Vegan Biscotti with Almonds
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Crunchy and full of flavors, these vegan biscotti with almonds are absolutely perfect for dunking in coffee. They’re easy to make in 1-bowl with a few basic ingredients, and you can substitute almonds with any kind of nuts, chocolate chips or dried fruit.
Bonus? No fancy ingredients required.
Plus, these crispy vegan biscotti look lovely and keep well for several days, they’re also perfect as a homemade Christmas gift.
Believe me, I have baked almond biscotti thousands of times, but now I’m totally hooked on their vegan version, and I can’t pass the kitchen without grabbing one… they’re crispy and irresistible!
What ingredients you need
This recipe requires simple basic ingredients:
- All-purpose flour or spelt flour
- Almonds (toasted and chopped)
- Sugar
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
- Orange zest & vanilla essence
- Baking powder
- Vegetable oil & water
How to make vegan biscotti
(Note: full recipe and ingredients are at the bottom of the page)
- Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl
- Add wet ingredients
- Stir to incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients
- Add the chopped almonds and put the dough together with your hands
- Form one or two logs and bake
- Slice the logs with a sharp and serrated knife
- Bake biscotti again on each side
What are biscotti?
Biscotti, otherwise known as “cantucci”, are the classic twice-baked Italian cookies from Tuscany and, if you haven’t heard about them before, biscotti literally means twice (bis) cooked (cotti).
Baking them twice might sound a bit time-consuming, but it’s during this step that biscotti dry out and become crispy.
The extra time is worth it and the double-baking gives them their trademark crumbly dry crispness.
RECIPE NOTES
Pro tips
Although this 1-bowl recipe is pretty easy and straightforward, you need to keep a few tips in mind if you make biscotti for the first time:
- It’s worth toasting the almonds to bring out their flavor, don’t skip this step.
- Chop your nuts or dried fruit, that will make the cutting easier
- Use damp hands to shape the logs
- The dough is sticky, it’s fine
- Flatten the logs, it helps the cutting
- Use a sharp serrated knife, this is not optional!
- Cut the logs ONLY when they cool down
Vegan biscotti variations
Traditionally made with almonds, you can replace the almonds with:
- Dark chocolate chips
- Dried fruit: cranberries, sultanas, chopped apricots, figs
- Nuts: toasted hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, pecans
How long do these vegan biscotti keep?
They last up to 1 week if stored in an airtight container, but make sure they cool completely before storing. My favorite containers are the old-fashion metal tins, they keep my cookies fresh and crispy.
Looking for more cookie & biscotti recipes?
If you look for more recipes, you can definitely have a look at this fantastic Christmas cookie collection or at these easy recipes:
- Easy almond cookies, soft, chewy, and absolutely divine
- Italian almond biscotti, crispy and perfect with your coffee
- 1-Bowl orange cookies dipped in melted dark chocolate
- 4-Ingredient coconut cookies, easy and delicious
- Chocolate biscotti
- Lemon biscotti
- Chocolate chip biscotti
If you make this vegan biscotti recipe, leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram.
I would love to hear from you!
Vegan Biscotti with Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 level cup (125 grams) flour (I mixed spelt and all-purpose flour)
- 3 Tbsp (20 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅓ cup (70 grams) sugar (I used unrefined cane sugar)
- ½ orange zest
- 5 Tbsp water, plus more if needed
- 2 Tbsp canola or olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- ½ cup (75 grams) almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Toast the almonds in the preheated oven until fragrant and lightly golden, about 7-8 minutes (the timer helps 🙂 and set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, backing powder, sugar, orange zest until completely combined.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients: water, oil and vanilla essence.
- Start stirring in the centre, mixing liquid and dry ingredients until incorporated. The dough is pretty sticky, and you might add an extra touch of water to incorporate the flour.
- Add the chopped almonds, mix and make sure they are distribuited evenly, then put the dough together using your hands. You can do it inside the bowl, there's no need to knead.
- Use damp hands and divide the dough into two flat logs, approx 3 inch wide, arrange well apart on the baking tray and flatten slightly. Try to make them as uniform in size and shape as possible.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the surface is firm to a gentle pressure. Do not switch the oven off as these will need to be baked again, but reduce the heat to 300°F.
- Let them cool slightly on the baking tray for at least 10 minutes, then use a serrated knife and gently slice into 1/2-inch pieces. Be very gentle when slicing, especially where the almonds are as they can crumble easily.
- Place the slices on a baking tray cut side down and return them to the oven for the second bake. Bake for about 10 minutes each side, total 20 minutes.
Notes
- Store biscotti in an airtight container, metal tin or in a jar, they last up to a week.
- This recipe makes a small batch, but it can easily be doubled.
You had me at “1 bowl”. I like such recipes. Then further on it says add cocoa powder and orange zest. WOW! match made in biscotti heaven. As a BIG fan of jaffa lollies I just have to make this. And my-oh-my I’m in loooovvve! Instead of water I juiced the orange and doubled the amount of zest…why not!?!? Oh and added the pulp…again…why not!?!? This is a keeper. Thank you for sharing Katia!
I’m very happy to hear that, Rei! Thanks so much for sharing your lovely feedback, so glad you loved the recipe. x
Do you have a vegan vanilla biscotti recipe? I saw you haven one but it’s not vegan. Please consider making a vegan version of that recipe as this chocolate one is amazing but I am looking for an a non chocolate option as I don’t like chocolate that much, yes one of the few people on earth that doesn’t like too much chocolate. Lol
Hi Tina, thanks so much for the suggestion! I only have one vegan biscotti recipe at the moment, but I’m going to make a vegan version of the classic recipe soon, people love it.
BTW, don’t you really love chocolate? Hard to believe 😉
Happy Holidays! x
Made these last night and they were delicious!
Only problem is that I can’t stop eating them 🙂
Thanks for your comment, Sara! I’m so glad you love them, especially if you can’t stop eating them LOL x
Hi katia, these biscotti are amazing! I’m just wondering, do you know why my logs could feel like there is air in them when rolling them? Could it be my dough is a bit too dry?
Xx
Hi Hannah, many thanks for your feedback 🙂
I think you’re right, from what you say seems like the dough was a bit dry and not entirely compact, that’s why you got that feeling when you rolled the logs. Next time, try to add a little more water (just a tiny bit) to incorporate the flour into the dough properly. All the best! x
I love biscotti! I’m gonna try this recipe soon, thanks!!