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Home » Recipes » Italian Dessert Recipes

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

March 20, 2019 by Liz 45 Comments

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This Cinnamon & vanilla biscotti recipe is packed with cinnamon flavor, vanilla richness and has a light and buttery crunch but softer center. This is an easy cookie recipe and makes a great sidekick to a cappuccino!

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Making biscotti is very near and dear to me. It was one of the first cookies I made on my own! Once I mastered my recipe, I began making them all the time. They are still my favorite cookie to make for two reasons:

  1. Biscotti are the easiest cookies to make. Once the dough comes together you form it into a log, bake and then slice. Since you don't have to scoop out dough into individual cookies, you can whip up a batch of biscotti FAST. 
  2. Once you master making basic biscotti, you can get creative with flavors and add-ins. You guys know how much I love adding my own twist on things, and biscotti is so versatile! Don't like nuts? Make biscotti without nuts! Add in spices, chocolate chips, dried fruit, extracts...It's so great being able to throw in whatever you have in your pantry.

Bonus reason: Biscotti are never too sweet, which make them good for snacking all times of day.

...oh wait! Also, Biscotti are a one bowl recipe. And you only need one cookie tray. 

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

If you read my post for Lemon Biscotti, you know that I'm not a fan of rock hard, break your teeth cookies, which is how most store-bought biscotti is. In my opinion, biscotti is too hard! I might be nontraditional on this matter, but that's the way I've always felt about it.  This recipe gives you a beautiful light crunch but softer center. It's still dunk-able without falling apart, I promise!

Biscotti are the perfect make-ahead cookie

Did you know, that biscotti originated in Italy for the purpose of having a long shelf life? Because the cookie is baked twice and very dry, they lasted a long time and became a staple for travelling long distances (those Romans were all over the place!). For us in our modern world, we don't necessarily have to make them so dry for the purpose of storage.

Can you freeze biscotti? YES! I do it all the time; they hold up great. Once you're finished baking them off, place them in a heavy duty freezer bag and they can be frozen for up to 3 months.

How to Make Biscotti

Like I said, making homemade biscotti is super easy. I love the homemade look of these cookies. You can make them big, make them small, they're always beautiful!

Here are the essential steps:

Mix the dough and form in big fat log.

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Begin to shape the dough and carefully stretch it longer and thinner. I usually stretch it the whole length of the tray.

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

I recommend cutting the dough into two smaller logs at this point. It's usually easier to fit on the tray. Then, flatten down both sections of dough to about ½ inch thickness.

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

After you've pushed the dough down flat, go along the edges and use your hands to straighten up the edges.

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Bake it off until golden brown on the edges; the center should also be on the firm side. That's how you know it's done. (I cant tell you how good this cinnamon vanilla biscotti smelled while baking!)

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes; using a serrated knife, slice into diagonal pieces (about 1 inch in width each, I usually make them a bit thicker than that though!)

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

As you can see from the photo below, the bottom edge should be a light golden brown. The inside should still be fluffy, soft and cakey.

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Lay the pieces on the tray with the side facing up, throw them back in the oven for a quick bake. Now, the second bake is where the crispity crunch of biscotti happens. I have found that dropping the temperature and baking each side for 10 minutes gives me the perfect texture (the whole cookie is firm, has crisp edges but the center is still on the softer side). If you prefer a crunchier cookie, absolutely feel free to bake them for longer!!

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Let's quick talk about this Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti version

Like I mentioned earlier, biscotti is so wonderful because you can let your flavor-imagination run wild. When I was thinking about what flavor to make, I chose Cinnamon Vanilla because I wanted to make sure you guys had a reliable recipe for serving with coffee & tea. The punch of cinnamon pairs perfectly with coffee, black tea & earl grey. Extra vanilla makes these sweet without adding more sugar.

This cookie is packed with a ton of cinnamon and extra vanilla extract that gives it a very creamy flavor. It actually reminds me of streusel, cinnamon roll or coffee cake. The warmth of the cinnamon and smooth drizzle of glaze is absolutely fabulous. I really enjoyed having this with my morning coffee! I hope you love this recipe!

