I updated this recipe on January 12, 2021. It now uses fewer ingredients, no eggs, oil or butter, and is crunchy!
Biscotti go great with a cup of tea, coffee, a glass of juice, or dunked in just about anything. This recipe uses almond flour, but the technique is the same as most biscotti recipes – bake, slice, and then bake again until crispy. If you like them softer and a bit more cake-like, don’t bake them as long during the second time around in the oven.
The trick to keeping these biscotti crunchy is to keep them dry. You can seal them, place them in the refrigerator or freezer for longer storage, or share them pronto. If they do become a bit moist or chewy, you can revive the crunch by placing them in an oven on a low temperature (about 250°F or lower) for 10 minutes or so, or use a dehydrator.
Anise Biscotti {almond flour}
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon anise extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.
- Add the almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a food processor, or blend by hand with a fork.
- Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and anise extract to the flour mix and pulse, or blend into 2 balls of dough.
- Shape each dough ball into a rectangular log and place them on the baking sheet.
- Bake the logs for 20 minutes, and then cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Set the oven to 300°F.
- Slice the logs into biscotti cookies, about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in width.
- Place each cookie on one side and bake for 15 minutes.
- Take the cookies out and turn each one over to the other side. Turn the oven off and leave the cookies in the oven for at least 15 minutes.
- Cool and enjoy!
- Store sealed at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for a few weeks.
Nutrition
Basic Biscotti {old recipe}
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon anise seeds optional
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract optional
- dried fruit, seeds or nuts about 1/2 cup; optional
- 1/2 teaspoon orange or lemon zest optiona
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a bowl, add the butter, honey, eggs, and vanilla, and beat until well blended.
- In a separate bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix until well blended.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix again until well blended.
- Mold the mixture into two balls of dough. Place each ball of dough on oiled, buttered, or lightly stick-free cookie sheet. Shape each ball of dough into a low, flat log. It will expand and rise somewhat, so account for a small amount of growth. Pack down the dough to remove air pockets. Alternatively, you can pack the dough in a tart pan with the dimensions you want your biscotti to have when finished.
- Bake the logs for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and cake-like. Take the logs out of the oven and reduce the temperature to 275 degrees F.
- Cool the logs for about 10 minutes and then slice each log into thin strips about 1/2 inch in thickness. Place the slices on their side on the cookie sheet, and then bake for about 15 minutes, or until they are fully crisped.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Excited to try new anise biscotti recipe disappointed as dough is a fail, making it SCD with honey and there is not enough moisture to hold it together. I ended up adding an eggs and some butter.
How did you get your dough to not crumble into pieces?
So sorry to hear! Trying to think what might have caused you trouble so I added the brand of anise extract that I used (which contains oil) but I don’t think that would keep the dough together. I haven’t tested this with anise seeds yet but just assumed they would work. Did you use seeds?
Just came back to site and saw your reply…yes I am using Costco almond flour. I did not use seeds…I actually used poppy seeds and almond extract but I don’t believe that would have changed the texture(dryness)of the dough.
I am going to try again today…if it’s still to dry I will add the egg…they were still delicious!
Great to hear!
Are you using the Costco brand of almond flour? I’m hearing that it changed and it’s falling apart for people.
Can these be made with half regular flour? This might make them less sticky.
What do you think?
Sorry, I misread your reply at first. It might work if you’re ok with AP flour. I have to revisit this recipe anyway though.
Do these freeze well ?
Yes, if sealed well.
Do these freeze well ? Thanks
After a very odd baking session, these cookies are wonderful!! My “loaves” flattened out like a bar cookie, filling an entire jelly roll pan with cookie. So I just kept cooking them for the full 20 minutes, then sliced the 3/4 inch thick jelly pan size bar loaf into strips on the diagonal about 4 inches long. I baked them an additional 30 minutes on the lower temp and then let them sit for 30 more minutes in the over after I turned it off. I cut each bar in half so I have little diamond shaped cookies.. GREAT flavor, AND they are CRISPY!!!! Even the non-celiacs in the family love them!
Whew! good to hear. I’m planning on revisiting this recipe soon.
