The perfect Holiday Season combining to great cookies in one. Gingerbread Biscotti has the signature crunch of traditional Italian Biscotti with all the warming festive spices flavour of Gingerbread Cookies. They're simple to make, and they last for weeks - perfect for your cookie box this year.
December equals baking all things with ginger and spice. That warming flavour at first bite and smell from the oven is so nostalgic! My Gingerbread Cake Roll, Gingersnap Cookies and Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies are firm favourites.
Over the past couple of years, my love affair with biscotti has grown. Once you know How To Make Classic Biscotti, you'll realise how easy it is to make and customise with different flavour variations.
It makes total sense to combine my love of biscotti and ginger. The Gingerbread Biscotti are twice baked, so you get that crumbly, crunchy texture, but when you close your eyes, they taste and smell exactly like a gingerbread cookie! Heaven!
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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses basic ingredients. If you love Gingerbread cookies, you'll have all the standard ingredients to make these. The quantities of fat (butter) and flour but also the baking method sets these apart from standard cookies.
- Tastes and smells unreal. When you close your eyes and think of Christmas, the Biscotti recipe fits the bill. It smells like heaven, and that sweet spices combination is addictive!
- Simple to make. The dough couldn't be any simpler to make. Made in two steps and one bowl, no equipment is necessary.
- Perfect for sharing. These Gingerbread Biscotti make the perfect addition to your cookie box. They last for weeks and won't go stale or crushed when sent to a loved one.
- Get creative with the decoration. The white chocolate pairs beautifully with the gingerbread, but you can add any type of sprinkles, chopped nuts,
🧾 Ingredients Needed
The ingredients needed for these Gingerbread Biscotti Cookies may feel on the longer side, but that's down to all the extra spices we put in. And this all layers on the flavour creating a deep and rich-tasting biscotti cookie. Well worth it!
No more buying your biscotti from Starbucks, no no - make your own perfection!
- Brown sugar - Light or brown sugar can be used. With molasses in the sugar, it adds to the depth of flavour alongside the extra molasses we add-in.
- Orange zest - This is an optional extra if you have an orange lying around. I love the subtle zesty citrus alongside the spices.
- Dark Unsulphered Molasses is what I would go for. In the UK, Lyle's Black Treacle is our equivalent. Grandma's Molasses is a popular brand in the States.
- White chocolate - I like to decorate the biscotti by dipping them into white chocolate, but if you like, you could add the chopped white chocolate into the cookie dough.
📖 Variations
- Extra ginger: If you want that real ginger zing, add ½ cup of chopped crystallised ginger to the biscotti cookie dough. You can add some grated fresh ginger for that extra robust spice and heat if you crave that.
- More spice: Add in extra cinnamon, nutmeg and some chai spice blend into the dough for a bold spice flavour.
- Milder flavour: If you want less bold, well-rounded flavoured biscotti, then use a combination of light brown and white sugar rather than brown sugar.
- Chocolate Gingerbread Biscotti: Substitute a ¼ cup flour with cocoa powder for a twist on the classic.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
Making Gingerbread Biscotti couldn't be any easier. It's the wet ingredients added to the dry ingredients. In one bowl. With no special equipment. It's so refreshing to make such a tasty recipe that's so simple.
The method may seem a little complicated, but all we do is shape the biscotti into two logs and bake it, then slice it and bake it again.
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
Make Gingerbread Dough
STEP 1. Rub the orange zest into the sugar. Add the zest to the sugar and use your fingertips to rub it together. This releases the orange oils from the zest and maximises the flavour from the zest (Image 1).
STEP 2. Add dry, then wet ingredients and mix. Add the orange sugar, flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt into a bowl and stir (Image 2). Make a well and add the lightly beaten eggs, melted butter and molasses (Image 3).
Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together until the molasses is evenly distributed and a rough dough forms (Image 4).
STEP 3. Form mix into dough and chill. When thoroughly mixed together, squeeze the dough with floured hands and form it into a rough disc (Images 5 & 6)
Wrap the disc well in plastic wrap. Try and shape it into a rectangle - it makes it easier to cut and shape in the next step. Once wrapped, use your hands to smooth the plastic wrap - it helps bring any craggy bits of dough together (Image 7).
Shape and Bake
STEP 4. Split the dough into two and form into logs. Unwrap the dough from the plastic wrap and dust lightly in flour. If you've shaped it into a rectangle, it's easy to split the dough in half. I use a bench scraper to do this, but you could cut it with a knife (Image 8).
Shape into logs. Place the two pieces of dough onto a baking paper-lined tray and use floured hands to shape the logs. I decided to make mine quite small today so made extra long logs at about 40cm/16 inches long x 5 cm/2 inches wide (Images 9 & 10). Make the logs wider for larger gingerbread biscotti.
Leave space between the logs, as the dough will spread while baking.
Brush egg wash onto the dough. It gives the top of the biscotti a lovely golden, shiny finish (Image 11). At this point, you could sprinkle the outside with coarse sugar or finely chopped nuts.
