Gingerbread Biscotti – These gingerbread biscotti are baked and then dipped in almond bark. The perfect accompaniment to your coffee or hot chocolate! And they make great food gifts, too!
A major item that’s been on my baking bucket list (yup, that’s a thing) is biscotti. Ever since I dipped my first biscotti into a hot coffee, I’ve been smitten with these cookies. The way the cookies goes from super crunchy to super moist in a matter of seconds is pure magic to me. Plus, it was one of the least-fattening things to eat at coffee shops so it was the perfect study snack when I was in college.
As is probably the case with most of you, I am drinking exponentially more hot drinks this time of year: coffee, lattes, hot chocolates, hot ciders…I could go on. Therefore, I decided to use this time to check this item off my bucket list! Since we’re all about the festive treats this time of year, I decided to make gingerbread biscotti. How much more festive can you get?!
I found a great recipe from Cooking Light that had the perfect color and texture that I was looking for. I didn’t want a biscotti that was super dark and heavy with molasses flavor. Instead, I wanted a gingerbread biscotti that had the flavor and colors similar to gingerbread men. Does that make sense?
Well, let me tell ya…this recipe was amazing! I was a little hesitant because I wasn’t planning for this to be a “light” recipe. But turns out, the fact that it was light didn’t take anything away from these little beauties at all! They have such a burst of flavor from the mixture of spices and molasses.
Because these are so spicy and flavorful, I thought it would be nice to balance those flavors out with some sweet, creamy almond bark coating. The original recipe used an icing to drizzle over the biscotti instead. But I love the color that the almond bark gave. Plus, it’s much easier for gifting because the almond bark solidifies, whereas, the icing will always be slightly wet and/or sticky.
Aren’t these biscotti the cutest things?! I adore them. If I had the energy, I’d be gifting these to everyone this year with a cute mug and packet of coffee. But sadly, the holiday season is kicking my butt right now, so online shopping it is!
This was the first time I’ve made these and they turned out perfectly! So I can almost guarantee that you can easily make these too. In case you’re worried, here are some tips to give you some confidence:
- This recipe calls for all-purpose flour and cake flour. Cake flour is much lighter in gluten, which means it will make the biscotti lighter, too. If you just use all-purpose flour, it will be too dense. So make sure to get the cake flour. There are ways to make your own cake flour at home by using all-purpose flour and other ingredients (mostly cornstarch). I’ve never tried this method, but check it out if you really don’t want to buy different kinds of flour. Let me know how it works for you!
- Make sure you let the biscotti cool for 10 minutes before slicing and baking again. This will prevent them from crumbling.
- You can cut the biscotti into two different sizes: small or large. If you want large biscotti, cut it 6 times lenth-wise. If you want smaller biscotti, cut them 9 times width-wise. Note: the cook time might be shorter for the smaller biscotti. Just keep an eye on them.
- Also, make sure they cool COMPLETELY before you coat them in almond bark. Otherwise, the coating will fall right off and you’ll have a sloppy mess.
I love serving these with coffee. But they taste yummy all by themselves, too! I hope you enjoy them . What other festive snacks do you love to make time of year?? Let me know in the comments below.
Recipe:
Gingerbread Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons molasses (not blackstrap)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs divided
- 5.3 ounces all-purpose flour about 1 1/4 cups
- 5.3 ounces cake flour about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon grond ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 ounces almond bark
- sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep 1 large sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Combine sugar, molasses, vanilla extract, and 2 of the eggs to a bowl fitted for your stand mixer. Beat ingredients with a paddle attachment on medium-high for 6 minutes to make sure it's nice and smooth and shiny. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine your dry ingredients: flours (make sure you weigh them!), cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves and baking powder. Whisk until fully incorporated.
- Add all the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Turn the mixer to low and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix!
- Grab your prepared baking sheet. Spoon dough into two halves onto the sheet, about 4 inches apart. Using floured hands (this will prevent sticking), mold the two halves into loaves that are each 8x5 inches. If the dough starts sticking to the parchment paper/mat, use a sharp knife to push it into place. Dust off any extra flour.
- Create egg wash with 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon of water. Brush egg wash over the two loaves, making sure to cover all sides. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Once done baking the first time, remove from oven. Very carefully, remove the parchment paper or mat from the baking sheet and onto a wire rack. Let the loaves cool for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.
- Once cooled, slice your biscotti, long-ways for larger biscotti or short-ways for smaller biscotti. You will get 6 long biscotti per loaf (or 9 smaller ones). Place sliced biscotti on your baking sheet, flat side down, and place in 275-degree oven to bake again. Bake for 10 minutes and then flip them once. Bake them again for another 10 minutes.
- Once they're done baking, remove from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool completely. If you try to ice them when they're warm, the icing will melt off and/or get absorbed into the biscotti.
- Once completely cooled, you are ready to ice them! Place almond bark into a microwave-safe rectangular dish and microwave in 30-second increments until completely melted.
- Place the cooling rack with biscotti on top of baking sheet. Grab one biscotti and dip the bottom into the almond bark. Place them back on the cooling rack, with the side facing down so the extra coating can drip off. Repeat with all biscotti. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to let the coating harden. Save remaining coating to drizzle on top.
