Cranberry and Orange Biscotti are perfect for the holidays! Studded with bits of chewy dried cranberries and a subtle hint of orange and cinnamon, you'll love dunking these cookies in your coffee.
What Is Biscotti?
Biscotti is the Italian word for biscuits. However, biscotti has come to be known more specifically as crispy twice-baked Italian cookies and they are typically served with coffee for dunking.
How to Make Cranberry and Orange Biscotti
Move the top oven rack to the top ⅓ of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
In a large bowl, use an electric whisk to cream together the butter and sugar. Then, mix in the eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until they are combined.
Mix in the cranberries with a rubber spatula. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Cut the dough into 2 pieces then roll them out to make two logs about 10 inches long and 1 ½ inches around.
Move the dough logs to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently press down on the logs to flatten and widen slightly.
Bake them for 30 minutes or until they are lightly browned.
Allow the biscotti logs to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before cutting. If you cut them too soon they will crumble, so be sure to give them time to rest before cutting.
When it's time to cut the cookies, use a serrated knife and cut them into ½ inch slices. I like to cut them at a slight angle but you can cut them straight across if you'd like.
Lay the cookies back on the parchment-lined baking sheet with the cut side down.
Bake them for 10 minutes. Then, flip the cookies over and bake for another 10 minutes.
To get the biscotti really crispy, turn off the oven and allow them to sit in the oven for up to 20 minutes. Then, move the biscotti to a rack to cool.
Equipment You May Need
5-speed electric hand mixer for creaming together the butter and sugar.
Microplane for zesting the orange.
Sharp serrated knife for cleanly slicing the biscotti cookies.
Tips For Making Cranberry and Orange Biscotti
- When zesting the orange, be sure to only get the outer orange part of the peel. The white inner part (the pith) will add a bitter taste.
- Allow the logs to cool for about 10 minutes before you slice them to help prevent crumbling.
- Make sure to use a sharp serrated knife to get the cleanest cuts.
- Once the cookies are done baking, turn off the oven and but leave them in for up to 20 minutes to really draw out the last bit of moisture. This will give you a nice crisp biscotti perfect for dunking in coffee!
Storage
Store the biscotti in an airtight container in a cool place.
They should be good for about 2 weeks.
Biscotti can be frozen for longer storage, up to 6 months.
Other Desserts You'll Love!
Double Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Caramel Drizzle
The Ultimate Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
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Cranberry and Orange Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Zest from one orange
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- ½ to ¾ cup dried cranberries finely chopped
Instructions
- Move the top rack into the top ⅓ of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Then, mix in the eggs, vanilla, orange zest, and orange juice.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, just until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, mix in the chopped cranberries.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll each one out into logs about 10 inches long and 1 ½ inches around.
- Transfer the logs to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently press down the tops to create slightly flatter logs.
- Bake the biscotti logs for 30 minutes. They should be lightly brown and a bit firm but still soft enough to slice.
- Allow the logs to cool for 10 minutes before slicing to prevent crumbling. Cut across the logs to create ½ inch thick slices. Place the cookies cut side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven off but leave the cookies in the oven for up to 20 minutes to finish drying them out. Allow them to cool on a wire rack.
- Store the cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Zest the orange before slicing it open for the juice.
- Make sure to chop the cranberries. If they are left whole, it can create weak spots in the cookies that result in them breaking or crumbling.
- I used ¾ cup chopped cranberries for this recipe, which resulted in cookies with quite a bit of cranberry bits in them. You can reduce the amount to ½ cup if you want bigger areas of cookie without cranberries.
The Tattooed Momma
These looks so good I cannot wait to make these.
Alicia
Awe thanks! Hope you like them!