Twice-baked Italian biscuits, dry and pleasingly hard with a coarse, open crumb. Flavoured with vanilla, almond extract, and orange zest, and studded throughout with whole blanched almonds, these are the kind of thing to keep in an airtight tin — crisp, lightly sweet, and quietly satisfying whenever you want something small alongside a hot drink.
300g
200g
1.5tsp
0.25tsp
3piece
1tsp
0.5tsp
1tbsp
150g| # | Product | Quantity | Notes | State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | 300g | — | — | |
| 2 | | 200g | — | — | |
| 3 | | 1.5tsp | — | — | |
| 4 | | 0.25tsp | — | — | |
| 5 | | 3piece | — | — | |
| 6 | | 1tsp | — | — | |
| 7 | | 0.5tsp | — | — | |
| 8 | | 1tbsp | — | — | |
| 9 | | 150g | — | — |
Turn the oven to 180 °C and let it come up to temperature.
Line the baking tray with baking paper.
Weigh the plain flour into the large mixing bowl.
Plain flour · 300 g
Add the caster sugar to the flour in the mixing bowl.
Caster sugar · 200 gAdd the baking powder to the flour and sugar.
Baking powder · 1.5 tspAdd the fine salt to the flour, sugar and baking powder.
Fine salt · 0.25 tspWhisk the flour, baking powder, fine salt and caster sugar together until evenly combined.
Crack the eggs into the medium bowl, discarding the shells.
Egg · 3 piece
Add the vanilla extract to the eggs.
Vanilla extract · 1 tspAdd the almond extract to the eggs and vanilla extract.
Almond extract · 0.5 tspFinely grate the orange zest into the bowl with the eggs and extracts.
Orange zest · 1 tbspWhisk the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract and orange zest together until combined.
Pour the egg mixture into the dry cake mixture.
Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a stiff, cohesive dough forms.
Add the whole blanched almonds to the dough.
Whole blanched almonds · 150 gMix the almonds through the dough until they are evenly distributed throughout.
Tip the dough onto the lined baking tray and shape it with damp hands into two long, flat logs, each roughly 30 cm long and 8 cm wide, set well apart.
Slide the tray of biscotti logs into the oven.
Bake the logs until pale golden, firm to the touch and just set through.
Using oven gloves, lift the tray out of the oven and set it on a heatproof surface.
Leave the baked logs on the tray to cool until they are firm enough to slice without crumbling, about 12 minutes.
Carefully transfer the cooled logs to the chopping board.
Using a bread knife, cut each log on a slight diagonal into slices about 1 cm thick.
Stand the sliced biscotti cut-side up in a single layer across the lined baking tray.
Turn the oven down to 160 °C and allow it to settle at that temperature.
Slide the tray of biscotti into the oven for the first dry bake.
Bake the biscotti until the exposed cut faces are beginning to dry and turn lightly golden.
Using oven gloves, pull the tray out of the oven.
Use tongs to turn each biscotti onto its other cut face so it can dry evenly on both sides.
Allow the oven to return to 160 °C after the door was opened.
Return the tray to the oven for the second dry bake.
Bake until both cut faces are golden and completely dry to the touch, and the biscotti feel hard when tapped.
Using oven gloves, remove the tray from the oven.
Transfer the dried biscotti to the wire rack.
Leave the biscotti on the rack to cool completely until they are fully crisp and hard.
Transfer the cooled biscotti into the airtight tin, where they will keep crisp for several weeks.
