Recipe

Homemade Biscotti Cookies That Are Perfect for Dipping In Your Coffee

By Julia Rosenbaum at Hamilton College

Biscotti are Italian biscuits that originated in the city of Prato and are as easy to make as your average chocolate chip cookie. You can incorporate almost any dried fruit or nut into the simple batter and the result is something sweet, crunchy, and impressive-looking. It's perfect for a simple yet sophisticated dessert or a complement to a hot drink on a cold day. 

Biscotti Cookies

  • Prep Time: 35 mins
  • Cook Time: 38 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr 13 mins
  • Servings: 20
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cup flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 3 dried apricots or any dried fruit or nut
  • Orange zest - half an orange peel

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place eggs and vanilla extract in one bowl and whisk them.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 2

In a separate bowl, mix sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt with a spoon.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 3

As you continue to whisk the eggs and vanilla extract, gradually add in the bowl of dry ingredients. When the batter gets thicker and clumped up in your whisk, make things easier for yourself and switch over to a large spoon.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 4

When the wet and dry ingredients are sufficiently mixed, dice your dried fruit or nuts and sprinkle them in.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 5

To create the orange zest, grate approximately a quarter to half of an orange peel. This approximation really depends on how citrusy you want your biscotti. When we did about a quarter, the presence was the perfect amount of tanginess.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 6

Grease the pan and separate your dough into two logs. If you're worried that you've done something wrong because it couldn't possibly look this unappetizing, don't fret! Wait until it bakes!

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 7

Bake for thirty minutes. After ten minutes of cooling, cut the large mound of cookie into half-inch pieces, which when laid on their sides, should look like half moons.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 8

You're not done yet! Place the cut cookies back into the oven for eight minutes, so that they get crunchy.

Julia Rosenbaum

Step 9

If you can, make yourself some coffee and dip the biscotti in. The hot liquid will soften the texture of the cookie, giving it a spongey consistency. The sweetness of the biscotti will balance out the bitterness of the coffee, acting as the perfect sweetener!

Julia Rosenbaum