Gluten-free Biscotti are twice baked for crunchy, dunkable, and delicious perfection! Made with almond flour for a healthy breakfast, snack or dessert. Dip in chocolate and dust with chopped nuts, sea salt and orange zest for a real treat!
This post was updated from the original posted on March 24, 2021.
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Gluten-free biscotti are baked twice for a crunchy, sweet, nutty treat that’s perfect for your morning cup of coffee. It’s a healthy biscotti recipe, and each bite is filled with sweet almond and orange flavors, but no sugar!
This gem of an almond flour biscotti recipe needs just one bowl and a few simple ingredients for a crisp and satisfying treat.
The news just keeps getting better…these healthy biscotti freeze beautifully. BUT, don’t think you’ll stash them there to make them last longer, because (speaking from experience here) they’re just as good straight from the freezer too!
Why you will love this recipe:
- A healthy vegan treat, that’s grain-free with no refined sugar.
- Easy to make with just one bowl.
- Twice baked for crunchy dipping perfection.
- They keep well when stored in an air-tight container.
- Absolutely delish!
- Seriously….a kosher for passover dessert that’s actually super tasty and healthy too? No way!!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Almond flour: low in carbs, packed with heart healthy nutrients. Choose blanched almond flour for baking, not almond meal which is coarser and includes the skins of the almonds.
- Arrowroot powder: substitute potato starch if making for Passover.
- Baking Powder: OK to skip if making for Passover.
- Sea salt: OK to omit if watching salt intake. It’s just a pinch, but I like the way it brings out the nutty flavors.
- Almond extract: for those who love almond flavor, like me!
- Olive oil: If you don’t use oil, replace with water.
- Orange zest: The citrus accent adds a nice flavor and color. You could substitute lemon zest (or even lime) for a similar zing.
- Chopped Pistachios: Optional, but they add an extra crunch and some beautiful green speckles of color. You could substitute any nuts here. Almonds, walnuts and pecans are great choices.
- Maple syrup: Just a bit, so these are not overly sweet. If you’re looking for a recipe that uses dates as the sweetener, my vegan biscotti recipe is for you!
How to make them
First, mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk wet ingredients together in a separate small bowl. Have chopped nuts and orange zest ready.
Break up any clumps in the almond flour while mixing it together with arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Keep stirring until it forms a dough and everything is well incorporated, but don’t over mix.
Add chopped nuts and orange zest and mix well.
Turn dough out onto parchment lined baking sheet. It will be sticky, so you’ll want to use wet hands to flatten it into a log. OR, use another sheet of parchment placed on top of the dough and manipulate into the desired shape.
Form the dough into a log that is no more than ½″ thick. It’s the width of the log that will determine how long your biscotti cookies are when they’re cut.
Bake until golden. When cool enough to handle, carefully cut into 1″ pieces. Using a serrated knife and a sawing motion will help keep your biscotti cookies from crumbling.
Twice baked is what makes biscotti crunchy, so turn them cut side down to go back into the oven and crisp up the sides.
Let gluten-free biscotti cool completely and then decorate, if desired. These are dipped in dark chocolate and then sprinkled with flakey sea salt, chopped almonds or pistachios and orange zest.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- SAVOR THE MOMENT: this is the perfect snack or dessert to sit with a hot cuppa….whatever you want….and take a moment for yourself.
- Wet your hands before trying to form into a log.
- Make your dough log wider for longer biscotti cookies
- Take the extra moment to zest the orange…it boosts the flavor inside and is a tasty and beautiful addition to the outside too.
- They’ll stay good at room temp for 2 weeks.
- Freezer friendly…for up to 3 months…AND you can eat them straight from the freezer!
- Use the leftover melted chocolate to make chocolate covered bananas, strawberries or clementine segments. Don’t forget the sprinkle of salt.
- Have fun! Let the kids help decorate.
- SHARE THE JOY: these store well and travel well….perfect for homemade gifts…or to pull out of the freezer to serve guests.
More grain-free recipes you will love
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📖 Recipe
Gluten-free Biscotti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour not almond meal
- 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder*
- ⅕ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios*
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- 1 3-oz bar dark chocolate
- pinch flakey sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon chopped pistachios or almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line rimmed baking tray with unbleached parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder and salt. Break up any clumps of almond flour.
- In a separate, small bowl, whisk together oil, syrup and almond extract.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the hole and gently stir together until everything is well incorporated. Dough will be sticky.
- Add chopped nuts and orange zest and mix well so they're evenly dispersed.
- Turn dough out onto prepared baking tray. Either cover dough with parchment OR wet your hands to flatten to create a long, flat log that is uniform in height, no more than ½".
- Bake for 30 minutes. The top and sides will be lightly browned. Remove from oven, and turn temperature down to 325.
- Carefully lift parchment off baking tray and onto a cutting board. As soon as it's cool enough to handle (maybe 10 minutes), cut into ¾" slices. Use a long, serrated knife and a sawing motion so they don't crack and crumble. Turn slices so they're cut side down onto the parchment and carefully return to the baking sheet.
- Place baking tray back in oven for 10 minutes. Flip and then bake the other side for 10 more minutes, until both sides are golden brown.
- Let cool on baking tray for 10 minutes so they start to harden and then carefully transfer to wire rack to finish cooling.
- Make sure biscotti are completely cool before storing in an airtight container.
- Biscotti will stay good room temperature for 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Rachel
Delicious!!!! Got even better with time
Debra Klein
Fabulous….so glad you liked the biscotti. Family favorite of ours!
Linda
I’ve made these several times and have always had rave reviews from everyone that has eaten them. They are delicious with out any added toppings. So easy to make. Wonderful cookie for Passover or anytime. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Debra Klein
You’re welcome. Thanks for spreading the love by sharing them.
Linda
Love the flavors of these biscotti. So good and perfect for a quick snack
Katie Youngs
I love that these are chocolate dipped!
Jan
thanks for a gf version 🙂
Andrea White
loved how this biscotti turned out! so so good and perfect for breakfast!
Megan
So easy and delicious!
Lilly
Such a great recipe. I love the simple ingredients
Amanda
We love biscotti, but I have relatives that are gluten free. This is a great alternative! Thanks!
susan
I wasn’t clear on when to add the pistachios and the orange peel so I mixed them into the dough. At 30 min on 350 degrees the loaf was medium brown so I took them out. Ten minutes later I went to cut them and they were not done on the inside at all. I put back in for ten minutes whole. THen I had to leave them so I cut the loaf when I got home and at 325 there is no way I can cook them ten minutes, turn and cook again. But I”m going as long as I can so as to make them hard not chewy and soft inside. My oven is brand new….electric and I used parchment and cooked on middle shelf.
I don’t think for the amount this made..I think ten cookies, perhaps… I ate one in the gooey “uncooked” stage of 30 minutes and it was delicious, but not what I expected for biscotti. I checked at ten minutes and they are still soft but getting too dark to cook much longer….
Debra Klein
Oh my! Great choice adding the pistachios and orange zest into the dough….just like it’s shown in the photos. I’m not sure what happened, thought when you turned them on their sides to “twice” bake is when they get their true biscotti crunch. I’ve made these literally 100s of times and not had that situation. I hope you’ll try again…as you said they’re delicious.
Agnieszka
One of the best biscotti recipes I’ve tried!
Debra Klein
Thanks so much…really appreciate you sharing that.