Listen to an Audio Tip about Biscotti

Basic Biscotti and Variations

To give biscotti their dense and hard texture, the cookies are baked twice. The dough, is baked first in a large slab, then sliced and baked again.

While standard biscotti have a subtle nutty flavouring, the variations on biscotti recipes are endless. By adding flavours like chocolate, spices like cinnamon, fruits like orange or raisins, or even seasonal flavours like anise or pumpkin, the cookies can be personalized for numerous eating styles and tastes. Additionally, it's quite common for biscotti to be drizzled or dipped in chocolate or other flavourings after they are baked.

Making biscotti at home is not overly difficult, but is a bit time consuming as the baking and cooling, then baking again process is key to making the hard, dry texture. This step-by-step guide explains the ingredients and preparation method for making basic biscotti. To make the recipe your own, check out the numerous variations below for ideas.

Variations here include Lemon and Caper Biscotti, Orange Pistachio and Black Olive Biscotti, Fennel and Raisin Biscotti, Blue Cheese and Pecan Biscotti, Parmesan and Rosemary, Gruyere and Thyme Biscotti, Herb Biscotti, Almond and Pistachio Biscotti, Chocolate Biscotti, Almond Hazelnut Biscotti, Mixed Spice Biscotti and Ginger Biscotti.

Ingredients

Preheat the oven.
Place flour, baking powder, sugar in a bowl and combine.
Add eggs and stir until mixture forms a dough. This may take a while.
Divide the dough into 2, shape into logs and flatten to approximately 3cm high.
Place logs on a greased baking tray and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool completely.
Slice logs into 5mm thick slices and return to the baking tray, bake for further 10-15.
Cool and store in an airtight container.

Savoury

Lemon and Caper Biscotti - add ¼ cup capers, drained and roughly chopped, zest of 1 lemon and ¼ cup fresh, finely chopped, flat leaf parsley to the flour mixture.
Orange, Pistachio and Black Olive Biscotti - add 1 cup shelled pistachio nuts, 1 cup black olives, pitted and finely chopped, and zest of 1 orange to the flour mixture.
Fennel and Raisin Biscotti - add 2 Tbsp whole fennel seeds, toasted and .5 cup dried raisins, coarsely chopped to the flour mixture.
Blue Cheese and Pecan Biscotti - add ¾ cup roughly chopped pecans and 90g crumbled hard blue cheese to the flour mixture.
Parmesan and Rosemary - add 2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary, 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese and 2 Tbsp of sour cream to the flour mixture.
Gruyere and Thyme Biscotti - add 1½ Tbsp chopped fresh thyme and 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese to the flour mixture.
Herb Biscotti - add 1 cup mixed chopped fresh herbs - choose from parsley, dill, thyme, coriander, chives, rosemary or basil - to the flour mixture.

Sweet

Almond and Pistachio Biscotti - Add ½ cup slivered almonds; 2-3 drops of almond extract/essence and ½ cup shelled unsalted pistachio nuts to the flour mixture.
Chocolate Biscotti - Add ½ cup cocoa powder and ½ cup grated cooking chocolate to the flour mixture.
Almond/Hazelnut Biscotti - Replace ½ the flour with either almond meal or hazelnut meal and add ¼ cup of either chopped almonds or chopped hazelnuts.
Mixed Spice Biscotti - Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp grated nutmeg to the dry mixture.
Ginger Biscotti - Add 1 Tbsp ground ginger and .5 tsp chopped fresh ginger to the dry mixture.