Name: Almond Biscotti
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ¼ teaspoon sea salt; ⅓ cup salted butter (room temperature); 2 large eggs (room temperature); ½ cup slivered almonds; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon pure almond extract (OR 1 tablespoon amaretto)

PIN RECIPE JUMP TO RECIPE PRINT RECIPE

Crisp and with a tender middle, almond biscotti are perfectly light, buttery cookies with slivered almonds and a hint of almond extract. Twice-baked biscotti lasts for ages - there's a good reason that it's a classic holiday gift.

Several biscotti cookies all piled up together.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

Recipe Rundown: Almond Biscotti

Prep Time
15 minutes

Bake Time
50 minutes

Total Time
1 hour 5 minutes

Servings
38 cookies

Difficulty
Intermediate

Calories
75 kcal*

Primary Ingredients
All-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs, slivered almonds, almond extract, and vanilla.

*Calories are an estimation.

How This Recipe Works

Woman smiling, with long brown hair in a dark brown shirt.

I've made biscotti for Christmas since I was about ten years old, so every year for 25 years now. Almond biscotti is always a firm favourite, almost universally liked, and this version is perfectly crisp without being too hard. If you've never made homemade biscotti, you're in for a pleasant surprise! It's so much nicer than store-bought, with a softer texture and (of course) better flavour.

You have two options to flavour these cookies. Either use almond extract, or try amaretto instead. Both add a nice almond flavour that isn't soapy or overwhelming. I personally prefer amaretto as I feel it adds a greater depth of flavour than extract, with a more floral note, but both are good.

We've added an option to include the zest of an orange or lemon. Both add a nice brightness to the cookies that can be very pleasant. I developed and tested this recipe, and taste-testers love these - I've also been making this exact cookie for about a decade now to give as Christmas gifts.

Ingredients You'll Need and Why

While these are pretty standard cookie ingredients, the method and amounts are different for biscotti vs chocolate chip cookies. These are our notes from recipe testing. You can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

Almond biscotti ingredients with labels.

Almonds: use slivered almonds for the best texture. Sliced are a good alternative. If you chop your own almonds, make sure they're blanched (skinned).
Flour: use all-purpose white flour. Pastry flour makes the cookies too delicate. We haven't tested with gluten-free alternatives.
Butter: this should be salted butter at room temperature. Vegan butter or margarine aren't great options for biscotti, as they cause too much spread. You can try using a vegan butter than comes in sticks or blocks and chill the dough after shaping into logs, before baking.
Eggs: the eggs must be at room temperature. Cold eggs will cause the butter to harden and will make the dough too difficult to form. To quickly bring eggs up to room temperature, submerge them in a bowl of warm water 10 minutes before starting the recipe.
Sugar: this should be granulated white sugar. Cane sugar tastes good but causes pitting in the biscotti, which is more of an appearance issue, but when you're putting this much time into cookies they should also look nice.
Extract: use pure almond extract or amaretto, as outlined in the recipe card. Don't be tempted to increase the almond extract. It should be delicate, not a punch to the nose.
Baking powder: this is the leavening agent, what provides rise for the cookies. Be sure not to mix it up with baking soda, which causes the dough to spread.

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.

How to Make Almond Biscotti

Biscotti are easy to make, but you need to keep the quantities exact and know that they're baked twice. You form the dough into logs, bake, then slice and bake again. It's a little more time consuming compared to other cookies but makes a lot and they last a long time!

Biscotti steps 1 to 4, dry ingredients mixed, with butter, formed into a ball, and formed into ropes.

Step 1: mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine. If you have a stand mixer, use it, fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until it looks like coarse crumbs. Alternatively use an electric hand mixer on low.

Step 2: add eggs one at a time, mixing on low between each addition to combine. The dough should be soft and slightly crumbly. If your eggs were cold or too small, the dough will be dry.

Step 3: add the almonds, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix on low to form a rough ball of dough. You can also mix this by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula if you're worried about over-mixing.

Step 4: Split the dough into equal halves and use your hands to form two equal logs, placing them onto a lined baking sheet. You'll need to leave some space between them to allow for spreading.

Related: Chocolate Cherry Biscotti

Biscotti steps 5 to 8, after first bake, sliced, slices before and after baking.

Step 5: bake for about 30 minutes, until golden and just firm to the touch. You don't want to over-bake at this point, or they'll be too hard to slice. Under-baking (or a cold oven) will result in a raw centre that doesn't slice properly.

Step 6: slice into 2cm slices with a sharp serrated knife. I always cut the small end pieces off and eat them now, instead of double-baking those pieces.

Step 7: place the slices back onto the baking sheet. They won't spread any more, but it's still good to leave a little bit of space between to allow for air flow in the oven.

Step 8: bake until lightly golden, up to 20 minutes longer. They should be crisp and light after the second bake. Once fully cooled, optionally drizzle or dip in chocolate.

Expert Tips for the Best Biscotti

Use large eggs: if your eggs are too small, the cookie dough will be too dry. Large eggs are 57 grams (weighed with shell) in North America, and that's the size we use in all of our recipes.
Don't mind the crumbles: if you've never made biscotti, you might be concerned by how crumbly the dough seems after mixing. Much like shortbread, it will look like it's too crumbly to come together, but (unless you've reduced the butter) it will easily hold when pressed.
Keep the extract: don't be tempted to increase the amount of almond extract, which can be medicinal and very unpleasant when overused.
Pack up for gifting: use a cookie tin or other pretty container that has a tight-fitting lid, and pack the biscotti inside to gift. You can make these a couple of weeks in advance so there's no rush right around the holidays.