- Once coating is hard, remove biscotti from fridge. Flip the biscotti so the tops are exposed. Reheat leftover coating if it solidified. Using a spoon, drizzle coating over the tops of the biscotti and immediately throw on some sprinkles before the coating begins to harden.
- Serve immediately, preferably with a hot beverage to dunk them into. If you are using these for gifts, let them cool completely so the coating sets. Once set, you can wrap or package them for gifting.
Notes
More recipes you’ll enjoy:
Apple Cider Caramels
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Apple Cider Crumb Doughnuts
Delicious!! making them now! after first bake, had to sample with whipped cream! yum!
These are so gorgeous and festive. Plus, I am a sucker for ANYTHING gingerbread. This is definitely a recipe I am going to have to try ASAP!
My mom would love this. She’s a big biscotti lover and loves gingersnaps! I feel like this is the perfect meeting of the tow. Thanks for sharing!
These look amazing!! I bet they’re as delicious as they look 🙂
Splendid! I must make these, especially to hog on during tea-time 🙂
Oh my gosh I am sitting here literally drooling at the mouth haha!! You’re making me want to have this biscotti for lunch!
Aw haha! There’s nothing wrong with that!
These look so festive and delicious! Definitely saving on Pinterest 🙂
xx nicole
http://www.nicoleparise.com
Love the festive sprinkled! This would be so delicious with my cup of coffee right now!
I LOVE these!! Oh my gosh, I love both biscotti and gingerbread — what could be more perfect? x
Gingerbread biscotti looks delicious! Excited to try this. You make it look easy, hope I can pull it off. Lol! Just in time for the holidays!
Wow these look so good!! I love Biscotti!!
I love, love, love biscotti! I’ve only made it once because it was so time consuming, but this recipe is definitely making me want to give it another try.
I make a gingerbread biscotti too and absolutely love it! I usually put dark chocolate on it, but I love the idea of white chocolate! Will have to do that with my next batch.
I can’t believe you made these!! They look absolutely amazing. Like I would buy these if I saw them in the store.
Oh my goodness! These look amazing! I love anything gingerbread flavored, especially this time of year!
Loved this recipe! Perfect for homemade hot chocolate
Oh boy! Dipping these in a hot drink like coffee or hot chocolate would be amazing! The almond bark is a great touch too!
I just can’t seem to get my fill of gingerbread goodies this year. These would make such a great gift!
YUMMY!!! These look delicious…and they’re getting me excited for Christmas!
This looks so good! I love gingerbread stuff. I’ve never made biscotti, but I will have to try!
Yum! This looks so delicious! Love gingerbread!
It would be so interesting to try this recipe this holidays. I am not that good in baking but I will give it a try. Thanks!
You got this Michelle! It’s a really simple recipe so don’t be afraid about giving it a try!
This is a perfect holiday treat!
These look AMAZING and basically my dreams come true. I will definitely be trying to make these because, hello heaven, but I can assure you they won’t be nearly as pretty as yours!
how festive! i love me some biscotti too- it totally is magical how it changes textures so quickly with a hot drink!
These look absolutely delightful! I am definitely giving this biscotti recipe a try!
Meghan, Beyond Basic
Wow! I’ve never made biscotti before, but this recipe looks so irresistible! I want to have it with my coffee and my hot tea!
Oh my gosh that looks so delicious! I love gingerbread and biscotti is one of my favourite treats.
La Belle Sirene
Love biscotti!! And anything gingerbread!
I have never made homemade biscotti, but these look amazing! I will definitely give them a try! Thank you for the recipe! They look delicious!
You’re welcome! This was my first time, too and I was so shocked at how easy it was. Can’t wait to try a new flavor!
This biscotti looks delicious. I have never tried to make it before so will totally be
trying your recipe. Wish me luck! 🙂
YUM! What a great take on biscotti for the holidays!
Oh my goodness! I love biscotti and gingerbread is perfect for the season. I’ll have to try this!
This looks good! I’m going to have to try this one weekend! The kids will surely love this.
Belle | One Awesome Momma
Omg yummy!! Your photos are so good it makes me want to eat the biscoffi rn. Anyway, amazing post thanks for sharing xx
Oh my… this looks so delicious! I love gingerbread everything haha 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Lucie http://www.inbluebox.com
Never been a huge fan of store bought biscottis so it would be interesting to try making my own. Wondering if it the texture would be similar to a ginger snap because I love those!
Yess they are super similar to ginger snaps. But with an added crunch.
I love homemade biscotti! I am loving your festive version; it’s so pretty. It would be just perfect with a cup of coffee this afternoon, I need to make this!
The fun thing about biscotti are the many different things you can add to it, plus the glazes or frostings. This gingerbread sounds perfect.
I have all but the almond bark…. well, off to the shop I go, as I really want to give them a try.
Your biscotti looks perfect for Christmas time! I love the ginger flavor and how beautiful it looks with the almond bark drizzle.
These look so yummy! I’ve made lemon biscotti before but never gingerbread. Gingerbread biscotti with a cup of Chai Latte sounds heavenly right now!
These look and sound delicious! I am also a huge fan of hot drinks this time of year. Thanks for sharing!
I literally just thought that I needed to make some gingerbread recipes soon, before it’s too late. Talk about perfect timing! 🙂
I never had homemade biscotti but have always wanted to try it. Yours are so cute with the sprinkles. Perfect recipe for Christmas.