Easy Gluten-Free Biscotti That’s Perfect for Dunking

Make handcrafted gluten-free biscotti that are crunchy, flavorful and perfect with coffee or tea, an Italian favorite.

Crunchy, flavorful, and perfect for dunking is my idea of the perfect biscotti.  But making them gluten-free has its challenges.  After much tweaking and testing and a lot of crumbly failures, this gluten-free biscotti recipe turns out perfectly every time. If you’ve tried several biscotti recipes and had them end up a crumbly mess, this one is for you.

Biscotti are traditional Italian cookies that are baked twice.  Once to make them airy and light, and the second time to give them that characteristic crunch that makes them perfect for dipping into a cup of espresso, a latte, or an Americano.  Lower in fat and sugar than regular cookies, biscotti are considered a healthier choice. Though, all things in moderation.

These Italian biscotti cookies are perfect for the Christmas cookie plate and they hold up in a cookie tin for mailing.  So skip the artisan bakery and make your own using natural ingredients.

If you are making these for a family member with dietary restrictions but you normally bake with regular wheat flour, mix them by hand rather than using your stand mixer.  Line the baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent cross contamination.

I use a gluten-free flour blend that is a mixture of 2 parts rice flour, 2 parts tapioca starch, and 1 part buckwheat flour, plus 1 teaspoon xanthan gum for each 4 cups of flour blend.  You can use any 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend you have.  If your flour blend omits the xanthan gum add 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour in the recipe.  It helps the batter hold together as it rises, so you have some loft in the cooked biscuits.

Should you use unsalted butter or regular butter?  Use what you have. It doesn’t affect the structure or the flavor.  But do use real butter and not margarine.   Butter improves the texture of the dough.

Gluten Free Lemon Ginger Biscotti

Yield: 2 dozen biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup golden brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 3 cups gluten-free flour blend
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, or other nuts, divided
• 1 cups chocolate chips or melting wafers (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.  If you have a convection oven use the convection bake mode and preheat the oven to 325F.

Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment paper.  Using two baking sheets gives you more control over the finished product but does take longer to bake.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar and the mixture is light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice with the butter and sugar mixture until the dough is light and airy.

In a medium bowl, add gluten-free flour blend, the baking powder, and salt.  Stir with a whisk until the flour mixture is uniform.  Set aside.

Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan until they are lightly colored and fragrant.  Do not burn.   Let the nuts cool to room temperature.

Stir the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bowl with the creamed butter mixture.  Mix well to fully combine.  The dough will be stiff.  Avoid adding additional flour or the dough will be too stiff and the cookies will not rise in the oven.  The gluten-free batter should have a little more moisture, to allow it to rise adequately.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill the dough.

Divide the dough into two equal portions.  Place one portion on each of the prepared baking sheets. If you are using only one baking sheet allow for 3 inches between the logs to allow for the rising and expansion of the dough during cooking.  Wet your hands and taking one portion of the dough, form it into a biscotti log that is 3 inches wide by 10 inches long.  The rectangle will  be about 3/4 inches high.  Smooth the top of your biscotti log with wet hands. Repeat with the second portion of the dough.

Bake the biscotti logs in the oven for 30 minutes, being careful not to over brown them.  The biscotti will rise as they bake the first time.  Once they are firm and cooked through, remove them from the oven and transfer the baked biscotti to a cooking rack.  Allow the biscotti to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Carefully transfer a biscotti log to a wooden cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the biscotti into 1/2 inch thick slices, using a sawing motion.  Transfer each slice to a parchment lined baking sheet, and placing it cut side down.  Repeat with the second biscotti log.  You should get 12 biscotti slices from each biscotti log.

Place the baking sheets back into the oven at 300F for 20 minutes, until each piece of biscotti is set and firm.  Be careful not to let it over brown.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.  The biscotti will crisp up as it cools.

Optional toppings:

Once the biscotti is cooled completely, melt the chocolate chips in a heat proof glass measuring cup over a pot of simmering water, until the chocolate is smooth and runny.  (This can also be done in a microwave, see the recipe card for step by step instructions.) Remove the chocolate from the heat.  Add a tablespoon of additional chocolate chips to the melted chocolate to temper the chocolate.  Stir the chocolate until the additional chocolate chips are melted completely.  Drizzle the tempered  chocolate, over the biscotti.  Sprinkle the melted chocolate with chopped nuts and allow the chocolate to harden at room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Gluten-Free Biscotti Variations:

Substitute toasted almonds, hazelnuts, butternuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, pistachios, or other nuts for the walnuts called for in the recipe.

Add raisins or cranberries in place of the nuts in the recipe.

Substitute white chocolate or dark chocolate wafers for the chocolate chips in the recipe.

Substitute other citrus zest for the lemon zest called for in the recipe.  Orange zest goes very well with dark chocolate and gives it that Christmas vibe.

Other spices that are also delicious and fragrant in this Christmas Biscotti include cinnamon, nutmeg, or a pumpkin spice blend or British pudding spice blend.

How to Store the Biscotti

Store the biscotti in an airtight container such as a cookie tin, a glass-lock container or a cookie jar.   I keep mine in the freezer and remove the portion I want to serve 30 minutes before serving.

ProTip: Don’t Waste the Chocolate

If you have left over melted chocolate, transfer it to a chocolate mold and let it cool completely.  If you took the extra step to temper your chocolate your chocolate candies will be shiny, and just the right texture to serve as chocolate candies on your dessert plate.

