Cranberry Almond Biscotti
These cranberry almond biscotti are made with dried cranberries, almonds and almond extract. These biscotti cookies are crunchy and just a little bit soft in the center. Perfect with a cup of coffee!
I bake cookies all the time, but somehow it’s been a long time since I’ve made biscotti. Lately Brad has been reminding me of that fact, telling me more than once that I really need to bake some biscotti sometime. The other morning I had a few extra minutes and felt like playing around in the kitchen, so I mixed up the dough for these cranberry almond biscotti.
These biscotti are very easy to make. You bake the cookies twice. First the dough is shaped into two logs and baked, and then you bake the cookies a second time after slicing the logs into individual biscotti cookies.
If you are looking for other flavors of biscotti, be sure to visit my classic biscotti recipe with my four favorite biscotti flavors!
These cranberry almond biscotti are a wonderful treat for breakfast or a snack. They are crisp on the outside and slightly soft in the center, which is just how I like my biscotti. If you want yours to be crisp all the way through, you can bake the sliced biscotti for a few extra minutes. You can try other dried fruits in place of the cranberries. Dried cherries or dried apricots would be delicious!
How to make this Italian biscotti recipe
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Mix in eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Stir in the dried cranberries and chopped almonds.
- Shape the dough into two logs and place the logs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Bake the dough logs and then let them cool before slicing into biscotti cookie shape.
- Bake the sliced cookies until they are dry, crisp and lightly golden.
Tips for baking cranberry biscotti
- If the dough sticks to your hands when you shape it into logs, using slightly wet hands will help.
- Try different mix-ins in this biscotti recipe. White chocolate chips or dried cherries would be delicious.
- Drizzle or dip the biscotti in melted white or dark chocolate for an extra pretty treat.
- To make larger biscotti, slice the cookies at a greater angle. To make mini biscotti, shape the dough into four logs instead of two. Reduce the baking time for the smaller dough logs. I would start checking on them at 15 minutes.
You might also enjoy my Chocolate Biscotti Recipe.
Cranberry Almond Biscotti
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into 4 pieces
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix until well combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Stir in the dried cranberries and chopped almonds.
- Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball and then use your hands to shape each ball into a log that is about 8 inches long.
- Place the logs on the prepared baking sheet. Use your hands to flatten the dough logs until they are about 3/4-inch thick. Gently press the sides and ends of the logs to even them out and flatten them.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until lightly golden and the center of the logs is almost firm and bounces back when touched.
- Let the logs cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the logs into biscotti shape, on the diagonal. Press straight down with the knife, rather than sawing.
- Place the biscotti, cut side up, on the baking sheet. Bake for 12-16 more minutes, until dry. The centers of the cookies will be slightly soft and will crisp as they cool.
- Store biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for 3 months.
Wow these look amazing! I love biscotti, it’s the best snack ever.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Jess
Hi there,
I just made these biscotti and they turned out perfect! I ended up using 2 1/2 cups of flour because the dough was still very sticky with just 2 cups of all-purpose flour, and my total bake time (in an electric oven) was 32 minutes.
Thank you for this recipe!
-Laura
This is an amazing biscotti recipe! So easy to whip up up and the flavor of this cookie is delicious!
Did you use sweetened or unsweetened dried cranberries?
Mine were sweetened, but you can use either depending on your preferences. Enjoy!
I added orange zest and substituted pistachios for the almonds. I love the creativity of making new flavors!
Making these has become my Sunday morning ritual. I make the minis and make half cranberry the other half chocolate chip. Give to co workers too and put in our lunches. Just love them. Hubby says you must gift these at Xmas!!! Just love and they’re not overly sweet. !!
I bake a LOT, and these biscotti are truly the best of all the recipes I’ve tried! Great flavor and texture. This will be my go-to recipe from now on!
Easy and fail proof recipe. I am so glad I found this recipe. I tried another recipe last year and didn’t have luck. I almost gave up on biscotti. I’m so happy I didn’t. I am sure I will be making these often.