Chocolate Orange Biscotti

Try this chocolate orange biscotti filled, with hazelnuts and coated in dark chocolate and hazelnut spread. Perfect for dunking into your morning coffee.

What goes perfectly with a hot drink, I hear you ask? A biscuit.

But what type of biscuit goes well? A biscuit that can withstand a good dunk I say, and there’s no better choice than biscotti.

One of the best comforts is a hot drink and a dunk-able biscuit to pair. Especially during the colder months when coffees, chai and a good cup of tea are the most frequent beverages. I’m a huge fan of a classic dark chocolate digestive (one of my favourite biscuits of all time).

Chocolate Orange Biscotti

But I have to say that these chocolate orange biscotti are serious competition for any dunking biscuit. They have a strong dunk-ability factor which makes them perfectly fit for purpose.

The chocolate orange combination entwined with toasted hazelnuts is a match made in heaven. Let’s not forget the dark chocolate and hazelnut coating across the base of the biscotti which just gives it that extra slick of elegance. As if biscotti weren’t perfect already.

These make for a great holiday biscuit, they’re perfect for gifting to your loved ones! Or just enjoy them all to yourself, it’s worth it.

What are biscotti?

Biscotti, also known as cantucci are a type of biscuit that originated in Tuscany, a region in central Italy. The original biscotti were almond flavoured due to the abundance of almonds in Tuscany.

They are biscuits that are twice-baked and hence this process of double baking creates a texture which is crisp and very dry. Due to how dry the biscuits are, they’re traditionally served as a dessert along with a drink to dunk into.

The drink to pair is typically a sweet dessert wine, i.e. a vin santo, however coffees and teas have also become a very frequent combination.

There are a huge number of flavours available as it’s such a versatile biscuit. These can range from various nuts to spices such as star anise, or even just as simple as vanilla. Plenty of varieties exist with chocolate chips or chocolate glazes like these chocolate orange biscotti.

Traditionally biscotti will be made with a very low butter content if any, and the main liquid component of the dough will come from the eggs. The first bake will be in a long oblong/slab shape at a high temperature, after which is partly cooled and sliced.

These slices are then baked a second time at a lower temperature to dry them out completely.

These Chocolate Orange Biscotti

So these chocolate orange biscotti won’t be classed as traditional, but they are insanely delicious. Contrary to the original method making biscotti, my recipe contains no eggs.

On the other hand it does contain butter to make up for the fat that the eggs would have otherwise provided. As well as butter, it also contains ground flax seeds. The flax helps with binding and even adds a little extra fat content, in a similar fashion to the way the egg yolk would.

I’ve also added in some cornflour which helps to lower the gluten content and tenderise the crumb of the biscotti. (This is sold as corn starch in the US)

There’s an abundance of orange zest mixed into the biscotti dough which infuses it with the most incredible fragrance and flavour. Chocolate orange is a classic combination and something I love around the winter and festive period.

These biscotti are not as sweet as most other biscuits

The biscotti themselves are not overly sweet, I’m personally not a fan of super sweet ones. Hence I’ve held back a touch on the sugar. A lot of the sweetness will actually come from the chocolate and hazelnut glaze along the base of the biscotti as well as the drink you’ll be dunking it in!

There’s hazelnuts within the dough (keep the skin on people!) which gives it texture and nuttiness. It’s an added little surprise that works beautifully. But for anyone with nut allergies, feel free to leave it out.

Chocolate Orange Biscotti serving suggestions

You could totally enjoy these on their own, but they are a dry and crisp biscuit as all biscotti are. My go-to pairing would be a hot drink.

Something like an espresso, latte, flat white, mocha, or even a hot chocolate perhaps. Dunking these in some tea or chai would always be great! The real experience is in the dunking in my opinion.

What’s the purpose of the double baking biscotti? Is it essential?

The double baking is what makes a biscotti a biscotti.

The first bake is primarily to set the ingredients and to form your basic biscuit, albeit in an oblong slab. The slab is then allowed to cool slightly, then cut into pieces and baked a second time. That second bake is carried out a lower temperature to allow the pieces to dry out completely, thus forming biscotti.

It’s absolutely essential, it wouldn’t be biscotti without the second bake. If you choose not to, you’ll be left with a more soft and crumbly biscuit that’s neither a cookie nor a shortbread. That’s what we’ll class as a low dunk-ability factor, and that’s not what we’re here for!

If you’re looking for a biscotti that’s:

• Delicious
• Easy to make
• Eggless
• Can be easily adapted for vegan biscotti

Let’s talk about some of the ingredients to make these Chocolate Orange Biscotti

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end

• Plain flour – also sold as all purpose flour
• Cornflour – This is not corn meal. It is a thickening agent sold as cornflour in the UK and corn starch in the US
• Baking powder
• Unsalted butter – if using salted, omit the salt in recipe
• Milk of choice – dairy/oat/soy work well
• Ground flax seeds – this is optional but it enhances the texture of the biscotti
• Vanilla bean paste – or extract
• Chocolate of choice – I’ve used a 70% dark chocolate as that’s my personal preference. Use your favourite, be it milk or dark

How to make these chocolate orange biscotti

First let’s make the dough for the biscotti

1+2) Melt the butter on a low heat until completely melted, then take off the heat

3+4) Once the butter is off the heat, add in the milk, vanilla, orange zest and ground flax. Whisk to combine and then allow to sit for 10 minutes.

