sheet. Shape each half into an 8×4-inch long rectangle, patting down until each is about 1/2 inch thick. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the top and sides of each biscotti slab with egg wash.
- Bake for 25-26 minutes, or until the top and sides of the biscotti slabs are lightly browned. Remove from the oven, but do not turn off the heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Once the slabs are cool enough to handle, cut each into 1 inch thick slices. Set slices cut sides upright, ¼ inch apart, on the baking sheets. Return to the oven to continue baking for 8 minutes. Turn biscotti over and bake other side for 8 minutes. The cookies will be slightly soft in the centers with harder edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before dipping in chocolate. The biscotti becomes crunchy as it cools. Save the baking sheets for the next step.
- Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler or (carefully!) use the microwave. For the microwave, place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 15 second increments, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Dip each biscotti cookie in the melted chocolate and place back onto the baking sheets. Sprinkle with any additional orange zest if desired. Allow chocolate to set in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Biscotti will stay fresh covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Biscotti can be frozen for up to 3 months, with or without chocolate. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before dipping in chocolate and/or serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Pastry Brush | Cooling Rack | Double Boiler (optional for melting chocolate) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
- Nuts: You can leave out the walnuts or replace with another type of nut. Or try 3/4 cup of dried cranberries instead!
- Chocolate: Chocolate bars are typically sold in 4 ounce bars. I suggest Ghirardelli, Baker’s brand, or Lindt. You can use chocolate chips, but they don’t melt down as smoothly.
- Be sure to check out my top 5 cookie baking tips AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking tools.
Keywords: Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti
Made this recipe and the biscotti are so good! Turned out like I wanted – perfect texture, with a little crunch but not so much to think your teeth were going to break when taking a bite! Great flavor too. I was a little worried about the raw dough being difficult to work with, but it wasn’t a problem at all. I’ll definitely make these again and plain to try different nuts and dried fruits to add-in. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for another awesome recipe! It was a great success in my Christmas gift baskets.
As others noted, I had to add extra flour to make the dough workable. I did some reading and it turns out “large” eggs are larger in Europe – a large egg in Europe corresponds to an extra-large egg in the USA (about 63 grams). So that might explain the need for more flour on my side of the pond 🙂
I also cut the sugar in half and the biscotti still came out sweet enough for my taste.
★★★★★
I think the flour is 390g not 290? I normally weigh when baking & thought 290 seemed awfully low compared to 2 & 1/3c. Not sure if this is why other’s batter is requiring so much added flour to work with
★★★★
Hi Elizabeth, 290 the correct gram measurement for 2 1/3 cup flour. Thanks for double checking!
Making this now and the dough is suuuuuper wet and sticky. I’m in Europe so using higher fat butter, not sure if that makes a difference but noticing there are plenty of other comments with the same issue. Is the flour content correct? (I weighed it, did not use a measuring cup.) Thanks!
I only recently discovered your site – and Sally I am so glad I did! I just made your Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti and must say they are delicious! I have actually been making biscotti for years and have a tried and true recipe that everyone seems to like. But I must say, yours is better! It may become one of my “go to” recipes this holiday season. Hmmmm. Wonder what I should try next?
★★★★★
This was a delicious recipe. I loved all the flavors. I ran into a only one hiccup, similar to some others, while making the dough. I had an extremely wet and sticky dough. I just had to keep adding flour and even then it was only JUST formed enough to be handled. I have a feeling my butter wasn’t cold enough, but I also think there was another element adding to my soupy dough. However, they still turned out incredibly well. I 100% want to have another go at the recipe. Thanks Sally!!!
★★★★
Sally you are a GENIUS. This is some of the best biscotti I’ve ever had. My FIL can’t handle really tough cookies so I was thrilled that this was actually crunchy yet soft like you described. Only change I made was a bit more orange juice because my family loves that orange flavor. Thanks for this!
★★★★★
Great flavour, I added cranberries too! Delicious happy Husband
★★★★★
Just made these today and ….. WOW !!!! They are amazing! Thank you so much for a keeper recipe
I used cranberry and walnuts to total 3/4 cup …. so good
I’d love to make a chocolate version of these…. any suggestions Thank you !
★★★★★
I made these this morning and they are amazing! I don’t even like biscotti, I made them simply because I never have before, and wanted to try something new. This recipe is perfect!
★★★★★
Just baked your Orange Cranberry Bread and I have leftover fresh cranberries. Can I use them in this biscotti recipe along with almonds? If so, how much?
Leanne, You can replace the walnuts with almonds or cranberries or both. Keep the total amount of mix-ins to 3/4 cup.
Very good! Made exactly as written but omitted nuts. I tried one before dipping in chocolate and didn’t taste the orange but once dipped, the chocolate definitely brings out the orange flavor. I dipped in chocolate then sprinkled some with chopped dried cranberries and some coarse sugar for added crunch. Great biscotti flavor combination!
★★★★★
Hi Sally! How long for bake time for mini biscottis?
Can you double the recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Jackie! Yes you can double this recipe, but for ideal taste and texture, it’s best to make separate batches. The bake time for smaller cookies depends on the measurements of the dough, but you can start with just a few minutes less for each bake time.
