Crispy, buttery and perfect for dunking in espresso or hot chocolate there a few things better than my Cranberry Orange Biscotti. Flecked with tart dried cranberries, bright orange zest and drizzled with white chocolate these biscotti are absolutely irresistible. They’re a lovely addition to a holiday cookie tray, but I love that these homemade biscotti are just as good alongside an afternoon espresso any time of year.
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Cranberry and orange are a classic combination (take a look at my Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies) made even better with creamy white chocolate. Along with my Italian Pistaschio Cookies, German Lebkuchen, Gingerbread Latte Cookies and Maple Pecan Cookies these festive biscotti are the perfect addition to your Christmas cookie baking.
What are Biscotti?
Biscotti are an Italian cookie originating in Tuscany. Known as cantucci in Italian, biscotti are thin, long cookies that are baked twice resulting in a dry, crisp texture. For another delicious biscotti recipe be sure to try my Chocolate Chip Biscotti .
Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Biscotti
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- kosher salt
- unsalted butter
- white sugar
- orange zest
- almond extract
- eggs
- dried cranberries
- white chocolate
Baking Tips and Variations
- Ensure your butter is softened. soften your butter to room temperature before making the cookie dough.
- Use salted butter if that’s what you have. If using salted butter you can reduce the salt in the recipe to 1/8 teaspoon
- Substitute vanilla extract. While I absolutely love the flavor almond extract gives feel free to substitute vanilla extract if that’s what you have
- You can use a hand mixer of stand mixer. These cookies are certainly easy enough to use a hand mixer (as I do) but you can use your stand mixer if you prefer
- Don’t worry if the dough is a little sticky. This biscotti dough is meant to be soft. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray when shaping the log instead of adding too much extra flour.
- Use a serrated knife. A sharp serrated knife helps you cut through the biscotti without tearing the dough.
- Wait until the biscotti are cool to add the chocolate. Drizzle with melted white chocolate only after the cookies have cooled so the chocolate can set properly.
- Dark chocolate: Swap the white chocolate drizzle for melted dark chocolate for a less sweet, richer finish.
- Add pistachios: Stir in finely chopped pistachios for extra crunch and a festive pop of green.
- Dip instead of drizzle: Dip one end of each cooled biscotti in melted white or dark chocolate for a bakery-style finish.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Biscotti
How to Make Cranberry Orange Biscotti
- Preheat the oven. Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Prepare the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, beat the softened butter, sugar, orange zest, and almond extract with a hand mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Make the dough. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two batches, mixing until just combined. Gently fold in the dried cranberries.
- Shape the dough. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray to prevent sticking, then shape the dough into two evenly sized logs. Flatten each log slightly.
- Bake the logs. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and the centers are set. Remove from the oven and let the logs cool for 10–15 minutes.
- Slice the biscotti. Using a serrated knife, gently slice each log diagonally into approximately ¾-inch-thick pieces. Use a steady sawing motion to help cut through the cranberries without tearing the cookies.
- Bake a second time. Arrange the slices cut-side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then carefully flip the biscotti and bake for another 10 minutes, until dry and crisp.
- Cool completely. Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack and let them cool completely. They will continue to crisp as they cool.
- Add the white chocolate. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 20–30 second intervals, stirring between each interval until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled biscotti and let the chocolate set before serving.
Storage
Room temperature: Once the biscotti have cooled completely and the white chocolate has set, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Make sure they’re fully cool before storing to prevent trapped moisture from softening the cookies.
Make ahead: Cranberry orange biscotti are great for holiday baking because they keep well.
Freezing: For longer storage, freeze the cooled biscotti in a freezer-safe airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
If you like these Cranberry Orange Biscotti be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!
Cranberry White Chocolate Scones
Apple Scones with Maple Cinnamon Glaze
Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies
If you make these Cranberry Orange Biscotti please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Youtube, Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making!
Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tsp orange zest about 1 orange
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 3 oz white chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate large bowl beat together butter, sugar, orange zest and almond extract with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in two stages, beating until fully combined. Stir in the cranberries.
- Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape the dough into a log 4 inches wide x 8 inches long.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until edges are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.
- Using a serrated knife cut the log diagonally into 3/4 in slices. Arrange the biscotti onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper cut side down.
