Lemon biscotti

Traditional biscotti with zesty lemon – perfect for dunking in your favourite drink and a great present. Easy to make recipe with authentic taste and flavour.

Despite what I originally thought, these biscotti were easy to bake and they tasted exactly like the ones in the shop. The first batch of this Lemon Biscotti Recipe turned out perfectly, which if I’m being honest, it doesn’t always happen when you are testing a new recipe

Why make biscotti?

• They make great gifts!
• So many flavour options
• Easy to make – specialist equipment not required
• The recipe/dough is not fussy about your ability (or not!) to handle/knead the dough! Beginners can make this recipe.
• Fun projects with the kids

The origins of biscotti

The name ‘Biscotti’ comes from latin and means ‘twice baked’. It is because, these biscuits are baked twice to get their crunchy, dry texture, which is perfect for dunking into coffee.

The biscotti were favourite food of roman soldiers, who took them on their travels to conquests half the Europe. The reason is that once baked, the biscotti keeps well for a long time and there is not much, ingredients wise, that can make them to go off.

Biscotti were traditionally served in Italy with a glass of fortified wine and they meant to be dunked in. They would be originally served as a dessert. These days we are more likely to dunk them into a coffee than wine, but the delicious taste of the biscotti is still the same.

Ingredients Substitutions

Almonds

Swap these for pistachios, walnuts or other nuts you like.

Flavour ideas

Oh, so many options here!

Cranberries & Pistachio – add about 50g or cranberries and swap the almonds for pistachios

Dip the biscotti in a chocolate and leave to set before packing.

Storage

Your lemon biscotti can be stored in an air tight container for up to 4 weeks. They also make a perfect gift, because unlike other biscuits they don’t crumble and hold their shape really well. Pack them in a glass jar or a celophane bag with a pretty ribbon and a handwritten label.

You can also freeze the biscotti (leave out the lemon drizzling) and keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Top tips for making this recipe

• Don’t add too much extra flour to help you to mix the dough (apart from what’s in the recipe already) as this can make the dough too heavy.
• Don’t cut the biscotti until the dough is completely cold
• To get really lemony taste use a good quality lemon extract suitable for baking. Also use fresh lemon zest not dried one.

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Lemon Biscotti Recipe

Magdalena Marsden

Traditional biscotti with zesty lemon – perfect for dunking in your favourite drink and a great present.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Cooling time & baking for second time 30 minutes mins

Course Snack

Cuisine European, Italian

Servings 15 biscotti

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 110 grams plain flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 25 grams ground almonds
• 50 grams whole almonds (blanched – without skin) optional
• 75 grams caster sugar white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon essence

Lemon Drizzle (optional)

• 1 1/2 teaspoon egg white or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice or little more

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3
• Add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest and salt into a large bowl and mix well.
• Add the ground and whole almonds (if using) and sugar and mix all together
• Add the egg and the lemon extract and mix it together first with a wooden spoon and then using your hands to bring the mixture together to form a smooth dough. It will be fairly tough dough, but that's fine.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and, using your hands, roll it into a log about 30cm long and about 5 cm wide (or similar size to that)
• Put the biscotti log on the lined baking sheet and bake it near the centre of the oven for 30 minutes.
• After that, transfer it to a cooling tray and leave until completely cold. Don't be tempted to cut the biscotti before they are completely cool otherwise, they will look squished and lose their shape.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C, gas mark 2.
• Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the biscotti into slightly diagonal slices about 1cm wide.
• Place them back on the lined baking tray – this time flat – and bake for another 30 minutes until pale gold and crisp. At this point, you are really just drying them out.
• Transfer the bisctotti to the cooling tray and when cold, store in an airtight container for up to week (or more). I've successfully stored my biscotti for about 4 weeks, but they are usually gone by week three.
• If you want to, you can freeze biscotti on the day when you bake them and should be fine in freezer up to 1-2 months.

Lemon Icing (optional)

• To add extra zest to your biscuits you can make a simple lemon icing by mixing lemon juice, icing sugar and an egg white.
• Mix everything together until you get a smooth paste, easy enough to drizzle over the biscotti, but not too runny (add more icing sugar if the icing is too runny).
• Drizzle over the biscotti and leave to dry before packaging or serving (the icing will dry completely in 12-24 hrs).

Keyword biscuit

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