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

 

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Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

Cinnamon Vanilla Biscotti

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This Cinnamon & vanilla biscotti recipe is packed with cinnamon flavor, vanilla richness and has a light and buttery crunch but softer center. This is an easy cookie recipe and makes a great sidekick to a cappuccino!

Ingredients

Units

For the Biscotti

  • ½ c unsalted butter (room temp)
  • ¾ c granulated sugar
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 ¾ c + 2 Tbps all purpose flour (plus more for shaping the dough)
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the Glaze

  • 1 c powdered sugar
  • 3 tsp hot water (more/less to achieve a drizzle consistency)
  • dash ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the Biscotti

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep one cookie tray with parchment.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Mix until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
  3. Add the eggs and mix well for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Gently fold in the dry ingredients.
  5. Once the dough comes together, add the cinnamon, gently mix. I like to add this in the end to see swirls of the spice throughout the dough.
  6. Sprinkle a heavy dusting of flour onto the cookie tray that is lined with parchment. Carefully dump out the bowl onto the tray and gently form the dough into a log. The dough will be slightly sticky and soft, so add more flour as needed to form the shape.
  7. Stretch the dough lengthwise until it is as long as the cookie sheet (about 13 inches). Cut in half and place the two sections of dough next to each other. Press each log down so that the dough is about ½ inch thick.
  8. Using your hand, gently shape the edges so that they are straight.
  9. Bake for about 30min until light golden brown & firm.
  10. Once finished baking, allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the tray.
  11. Drop the oven temp to 280°F.
  12. Place one log at a time on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice the log into cookies on a diagonal into thick slices. Place the cookies on their sides and place back into the oven for 10 minutes.
  13. After the cookies are done baking on the one side, flip them over again and bake the other sides for 10 minutes. (I found that baking for even more time, 20min on each side, results in a cookie that is very crisp, if you prefer that then you can bake them for longer).
  14. After the last bake, allow to cool on the tray.

For the Glaze

  1. In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and mix until thick, but still a smooth-drizzle consistency. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the biscotti using a fork or place in a sandwich bag with the tip cut for more control.

Notes

Recipe by Owlbbaking.com

Biscotti can be frozen for up to 3 months.

 

  • Author: Liz at Owlbbaking.com

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  1. Alexa

    November 14, 2024 at 1:17 pm

    My dough is not sticky — it’s very dry. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Liz

      December 11, 2024 at 2:26 pm

      Sounds like there's too much flour! Are you scooping flour and then measuring it vs. scooping it using the measuring cup?

      Reply
  2. Bobbi Brown

    September 02, 2024 at 10:21 am

    I’m making these now and my batter is more of a muffin mix consistency definitely not “dough”. I’m adding more flour to try and sense it up a bit. Hoping that helps?

    Reply
    • Liz

      September 07, 2024 at 9:47 am

      Yes! It's a softer dough which allows for a heavier dusting of flour when shaping the biscotti logs. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Madeline

    February 02, 2024 at 5:58 pm

    I made this today! Not only are they delicious they were very easy to make! Great flavor also!!

    Reply
    • Liz

      February 03, 2024 at 11:06 am

      I'm so glad you loved the recipe! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Cristina Blanchard

    December 19, 2023 at 4:42 pm

    Awesome biscotti!

    My question is my batter was very soft and unable to separate into two logs. I did flour my parchment paper and floured my hands as well. I baked them and the flavour is absolutely delish.

    Any suggestions would be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Cristina

    Reply
    • Beanna

      April 06, 2024 at 11:33 pm

      Instead of flour use slightly wet hands. It is so much easier and less messy. I also only make one log in the middle of a half sheet pan. That's just me. But it works great!

      Reply
      • Liz

        April 29, 2024 at 10:53 am

        Great tip!! 🙂

        Reply
  5. Lisa Dawn Wiley

    December 16, 2023 at 6:07 pm

    I didnt make the glaze for these. They were killer without it! Awesome recipe!!!

