Almond Flour Biscotti
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My almond flour biscotti are crisp, chewy, and studded with pistachios and tender cranberries. They’re made in one bowl, and yes, they’re dunkable!
I was raised in a house where biscotti was a holiday staple. My mom would make a batch every week, and I think she was the one eating most of them!
She liked to test new versions of her classic gluten-free biscotti, and one of my favorites was her almond biscotti recipe. Now that I’m hosting Christmas this year, I can’t wait to make them.
Table of Contents
Why I love this recipe
- Naturally sweetened with honey. Honey adds a subtle earthiness and gives the biscotti a gorgeous golden color.
- Fun to customize. My base recipe has pistachios and cranberries, but you can make a variety of other flavors. I’ll explain more later on.
- Perfect for dunking. I prefer black coffee since the biscotti are fairly sweet, but almond milk hot chocolate works too!
- Crispy, crunchy, and snappable. Just like this classic Italian cookie should be!
- Naturally gluten-free. And I’ll even give you tips on making them vegan.
Ingredients needed
- Almond flour. Not all almond flours are created equal, so stick with blanched almond flour instead of almond meal, which is made with flecks of almond skin and yields a darker, crumbly consistency.
- Pistachios and almonds. You can use just one or the other if you prefer.
- Baking soda. Gives the biscotti some rise and leavening.
- Salt. Elevates the flavor of the other ingredients.
- Cinnamon. For a delicate cinnamon flavor.
- Eggs. Room temperature eggs are best.
- Honey. For natural sweetness and moisture. Agave nectar can also be used, but I found maple syrup to be overpowering.
- Butter. Stick with unsalted butter softened to room temperature (since we’re already adding salt).
- Almond extract. To enhance the almond flavor! Alternatively, use vanilla extract.
- Dried cranberries. Optional, but I like them for flavor and color. Make sure they’re unsweetened.
How to make biscotti with almond flour
I’ve included step-by-step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step 1- Prep. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven.
Step 2- Mix the dough. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In another large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Gently whisk the dry into the wet and mix until you have a smooth dough. Fold in the cranberries.
Step 3- Shape. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Form two rectangular loaves about 1 inch in thickness.
Step 4- Bake. Place the loaves on the pan and bake until golden. It’s okay if the biscotti isn’t super crispy yet. Let them cool briefly, and reduce the oven heat.
Step 5- Second bake. Slice the loaves into equal slices and place them on the baking sheet. Bake until golden and crisp. Let them cool on a wire rack.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Make them vegan. Substitute the eggs for flax eggs (1 tablespoon of flax seed with 3 tablespoons of water per egg), use dairy-free butter and milk, and sub honey for agave.
- Adjust the bake time. Biscotti is a very forgiving recipe, and you can make them as thin, thick, long, or small as you desire. Just remember, the thinner you slice them, the less cooking time they’ll need.
- Use a sharp, serrated knife to slice the biscotti for the second bake.
- Don’t crank up the heat! As tempting as it may be, you need the second bake to be at a lower temperature. Almond flour can easily develop a burnt taste if overbaked.
- Prefer shiny biscotti? Brush a beaten egg over the loaf before slicing it.
Variations
- Chocolate. Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder and increase the honey by 2 tablespoons. Omit the dried fruit.
- Cranberry orange. Sub out half the nuts with extra cranberries and add 1 teaspoon of orange extract and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.
- Chocolate covered. Dip each of the biscotti in melted dark chocolate chips.
- Espresso. Add 1 teaspoon of espresso extract and omit the cranberries.
- Lemon. Add 2 tablespoons lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.
Storage instructions
To store: Store leftover biscotti at room temperature in a sealed container for 1 month.
To freeze: Place the biscotti in a ziplock bag and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight.
Frequently asked questions
Traditional biscotti gets its crispy texture from being twice-baked and thinly sliced. This yields extra crunchy cookies.
If you use my keto honey as your sugar substitute, then yes, this can be considered keto biscotti as it is low carb. For even fewer carbs, omit the dried cranberries.
More holiday desserts
- Gluten-free Christmas cookies
- Peanut brittle
- Gingerbread blondies
- Prefer to bake with almond flour? Try my almond flour sugar cookies, almond flour cupcakes, and almond flour cake next.
Almond Flour Biscotti
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups almond flour blanched almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup pistachios sliced * See notes
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract can use vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/325F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine your dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together your wet ingredients until combined. Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the wet, until fully incorporated. Fold through your cranberries at the end.
- Lightly flour a kitchen surface. Remove the dough from the bowl and form two equal portions. Using your hands, form two rectangular loaves, 1-inch in size.
- Place the two loaves on the lined pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool for 25 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 120C/250F.
- Slice up the two loaves into 1/2-inch biscotti, and place them on the lined baking sheet. Bake the biscotti for an additional 30 minutes per side.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely. This will firm up beautifully.
