Homemade Biscotti gets a serious boost of citrus flavor with bright orange zest and chewy dried cranberries. Cranberry Orange Biscotti makes any coffee break more delicious!
Love Cranberry flavor? This delicous Cranberry Cheesecake needs to be on your holiday menu ASAP. For an easy recipe, try our delicious White chocolate Cranberry Cookies.
Homemade Biscotti Recipe
For years, I relied on big tins of biscotti from Costco to satisfy my cravings for this crunchy biscuit-like cookie. I had it in my head that biscotti were more complicated to make than your everyday chocolate chip cookies.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth! The only thing different is that you bake them twice–once as a rectangle of dough then again as individual biscotti.
The result is a crunchy long cookie with a dense crumb and a slight toastiness. This makes it perfect for dunking in hot coffee or tea!
So many flavor ideas!
Now, it’s time for a cranberry orange version. The citrus zest makes a heavenly addition to the basic biscotti. The dried cranberries I mixed in add the perfect chewy contrast to the crisp cookie texture.
Ingredient Notes
- Orange zest – You’ll need the zest of two full oranges to give this biscotti its burst of flavor. When zesting, be sure to remove just the thin orange layer of the skin, not the bitter white underpeel. Use our guide on how to zest a lemon for help.
- White chocolate – This is for melting and drizzling on the finished biscotti. White chocolate morsels work well as do our favorite Ghirardelli white chocolate melting wafers.
- Sugar – I use granulated sugar in the dough then sprinkle coarse sanding sugar on top of the biscotti to add a pretty and sweet coating.
- Dried Cranberries – I used Craisins.
Easy Instructions
The dough for Cranberry Orange biscotti comes together as simply as any other cookie. After combining, shape the dough into a rectangle and press it into a baking sheet.
Bake the dough for 25 minutes, then use a knife to slice the rectangle into logs about 3/4 of an inch wide. Flip them so they’re right side up and bake again until they’re golden brown.
Let the biscotti cool on a wire rack.
Once cooled, drizzle with white chocolate and sprinkle with sugar. Let the chocolate set for a few minutes before enjoying your fresh homemade biscotti!
Go a step further and mix some more orange zest with coarse sugar. Sprinkle over the top!
Tips & Tricks
- Storing: Biscotti keeps well in a covered container or ziploc freezer bag. I tend to store mine in a ziploc bag with all the air pressed out. It has lasted for over 2 weeks. It probably could last longer, but I eat it all up before I can test that theory!
- Pressing. Use your fingers to pat the dough evenly into the pan so the top of the biscotti turn out smooth and evenly baked.
- Toppings. I love the coarse sugar and melted white chocolate on these. Candied Orange Peel cut up into small pieces would be delicious on these as well.
- Want a little more crunch? Add toasted pecans or toasted coconut after drizzling with white chocolate.
Recipe FAQs
Sure thing. To make biscotti smaller, cut the cookie logs thinner in width but keep the rectangle of dough the same thickness. That way you won’t have to adjust the baking time.
Yes. Baked biscotti will only slightly lose their delightful crunchy texture in the freezer. You CAN also freeze the unbaked dough! Wrap it in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready for fresh homemade biscotti, you can bake the dough from frozen by adding a few minutes onto the first round of baking.
Stored in an airtight container, biscotti should stay good for up to 2 weeks. Mine never last that long because we can’t stop eating them!
More Easy Breakfast Recipes
- Turtle Biscotti– do you even need a description? Caramel, nuts, chocolate, oh my!
- Cranberry Orange Smoothie
- Waffles Recipe
- Cranberry Orange Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Peppermint Biscotti– chocolate biscotti dipped in white chocolate with a generous sprinkle of peppermint candy canes!
- Cranberry Orange Muffins
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Cranberry Orange Biscotti
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 oranges zested (divided)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup white chocolate melted
- 1 Tablespoon coarse sugar or granulated, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In large mixing bowl, beat butter and 3/4 cup sugar until combined. Add in eggs and vanilla extract. Beat in zest of one orange. Slow add flour and baking powder. Fold in dried cranberries.
- On a parchment paper lined baking sheet, shape dough into a 12 inch by 4 inch log, patting evenly. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and using a serrated knife, slice biscotti into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange upright on baking sheet and return to oven. Bake an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.
- In small bowl mix zest of one orange with remaining 1 Tablespoon of coarse sugar (or granulated). Drizzle white chocolate on cooled biscotti and immediately sprinkle with orange sugar. Allow to set (about 15 minutes).
