almond biscotti | nina in the kitchen

Lemon Biscotti

Posted on April 27, 2026 by nina in the kitchen

Biscotti is a twice baked cookie that is always crisp and not real sweet. It’s Italian and one of my favorite foods from their rich culture.

This recipe is the same as my original Cantuccini which is from Baking with Julia. It’s a long time favorite. This new recipe is a softer cookie. Not nearly as rock hard crisp as my original. These crisp twice baked cookies are meant to dunk and soften in coffee or vin santo, an Italian dessert wine.

Adding the 3 tablespoons plus of lemon juice makes this a more tender cookie that’s not as hard to bite into and certainly does not have to be softened in coffee or wine. The grated rind of an entire large lemon adds a huge fragrance and flavor. But as I’ve experimented I’ve learned not all lemons are the same. When purchasing lemons buy the fragrant ones. If you have fresh lemons available that would be best! Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour + more for mixing and kneading
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole almonds
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Grated rind from 1 large lemon

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in lemon rind. Stir in almonds. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl whisk together eggs, vanilla and lemon juice.
Using a rubber spatula, add liquid mixture to dry ingredients. It will be sticky. Add 3 tablespoons of flour or more and mix until it is dry enough to handle, using a spatula.
Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and pour dough onto it. Sprinkle the dough with flour. Knead it in quarter turns for 1 minute, adding flour to keep it from being too sticky. Also keep your hands floured to prevent sticking.
Using a bread knife or another knife, cut dough into 2 even pieces.
Adding more flour as necessary, roll each piece into a 12 inch log.
Place logs onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Flatten the ends and the top of the logs so they form a 2 inch wide flattened log shape.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.
In about 1 hour or when they are cooled but not cold, slice the cookies 1/4 inch wide on a slight angle for longer cookies or perpendicular to the log if you want shorter cookies.
Place cookies on one side on 2 baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes. You don’t need parchment paper for the second baking.
Store in a cookie tin.
Voila!

Whisk Eggs, Lemon Juice & Vanilla Together

Place Dough on Floured Surface & Sprinkle with Flour

Lemon Biscotti

Carrie Quirconi Teglia’s Almond Biscotti

Posted on December 29, 2014 by nina in the kitchen

Almond biscotti brushed with dark chocolate and dusted with gold

Carrie Teglia was a friend to my mom. They worked together as fur finishers in downtown Chicago at all the upscale fur salons. Bermans, Evans, Bonwit Teller, I. Magnin’s. They shared much, including recipes. Carrie was from Florence, Italy. I imagine this is an authentic recipe from that region. I have adapted it by brushing one end of the baked cookie with dark chocolate and then dusting with gold.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixer, whisk together until lemony color:

7 large eggs

Lemony Eggs

Whisk in

1 and 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Pinch of salt

In a medium bowl combine with a clean hand whisk:

5 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

Dry ingredients whisked together

Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture with the mixer whisk
Add the following to the batter until combined:

3 tablespoons anisette or other licorice liquor

3 tablespoons whiskey or bourbon

1/2 cup or more finely chopped blanched almonds

Finely chopped almonds

Almond biscotti batter

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into 4 long logs onto the parchment.

Poured batter with uneven edges

Use a bread knife to form even edges to the logs. This is a very wet batter.

Even edges with bread knife

Brush entire area of logs with a slightly beaten egg white.

Brush with lightly beaten egg white

Bake 20 minutes or until light brown.

Baked loaves of biscotti

Slice in 1/2 inch sections while warm. For larger cookies cut on an angle.

Straight slices cut with a serrated knife

Angled cuts for longer cookies

Place cookies on their sides. Bake each side 10 minutes or until lightly browned or as desired.

Toasting the Biscotti

When cool, melt dark chocolate. Use a brush to paint one end. Place on clean parchment.
Using a toothpick and gold dust, tap the side of the toothpick to dust the chocolate as soon as it is brushed with chocolate.