Making biscotti from scratch is easier than you may think! This foolproof recipe will teach you how to make perfect dense, crunchy biscotti with pistachios and a hint of warming cardamom.
Biscotti are classic Italian cookies named for the Latin biscoctus, meaning “twice baked”. THe dough is baked, cooled, and baked again for that signature crunch.
My mom’s biscotti, made with anise or orange zest, frankly ruined the packaged kind for me! I wanted to make my own version with a different flavor combo: pistachios and fragrant cardamom for a cozy, warming quality. It’s deliciously dense, rich, and crunchy, but never too hard to bite on.
The recipe makes 24 pieces that keep well, making it perfect for the holidays! I like to serve the cookies with spiked coffee or indulgent Italian hot chocolate for a festive after-dinner treat.
Table of Contents
What is in Biscotti? Ingredients and Substitutions
Traditional biscotti is made from a simple cookie base with flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil, and baking powder. You can incorporate different seasonings from there, like orange zest, nuts, dried fruit, and beyond. Here’s what I used for this biscotti recipe:
- All-purpose flour: Kate, my right-hand woman, said this about using gluten free flour: “I have made this biscotti with 1:1 gluten free flour a few times and it works very well (and I’m no baker, lol)!”
- Baking powder: Gives the cookies an airy quality.
- Butter: It may surprise you that I prefer a little butter in my biscotti instead of oil. I find it helps the cookies from getting too hard.
- Sugar: Sweetens the cookies just enough.
- Eggs: Binds the biscotti dough together.
- Pistachios: Substitute with other tender chopped nuts, like almonds or walnuts.
- Green cardamom: Swap with other warming spices, like nutmeg or cinnamon.
- Vanilla extract: Adds depth. Swap with rum or almond extract.
How to Make Biscotti
The biggest key to making biscotti is to chill the dough for 10-20 minutes after the first bake. Set a timer! If you leave it too long, the dough will be too hard to cut into. But if you begin to slice while the dough is quite hot, they will crumble. Here’s how it’s done:
Make and Chill the Biscotti Dough
- Get ready. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 teaspoon baking powder. Set aside for now.
- Combine the butter and sugar. To a separate large mixing bowl, add 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened) and 3/4 cup sugar. Use a hand mixer at medium-high speed to beat until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating gently until combined.
- Finish and chill the dough. Add 3/4 cup chopped salted pistachios, 3/4 teaspoon ground green cardamom, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon until combined, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Spoon the dough on top of the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get ready to bake. Set a rack near the middle of your oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Shape the dough. When the dough has chilled, remove from the fridge and transfer to a large cutting board. Using floured hands, form a log that’s about 12 inches long (it doesn’t need to be perfect. The dough will spread during baking).
Bake, Slice, and Bake Again
- Bake the dough. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.
- Chill, then slice into cookies. At this point, the dough should still be quite soft. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 20 minutes. Use a serrated knife to cut the log into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange the biscotti slices flat in one layer on the baking sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.
- Twice-bake the biscotti. Reduce the oven heat to 275°F. Bake for another 30-35 minutes, turning the biscotti cookies over halfway through until crisp. Remove from the heat and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled completely, store the biscotti in a loosely covered glass jar or container. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Biscotti
You can certainly wrap up homemade biscotti as gifts, but they’re also great to keep on-hand for entertaining. Serve:
- As part of an Italian-style cookie tray with Baci Di Dama (Italian Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies) and Pizzicati (Italian Pinch Cookies)
- As a side to cozy drinks: Italian hot chocolate, espresso, or mint tea.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup chopped salted pistachios
- 3/4 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Get ready. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust with flour. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Set aside for now.
- Combine the butter and sugar. To a separate large mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar. Use a hand mixer at medium-high speed to beat until light and fluffy, then reduce the speed to low and add one egg at a time, beating gently until combined.
- Finish the dough. Add the pistachios, cardamom, and vanilla extract. Mix with a spoon until combined, then stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Chill the dough. Spoon the dough on top of the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, get ready to bake. Set a rack near the middle of your oven and preheat to 350°F.
- Shape the dough. When the dough has chilled, remove from the fridge and transfer to a large cutting board. Using floured hands, form a log that's about 12 inches long (it doesn't need to be perfect. The dough will spread during baking).
- Bake the dough. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the dough is slightly golden, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.
- Slice into cookies. At this point, the dough should still be quite soft. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 to 20 minutes. Use a serrated knife to cut the log into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange the biscotti slices flat in one layer on the baking sheet, spacing them about 1/2 inch apart.