- Store in air tight container or ziploc bag. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use my homemade vanilla extract for delicious flavor.
- Storing: Biscotti keeps well in a covered container or ziploc freezer bag. I tend to store mine in a ziploc bag with all the air pressed out. It has lasted for over a week. It probably could last longer, but I eat it all up before I can test that theory!
- Pressing. Use your fingers to pat the dough evenly into the pan so the top of the biscotti turn out smooth and evenly baked.
- Toppings. I love the coarse sugar and melted white chocolate on these. Candied Orange Peel cut up into small pieces would be delicious on these as well.
Nutrition
The crunchy biscotti with the chewy Craisins, combined with orange zest and white chocolate are a decadent treat for your morning coffee! You’ll want the Cranberry Orange Biscotti for breakfast, an after dinner treat and all day long. ENJOY!
I made these ones more than once, and always loved them :)) today i forgot the cranberries so i replaced those with chunks of white chocolates. And because i love nuts i added chopped walnuts too:)
Your recipes are really good:)) Keep up the good work!
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Wendy
Wendy, Thanks so much for your sweet words! So glad you enjoy the recipes. Love that you added white chocolate chunks to the biscotti!
This is a winner! I don’t even want to share them with anyone!
Haha, I take it you made these Lisa? Definitely delicious 🙂
Oh Indeed I did make them and I haven’t let anyone near the container hahaha!
Would it be totally wrong of me to want to dip this in icing instead of drizzling the icing on it because more icing is always a good thing, yes? Maybe I’ll get off my butt and finally make biscotti this year! Looks fantastic.
I love homemade biscotti, and orange-cranberry is one of my very favorite holiday flavor combinations. These look great, Aimee! And I love the white chocolate drizzle on top–perfect!
Aimee, I’ve never made biscotti at home before! you have so many wonderful recipes, I wouldn’t know where to start! This flavor is perfect for the upcoming holidays. I want anything and everything cranberry these days. The white chocolate drizzle is a gorgeous touch. 🙂
I’m also a biscotti fan, and these look GREAT
I’m heading over to check the snickerdoodle biscotti 🙂
Love these flavors in biscotti! Wish I were dipping one in my coffee right now!
biscotti is one of those things that my mom makes so well that I’m afraid to try it myself! I do so love the texture and how perfect it is for dunking in tea! This combination may be what I need to give it a try myself.
Jess, you totally need to try it! You will be surprised at how easy it is to make! And it’s awesome to have on hand, or give as gifts! What flavors does your mom make?
This recipe looks yummy! Thanks so much for sharing. =)
I love cranberrys!
This biscotti looks like the perfect partner to my morning coffee! I love the orange and cranberry combo and they look like they were made to perfection!
Thanks Julia!
Ha, I do that too, make something and not post it forever. I need to get on the biscotti bandwagon!
Oh yes you do! Jump aboard!
Oh, YUM! These would be perfect for hostess gifts during the holidays…but I’d have to reserve a few just for me!
I love giving Biscotti as gifts!!
I love biscotti! These look delicious! And this flavor combination just screams December to me 🙂
As one of the friends at said weekend, this was absolutely delicious! And I’m a chocolate person so at first I kept taking the turtle ones but once I tried this kind I was totally in. They were awesome – Aimee thanks for making me crave some now! Hmmmm, maybe bring some at Thanksgiving!
I love, love, love biscotti. Year round, my favorite flavor is almond but around the holidays I crave the combo of orange and cranberry. Yum, yum, yum!
Oh, I love biscotti’s, especially with a hot cup of coffee. This would be a great recipe for Christmas morning! Thanks! 🙂
I’ve never had biscotti but I really love this flavor combination! Sounds and looks amazing. And super impressive looking. 🙂
This biscotti looks absolutely divine! I’ve never tried to make it at home though I’ve always wanted to. Thanks for sharing :).
I am sipping on some coffee and I have absolutely nothing to dunk in it … sure could use your delicious treats!!
I love biscotti and make them quite often, but I have not tried this combo…and I love cranberry and orange together!
Awww, you have lonely coffee? That’s sad! Wish I could share some of my biscotti with you!
Ok, true story…guess what flavor scone Jer asked me just last night to make next??? LOL Orange Cranberry:-) These look great! Love the flavor combo…not sure they would last a week on my counter though:-)
Oooh scones with this flavor combination would be awesome!!!