    Reply
    • Liz

      December 31, 2023 at 9:32 am

      Thank you so much!!! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Bobette M Gustafson

    November 11, 2023 at 12:27 pm

    Liz - This recipes sounds absolutely amazing! I was wondering what you think about adding some cinnamon baking chips???

    Reply
    • Liz

      November 29, 2023 at 12:59 pm

      Thank you so much! 🙂 Oh yes, I love that idea!

      Reply
  7. Terri

    June 25, 2023 at 8:08 pm

    Perfect biscotti recipe. Very 'dunkable' with coffee, without falling apart. If you're looking for a quick, easy, morning coffee or after dinner treat, using minimal ingredients, this is it!
    Suggestions - Serve with fresh berries, and ice cream...Wow!

    Reply
  8. Maddie

    October 27, 2022 at 11:54 am

    These were so amazing! They were the *perfect* amount of sweet! I think I will try to adapt this recipe to make other flavors. What amount of a mix-in (I’m thinking chocolate chips or coconut flakes) should I use in one recipe? And should I adjust anything else in the recipe if I add a mix-in? Or do you have more biscotti recipes of different flavors?
    Thank you so much!

    Reply
  9. Diane

    June 03, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    These just came out of the oven, waiting for them to cool off some to put the glaze on. I had to taste one, it is SO good! Can’t wait to put the glaze on and have some with a cup of coffee! Will definitely be making these again!

    Thank you!

    Diane

    Reply
    • Liz

      June 05, 2022 at 5:37 pm

      I'm so glad you love the recipe, Diane!! 🙂

      Reply
    • Jen

      December 15, 2024 at 11:51 am

      Made these last week to test and see if they were neighbor and coworker gift worthy….1000x YES! What an awesome recipe! Can they be frozen?

      Reply
  10. Kim

    August 23, 2021 at 9:34 am

    I’m making these now. My batter is very sticky. Could I have done something wrong?

    Reply
    • Liz

      August 25, 2021 at 12:23 pm

      Hi Kim! The batter might be on the sticky side. You can dust the ball of dough with flour and flour your hands well to form it into the log shape.

      Reply
    • Robin DiGiovanni

      September 10, 2023 at 5:40 am

      No, I make these all the time and I use the recipe for a base of many different kinds I now make. My dough always comes out very sticky but, just as she says, when I am ready to form I use a handful of flour to coat my hands and the paper. As I am forming the ball I use the flour that’s on the paper by folding some into the dough as I form the log until I get the right consistency.

      Reply
  11. Linda Hinkemeyer

    April 24, 2021 at 7:03 pm

    These biscotti are a hit at the Farmers Market where I am a vendor. I have a customer who buys a full batch of these each week! They are absolutely delicious dunked in coffee!!

    Reply
    • Liz

      April 25, 2021 at 10:22 am

      Thank you so much Linda! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Cam

    April 24, 2021 at 2:26 pm

    Hello, I’m Cam, and I’m addicted to biscotti. I had been ordering my “drug of choice” from a wonderful bakery hundreds of mile away. Yep, I was hard core about biscotti. Then I came across this recipe. I had convinced myself these heavenly treats were much too hard to make, but the amount I was shelling out for my fix, was getting ridiculous. So, I made these today. Are you kidding me?! Not only were they easy to make, my house smelled like heaven! They looked good enough, but how would they taste? They did not disappoint. Crispy, but not break your teeth hard. The cinnamon and vanilla played well together, neither overwhelming the other. Now, I want to make all the biscotti. My mind is reeling with ideas for my next batch, and there will be a next batch. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    Reply
    • Liz

      April 25, 2021 at 10:21 am

      Thank you so much Cam for the kind words!!!! I'm so glad you took the plunge to try making them at home!! 🙂

      Reply
  13. Bree

    February 06, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    Salted or unsalted butter?

    Reply
    • Liz

      February 08, 2021 at 8:40 am

      I would use unsalted here since the recipe contains salt. Thanks for the catch, Bree - I'll update the recipe!

