Italian-Style Triple Chocolate Biscotti
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If you’re looking for the best chocolate biscotti recipe, you’re in good hands with this one. It has never failed me! These biscotti cookies have the perfect crunchy-crumbly texture with just the right amount of chew. Drizzle with melted dark chocolate for a triple hit of rich chocolate flavor.
These are the biscotti I’ve been baking for years. They have a trifecta boost of chocolate, with cocoa powder and chocolate chunks in the batter, and melted chocolate drizzled over the baked cookies.
- Chocolate biscotti are one of our all-time favorite dessert recipes because they have wonderful deep chocolate flavor, along with that sweet-spot cookie ratio of crunchy and crumbly.
And with an extra flourish of melted chocolate as the finishing touch, they get an “A+” for satisfying a chocolate fix.
About the ingredients
- All-purpose flour: I keep unbleached all-purpose flour in my pantry, but bleached flour will work as well.
- Chocolate: Look for dark chocolate baking chunks or a bar of chocolate with at least 70% cacao. Good-quality chocolate chips will work too.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder (either natural or Dutch process)
- Butter: Use softened salted or unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Nuts: Sliced almonds, chopped walnuts or hazelnuts are optional add-ins and are delicious in biscotti! Add a half cup of your choice of nuts, and add to the batter with the chocolate chunks.
The perfect texture for biscotti: Hard or soft?
Traditional Italian biscotti are a type of cookie. Authentic biscotti (cantucci in Italy) with are meant to be hard and very crisp. They’re twice-baked and often made without butter or fat, which means there isn’t much in the way of moisture.
In Italy, biscotti are meant to be dunked in a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, so their dry texture is perfect for that. But for snacking out of hand when you’re craving a chocolate cookie? Not so much.
Like my lemon biscotti recipe, this biscotti dough is enriched with butter, so they turn out with just the right amount of crunch and tender chew.
Biscotti are one of my favorite cookies to make, not only for simple everyday treats. They’re the perfect choice for packing up in bags to give as gifts because they’re not too fragile and hold up during shipping.
Plus, they keep well for up to a week when stored in a cookie tin or other airtight container with a tight-fitting lid.
How to make chocolate biscotti:
Biscotti are far less fussy to make than other kinds of cookies that require rolling and cutting.
Getting the hang of the technique doesn’t require any special skills other than using your hands to form the stiff dough into logs.
Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until combined.
Beat the butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed until the dough forms a ball.
Divide the dough in half on a work surface. Form the dough into logs approximately 12-inches long and 2-inches wide.
Arrange the logs spaced apart on the baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, until the logs feel firm.
Slice the warm logs into 1/2-inch cookies. 
Transfer the slices back to the baking sheet for their second bake, standing them upright.
Technique tips for perfect baking biscotti
- This chocolate dough isn’t too sticky to handle. The easiest way to form the dough into logs is to divide it into two long, slender shapes on the prepared baking sheet or on a large board.
- Roll them with your hands on a cutting board or counter, then pat and firmly push them into shapes about 12-inches long.
- Transfer the logs to a parchment lined baking sheet (an offset spatula is perfect for this task to protect them from cracking). Bake about 30 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Slice the logs with a confident downward motion using with a sharp chef’s knife. Arrange the slices standing up on the baking sheet (this technique allows the biscotti to dry on both sides, so you don’t have to flip them over). Return to the oven to bake a second time until they are dry to the touch, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Storing chocolate biscotti
The beauty of these Italian-style cookies is that they keep better than other types of cookies without getting stale. Pack them in a cookie tin or other storage container (a zippered bag works too). Keep for about a week at room temperature, or freeze them up to one month.
Italian-Style Triple Chocolate Biscotti Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Yield: 32-36 biscotti
- 2 cups (260 g) all purpose flour, (if you don't have a scale, measure by first fluffing the flour and spooning into a measuring cup. Then level with the blade of a butter knife)
- ½ cup (60 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (240 g) sugar
- 2 large or extra-large eggs * see note
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (220 g) dark chocolate baking chunks or chips
Instructions
- Preheat to 350 degree and arrange baking racks to the middle of the oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Beat the butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and mix at high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl if needed, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
- Lower the mixer speed and add the flour mixture in two additions. Mix until the dough comes together in a ball with no flour streaks, about 1 minute. Use the stir setting on the mixer to add in ¾ cup of the chocolate chunks.
- Divide the dough in half. Shape each half on a board into a firm log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide — dampen your hands if the dough feels sticky. Arrange the logs on the baking sheet about 3 inches apart.
- Bake 30-40 minutes, until the logs are firm to the touch and there are a few cracks on the surface. Cool on a rack 10 minutes. Don't overcool, or the cookies will crumble when you slice them.
- While the cookies are still warm, slice each log into ¾-inch wide slices using a sharp chef's knife, slicing confidently with downward strokes on a slight diagonal. Arrange them standing up on the baking sheet, leaving a little space in between each slice.
- Lower oven to 300 degrees. Bake 10 minutes, until the texture of the crumb seems dry.
