Almond Biscotti
Twice-baked almond biscuits, hard enough to dunk and dry enough to keep for a month. The second bake is what makes them biscotti rather than cookies.
Photograph credit: Affogato with Amarretti Biscotti - Tavola Di Famiglia 2026-02-27 by Andy Li · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Storing and Planning Ahead
Keeps 1 month in an airtight tin — genuinely. Freezes 3 months.
Making Almond Biscotti
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Toast the almonds on a tray at 180°C / 355°F for 8 minutes, then cool completely.
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Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
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Beat the eggs with both extracts and the lemon zest, then stir into the dry ingredients to form a sticky dough.
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Fold in the toasted almonds. The dough will be very tacky — resist adding flour.
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With wet hands, shape into two logs about 25 cm long and 6 cm wide on a lined tray, well apart.
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Brush with beaten egg and bake at 175°C / 345°F for 28 to 30 minutes until firm and lightly golden.
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Cool for 20 minutes, then cut on a sharp diagonal into 1.5 cm slices with a serrated knife, sawing gently.
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Lay the slices cut-side down on the tray and bake at 150°C / 300°F for 12 minutes, turn each one, and bake 10 minutes more.
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Cool completely on a rack — they harden fully as they cool.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Worth Knowing
- Cut while still warm. Fully cooled logs shatter under the knife.
- A serrated knife and a sawing motion, never pressure, keeps the almonds from tearing the slices apart.
- Dip one end in melted dark chocolate once cool if you want to gild them.
Behind the Recipe
The second bake is a drying stage, not a browning one: the sliced logs go back into a cooler oven to drive out remaining moisture, which is what gives biscotti their snap and their long shelf life. Skipping it leaves a soft biscuit that stales in days.
What to Put Next to It
Vin Santo, for dunking, as in Tuscany · Serve with espresso or a dessert wine · Excellent alongside gelato
Quick Answers
How long does Almond Biscotti take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking, plus 20 minutes of cooling, so allow 1 hour 25 minutes from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling the almonds and the baked biscotti, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 24.
Almond Biscotti Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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