- Bake for 10 minutes, flip the biscotti and bake for an additional 10 minutes.Remove from oven and allow to fully cool.
- Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments until smooth. Drizzle the white chocolate over the biscotti and allow to fully cool before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Addie says
This biscotti is stunning and so delicious!
Rosanna Stevens says
These are so festive!!! I loved them, thank you so much for the recipe
Bobbie Bobbie says
What a great fall recipe! Love the combination of cranberry and orange!
Julia says
These were really lovely. My family devoured them. I love the combination of the orange and cranberry together. Delicious.
Tyanne says
I have been craving this lately! So perfect for the upcoming season.
Andrea White says
so delicious! love how tasty it turned out! 🙂
Freya Freya says
I love biscotti, it’s my favourite cookie, and I adored this fruity, festive variation that I’d be happy to eat all year round!
Megan Ellam says
These biscotti look absolutely incredible. They have gone straight to the top of my list to make. thanks for sharing!
Agnieszka says
These biscotti were surprisingly easy to make and really tasty! Thanks for the recipe.
Allyssa says
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing cranberry orange biscotti recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Kristen says
It has good flavor but the dough was too dry and they were very crumbly after i cut them into slices so some of them broke. Any suggestions?
Brianna says
I’m glad you liked the flavor but I’m sorry to hear some of them broke. I would make sure you use a serrated knife and instead of using a sawing motion press the knife straight down.
Hailey says
I loved this recipe it turned out so good I am so making aging one suggestion I would make is if your oven is very powerful like the one I used I turned down the heat to 315 and it turned out better then my first attempt.
John says
Not a review, but a question: I am thinking about adding these to may cookie plate gifts for Christmas. How stable is the white chocolate drizzle? if I am coupling these with other cookies, do I have to worry about the chocolate rubbing off when packaged?
Brianna Simmons says
I used Ghiradelli white chocolate for the drizzle and it’s worked out well for me. Please let me know if you end up making them!
Mary Ellen says
These are delicious! I used orange extract about a teaspoon… so good!!! I didn’t have an orange.. So fancy looking with the drizzle of white chocolate!
I made them 2 years ago and they were a hit. Decided to make them again this year!
Joan says
These boscotti’s are so very flavorful, easy to make. I’ve made four other biscottirecipes, but these win the vlue ribbon!
Brianna Simmons says
Thank you so much 🙂
Jennifer Widger says
Love this! Perfect amount of tart & sweet. I dipped the bottoms in white chocolate & the other half in dark chocolate.. then drizzled the same on top with a few finely chopped almonds. 100 biscotti gone in one night! Even the grandbabies loved them.
Brianna Simmons says
Thank you so much for your kind words! I love all of your different additions 🙂
Katie A says
These were very easy to make and really tasty! I’m dairy free so I used a stick of Earth Balance. And I skipped the chocolate 😊
Brianna Simmons says
I’m so glad you you liked my biscotti! I’m also happy to hear they turned out well with the Earth Balance as well.
Julia says
Simply delicious! The whole family loved these.
Brianna Simmons says
I’m so glad to hear it! THis biscotti are always in my holiday cookie rotation.
Kerri says
Absolutely amazing. I have made this several times and have added crushed pistachios on occasion. Delicious with morning coffee or even as a snack.
As a note, the equivalent of 1 orange for 2 Tbs of zest does not update when doubling or tripling the recipe. Perhaps an edit that states 1 orange equals 2 Tbs zest would help clarify.
Brianna Simmons says
I’m so glad to here that you love these! Your tip regarding the zest is a good one and I’ll be sure to update the recipe.
Suzanne Pilon says
I made these for the first time and I found it strange that it made such a large log for a single recipe. Once I got it in the oven, it started to puff up. It was huge. I think that in your recipe instructions you could advise people to split the recipe into 2 logs instead of 1. Other than that issue they are fine.
Christine says
Hi. I made this recipe today. It was very easy to make. I found my issue to be when slicing. I couldn’t get my serrated knife to slice through the cranberries. It would just catch and tear on them. I have very jagged slices & much larger than I would like. The log increased in size (width) mostly, so I now have very long pieces. Should I make this again, I would make the log much longer & not as wide. I would also probably use the mixer to incorporate the cranberries to help break them up & make much easier to slice. I hope my comments help others who try this recipe. Thanks.