Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti Recipe
If you've never heard of biscotti before, you'd likely think the hard, crunchy cookie was added to the bakery's cookie jar by mistake. Uniquely shaped as flat oblong slices, biscotti is purposely made to be crunchier than a typical cookie, an effect achieved by double-baking — first as a log and then as sliced pieces. A product of Tuscany, the cookie's name translates to "double-baked," and these cookies are designed for dunking into espresso, coffee, and even wine after dinner. The technique was largely used to preserve cookies without molding, which is still useful today.
The most traditional type of biscotti is filled with almonds, which are grown in abundance in the Tuscan region of Italy, where biscotti was invented. Just like any cookie, though, biscotti ingredients can vary widely, sometimes including white chocolate or dried fruit. This chocolate biscotti recipe, written with developer Michelle McGlinn, is filled with chocolate chunks and dried cherries, which are bursting with tart flavor in every bite. The sweet, crunchy, double-baked cookies are the perfect pairing for a warm espresso or smooth dessert wine, the chocolatey flavor a great way to both start the day and end the night.
Gathering ingredients to make double chocolate cherry biscotti
The ingredient list for biscotti is no different than a recipe list for any other cookie — so if you frequently bake at home, you may already have most of the ingredients. First, you'll need all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. You'll also need butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. To fill the cookies with texture, you'll also need chocolate chunks (chips also work), and tart dried cherries, which can be found near other dried fruits and granola ingredients in the grocery store.
Step 1: Heat up the oven
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 2: Sift the dry ingredients together
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
Step 3: Cream the butter and sugar
In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric beater until fluffy.
Step 4: Add eggs and vanilla
Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until incorporated.
Step 5: Combine the wet and dry ingredients
Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir with a spatula until fully combined.
Step 6: Incorporate the add-ins
Incorporate the chocolate chunks and cherries.
Step 7: Knead the dough
Turn the mixture onto a floured work surface and knead it into a smooth ball.
Step 8: Roll into flat logs
Slice the ball in half and roll each half into a log about 10 inches long. Gently pat the tops down to flatten them, making an oblong shape.
Step 9: Bake the cookies
Add the flattened logs to a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 35 minutes, until hard to touch. If in doubt, overbake slightly.
Step 10: Let cool slightly
Remove the biscotti from the oven and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes, until hardened slightly and cool enough to handle.
Step 11: Slice and return to the sheet pan
Slice the biscotti diagonally and place the pieces on their sides back onto the parchment-lined sheet tray.
Step 12: Bake again
Bake until crisp, 10 minutes. Cool completely, then serve.
What pairs well with chocolate cherry biscotti?
Double Chocolate Cherry Biscotti Recipe
Our chocolate cherry biscotti, filled with chocolate chunks and dried cherries, are sweet, tart, crunchy, double-baked, and perfect with a warm espresso.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup chocolate chunks
- ½ cup dried cherries
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
- In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric beater until fluffy.
- Add the vanilla and eggs and beat until incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir with a spatula until fully combined.
- Incorporate the chocolate chunks and cherries.
- Turn the mixture onto a floured work surface and knead it into a smooth ball.
- Slice the ball in half and roll each half into a log about 10 inches long. Gently pat the tops down to flatten them, making an oblong shape.
- Add the flattened logs to a baking sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake for 35 minutes, until hard to touch. If in doubt, overbake slightly.
- Remove the biscotti from the oven and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes, until hardened slightly and cool enough to handle.
- Slice the biscotti diagonally and place the pieces on their sides back onto the parchment-lined sheet tray.
- Bake until crisp, 10 minutes. Cool completely, then serve.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 125 |
| Total Fat | 5.6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3.3 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 23.5 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 18.3 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1.2 g |
| Total Sugars | 10.6 g |
| Sodium | 73.6 mg |
| Protein | 1.8 g |
What texture should biscotti be?
Though biscotti should be firmer than the typical cookie, there is a difference between crunchy and stale or too hard to bite into. Biscotti is designed to be crunchy so it can be dipped in coffee. After the first bake, when the biscotti is baked into a log shape, the texture will be that of a slightly over-baked cookie. The biscotti will still be soft to the touch, but with a crispy, hard crust. As it cools, it will harden further, which is why it is important to slice before the biscotti cools completely and becomes too hard to slice cleanly.
The slices of biscotti before baking will still be pliable, though not as soft or chewy as a typical cookie, because of the density of the log-shaped cooking method. During the second bake, the biscotti will become much less moist and crisper to the touch. This time, the biscotti should be hard to touch and should crumble apart when broken or sliced. It shouldn't be chewy but crisp enough to stand up to a dunk in your favorite hot liquid. If in doubt, overbake the biscotti: the worst that can happen is that it burns, and you'll know it is done long before that.
Why do I double-bake biscotti?
Biscotti is not biscotti unless you bake the cookies twice. In fact, it would be nearly impossible to achieve the shape and texture without using the precise method of log baking first. Forming it into a log, which is how the biscotti is baked before being sliced, bakes the biscotti almost like a bread, except that, because there is no yeast, the loaf stays dense and crunchy. Forming the log is as easy as rolling and flattening with your palms, but if you're having trouble, there are also some tips you can use to make even better biscotti.
The second bake is important in achieving the perfect biscotti texture. After initially baking the log, the pieces are sliced and placed on a baking sheet to crisp further. The second bake — baking the slices individually — properly removes the moisture from the biscotti, giving it the crumbly texture that lasts for weeks in a cookie jar.