- Transfer the biscotti to a rack to cool. Enjoy them as is, or make the chocolate glaze: Melt the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, or in 30-second increments on high in a microwave, stirring each time.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled biscotti. Let the chocolate set before serving.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- To drizzle the biscotti with the melted chocolate without making a mess, set them on a cooling rack over a piece of parchment paper, either on their sides or upright. Dip a small spoon or fork into the chocolate and drizzle away. Let the chocolate cool and set before packing in bags or containers.
- Nuts: Sliced almonds, chopped walnuts or hazelnuts are optional add-ins and are delicious in biscotti! Add a half cup of your choice of nuts, and add to the batter with the chocolate chunks.
- Keep the biscotti in a covered container for up to a week or freeze up to 1 month.
- It’s best to slice the biscotti on a slight diagonal while they’re still slightly warm — don’t let the baked logs cool down too long. Use a very sharp chef’s knife.
- Note on measuring flour: If you don’t have a scale, be sure to measure your flour properly by fluffing it up first, then spooning into your measuring cup and leveling with a butter knife. If you scoop the flour directly from the canister, it will compact it and produce a dry dough.
- Note on eggs: The amount of eggs needed can vary depending on the size and how dry your flour is — I’ve found that even eggs marked “large” can sometimes be smaller than expected. If you find your dough looks a bit dry, lightly beat an additional egg and dribble it into your mixing bowl until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
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Yes..Delicious…everyone Loves Them!!
Beautiful!
Hi Karen love this recipe, I make all the time, I have replaced buying Oreo’s with these. I am a new baker and since I have retired I now have the time to learn how to back homemade bread and other treats, so nice not to have all the additives that come in store bought products.
Back to the biscotti, I add about 2 teaspoons of espresso powder to mine, that enhances the chocolate even more, also have added almonds or pecans to them.
love, love love this recipe
Mike
Mike, I am SO happy to hear this! And adding espresso powder is PERFECT, it really does add more depth of flavor to chocolate.
Will this recipe work with gluten flour? I would really like to try them but I can only eat Gluten free
Hi Pam – I’ll try testing the recipe using all gluten-free flour and get back to you!
Hi Karen love these and have replaced buying chocolate cookies and now always keep a jar full of them, I have added Fiori de Sicilia, to them instead of orange zest, and used white chocolate as the drizzle on them or dip ends in the white chocolate.
Now my question is could I use a cookie scoop and make cookies instead of the traditional biscotti shape and would that change how I bake them.
Thanks
Mike
Hi Mike – I love how you added your special touch to the biscotti! Thanks for a great question. I can’t answer for sure since I haven’t tried scooping the dough. Maybe next time you make them, try scooping and baking a few test cookies on a separate cookie sheet. I imagine they will take less time to bake (and no second bake). Start checking them at 15 minutes, they’ll be ready when puffed and slightly firm on top. Check back and let us know!!
Hi Karen, did a part of the last batch with he cookie scoop, they came out just as tasty, and did not require the second bake, but I still like the traditional way, much better for dunking in coffee or glass of cold milk.
Great biscotti. I needed to add a tablespoon of liquid. I chose coffee. I also added the zest of an orange to half the batch. This baked well and was really tasty.
I made these cut the sugar to 3/4 sugar instead of one cup..cut salt to 1/2 teaspoon..cooked for 30 minutes did not double bake..I wanted them soft ..still too hard going to try again and bake for 20- 25 minutes ..taste was good..Next time I will try regular sugar and brown sugar ..
Wonderful flavor. A few of my cookies crumbly. I think it was my slicing. Had wanted to try these for some time.
Nice recipe! Crispy chocolate cookies are the best!!!
Amazing recipe I made the butter myself so it wouldn’t be to dry and it turned out perfect!
Perfect recipe
I had always thought making biscotti too difficult to try until this came along.
The surprise was how easy, plus it is now a family favourite.
Thank you so much
Thanks Loraine – I’m so happy to hear that!
Tried this recipe and it was way too dry had to add more liquid to even get the mixture to take any form instead of a bowl of granular mix
Hi Britta – I’ve just tested the recipe again and updated the recipe slightly as a few people had the same problem. Using extra-large eggs and measuring your flour by the spoon-and-sweep method should give you perfect biscotti.
There is not enough liquid in this recipe to enable the dough to be mixed and rolled out. WAY too dry. I added some water, a few drops at a time, til it was moist enough to mix and roll. It did turn out fine, tho, and tasted great!
Hi Pat – sorry to hear you had a dry dough, but glad you came up with a solution. Did you weigh your ingredients? If not, the best way to measure your flour is to lightly scoop and then level with the blunt side of a knife. Measuring cups are notoriously different!
These were fantastic. I love everything chocolate. They were more like a cookie and the icing was the perfect addition. Bravo. Many recipies tast too sugary.I end up putting ore cocoa in so they taste like chocolate! Great recipe.!!!!
Thanks
Fantastic Recipe..i’ll try this in weekends!
Great recipe & gift idea! A pretty container filled with these is just the perfect gift. Will remember this one 🙂