      Reply
  14. Ellie

    December 10, 2020 at 10:53 pm

    How many does this make? I did not see it in the recipe. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Liz

      December 11, 2020 at 8:02 am

      Hi Ellie! Great catch! I'll have to add it. This will make about 1 dozen cookies. 🙂

      Reply
  15. Dani

    December 04, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    How much is a stick of butter? There are different sizes of butter packages.

    Reply
    • Liz

      December 06, 2020 at 8:24 am

      Hi Dani! A stick of butter in this context is equivalent to 8 Tbsp or ½ cup or 113 grams.

      Reply
  16. yenny

    October 28, 2020 at 12:00 am

    Hola tengo una duda el glaseado va hacer que la galleta se ablande ? como puedo evitar esto? para siempre este crujiente pero decorada gracias

    Reply
    • Liz

      October 28, 2020 at 8:27 am

      No. 🙂 Es una pequeña cantidad de glaseado. (Hopefully that translated correctly - I used Google translate! No, it is a small amount of glaze.)

      Reply
  17. Julie Ko

    May 13, 2020 at 12:54 am

    Hi! Is it possible to half the recipe?

    Reply
    • Liz

      May 13, 2020 at 8:27 am

      Hi Julie! I haven't tried it, but I think you could.

      Reply
  18. Sharon

    May 06, 2020 at 2:13 am

    Does the glaze harden up? Making these for a Mother’s tea and need to package them up to keep them fresh. However need a glaze dries on the harder side. Hope that makes sense. These taste amazing without it, but I want to add the glaze to make them look pretty.

    Reply
    • Liz

      May 06, 2020 at 7:49 am

      Hi Sharon! Yes it should. The glazed biscotti would need to air dry for a few hours for the icing to get hard enough so you can package them up. I would make them ahead with as much time as you can allow in case they need to hang out for longer. Also, when you're drizzling, avoid overlapping the icing if possible. The more layers of icing, the more dry time! Hope that helps, this is a great idea for Mother's Day! 🙂

      Reply
  19. Rachel Schardt

    December 27, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    I'm gonna try and make this gluten free ty for sharing!

    Reply
    • Liz

      December 28, 2019 at 7:50 am

      Let me know how the recipe turns out!! 🙂

      Reply
  20. Janet

    November 26, 2019 at 9:08 pm

    Just wanted to say I’ve made 4 batches of these just this week alone. Delicious! But on the ingredients it says baking SODA and in the directions it says baking POWDER. I used the baking soda and they were great. So is it soda or powder to clarify?

    Reply
    • Liz

      November 27, 2019 at 7:07 am

      Hi Janet! Yikes, I'm so sorry about that typo!! Should be baking powder. I've updated the recipe and this is now fixed! I'm glad you still liked the recipe!! 🙂

      Reply
      • janet pritchett

        November 27, 2019 at 8:03 pm

        Thank you! I made another batch tonight for Thanksgiving tomorrow. This has been very popular everywhere I take it.

        Reply
        • Liz

          November 27, 2019 at 10:33 pm

          I love that!! Thank you so much for the kind words!! 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

          Reply
  21. Rebecca

    November 24, 2019 at 5:14 pm

    I’m planning to make this a few weeks in advance for Christmas. Would you recommend freezing them or will they be okay if they are in a sealed bag and left out in a sealed back? We will have to travel 15 hours with them at Christmas time.

    Reply
    • Liz

      November 24, 2019 at 11:49 pm

      Hi Rebecca! Definitely. I freeze them all the time!! The only thing I've found is that they do soften up a bit after freezing. I like this cookie on the softer side so I don't mind it. If you don't want to freeze them, you can store them sealed in a zip lock bag for up to 5 or 6 days. I hope that helps!

      Reply

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Nice to meet you! I'm Liz! Dessert lover, home baker and owl enthusiast. This blog is devoted to new and classic sweet-treat recipes that you'll love to make again and again! I share all my knowledge and experience so you can bake with full confidence. Learn more about me →


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