- Twice bake the biscotti. Reduce the oven heat to 275°F. Bake for another 30-35 minutes, turning the biscotti cookies over halfway through until crisp. Remove from the heat and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Once cooled completely, store the biscotti in a loosely covered glass jar or container. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Shop this recipe: Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients, including the cardamom used in this recipe.
- Storage: Biscotti will last anywhere for 10 days to 2 weeks when stored properly. Cool completely on a wire rack, then store biscotti in a loosely covered glass jar or tin lined with a paper towel.
- To recrisp: Heat the oven to 300°F. Stand up the biscotti on your baking sheet so the cut sides are fully exposed to the hot air. Bake for 3-5 minutes.
- Mix it up:
- Use a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon in place of the cardamom.
- Replace the pistachios with blanched almonds.
- Fold in a handful of dried cranberries.
Nutrition
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*This post has recently been updated with new information for the readers’ benefit.
Can I use 1/2 and 1/2 whole wheat and white flour.
Use brown sugar instead.
Hi, Rahat. I’ve not used either whole wheat flour or brown sugar with this recipe. Either might be possible, but I’m afraid I can’t advise you with confidence.
I used whole wheat flour only with butter and brown sugar. It came out absolutely delicious and crunchy, but not hard.
Wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing, Astrid. Super helpful!
Hi, I have made this x3 and the dough is always so dry. I have added an extra egg, 2 tbsp of melted coconut oil and water to moisten it. I have spooned and scooped the flour and also weighed it. Please advise. Thank you
Hi, Deborah. I’ve not had this issue before, so I’m not sure I can really advise you here. It sounds like you are trying the right things.
Thank you
For some reason following this recipe exactly makes the dough too sticky. I added flower. Also the time it takes for it to be baked is not sufficient. It requires at least 45 mins for first round. Is this normal? Because when I had it in the oven for 30 min and took it out, let it cool and then cut, it started to fall a part in some areas.
Hi, Jonathan. For us, typically 25-30 minutes for that first bake works for us, but ovens to vary, so keep that in mind.
Thank you for this recipe! Amazing biscottis! I even surprised myself.
Haha! So glad the recipe worked well for you, Vidhya!
i’ve never made biscotti before and this was great! took a bit longer than i expected but they taste amazing and impressed my guests 🙂
I made my 1st batch with chocolate chips and my 2nd batch with almonds and cranberries . So delicious and easy. I love them.
Yum! Thanks, Sandy!
How long will these last for in a tin container?
Hi, Connie! If stored properly, they should last from 10-14 days. There are some storage tips at the end of the post you may find helpful.
Hi Suzy, Thanks for the recipe.
After baking the 1st time for 25 mins at 350 deg, the outer portion was golden yellow in colour. I removed to cool it for 10-20mins, and then proceeded to cut into 0.5 inch slices. The outer crust was quite crisp and crumbly. However the center portion within was still wet. What do you recommend here, should I increase the initial baking time? Or just continue cutting and proceed with the second baking process?
It will not fully cook after the first few minutes, that’s why we have the slices go back in the oven. When you proceed with the second baking, it should work out.
Can I add cranberries
Sure!
If I add cranberries, will I need to adjust the amount of pistachios so everything comes to 3/4 of a cup?? Or can I have 3/4 cup pistachios PLUS cranberries??
Hi, Janice. Either way would work, but I prefer to still do 3/4 nuts and then some dried fruit.
I can’t wait to try this recipe at home, it looks very tasty!
My family is going to love this! The flavors are perfect and I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Enjoy!!
I love biscotti but I’ve never been confident enough to make it at home on my own – but your recipe has inspired me to try!! These look so delicious – I’m going to make them this weekend!
Hope you enjoy them, Anjali!
I love making big batches of biscotti for gifts, so this is perfect for this time of year. Pistachio and cardamom are such a delicious combination!
Great idea!!
I have never made biscotti, but your recipe looks fantastic. You have inspired me to try your method at home.
Yay! Enjoy!
I haven’t tried this flavor combo before! SO delicious and dare I say…refreshing!!
Thank you, Lisalia!
I have only made biscotti once in my life, and it was SO GOOD. But for some reason, I have never made it since. That needs to change! Definitely going to give this a go. Thank you so much for the recipe 🙂
Hope you love it, Cathleen!!
Tried this biscotti recipe last week and it is so delicious! I will make it again! Yummy!
Awesome! Thanks, Beth!