Gluten-Free Baking Tips to Prevent Cross-Contamination

When someone in your household has food allergies or gluten sensitivities, switching up your baking during the holidays can be a challenge.  Gluten is the glue that holds baking together and keeps it from becoming a crumbly mess.  Gluten free flours add xanthan gum or other sticky ingredients to hold the gluten-free starches together, offering a dough that holds together like wheat flours, without the inflammatory allergens.  The result is a lighter crumb, and a flatter cookie, but a cookie that holds together.

These Christmas cookie recipes are tried and tested with my own family members in my gluten-free household, with 4 family members with wheat allergies or gluten sensitivities.

If you are baking for someone with gluten sensitivities, but your own baking has been with normal wheat flours, pay attention to cross-contamination problems.  Bake all gluten-free baking on a day that you are not baking with wheat flours, to prevent airborne cross-contamination. Use a clean mixing bowl and mix by hand, rather than using your stand mixer.  Line all baking dishes with fresh parchment paper.  Transfer the parchment paper to your cooling rack, before cooling the gluten-free baking.  Store all gluten free baking separately from other foods in clean containers.

Try these Other Gluten-Free Christmas Cookie Recipes

• Millionaire Bars
• Pizzelle
• Chocolate Pizzelle
• Shortbread Cookies

Easy Gluten-Free Biscotti That Are Perfect for Dunking

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Joybilee Farm
• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
• Yield: 24 1x
• Category: Cookies
• Method: Twice baked
• Cuisine: Italian

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

Delicious Christmas cookies that are great with dark coffee and chocolate.  Enjoy them as you savor the festive season.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup golden brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
• 3 cups gluten-free flour blend
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, or other nuts, divided
• 1 cups chocolate chips or melting wafers (optional)

---

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.  If you have a convection oven use the convection bake mode and preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly butter the parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar and the mixture is light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice with the butter and sugar mixture until the dough is light and airy.
4. In a medium bowl, add gluten-free flour blend, the baking powder, and salt.  Stir with a whisk until the flour mixture is uniform.  Set aside.
5. Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan until they are lightly colored and fragrant.  Do not burn.   Let the nuts cool to room temperature.
6. Stir the dry ingredients and 1/2 cup of the nuts into the bowl with the creamed butter mixture.  Mix well to fully combine.  The dough will be stiff.  Avoid adding additional flour or the dough will be too stiff and the cookies will not rise in the oven.  The gluten-free batter should have a little more moisture, to allow it to rise adequately.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill the dough.
7. Divide the dough into two equal portions.  Place one portion on the prepared baking sheet and the second portion 3 inches away from the first portion, leaving room for the biscotti logs to rise and expand. Wet your hands and taking one portion of the dough, form it into a biscotti log that is 3 inches wide by 12 inches long.  The rectangle will  be about 3/4 inches high.  Smooth the top of your biscotti log with wet hands. Repeat with the second portion of the dough.
8. Bake the biscotti logs in the oven for 30 minutes, being careful not to over brown them.  The biscotti will rise as they bake the first time.  Once they are firm and cooked through, remove them from the oven and transfer the baked biscotti to a cooling rack.  Allow the biscotti to cool completely, about 1 hour.
9. Carefully transfer a biscotti log to a wooden cutting board.  Using a serrated knife, cut the biscotti into 1/2 inch thick slices, using a sawing motion.  Transfer each slice to a parchment lined baking sheet, and placing it cut side down.  Repeat with the second biscotti log.  You should get 12 biscotti slices from each biscotti log.
10. Place the baking sheets back into the oven at 300F for 20 minutes, until each piece of biscotti is set and firm.  Be careful not to let it over brown.  Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.  The biscotti will crisp up as it cools.
11. Once the biscotti is cool and hard, melt chocolate chips or melting wafers.  To do this place the chocolate in a heat proof glass measuring cup.  Place it in a microwave and heat for 30 seconds.  Stir the chocolate chips.  Repeat the heating 2 more times until the chocolate begins to melt.  Stir the chocolate chips until the chocolate is warm and liquid.  Add 10 more cold chocolate chips to the mixture and stir until these melt.  This will temper your chocolate.  Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled biscotti cookies.  Sprinkle with the additional prepared nuts, if desired.  Allow to cool completely before storing, so that the chocolate sets firmly.

---

Notes

Any nuts like pistachios, almonds, butternuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts, can be substituted for the walnuts in this recipe.

Orange zest and juice can be substituted for the lemon zest and juice called for in this recipe.

Recipe Card powered by

This recipe is part of The Sweetest Season, an annual virtual cookie swap co-hosted by Erin of The Speckled Palate and Susannah of Feast + West. Every year, food bloggers get together to share new holiday cookie recipes to make and give.

This year we are raising money for Cookies 4 Kids’ Cancer, which is a recognized 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to funding research for new, innovative and less-toxic treatments for childhood cancer.

Since 2008, Cookies for Kids’ Cancer has granted nearly $18 million to pediatric cancer research in the form of 100+ research grants to leading pediatric cancer centers across the country. From these grants have stemmed 35+ treatments available to kids battling cancer today.

Help us raise money for this important cause! Donate through our fundraising page.

Another exciting thing is that Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is in a matching window with their friends at OXO, meaning OXO will be matching every dollar raised through the end of 2024, up to $100,000. Whatever money we raise will automatically double on our fundraising page!