Orange Almond Biscotti
Crisp and chewy cookies scented with orange and almond, perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee or all by themselves.
My little eight month-old is suddenly a little fireball of energy and personality and I am loving it. He’s “talking”, eats meals alongside me at the table, plays well with his toys alone, and has started to scoot around. Not to mention he does all of this with a huge smile.
He is also napping better, finally. It is a dream come true for me, especially considering for the first few months of his life he would only nap in my arms. During his morning nap yesterday I was able to bake these biscotti cookies from start to finish. If possible, it made me enjoy them even more.
The cornmeal helps give the biscotti a more chewy texture and the orange zest, almond extract, and sliced almonds give it a really nice flavor. I’m sure they would be excellent with a cup of coffee, but I couldn’t wait to dig in. I may have devoured more than is advisable during John’s afternoon nap.
baking tip:Crunchy or chewy biscotti
Really, it’s up to you! The goal of baking the cookies a second time after slicing them is to dry out the dough and make them crisp. If you’re hoping to dunk your biscotti into coffee, you may want them to be a bit more on the crunchy side. Simply bake them for an extra few minutes. However, if you want a cookie that’s chewy and only a little crisp, bake them for the amount of time indicated in the recipe.
Orange Almond Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour (250 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal (140 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- Zest of 1 orange
- ½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature (113 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup almonds , sliced (90 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and cornmeal. In another bowl, use a fork or your fingers to rub the orange zest into the sugar.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the orange sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add the eggs and mix until combined, then increase the speed to medium high and beat for 30 seconds. Add the vanilla and almond extracts.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add the sliced almonds and mix in gently.
- Divide the dough in two and shape into two logs about 1 ½ inch high onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes until just turning golden brown. Let cool 30 minutes.
- Transfer the logs to a cutting board and use a serrated knife to cut the logs into cookies ¾ inch wide. Return to the sheet pan and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown. Let cool completely.
- Store biscotti in an air tight container at room temperature for several days.
These look tasty! I printed the recipe and plan to make them… and then probably dip them in chocolate. 🙂
I totally get it! When the babes start to sleep which means you get to sleep or get things done during the day, the whole world comes back into focus. These look delicious. I’m thinking a cup of Earl Grey would be the perfect compliment.
Orange and almond flavors…heaven…
Beautiful! Such a lovely color with the cornmeal. We love biscotti here so I’m definitely keeping this recipe. Thanks!
I love the orange almond flavor combo! I’ve never made biscotti before, but think I need to change that soon!
Oh Sues, you’ve gotta make some biscotti! So good! And so versatile.
this might be a bit random, but may i ask where you got your wooden photo board? did you make it yourself?
This is a little embarrassing, but I picked it out of a neighbor’s junk pile. I think it’s from a fence. 🙂
love your creativity!
Just made these! I added about four ounces of chopped dark chocolate. Fifteen minutes + 30 cooling wasn’t long enough, for me, for effective slicing–though the biscotti were a touch golden, they didn’t want to separate from each other and were still a little oozy (is that a word?). Next time I’ll leave them in longer on the first round of baking.
They’re a touch misshapen, but, in any case, completely delicious (as advertised!). Thanks for the recipe!
i kept mine in a little over 30 minutes to get slightly golden brown. After slicing I would remove the biscotti that looked ready because the middle slices took longer to cook. They all turned out fine and I cooked mine to be dry so they could be dunked in coffee (or amaretto!)
This looks and sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! So easy but definitely delicious. Gonna add this to my recipe list.
I’ve been making biscotti ever mas season for about 18 years now. This recipe looked interesting. But I was disappointed. Too sweet even after cutting the sugar. Needs chopped almonds. And corn meal makes a gritty, chewy cookie. No place for it in biscotti unless you need a cheap filler commercially. Back to my own standard recipe.
What is your recipe? jlsandvig@gmail.com
Great recipe! I floured the surface to roll out my dough. Also, I left my butter out at room temp for too long (and I live in a hot area) so the butter was too soft and my dough ended up being too moist. Had to add more flour which made the end result more crumbly.
I first tried this recipe a couple years ago and have made it about 6 times. I love the cornmeal and follow the recipe just as it’s written with one addition: After they cool, I drizzle fine lines of melted chocolate over the whole pan. It adds just a bit of sweet and I like the look on holiday trays.
Can we replace the cornmeal with flour instead?
Can I use dried orange instead of dried cranberries?
LOVE! This recipe. I have it bookmarked and make it often. Definitely don’t swap out the cornmeal for regular flour. Cornmeal gives it a nice gritty texture and super for dunking! Maybe it’s the humidity where I live, but I usually have to add a bit more flour to get them rolled into logs.
Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Alexandra