Just made these. They taste great but they flattened out a lot in the oven on the first bake. I am always wary of baking with only almond flour as the results tend to be too flaky/crumbly. I added a bit of oat flour to soak up some moisture, but it didnt help as much as I had hoped. Thye didnt stay together well after the cut and turn before the second baking. We bake biscotti and mandelbrot a lot and I love the flavor but not the texture. I have them in the oven on 200 degrees hoping ot dry them out a bit more. Hopefully they will harden up. I would love a basic biscotti recipe 2.0!
The oat flour is probably not helping the batter stay together, but I know what you’re getting at. Yes, this recipe needs a revisit, but for now, if you’re going to add flour additions, I would add more honey or egg.
I just made these yesterday. These were really good. I also had a hard time getting these crispy.
I initially had to use more almond meal and then cooked them longer on the second time in the oven.
After reading all the other comments I think I will be using almond flour and making my logs smaller. Lowering the oven temp to 325 and then 200.
We ate all from the first batch and can’t wait to try another
Thanks for all the recipes
Yes, I probably need to revisit this recipe now that I’ve become more skilled at baking with almond flour. I like your adjustments!
Thanks for the amazing recipe! I was looking for something like an anise cookie with almond flour and this was perfect. I made only a half recipe and substituted half of the almond extract with anise extract. Used anise seeds but no fruit or nuts. It was too soft to form into a ball so I added another 1/2 to 3/4 c more almond flour and was able to use a spatula to make two logs on parchment paper. To make them very crisp I baked at 275 for half hour then turned it down to 200 for another hour. They are delicious and have a crispy texture which is not hard…even a little airy.
Nice! I’m actually going to revisit my biscotti recipes (on my list of to-dos). Love that you added more almond flour instinctively. Good move. Best, Erica
Thanks for the recipe — I’ll definitely be making these again, but trying a different almond flour. I used the Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour and found I needed to add alot more to get them to the thick enough consistency to bake – and the baking did take longer too, both the initial bake and the second.
I hadn’t heard that about Bob’s. Interesting that it was less dense – but it could be because the grains are larger. I do hear that it can be grainier in texture so I tell folks to grind it up a bit more in a food processor.
Erica, I’m glad I saw your comment about using almond meal instead of almond flour. I didn’t know there was a difference. What I have is almond meal that I bought at the store– will it work in this recipe?
It probably will work but the taste and consistency will not be as good. I recommend blanched almond flour for most baked goods. sorry!
I made up this mixture but the result is too wet to form into anything! Measurments were correct.
this sounds great for making a gluten free tiramisu…..
I made these today and they are awesome! Thanks so much for your blog, I love the variety of recipes and your shared experience. I added 2 cups total of unsweetened cranberries, dark chocolate chips and sunflower seeds. And I substituted Agave for the honey. They are really great and its good to have a basic to add to. Thanks again! Look forward to your next post.
Glad it worked out well! thanks!
I just made these and they were actually burnt and raw. I checked the ingredients and I added everything correctly. I put the biscotti in for 20 minutes the first time and it was raw, so i put it back in for 5 minutes and they turned black, they are still raw, and i’m probably gunna have to throw them away, help?! Do you know what i did wrong?
Hi Ann. I’ve never had a problem with these, but I haven’t made them in a while. I wonder if you’re oven is too hot – a lower temperature for the initial baking would reduce the burning – to about 300 degrees F. Not sure why they’re raw – or taste raw. Mine always taste like cookies, but can be soft, so I tend to leave them in a low-temperature oven for a while longer (so maybe go to a lower temperature with this step as well – to 225 degrees F). You can try it with almond meal if you don’t want to waste anymore almond flour. Sorry about that!!
You may have had your biscotti loaf too big or too high. They should be kinda flat, it should not be like a loaf of bread, they should be no higher than 2 inches high.
Hi Dani,
To get them “crunchier” try leaving them in the oven on a low temperature (the last step) for more than 15 minutes – up to 1/2 hour or more if necessary. Then cool outside for a few hours.
I’m not sure about the xylitol since I’ve never used it. Honey would probably add more moisture than most sweeteners since it is one of the “wettist” sweeteners, so I kind of doubt it’s the xylitol.
I made these biscotti but could not get them to harden as much as true biscotti. I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of substituting xylitol for honey. Could that be the reason? Seems like a few days out they are finally loosing their moisture and hardening up. But.. they are almost all gone now. Great flavor!