Name: Orange almond biscotti
Prep time: 1 h 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 2 h 15 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 oranges; 210g all-purpose flour (1 ½ cup); 1 tsp baking powder; pinch of salt; 85g butter, softened to room temperature (3 oz); 150g caster sugar (¾ cup); 2 eggs; 70g almond meal (¾ cup); 90g blanched almonds (⅔ cup), (whole or roughly chopped according to preferences)

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Goshhh I love a good biscotti and these orange almond biscotti are no exception. Who could resist a crumbly cookie with crunchy nuts, crispy edges and a lingering taste of oranges after all? Not me!

They are perfect to accompany a hot cup of tea or coffee. I say accompany and not ‘dunk in’ because I’m definitely not a dunker. It ruins the whole point of having a crispy cookie in my opinion. But if it’s your jam, I get it. At least I get it more than when my dad dunks his bread and smelly French cheese into his chicory coffee cup.

Traditional cookies

These orange almond biscotti are sweetened just the right amount. The sugar won’t overpower the nutty and citrusy flavors but it’ll satisfy your sweet tooth and make you come back for more!

I prefer simple biscotti that aren’t reliant on sauces or glaze to lift things up. The cookie should bring a burst of flavors and be perfectly delicious on its own. Plus a glaze might regrettably soften the crispy biscotti while being stored in an airtight container. Sure they aren’t the prettiest of biscotti but it shouldn’t be about style over substance, right? (yes I’ve been watching a lot of GBBO lately)

Twice baked

I love making these orange almond biscotti for a get-together or as gifts because they can keep up for so long! It definitely makes up for the time spent waiting for them to bake twice and the half-hour between each bake. I know that rushing through a recipe can be tempting but waiting 30 min between each bake is crucial. It will be much easier to cut the biscotti log when it has cooled down as it’ll crumble less. You’ve got to be patient but the end result is pretty worth it and the hands-on time of this recipe is relatively short.

Variations

This orange almond biscotti recipe is pretty versatile! There are so many things you could change according to your preferences, from the way you make the biscotti to the ingredients.

You can bake the sliced biscotti for longer on each side if you like them extra crispy. The longer you keep them in the oven the crispier they’ll become as they are drying out.
If you want to bring out the almonds’ flavor and to get a good crunch out of your biscotti, you could toast the almonds beforehand.
To get smaller orange almond biscotti, you’ll only need to halve the dough, shape it into 2 separate logs about 4cm wide (1 ½) and slightly reduce the baking time, judging the doneness of the biscotti by their color.
You can also swap the almonds for any other type of nuts or replace the oranges with another citrus fruit. Don’t hesitate to add chocolate chips, dried fruits, or your favorite extract to the dough.

Mediterranean flavors

This recipe was inspired by my travels around the South of France this summer (well technically it was mid-September). I was wandering through the labyrinth of cobbled streets in Pézenas when I stumbled upon a tiny ice cream parlor. It was perched on top of a hill and obviously, I just had to try some! The ice creams were as delicious and creamy as it looked but one of them has really stuck with me for weeks; a scoop of Saveurs du Sud (Flavors from the South).

It was a scoop of rich almond-flavored ice cream with pieces of sticky and sweet semi-dried clementines and figs evenly distributed throughout. It was so creamy and chewy, and overall amazing, I left that cute town vowing to myself I would recreate Saveurs du Sud as soon as I got home. However, the weather took a turn for the worse a couple of days after my holiday and I was starting to feel like curling up under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate every afternoon. I had to admit that fall was fast approaching and I lost the momentum to test chilly ice cream day in, and day out. So I turned my newly found love of almond-clementine-fig combo into biscotti instead!

I don’t put semi-dried figs in my biscotti because I prefer crispy cookies and I didn’t want to add any moisture to them. I’m sure semi-dried figs would be a great addition to these orange almond biscotti though (I did like it in the ice cream)! You could certainly make the recipe using the zest of clementines. I only used oranges because I couldn’t get my hands on good enough clementines in the middle of October.

Orange almond biscotti

Author: Amélie
Prep Time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes cooling time)
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 18 biscotti 1x
Category: Dessert
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Italian

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Description

Nothing beats a good ol’-fashioned biscotti, especially not an orange almond one! This recipe will give you 18 crumbly cookies with crispy edges, crunchy nuts, and a lingering citrusy taste. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Scale

2 oranges
210g all-purpose flour (1 ½ cup)
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
85g butter, softened to room temperature (3 oz)
150g caster sugar (¾ cup)
2 eggs
70g almond meal (¾ cup)
90g blanched almonds (⅔ cup), (whole or roughly chopped according to preferences)

Instructions

To make the orange almond biscotti dough:

almond orange biscotti dough

Finely grate the oranges zest with a box grater or a zester and set the zest aside. Cut one of the oranges in half and squeeze out 1 tbsp of juice. Set the juice aside too.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, orange zest and juice and beat again for 2 minutes.
Add the flour mixture and beat at a lower speed until just incorporated. You might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to blend in everything.
Tip the almond meal and the almonds into the bowl and mix them in with a spatula.

To shape the biscotti:

instructions for almond orange biscotti

Preheat your oven to 175°C (345°F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Scrape the biscotti dough onto the lined baking sheet and shape into a log about 9cm (3 ½ in) wide and 28cm (11 in) long. It might be easier for you to do with slightly damp hands.
Bake for 35 min, the log should be pretty golden by then. Take out of the oven and let the log cool down for 30 min.
Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C (300°F). Carefully transfer the log to a cutting board and peel off the parchment paper if it’s stuck. Cut the log into 1,5cm (½ in) thick slices in a back and forth motion using a serrated knife. The edges of the longer biscotti slices might crumble up a bit so be delicate.
Place the slices on the lined baking sheet flat side down and bake for 15 min. Take the sheet out of the oven and gently turn the biscotti over.
Return the sheet to the oven and continue baking for another 15 min, until golden brown.
Place the biscotti on a wire rack to cool completely before eating.