I always love your recipes…,and do like this recipe, however, I don’t feel it came out like your picture and I followed the directions exactly and even cooked a about five minutes longer on the second bake and it still is more moist in the middle and crunchy on outside. Flavors good but not fully crisp like biscotti. Also, I wasn’t clear if you considered the butter a dry or wet ingredient, so I cut into the flour until it resembled small crumbs and then added wet ingredients. You probably should clarify that on your recipe. Can you let me know how butter should have been incorporated and why they are somewhat moist but chewy in center…should they be? Your picture looks all dry. Thanks for your help.
I have made these biscotti twice now and love the flavor. The only concern is how long it really takes them to dry out so that they have any crunch at all. Rather than 15 or 20 minutes as your recipe suggests, I find it takes more like an hour on each side of the biscotti, once cut, to thoroughly dry out. I made the recipe twice in case I made a mistake the first time but I got the same results both times. So with this bake time change, they work out well. And although they’re tricky to calico when still a bit warm, the pieces that crumble become my instant reward for making the batch 😉
Hi Thom- That’s really helpful feedback! Thank you for taking the time to make them twice and report back. I tested this recipe several times and was able to get a crisp result with a much shorter second bake, but almond flour can vary a lot by brand, grind, and even humidity, which can dramatically affect how long they take to dry out. Your note about needing a much longer, slower second bake is valuable, and it’s reassuring to hear that once fully dried, they do work well and taste great (crumbly baker’s treats are always a bonus haha!).
Based on comments like yours, I’m going to retest and tweak the recipe instructions to better account for this variability, especially around log height, slice thickness, and second-bake timing, so readers know it’s completely normal if these need longer to crisp up. I really appreciate you flagging this so thoughtfully; it helps make the recipe better for everyone.
Can I use maple syrup instead of honey?
Yes, you can, Katie. You may need to add an extra tablespoon to the mixture if it’s too crumbly (honey is naturally thicker and is a better binder).
Such a simple biscotti recipe. Blanched almond flour makes all the difference.
It sure does, Ingrid 🙂 Thanks for the kind review.
I just made these for a celiac friend and I think I prefer them over traditional biscotti. So crisp.
Love to hear that, Ellis. Thanks for making my recipe!
Love your GF & LC Recipes.
Thank you, Tonze- we have so many recipes that fit both those categories, so I hope there’s something new for you try on here. Cheers, Arman
I was interested to find this recipe as I was watching Celebrity Bake Off because they were making Biscotti!
I am gluten/ dairy intolerant ( plus a few others!) and find it quite difficult to find suitable recipes so end up paying high prices for tasty treats.
I would appreciate other suggestions from you.
Thanks Wendy! Love Bake off, this is a great time to make biscotti!
Do you use fresh cranberries?
Hi Rosie- I don’t recommend fresh cranberries, as it can bleed into the biscotti dough which can affect how crispy they turn out. Dried unsweetened or sweetened cranberries are best, and balance the crisp biscuit base. Let me know how you go!
Could I ask what “ 1 inch in size” means – is it the height of the log or the width of the log? I’ve made this recipe several times and although I enjoymthenflavour the texture isn’t crisp so I’m trying to figure out where I’m going wrong. Also the recipe says there are photos for every step but I don’t see them. Thanks!
That’s a great question, and I’m glad you’ve made the recipe a few times already. When I say “1 inch in size,” I’m referring to the height (thickness) of the log, not the width. I tested the biscotti with a relatively low, flat log, which helps them bake through properly and crisp up during the second bake. If the log is taller than about an inch, the centers can stay soft and make it harder to get that classic crisp texture.
As for the photos, there should be step-by-step images in the body of the post, but depending on the device, browser, or ad blocker, they don’t always display correctly. I’m sorry about that frustration. Let me troubleshoot for you!
Love your recipes but please put measurements in grams for metric users.(Australia here!) How do you measure 1/2 cup butter accurately? Thank you!
Hi Rina- my team and are are slowly working through every recipe to provide a metric measurement. For half a cup of butter, you’d be looking at 125 grams 🙂
some time ago I also asked for measurements in grams….I’m an Aussie too.
US measurements differ from ours.
thanks
Delicious flavor but I had to add regular flour (used the last of my af) to shape the leaves as the dough was too moist. I followed the instructions so maybe it depends on the brand of almond flour? Luckily I am not gluten-free but I may try a granulated coconut sugar instead of honey next time. Delicious though!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I’m glad you loved the flavor! You’re absolutely right that almond flour brands can vary a lot in fineness and fat content, which can definitely affect how moist the dough feels. Honey can also add extra moisture, so using a granulated sweetener like coconut sugar next time should help make the dough easier to shape. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment and experiment with the recipe!
sorry l forgot to add that l did use less honey and not sure if that was why they broke as I was cutting them?
and can i substitute the honey for Maple Syrup?
thanks
Rose
No worries at all, Rose, that’s helpful to know. Yes, using less honey could definitely have contributed to the biscotti breaking, as I tested the recipe with the full amount and it helps bind the dough and give it structure. Maple syrup can be substituted, and I’ve tested that swap successfully, but I recommend using the same amount as the honey to get the right texture and make slicing easier.