This easy, Italian Lemon Biscotti recipe is delicately sweet, has a light outer crunch and great flavor! Biscotti are so easy to make at home. This cookie is made with real lemons giving it a bright sweetness that cannot be replicated with extracts. 
*this post was updated on 4/5/20, the recipe is the same!*
Italian Biscotti are one of my favorite cookies to make! I literally make them all the time using all kinds of flavors, but lemon might be my favorite. This recipe requires just one bowl and one tray which means they are super quick to pull together.
Biscotti are a rustic, no fuss, everyday cookie
I love the homemade look of these cookies. You can make them big, make them small, they're always beautiful! Most importantly, it's completely acceptable to snack on these cookies from morning til night. Biscotti with your morning coffee, biscotti midday, biscotti with your evening tea...my house is stocked with biscotti all the time. 
The best lemon biscotti recipe
Since we're now well into the spring season, I thought lemon would pair nicely with this buttery cookie. I added a ton of fresh zest to the dough and in one version, I used the lemon juice to make a quick glaze for the top. In an effort to keep the lemon essences completely pure, I decided to not use an extract. The result was a soft, sweet lemon flavor in the cookie and a pop of tart glaze on top. 
For biscotti, nothing beats homemade
There are some cookies that I don't mind buying but biscotti are NOT one of them. I've found that the cookies at the store (and even at most bakeries...) are flavorless and are usually so rock-hard that they break your teeth.
I realize that traditional Italian biscotti are meant for dunking in coffee or tea, but I don't understand why it has to be baked to a completely dry, dusty texture. Whether it's technically supposed to be that way or not, I hate a hard, crunchy cookie.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can bake these on the softer side or more crisp. All you need to do is adjust the baking time for the second bake.
- If you want softer cookies, bake no more than 10 minutes on each side.
- If you want medium-crunch cookies, bake no more than 15 minutes on each side.
- For crisp cookies, bake 20 minutes on each side.
This is an easy cookie
As I mentioned, biscotti are SO easy to make! Here are the essential steps:
- Mix the dough and form in big fat log.
- Begin to shape the dough and carefully stretch it longer and thinner. I usually go the whole length of the tray and push it down until it's about ½ inch thick. You can create two smaller logs for smaller biscotti if you want to.
- Bake it off until golden brown on the edges.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes; slice into diagonal pieces (about 1 inch in width each).
- Lay the pieces on the tray with the side facing up, bake off again.
- When they're done, drizzle with icing!
Looking for more biscotti recipes? Check out my other favorites!
Lemon Biscotti
This easy, Italian Lemon Biscotti recipe is delicately sweet, has a light outer crunch and soft center. Biscotti are so easy to make at home! This cookie is made with real lemons giving it a bright sweetness that cannot be replicated with extracts.
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies 1x
Ingredients
For the Biscotti
- 4 tablespoons butter (softened at room temp; salted or unsalted can be used)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for shaping the dough)
- ⅛ tsp salt (if you're sensitive to salt, you may want to omit this if using salted butter)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
For the Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
For the Biscotti
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep one cookie tray with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Mix until light and fluffy using a hand mixer. Add the lemon zest and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the eggs and mix for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Gently mix the dry ingredients on low speed until incorporated. Stop mixing once all of the flour is absorbed. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Once the mixture comes together, sprinkle a 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 sticky and soft, so add more flour to your surface and your hands as needed to form the shape.
- Once your log is ready (it should be about the length of the tray), press down so that the dough log is about ½ inch thick.
- Bake for about 30 minutes until puffed up, light golden brown and firm.
- Once the cookie log is done baking, remove from the oven and set aside. Drop the oven temp to 300°F.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the tray. Once the cookie log is done resting, use a serrated knife to slice the log into about 1 inch cookies, on a diagonal.
- Place the cookies on their flat sides and place back into the oven for 10 minutes* (or more time if desired, SEE NOTES).
- After the cookies are done baking on the one side, flip them over again and bake the other sides for 10 minutes (or more time if desired, SEE NOTES).
- After the last bake, remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.
For the Glaze (optional)
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the biscotti. Allow the glaze to dry.
Notes
Recipe by Owlbbaking.com
*The great thing about this recipe is that you can bake these on the softer side or more crisp. All you need to do is adjust the baking time for the second bake.
- If you want softer cookies, bake no more than 10 minutes on each side.
- If you want medium-crunch cookies, bake no more than 15 minutes on each side.
- For crisp cookies, bake 20 minutes on each side.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Cookies
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Lemon Biscotti
Chandi
This is the best recipe. I only had one issue, At 300 ( second baking) it doesn’t get the crunch as a Biscotti should have. Leave the temp @350. Cook 15-20. But watching it. Super yummy everyone. I have made it4 times, picked Meyer lemons from our trees & it’s awesome. A great basic you can add, pecans, ginger, chips whatever you can imagine. A great cookie for a nice basic.
