Orange Almond Biscotti

So, Smitten Kitchen claims that this is the best biscotti ever. And she may be right.  This orange almond biscotti has a lovely light citrus flavor, a great bite from the almonds, and crisped up to the perfect crunchy consistency—something that’s been missing with the other biscotti I’d made.

I couldn’t stop eating them, and even brought a bunch home for Thanksgiving in a ziploc bag and they traveled quite impressively.

These were a great breakfast, awesome with coffee and herbal tea.  These would make a great gift, hostess gift, or something to have on hand for company.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

If you’re using whole almonds, toast the almonds in the oven for about three minutes or so (keep an eye on them, you don’t want them to burn).  Roughly chop up the almonds with a chopper or food processor.

I tend to prefer to use slivered or sliced almonds for simplicity.  You can toast them or not, I usually don’t because they will toast while the biscotti bakes.

In a mixer combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.  

Add the orange zest, sugar, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and orange liqueur or extract. Mix until well-blended.

Add the almond pieces into the dough and pulse the mixer just enough to get the almonds combined (don’t overmix).

With your hands, gather the dough and split it into two roughly even amounts. Roll into long logs, then flatten them until they’re quite thin, maybe half an inch tall. Don’t place them too closely together, they will spread out as they bake.

The first time I made biscotti, it said to shape it into logs, so I did, and I ended up with the dough-iest, thickest biscotti you’ve ever seen. Flatter wider logs are good, as they’ll be easier to work with and slice.

Brush with the egg wash and bake for about half an hour, until golden brown. You want to make sure they are “set up” but not too dry—they should be solid, and spring back when pressed.

Set on a rack to cool completely (about half an hour). Keep the oven on.

Using a sharp knife, slice the loaves on the diagonal, about a half-inch wide. Think about the biscotti you’d get in a Starbucks and how wide that is, and use that as a guideline (thinner is better).

You can see in that second pic below that the middle is still moist.

Lay back on the cookie sheet with one of the sides facing up. 

Bake until the side facing up is crisp and even more golden brown (the original recipe says 12 minutes, but it was probably 20 for me…just keep a close eye on it). Turn the biscotti over and do the same to the other side. They should be a little more done than you think they should. Transfer to a rack and cool.

These have definitely jumped to the top of the list of my favorite biscotti recipes, and I might even test with lemon zest and extract vs. orange, play around with it. I loved the consistency of this orange almond biscotti so much, I think I’ll use it as a base recipe to play around with various other kinds, like olive oil, chocolate, etc. You’ll have to let me know how yours turn out!

Other biscotti you’ll love:

• Spiced Fig & Walnut Biscotti
• Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
• Snickerdoodle Biscotti
• Tahini Pistachio Biscotti with Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt
• Orange Apricot Pistachio Biscotti

Orange Almond Biscotti

• 3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoon of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) of unsalted butter, melted
• 3 large eggs (room temp)
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of orange liqueur or 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 1 cup of toasted, coarsely chopped or sliced almonds
• 1 large egg white (for egg wash)
• Optional:  1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

If you’re using whole almonds, toast them in the oven for about three minutes or so (keep an eye on them, you don’t want them to burn).  Roughly chop up the almonds with a chopper or food processor.  I tend to prefer to use slivered or sliced almonds for simplicity.  You can toast them or not, I usually don’t because they will toast while the biscotti bakes.

Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon (if using), and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer.

Mix in the sugar, melted butter, 3 eggs, vanilla extract, orange extract or liqueur, and the orange zest. Finally, mix the almonds into the dough but just enough until it’s combined.

Divide the dough in half. Using floured hands, shape each section of dough into logs on the prepared baking sheet (space them apart as much as possible). Make sure to flatten them out (see the pictures above), they should be wide and flat; if they’re too thick then they won’t crisp up.

Whisk the egg white and a tiny bit of water in a small bowl until foamy, and brush over the top and sides of each dough log.

Bake the logs until golden brown, about 30 minutes. The logs will spread out as they bake, this is normal.  Cool the logs completely on a wire rack, about 25 minutes, keeping the oven on.

Then transfer them to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, gently slice the logs on the diagonal into 1/2-inch-wide slices (this is thinner than you think—thinner is better).

Arrange the slices on one of their cut sides on the same baking sheet (without the parchment paper). Bake until the side facing up is crisp and even more golden brown (the original recipe says 12 minutes, but it was probably 20 for me…just keep a close eye on it). Turn the biscotti over and do the same to the other side. They should be a little more done than you think they should. Transfer to a rack and cool.

Original recipe from Smitten Kitchen

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