| # | Product | Tool | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | | Turn the oven to 180 °C and let it come up to temperature.⏱ 10 min |
| 2 | — | | Line the baking tray with baking paper.⏱ 30s |
| 3 | 300 g | | Weigh the plain flour into the large mixing bowl.⏱ 10sResultPlain flour |
| 4 | 200 g | | Add the caster sugar to the flour in the mixing bowl.⏱ 10sResultPlain flour and caster sugar |
| 5 | 1.5 tsp | | Add the baking powder to the flour and sugar.⏱ 10sResultPlain flour and caster sugar and baking powder |
| 6 | 0.25 tsp | | Add the fine salt to the flour, sugar and baking powder.⏱ 10sResultPlain flour mixture |
| 7 | — | | Whisk the flour, baking powder, fine salt and caster sugar together until evenly combined.⏱ 30sResultDry dough mixture |
| 8 | 3 piece | | Crack the eggs into the medium bowl, discarding the shells.⏱ 15sResultEgg |
| 9 | 1 tsp | | Add the vanilla extract to the eggs.⏱ 5sResultEgg and vanilla extract |
| 10 | 0.5 tsp | | Add the almond extract to the eggs and vanilla extract.⏱ 5sResultEgg and vanilla extract and almond extract |
| 11 | 1 tbsp | | Finely grate the orange zest into the bowl with the eggs and extracts.⏱ 10sResultEgg mixture |
| 12 | — | | Whisk the eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract and orange zest together until combined.⏱ 20sResultEgg mixture |
| 13 | Egg mixturestep 12 | | Pour the egg mixture into the dry cake mixture.⏱ 10sResultDry dough mixture and egg mixture |
| 14 | — | | Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a stiff, cohesive dough forms.⏱ 1 minResultCombined dough |
| 15 | 150 g | | Add the whole blanched almonds to the dough.⏱ 10sResultCombined dough and whole blanched almonds |
| 16 | — | | Mix the almonds through the dough until they are evenly distributed throughout.⏱ 30sResultAlmond-studded dough |
| 17 | Almond-studded doughstep 16 | | Tip the dough onto the lined baking tray and shape it with damp hands into two long, flat logs, each roughly 30 cm long and 8 cm wide, set well apart.⏱ 1 min 30sResultShaped logs |
| 18 | — | | Slide the tray of biscotti logs into the oven.⏱ 10sResultShaped logs |
| 19 | — | | Bake the logs until pale golden, firm to the touch and just set through.⏱ 30 minResultBaked logs |
| 20 | — | | Using oven gloves, lift the tray out of the oven and set it on a heatproof surface.⏱ 15sResultBaked logs |
| 21 | — | | Leave the baked logs on the tray to cool until they are firm enough to slice without crumbling, about 12 minutes.⏱ 12 minResultCooled logs |
| 22 | — | | Carefully transfer the cooled logs to the chopping board.⏱ 15sResultCooled logs |
| 23 | — | | Using a bread knife, cut each log on a slight diagonal into slices about 1 cm thick.⏱ 2 minResultSliced logs |
| 24 | — | | Stand the sliced biscotti cut-side up in a single layer across the lined baking tray.⏱ 1 minResultCut-side-up sliced logs |
| 25 | — | | Turn the oven down to 160 °C and allow it to settle at that temperature.⏱ 10 min |
| 26 | — | | Slide the tray of biscotti into the oven for the first dry bake.⏱ 10sResultCut-side-up sliced logs |
| 27 | — | | Bake the biscotti until the exposed cut faces are beginning to dry and turn lightly golden.⏱ 15 minResultPartially dried logs |
| 28 | — | | Using oven gloves, pull the tray out of the oven.⏱ 15sResultPartially dried logs |
| 29 | — | | Use tongs to turn each biscotti onto its other cut face so it can dry evenly on both sides.⏱ 1 minResultFlipped logs |
| 30 | — | | Allow the oven to return to 160 °C after the door was opened.⏱ 5 min |
| 31 | — | | Return the tray to the oven for the second dry bake.⏱ 10sResultFlipped logs |
| 32 | — | | Bake until both cut faces are golden and completely dry to the touch, and the biscotti feel hard when tapped.⏱ 12 minResultTwice-baked dried logs |
| 33 | — | | Using oven gloves, remove the tray from the oven.⏱ 15sResultTwice-baked dried logs |
| 34 | Twice-baked dried logsstep 33 | | Transfer the dried biscotti to the wire rack.⏱ 30sResultTwice-baked dried logs |
| 35 | — | | Leave the biscotti on the rack to cool completely until they are fully crisp and hard.⏱ 20 minResultCooled twice-baked logs |
| 36 | Cooled twice-baked logsstep 35 | | Transfer the cooled biscotti into the airtight tin, where they will keep crisp for several weeks.⏱ 30sResultBiscotti |
| Total Time | 1 hr 46 min | ||
A batch eaten a portion at a time — about 30 portions. Serve what is wanted now and keep the rest.
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| 99kcal | |
| 3g | |
| 3g | |
| 0.4g | |
| 16g | |
| 7g | |
| 0.9g | |
| 53mg |
Twice-baked Italian biscuits, dry and pleasingly hard with a coarse, open crumb. Flavoured with vanilla, almond extract, and orange zest, and studded throughout with whole blanched almonds, these are the kind of thing to keep in an airtight tin — crisp, lightly sweet, and quietly satisfying whenever you want something small alongside a hot drink.
What you’ll doYou will make a stiff dough of flour, sugar, eggs, extracts and orange zest, work in whole almonds and shape it into two logs. The logs are baked until just set, cooled, sliced and baked again until the slices are dry and crisp.