Chandi
I love this recipe it has great flavor. My only concerns are even after cooking 20 each side, it never got super crunchy.
I didn’t turn the oven down as the recipe says on the second time I cooked it. Turned out great. I LOVE the flavors even more on the second day.
Angela
This sounds like a great recipe but when I went to print it out there was a huge ad right in the middle of the recipe. Why waste someone's ink? I don't get it........I really didn't want to waste my precious ink. Are you getting kick backs for the ads? Thank you!
Liz
Hi Angela! Unfortunately I don't have that much control on the format of the printout - I use programs to build the website so I can't customize this myself. Something I do on recipe websites is, I highlight the text in the recipe card, right click, and just print the selection. It helps to save the ink!
Karen
This is my go to biscotti recipe. Absolutely love the lemon flavor. Got a batch cooking in the oven right now!
Liz
Thank you SO much for the kind words, Karen!! 🙂
Rita
Can I use oil or shortening for the butter. Some of my family not a fan of butter
Liz
Hey Rita! Shortening may work but it will produce a more crisp cookie and I'm not sure how the flavor would turn out. Let me know if you give it a try!
Rita
Thank you Liz. I will let you know how they turn out if I use the shortening.
MC
Hi Liz, I made m second batch today and they were delicious. I tried 2 eggs instead of 3 as I was looking for something a little more dense today. I baked each side for about 22 minutes and I must say they tasted like my grandmother’s cookies! I need advice on the log however. Both days the logs spread wide and I ended up cutting the cookies down the middle as they were too long. Any suggestions? I can’t wait to go through your entire catalog. I am hooked! Thank you greatly!
Liz
You're so sweet, thank you for the kind words!! Hmm, I'm not sure why the logs are spreading. It sounds like the dough might be too soft/wet? I would try working in a bit more flour when you're forming them. Hope that helps!!
mc
Thanks. I will try them with more flour and let you know.
Maria
I'm Sicilian and grew up on Biscotti. There were both long and short ones store bought or grandmother's.
Flavors from plain, vanilla to lemon. Also varied from chocolate chips, various nuts. Soft or crunchy
All good. Play with options
Homemade awesome!
Espresso with milk tops them off! Enjoy
mc
These came out great! I only had an orange in the house so I made orange biscotti. I also added a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. A beautiful recipe, Liz. Thank you!
Liz
That sounds AMAZING! I'm going to have to try using orange! So glad you loved the recipe! 🙂
Rosemary
Amazing recipe so easy delicious and love u can decide what level
Of hardness u want lemons r big in our house I’ll be making again and again ty ty ty
Liz
I'm so glad you love the recipe!!
Jacqueline
This was my first attempt at biscotti. What a Home Run! Thanks for explaining the bake times for the desired crispness. I have a friend who uses her Italian Grandmother’s 100+ year old recipe. She was impressed with the pictures I sent her during my baking process. Can’t wait to try the Biscoff recipe. Thank you!
Liz
Wooo!! I'm so glad!! Wow, that's awesome! :)!
Nancy
This was my first attempt at making biscotti and the recipe was so simple and easy to follow. Not to mention the ingredients are essentials in my pantry. My family really enjoyed these. I will be making again.
Liz
Thank you so much for the kind words, Nancy!! 🙂
Judi
I am really confused. I found that I needed to add almost 1 additional cup of flour because the batter was the consistency of a thick muffin batter. I think perhaps 2 eggs was what should have been used. In all the other biscotti recipes out there the proportion of flour and eggs is 1 egg for each cup of flour. Just an FYI
I was a cooking and gourmet food teacher for over 30 years. When I added the extra flour and got them to the consistency of all the other recipes I have made they turned out great!
Liz
Hi Judi! Thanks for the feedback! This is indeed a loose batter vs. other biscotti recipes, I always found that it helps to keep the texture of the cookie lighter, even after the second bake, but I definitely appreciate the notes! 🙂
Mary
I don't have access to lemons, could I substitute lemon extract? If so how much?
Liz
Hi Mary! No worries! I would use 2 teaspoons of lemon extract instead. 🙂 It can be added to the mixture at step 2.
Patriciann Chickara
I just finished baking the Lemon Biscotti for the 1st time. It also the 1st time that I have made one of ur recipes.. I can truly say, I am totally hooked. This recipe is Amazing!! As an Italian as well, u are a girl after my own heart!! Thank u soo much for sharing ur recipes.. I already have my eye on a few more! I learned cooking n baking also frm my Italian Grandma n now I teach my own Grandchildren as well. They range frm 26 to 2yrs old!! I am Blessed!! once again Thank you!!
Liz
Thank you SO much for the kind and thoughtful words, Patriciann!! You are so sweet, I can't tell you how much that means to me! I bet your grandchildren will have so many wonderful memories cooking & baking with you!!