STEP 5. Bake once. Bake the Gingerbread biscotti for about 20 to 25 minutes. You want it firm and golden (Image 12). Then let the biscotti logs cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 135°C (275°F).
After 10 minutes, using a sharp serrated knife, cut the logs diagonally into 2cm (3⁄4-inch) slices (Image 13). Either place the slices on their sides on the parchment-covered baking tray or stand them up as I have done. Leave a little space between each slice so that the hot air can get in between (Image 14)
STEP 6. Bake again. It's time for a second bake now. They return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes total or until dry and crisp. Turn halfway through the baking time if you laid them down on their side (Image 15). Then cool.
Dip Gingerbread Biscotti in White Chocolate
STEP 7. Melt white chocolate and dip or drizzle white chocolate. Add white chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second increments, stirring at each stage until melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate.
Dip the top of each biscotti in the chocolate and stand them up on the baking tray. If you have any leftover white chocolate, add it to a sandwich bag, snip a small hole and drizzle over the dipped chocolate. It looks so pretty! (Images 16 & 17)
🥣 How To Serve
Biscotti was made for dunking in coffee by the Italians. The fact that it's crunchier than your average cookie means it holds its shape but still soaks up enough of the hot drink to taste incredible!!
Don't just dunk in coffee. Gingerbread Biscotti are perfectly dunked in tea or hot chocolate too.
As these cookies are so dry, they make the best gift as they can be packaged and sent and will last ages.
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Maximum flavour. Infuse the orange zest into the sugar to increase the depth of these flavours.
- Floured work surface and hands. The dough can be wet to the touch, and flouring your hands and benchtop will save you when shaping it into logs.
- Cooling time. 10 minutes is the perfect time to slice the biscotti. If it cools too much, it can crack and crumble.
- Double bake. I recommend 20-25 minutes to bake for the second round. This dries out the Gingerbread Biscotti enough to make it crunchy but not enough to break your teeth.
📋 Recipe FAQs
The process of twice-baking makes the texture that biscotti are so famous for. Don't miss out on the extra step of slicing the baked dough and baking the slices again.
If you are a traditionalist, then classic recipes use oil instead of butter, and some even omit this fat. I personally love the addition of butter, as it adds a slight richness to the dough and a little more moisture to stop them from going super rock hard.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: Biscotti can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
To freeze: Gingerbread Biscotti can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
🍪 More Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Gingerbread Biscotti Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how you go in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Also, please leave a 🌟 star rating too!
📖 Recipe
Gingerbread Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g light or dark brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 orange, zest
- 250 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
- 60 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 60 g molasses
- 1 small egg, for egg wash
- 1 teaspoon milk, for egg wash
- 100 g white chocolate bar, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and infuse the sugar. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). In a large mixing bowl, add the sugar and orange zest and using your fingertips, rub the two together for 1 minute. This releases the orange zest oils.
- Add dry and then wet ingredients and mix. Into the bowl with the sugar, sift in the dry ingredients; flour, ginger cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, baking powder and salt.Make a well in the centre, then add the wet ingredients; eggs, butter and molasses. Using a rubber spatula, work from the middle out to mix the ingredients until just combined.
- Form mix into dough and chill. When thoroughly mixed, squeeze the dough with floured hands and form it into a rough disc. Use floured hands to shape it into a rectangle (It will make it easier to divide later on).Wrap the disc well in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to an hour until it's easier to handle.
- Shape dough. Lightly dust a work surface and your hands with flour. Divide the dough into two with a sharp knife, and using your floured hands, roll each portion into the shape of a log.Place each log onto a baking tray and continue to shape the two halves into a 40cm (16 inches) long x 5 cm (2 inches wide) log. Leave space between the logs, as the dough will spread while baking.
- Egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Make an egg wash by whisking the remaining egg and milk in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the logs.
- Bake and slice. Bake the biscotti for about 20 to 25 minutes or until firm and golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 135°C (275°F). After 10 minutes, using a sharp serrated knife, cut the logs diagonally into 2cm (3⁄4-inch) slices. Place the slices back on the parchment-covered baking tray, standing up with a space between each one. If lying the slices down, make sure to flip them over halfway through.
- Bake again. Bake the biscotti for another 20-25 minutes or until dry and crisp. Allow them to cool fully. Once cooled, there will still be a little give in the biscotti. If you want very dry, hard biscotti, add another 10 minutes to the baking time.
- Optional white chocolate decoration. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, ensuring the bottom of the bowl does not come into contact with the water. Or microwave for 30-second increments, stirring between each, until melted.Once melted, remove from the heat and dip the top or drizzle chocolate over each biscotti before placing them back onto the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet into the fridge for 10 minutes to help the white chocolate set.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
Natalie
I made these yesterday for Christmas Eve. They were easy to make, great recipe and instructions. Perfect for a cup of tea or coffee during the festive season.