This will allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and also for the flax seeds to star absorbing some of the liquid and activate

5) Toast the hazelnuts in a pan on low heat for around 10 minutes (do this whilst the butter is melting to save time!)

6) Roughly chop the hazelnuts into chunks. Keep the skin on, don’t peel

7) Mix together the plain flour, cornflour, caster sugar, baking powder and salt

8) Add in the cooled butter mix

9) Start to incorporate with a fork until no dry flour remains. You can start using your hands towards the end

10) Add in the chopped hazelnuts and briefly mix to combine. This may take 10-20s

11) At this stage you will have a pretty cohesive dough – avoid kneading or else it will turn into bread as it will form more gluten. Split the dough into two equal halves

12) Begin shaping each half into a flat oblong slab. Do this by first creating a log shape. The transfer the two logs onto a baking tray lined with baking paper

The first bake:

13) Then flatten and shape with your hands and any flat object into an oblong slab. Roughly 17cm long, 10cm wide and 2cm in depth. It does not need to be perfect. Just try and create a flat and smooth surface on top as much as you can

14) Bake these for 25 minutes in a 190’C fan/210’C conventional preheated oven until golden brown on top. They will still be soft.

Lower the oven to 160’C fan/180’C conventional at the point. Allow the slabs to cool for 10 minutes in the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for another 10 minutes

The second bake:

15) After 20 minutes cut the slabs into slices with a bread knife/serrated knife. Each slice should be 1.5-2cm thick. Cut at an angle for a more authentic biscotti shape. Work carefully here as they will be crumbly and may break if you’re too forceful

16) Places these slices back on to a baking tray and bake for a further 25 mins, carefully flipping these over half way. They should be firm to the touch all over, though they will continue to harden as they cool.

If you’re unsure, bake these for an additional 5-10 minutes. After 5 minutes of cooling, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing

The biscotti glaze:

17) Melt the chocolate pieces in the microwave in 10s increments until completely melted. Then add the hazelnut spread to the melted chocolate and mix to combine

18) Dunk the base of the cooled biscotti into the chocolate and hazelnut glaze

19) Transfer the biscotti to a tray lined with baking paper and placed glazed-side down. Pop into the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened

Frequently asked questions

Can these chocolate orange biscotti be made vegan?

Yes, substitute the butter for a vegan butter. The stork original baking block is my favourite for something like this – and it’s vegan. Substitute the milk for oat or soy milk for best results. Vegan chocolate and a vegan hazelnut spread for the glaze.

Can they be made gluten free?

I can’t say for sure as it’s not something I’ve tried. A good gluten free flour blend should work but I can’t guarantee. Please let me know if you do give it a try and which flour blend you used.

What if I don’t like or can’t consume nuts?

Leave them out entirely or substitute for dried fruit perhaps? You could also substitute for chocolate chips if you wanted to, but it can get messy when trying to cut the slices. If you’re just not a fan of hazelnuts, then pistachios and almonds work wonderfully well here.

Substitute the hazelnut spread for either more chocolate, or your favourite chocolate spread. You could always just add more orange zest to the melted chocolate and do an orange chocolate glaze. That would be delicious too!

How should I store these chocolate orange biscotti?

Keep them in an air tight container. As they’re dry, they keep for a while. Without the glaze they can be kept at room temperature. If they’re glazed I recommend keeping them in the fridge.

How long will they keep?

I’ve kept mine refrigerated and they’ve still been fine at the 2 week mark. I can’t say for any longer as mine have always been finished before it gets any further.

Can these be made without the flaxseeds?

Yes, just omit them. It still works and you still get a lovely biscotti. The flax helps to add a little bit of binding which makes the dough easier to work with. The texture is also just slightly superior.

Why are my chocolate orange biscotti still soft?

Your second bake was too short or too low a temperature. Your oven may be running slightly cooler. Just pop these back into the oven (providing you haven’t glazed them) for another 10 minutes and check again to make sure they’re firm to the touch before removing.

What should I do if the dough is too sticky to shape?

The dough is slightly sticky but it’s very easy to handle. If yours is too sticky and doesn’t form a cohesive dough then it needs more flour. You can also dust your counter and the slab of dough with flour to help when shaping.

Just brush off any excess flour with a brush before baking.

Can I use a stand mixer to make the dough?

Yes you can, follow the same steps in your mixer with the paddle attachment. Just make sure to give the dough a mix with your hands mid way to ensure there’s no dry flour left at the bottom.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy baking!