Delightfully tender and crumbly, these Amaretto Biscotti are chock full of roasted almonds, chocolate coated almonds and drizzled with more chocolate.
This Amaretto Biscotti post was originally published January 12, 2015 and republished March 1, 2019 with updated photos and content.
I have a love affair with biscotti! My guilty pleasure! Well…one of them, I may have a few more.
This Italian, twice baked cookie is very popular in coffee shops.
Why buy them though, when you can just as easily make your own! They’ll be far more superior to the store bought ones.
I always feature at least one flavour on my sweet table or cookie platter during the holidays. But then again, I really don’t need much of an excuse to bake them any time of the year.
Nowadays I much prefer one flavour of biscotti or another rather then a chocolate chip cookie.
They’re really not complicated to make at all and perfect for beginners.
You can slice and bake them into long and elegant shapes or shape, slice and bake them into mini morsels as I have done with this recipe.
Unlike some rock hard biscotti which require dunking in milk, coffee or even wine, these are made with butter and have a more tender bite but still remain crunchy.
They’re simply wonderful all on their own.
However, a light drizzle of both the dark and white chocolate adds an extravagant touch of elegance.
Brew a fresh cup of coffee and enjoy one of life’s simple pleasures.
TIPS FOR PERFECT AMARETTO BISCOTTI
First off, I prefer to roughly chop the both the almonds and the chocolate covered almonds. This allows far easier slicing with cleaner cuts.
After the initial first bake do allow the biscotti logs to cool for about 10 minutes for easy slicing. This makes the biscotti more pliable to a sharp knife.
Make sure you’re on a steady cutting board. With the tip of the knife pointed downwards, slice at a diagonal in one fluid motion.
I prefer to stand the biscotti slices upright for the second bake. This allows them to crisp on both sides without having to turn them over and risking breakage.
Allow the biscotti to cool completely before drizzling them with the melted chocolate. This helps the chocolate set much quicker. However, you can just as easily place the chocolate drizzled biscotti tray in the fridge if pressed for time.
They’re at their best stored in an air tight container for about one week and freeze well.
If you make this recipe remember to tag @marisasitaliankitchen on Instagram so I can see your creation!
Amaretto Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons Amaretto liqueur
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup roasted almonds roughly chopped
- 1 cup chocolate covered almonds roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chopped
- 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lina a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar on medium high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy and light in colour. For about 2 minutes or so.
- Beat in the eggs, amaretto liqueur, almond and vanilla extracts until combined.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated.
- Stir in both the roasted almonds and the chocolate covered almonds.
- On a lightly floured surface divide the biscotti dough in four equal portions.
- With lightly dusted hands, roll each portion into a 12 inch log and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes. The logs will be a light golden colour with firm tops.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees.
- Once cooled, slice each log crosswise into 3/4 inch pieces.
- Place upright on the baking sheet and return to the oven for the second bake.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool before drizzling with the melted chocolate.
- Place both chocolates into 2 small separate bowls and melt in the microwave at 20 second intervals.
- If your chocolate is too thick for drizzling, simply stir in a little vegetable oil to thin it out to a drizzling consistency.
- Using a small spoon drizzle first the dark chocolate over the sliced biscotti and then the white chocolate.
- Let the chocolate set before serving.
- I leave the biscotti on the cookie sheet at room temperature to set.
- However if your pressed for time you can place the cookie sheet with the biscotti in the fridge to set much quicker.
Notes