Kelley
OMG these are good! Love the fresh authentic lemon flavor and the great biscotti texture. YUM.
Liz
Thank you so much for the kind words, Kelley!! 🙂
Ally
HI! These biscotti sound dee-lsih! What size cookie sheet do you use? I want the log to be the correct length! Thanks! Ally in NJ
Liz
Hey Ally! Great question! I should clarify this in the recipe notes. 🙂 I use a standard, quarter sheet pan, which is about 9x13 in size. I don't necessarily stretch the log of dough out to the entire length of the pan; it takes up most of the length though and it gives you plenty of room to work. If you only have a smaller sheet pan, you can always split the dough in half and make two little logs. 🙂 Happy Baking!
Ally
Thanks Liz! I plan on making them tomorrow! 🙂
Liz
Keep me posted on how they come out!!
Ally
Sure will!
Kelly Pohl
I made these cookies yesterday and they are fantastic! So delicious. Thanks for the recipe...it's a keeper! Can you let me know if you've ever doubled or tripled the recipe? I'm wanting to make a large batch for a party and I'm hoping I can double or triple in one shot rather than having to make two or three separate batches. Thanks!
Liz
Hi Kelly, Thank you so much for the comment!! I'm so glad you love the biscotti! Hmm that's a good question! I have not personally tried this and I know scaling recipes containing baking powder/baking soda can get tricky. You could try, but my recommendation would be to make the batches individually. It may also help to keep them separate to ensure the logs for the first bake are not too large. Another idea, you could make the dough logs longer and thinner to make lots of little ones too! That could help decrease the amount of batches you need to make. Either way, let me know what you end up going with! I'd be very interested to know if you end up doubling the recipe and how that works out! 🙂
Kelly
Hi again. I made the biscotti again this past weekend and I ended up doubling the recipe ... worked out well! I split the dough in two and used a scale to make sure I had two separate doughs the same size. I have a large enough baking sheet that I was able to put both ‘logs’ on the same sheet.
P.S. I received a number of positive comments on the biscotti from the partygoers.! 🙂 absolutely delish!
Liz
Hey Kelly! Oh wow, that's awesome!! I'm so glad it worked out and that's a really smart approach! Thank you so much for the kind words and for reporting back! 🙂
Leigh
Amazing cookies! A huge family hit. However, the blog notes at the top say cool for 10 minutes before slicing into 1 inch cookies, and then the recipe below says cool 5 minutes then slice into half inch cookies. Which is the preferred method?
Liz
Hey Leigh! Thank you so much for the comment! I'm so glad everyone loved the cookies! Yikes! Appreciate you pointing those typos out. Either works, 10 minutes is preferred, otherwise the cookie logs might still be too hot to handle. 1 inch cookies are a good size for these. I'm going to make that adjustment in the notes now. Thanks again! 🙂
Leigh
I keep making the recipe and it always comes out perfect! I use bob's redmill 1 to 1 gluten free flour, and it turns out amazing. I even gift the cookies, they are that good!
Liz
I'm so glad, Leigh!! 🙂 Good to know the 1-1 GF flour swap works!!
Marcy
Out of the oven and wow they are Devine!
Thanks for recipe
Marcy
Liz
Hey Marcy! I'm so glad you like the recipe!! They should keep for a few days - I freeze them to enjoy for longer!
Marcy
How long will these keep? Just waiting for them to come out of the oven
Sandra
These were so easy to make. As I write this, I have gobbled 3 slices already. I won't be waiting for tea. Your recipe was easy to understand. I have a lemon tree so I had to run outside several times to get more lemons. With this lockdown in South Africa, I have had to stretch my imagination and not do the usual cakes and biscuits. Definitely well worth the effort.
Liz
Hi Sandra! Thank you SO much for the comment! That's so sweet of you, it made my day! 🙂 And also, having your own lemon tree sounds like a dream! I'm still under lockdown too and cherishing the last two lemons in my fridge!
Renee
Made these but only put bake in oven for 15 min on one side at 300 degrees because my husband doesn't like them real hard. By doing this he loves them.
Liz
Love it! I like these cookies on the softer side too!
Emily
Made these last night. They came out perfectly! I added some sliced almonds to the batter.
Liz
Thanks for the comment, Emily! Sliced almonds sounds like the PERFECT add! I love it!
Heidi
I've been looking for a lemon biscotti recipe for a long time. So happy I came across this! These were much easier than I thought it was going to be! Thank you for sharing!! Not sure how I vote but - FIVE STARS from me
Liz
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the comment Heidi! This made my day! I'm so glad you loved the recipe - this one is my GO-TO for biscotti! 🙂
Linda
OMG.....! These are Absolutely Sinfully Delicious ???? I made these as soon as I came across your picture of these Biscottis just had to run out and get the lemons ????. Cudos to You! Now go going to whip up your Double Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti ????
Thank You ????
Liz
I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe!! Thanks so much for the kind words!