Chocolate Biscotti with Hazelnuts Recipe
Biscotti, also known as cantucci in parts of Italy and Argentina, is a twice baked biscuit that originates from Italy and is best known to be accompanied with and dunked into a sweet dessert wine, typically a Vin Santo. It’s usually made with almonds but this spin on the classic uses a chocolate enriched dough and whole hazelnuts. They’re wonderfully crunchy and pair well dunked into a cup of coffee too.
So how do I make this Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti from scratch?
This chocolate hazelnut biscotti starts off with a quick biscuit dough. Take the butter and sugar and beat together until light in colour with a creamy texture. Beat in your eggs next, don’t worry if your dough starts to curdle a little bit, this is normal. Next, add in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and mix until it forms a soft dough. Mix in the hazelnuts next until evenly dispersed. Turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently roll into a log shape a little shorter than your baking tray. Place the dough log onto the tray and gently pat it down to flatten slightly. Refer to the photos to see how much to flatten it.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the dough has risen significantly. The biscuit is ready when it is solid and dry to the touch and no longer has any wet spots. Remove the biscuit from the oven and set to one side for at least 20 minutes until the biscuit is cool to the touch. If you can leave it for an hour or two to cool that’s even better.
Once the biscuit is cold, using a sharp knife, cut the biscuit into slices along the shorter end, like you were slicing a loaf of bread with the same thickness as a slice of bread. Place the slices onto the flat, lined baking tray. Place back into the hot oven for a further 15-20 minutes or until the biscotti slices have started to brown more on the edges. Allow the biscuits to cool completely before decorating or storing. To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl, setting it for 20 second intervals and stirring well in between each one. Using a spoon, lightly drizzle one half of each slice with white chocolate. Allow to dry and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s possible that you over baked the log of biscuit at the start. The first bake must be just until the biscuit is cooked and no longer wet to the touch. By barely baking the first log, the biscuit should stay soft when cut into.
You absolutely can but the skin can be quite bitter so I would recommend using skinned hazelnuts if possible.
These chocolate hazelnut biscotti, if stored correctly, last for up to 2 weeks. To ensure freshness, store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Yes, any nuts would work in place of hazelnuts. For bigger nuts like walnuts, I would cut them into smaller pieces though.
For more Biscuit Recipes, check out my Biscuit category, here.
Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or mixing bowl with electric handheld whisk
- 1 Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon
- 1 large flat baking tray lined with baking paper
- 1 Sharp Knife
Ingredients
- 80 grams butter room temperature
- 140 grams soft light brown sugar
- 2 whole eggs
- 130 grams plain flour
- 20 grams cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 70 grams whole, skinned hazelnuts
- 20 gram white chocolate optional, for decoration
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°c (340°f) or 160°c (320°f) if fan assisted.
- Add the room temperature, slightly soft butter and brown sugar to the mixing bowl. Beat together for a couple of minutes until the smooth and creamy.
- Add the eggs and mix together until smooth. The butter may curdle a little, this is fine.
- Add in the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder and mix again until nearly all the flour has been incorporated. A few small lumps of flour remaining is fine.
- Add the whole hazelnuts and mix again until the nuts are evenly distributed.
- Lightly flour a flat, clean work surface and tip the biscotti dough onto the counter. Gently roll the dough into a log a little shorter than the length of your baking tray.
- Place the dough log onto the tray and gently pat it down to flatten slightly. Refer to the photos to see how much to flatten it.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the dough has risen significantly. The biscuit is ready when it is solid and dry to the touch and no longer has any wet spots.
- Remove the biscuit from the oven and set to one side for at least 20 minutes until the biscuit is cool to the touch. If you can leave it for an hour or two to cool that's even better.
- Once the biscuit is cold, using a sharp knife, cut the biscuit into slices along the shorter end, like you were slicing a loaf of bread with the same thickness as a slice of bread.
- Place the slices onto the flat, lined baking tray. Place back into the hot oven for a further 15-20 minutes or until the biscotti slices have started to brown more on the edges.
- Allow the biscuits to cool completely before decorating or storing.
- To decorate, melt the white chocolate in a small microwave safe bowl, setting it for 20 second intervals and stirring well in between each one. Using a spoon, lightly drizzle one half of each slice with white chocolate.
- Allow to dry and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Would you like to share your thoughts? Cancel reply