Easy Italian chocolate biscotti recipe

Easy Italian chocolate biscotti made with cocoa powder and chocolate covered almonds. Flavoured with orange zest and almond extract and made with olive oil, these are the most flavourful chocolate biscotti. The texture is perfect! Holds up well when dunked in coffee, but also soft enough to bite into just as they are!

You are going to love this easy Italian chocolate biscotti recipe! Don’t you love it when something wonderful becomes even more wonderful? Like, when you purchase an item on sale and at the cash are told there is an additional 50% off! Or when you receive a complimentary hotel upgrade! Isn’t it fantastic when you discover a new author, and then realize that they have an entire series of books to enjoy! The best surprises however, happen in the kitchen. When Billie and I visited with Anna, to learn how to make her classic Italian biscotti, we left with not one, but two recipes. The second biscotti we learned to make from her were these – an easy chocolate Italian biscotti recipe that is just as amazing (some would argue, even more amazing) than the original.

We first tasted Anna’s biscotti several years ago. Anna’s son is dating my eldest daughter, and during one of their first holidays together, a gift basket filled with sweets made its way to my home, courtesy of Anna. This homemade offering of kindness included all sorts of delicious things, but what disappeared first were the biscotti. The chocolate biscotti in particular, with their rich chocolate flavour, perfect amount of sweetness, and incredible texture were the first to go.

Why this recipe is amazing

I don’t know about you, but I have eaten some bad biscotti in my day. Rock hard, too sweet, flavourless. My experiences led me to conclude that making biscotti must be very difficult. The only way to ensure a great tasting biscotti was to purchase it, preferably at an Italian coffee shop or bakery. But guess what! I was wrong! Anna taught me and Billie that making biscotti is actually quite simple, with the right recipe. This easy Italian chocolate biscotti recipe proves that perfect biscotti can be made at home.

What is so special about this easy Italian chocolate biscotti recipe?

Well, the first thing of course is that it comes from Anna. She is even sweeter than her cookies! Focusing on the biscotti however, I am not exaggerating when I say that these are the best chocolate biscotti I have ever had. I think that there are a few reasons why this is so, and I have listed them here:

• Anna uses olive oil instead of butter in her biscotti recipe, which gives a lovely flavour and texture
• This easy Italian chocolate biscotti recipe uses just the right amount of sugar. The biscotti are sweet, but not too sweet.
• Instead of plain almonds, Anna uses chocolate covered almonds in this recipe (the way she does in her original biscotti recipe). I cannot explain how amazing this is!

Key ingredients

As you can see, there is really nothing complicated or difficult to find in this recipe.

Eggs I use large eggs in this recipe. I like to crack them in a small bowl first, to make sure that I don’t get any eggshells in the mix! Who else does that?

Sugar This recipe uses plain white granulated sugar – easy to find, and it offers sweetness without a caramelized flavour. It is great!

Olive oil I absolutely love that this recipe uses olive oil! I find that it gives a flavour that is not intense, but subtle. Even more important though is the texture that the olive oil gives to the biscotti. Definitely a game-changer!

Flour You will need regular or all-purpose flour for this recipe; also called plain flour sometimes.

Cocoa Powder You need plain unsweetened cocoa powder for the rich chocolatey flavour.

Baking powder These biscotti do rise a bit, thanks to the baking powder.

Orange zest I use a microplane zester to remove the orange zest from my oranges that I have first washed well! Be sure to avoid any of the white pith as this can be bitter.

Almond extract Pure almond extract is a great addition to this recipe. It gives a lovely aroma and flavour to the biscotti.

Chocolate covered almonds I love that there are chocolate covered almonds in this recipe! Every bit of almond comes with a coating of chocolate – honestly, this is so amazing!

How to make

It is really easy to make these amazing Italian chocolate biscotti. I am so grateful that Anna shared her fail-proof recipe with us. Here is how you make them:

Step 1
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the eggs, sugar and olive oil and beat well on medium speed for approximately 5 minutes.

Step 2
Meanwhile, combine your dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside.

Step 3
Add the grated orange rind and the almond extract to your wet ingredients in your mixer bowl and mix well. Next, with the mixer speed set on low, slowly add in the dry ingredients. When just combined (that is, you no longer see any flour), add in the chocolate covered almonds and mix briefly until well combined.

Step 4
Line your baking tray with parchment paper. Half your dough and roll to make two logs which are approximately 1 inch think and 4 inches wide.  We find it helpful to grease our hands with olive oil before shaping. Place on a parchment lined baking tray.  Flatten a little bit using your hands. Optional: If you wish to decorate the top of your biscotti with slivered almonds, brush the top of the dough with a thin layer of egg white and then sprinkle the slivered almonds on top. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Step 5
While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 325 °F

Step 6
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and then bake in the middle rack of your oven for 30 minutes. Remove, and allow to cool on baking sheet for 15 minutes. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to carefully cut the logs into biscotti (keep them on the baking tray). We like to cut on the diagonal and have each biscotti about 1 inch wide. Arrange biscotti so that a cut side is up and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, turning over half way through.

Step 7
Allow to cool on baking tray for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Biscotti should be crisp and dry, but not too hard. Store in a well sealed container at room temperature for several weeks. Baked biscotti can also be stored in the refrigerator, or frozen. Enjoy!

Our visit with Anna was full of delightful surprises. We knew that it would be lovely, but we didn’t realize just how welcoming, kind and generous Anna would be with her time, enthusiasm, and of course her recipes. Stepping into her kitchen it was clear that this was the heart of the home. Now a retired nurse (yay for nurses!), Anna spends much of her time cooking and baking for her family. Her daughter mentioned that it was not uncommon for the family to wake up to delicious smells, like freshly baked muffins, breads, and even biscotti.

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How to store chocolate biscotti

The first thing to do is make sure that these Italian cookie are cooled completely. Then, you can store your Italian chocolate biscotti in a well sealed container where they will keep for several days at room temperature. You can also keep them in the refrigerator for longer.

Can I freeze the Italian chocolate biscotti?

Yes! We have frozen these biscotti before, in order to pace ourselves! Otherwise, we could eat an entire batch in a few days. It’s not our fault – they are too delicious, and we are weak.

To freeze biscotti, place them in a container lined with parchment paper, with additional parchment paper between layers of biscotti. To serve, allow your Italian cookie to thaw at room temperature – they will be perfectly delicious.

Recipe variations

This recipe is really perfect just the way it is. There are however some modifications that you can make to it, according to Anna.

• You can add some slivered almonds to the top of your biscotti. Prior to the first baking, brush some egg white on top of the dough and sprinkle slivered almonds on top. This will make a pretty Italian cookie!
• If you prefer, you can use chocolate chips and plain almonds in place of the chocolate covered almonds. Or you can use all three – chocolate covered almonds, chocolate chips and almonds. Just be sure that the total amount of ingredients equals the one cup, or close to it.

Related recipes

If you love these chocolate biscotti, I think you will also want to try these amazing recipes. I would love to know what you think about them!

Italian biscotti recipe Another recipe from Anna! These classic Italian biscotti cookies are so amazing, and also feature chocolate covered almonds.

Paximadia or Paximathia, Greek biscotti These perfectly sweet and flavoured paximadia are often referred to as Greek biscotti. They are super simple to make and have a wonderful texture.

Lemon ricotta cookies Soft, delicious and with a perfect lemony tang. I love making these cake like cookies! They always disappear fast!

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Thanks for sharing!