LOVE how these came out! They’re are super yummy and love the touch of orange zest- really elevates the flavor. My dough did not look like yours at all though. It was very wet and sticky, no matter how much flour I added! Also my dry ingredients weren’t as crumbly as yours. Any tips?
Hi Amanda! Are you at high altitude? That could have been the issue. But regardless of the dough, I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies. This biscotti is one of my very favorites and I’m always so happy to read when others love the recipe too.
If I want to make mini biscotti by shaping into 3 slabs instead of 2, how will that affect the bake time for each bake?
Hi Elizabeth! The bake time will be shorter for each baking session since the slabs and shaped cookies will be smaller.
I can’t overstate this enough: this biscotti is SO GOOD. Orange and chocolate is a flavor combination sent from the gods and Sally has made yet another winner with this most perfect biscotti. It was relatively easy for me to make and it was a HUGE hit last Christmas.
Delicious!!! Never even thought about making biscotti but came across this recipe and thought, ‘why not?’…so glad I did, whole family loved them! I skipped the chocolate, loved the subtle orange flavor.
★★★★★
Sally, your biscotti recipes are absolutely delicious !! I made them for the first time a few months back and I have been addicted to them ever since! I literally bake a batch per week, which means… i’m craving new flavors at this point! I’ve tried this exact recipe but with lemon instead of orange and almonds instead of walnuts and it was yummy but i reaaally want to try something new so my request is: new biscotti recipe please !
★★★★★
I made these and they came out delicious even though I messed up the recipe! I realized after I’d cut in the butter that I had put in an entire stick instead of half a stick. I decided to go ahead and try the recipe anyway, but used 2 eggs instead of 3 and left out the oil. The biscotti baked up just fine in the same amount of time. I used dried cranberries instead of walnuts and they complement the orange very well. The chocolate I had at hand – Trader Joe’s 73% cacao dark chocolate – didn’t taste very good, so I drizzled it onto the biscotti instead of dipping it, as I felt that would have been too much and a tad too bitter for my taste. I served them at a dinner party and people were vying for the leftovers! Thanks Sally.
I made this today. The dough was very wet so used a lot of flour to work on it but it was very flavorful and turned out so so gooood. I have a question for you. all edges are nice and crunchy but the all center are still soft. Should I bake longer at the first baking or second time baking? . Thank you!!
I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor! If you would like them crispier then you can bake them a bit longer on the second bake (after they are cut).
I’ve made this recipe twice, and they are super delicious. Not rock hard like some biscotti. I don’t fear for my teeth eating them.
That being said, I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but the dough is so difficult to work with. It sticks to everything, no matter how much flour I add. Eventually I just stop adding flour and live with a sticky mess (pre-bake. After bake, as I said, awesome!).
These cookies are not out of the oven here yet……. The reason that I am writing this review now….. is because of the dough.
This is the absolute WORST cookie dough that I’ve ever worked with. I had to add a full cup and a 1/4 of extra flour to make it even begin to resemble cookie dough. It was incredibly sticky. I cannot believe that the ingredients amounts is even cose to correct. I ended up putting the dough into the fridge to cool for 30 minutes to get it to hold up and be able to use.
I sure hope the flavor is worth it, because the dough isn’t , that’s for sure.
★★★
I made these and they are so delicious. The orange comes thru And nuance should the cookie is the best possible way.
I just made these…they are beautiful. I doubled the recipe as I’m giving them out at Christmas. I added a tsp of orange extract to the liquid and doubled the zest (I used 4 oranges) which left plenty to sprinkle on top, which I would recommend to make it super festive. I made them a little bigger because of the doubled batter and size of my pans. I ended up with 30 instead of 36. I should have left them in a little longer…a few fell apart but I’ll eat those with my coffee 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! All my cookies this year are from your recipes. I’m making the cranberry pistachio white chocolate next! 🙂
I’m so happy that you enjoyed these! I hope they are a hit with your Christmas guests!
Just made these. I was worried they would be a disaster because my dough was very wet and unworkable. I weighed the flour so I know I used the right amount. So I ended up adding quite a bit more than 2 additional tablespoons of flour while kneading. But even so, they were tasty in the end. Chocolate and orange are one of my favorite combinations.
This was my first time making biscotti and it was a huge success!! I didn’t have orange zest, but I added a little bit of orange extract and almond extract (I just love the smell!) and it was so delicious! Thanks for a great recipe, Sally!
I just made these 2 days ago and they are still delicious! The orange truly shines through. The only critique I have is that the dough turned out to be a bit wet and I had to add in 1/4 cup of extra flour in order to be able to knead the dough. After shaping the dough into a rectangle, the dough dried out a little, so they turned out well in the end. 🙂 Thanks Sally!
I am making them right now, but the zest from my 1 orange only turned out to be 1 scant Tbsp, not 2. A little worried. Should I zest an extra orange to get the 2 scant Tbsp, or is it fine as is?
It will be just fine, but if you want more orange flavor– I’d grab another orange to zest.
Hi Sally, what changes would you suggest to make these in mini form? Divide the dough in 4 parts? What about baking time? Thanks!
Hi Sana! Yep, I would shape into 4 slabs instead of 2. Bake time should be around 15-16 minutes for the slabs and 5ish minutes on each side for the sliced cookies.