Biscotti Cookies Recipe with Almonds and Honey

These orange-scented, honey-spiced Italian Biscotti Cookies enclose a filling of almonds and chocolate. This once-baked biscotti-like cookie will quickly become one of your favorite Italian cookie recipes. 

If you like Italian cookie recipes, more specifically unique biscotti recipes, this is for you.

Family and friends describe this recipe as the union of a mostaccioli cookie and a honey almond biscotti, 

The combination of spices like cinnamon and cloves with honey and chocolate makes it the perfect Italian Christmas cookie for your holiday platter. 

Instructions

As you can well imagine, there are three parts to this cookie recipe, the dough, the filling and the egg wash. 

Before we begin combining the baking ingredients for our Italian cookie, adjust the oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). 

Next, line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Scatter 1 pound (about 3 cups) of almonds and roast in the oven as it is preheating for about 10 -15 minutes until fragrant. Transfer to a shallow bowl once they are done. 

To make the cookie dough

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together all the dry ingredients.

More specifically, 1 kilogram of all-purpose flour along with 1 teaspoon of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ teaspoon of each cinnamon and cloves. 

In another bowl, whisk together 4 room temperature eggs, 1 tablespoon of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of almond extract, and the zest of one organic orange. 

Make a well and add the liquid ingredients. To this whisk in 2 cups of warm honey. Switch to a wooden spoon and incorporate the wet and dry ingredients.

Finally, use your hands to knead the dough for a few minutes directly in the large bowl.

Cover and set aside as we prepare the almond filling.

To make the almond filling

Place 250 grams (about 8.8 ounces) of dark chocolate in a large heatproof bowl, set over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water.

When the chocolate is almost completely melted, remove from heat and stir to finish melting. Note: If using a microwave, heat in 30 seconds intervals, stirring after each time increment.

To this add the rest of the ingredients. More specifically, 4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, ½ cup of warm honey, 1 teaspoon of anisette liqueur, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and one pound of roasted almonds. 

Stir to combine and set aside.

To make the egg wash

In a small bowl, simply whisk together 1 room temperature egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Set aside. 

To assemble these Italian honey cookies

Since we will be making 2 loaves, separate the cookie dough in half. If you have a scale, that would be about 900 grams. 

Place half of the cookie dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover the dough with another sheet of parchment paper and roll out the dough to approximately 14 inches by 7 inches. 

This is a very soft dough and you can gently push the dough in order to get a rectangle shape. 

Place half of the almond filling down the center of the dough about 1 inch from the side.

Lift up the parchment paper and fold it over the top of the filling. Carefully peel back the parchment paper. Do the same for the other half.

Bring up the ends to seal in the filling. The dough can easily be manipulated so make sure to properly enclose all the filling. Place the parchment paper on the dough and apply gentle pressure to pat down the seal, smooth out the surface and compact the almond filling.  

Once again, use the parchment paper to turn the biscotti loaf over so that the seam is now on the underside. Slide the parchment paper and the log to a large cookie sheet. 

Repeat this procedure for the rest of the dough and filling.

Brush the egg wash on the surface of both biscotti logs. 

Baking the biscotti logs

Bake for 25-30 minutes in a preheated oven until the tops are golden brown and firm to the touch. 

Allow cooling on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before transferring to a rack to completely cool down. 

How to slice

It is easier to slice these loaves the day after they are made as the moisture from the almond filling softens the texture of the dough.

Once the loaves have completely cooled down, wrap them in cellophane wrap and store them at room temperature. 

The next day, place them on a wooden board. With a very sharp knife, hold the tip with the palm of one hand, and with the other hand on the handle, make one sharp downward cut. 

This recipe will yield approximately 112 cookies if sliced at ¼ interval. Keep in mind that cutting them thicker or thinner will affect the final yield. 

Feel free to slice them at an angle for the classic biscotti look or simply straight up. Either way, they will taste great!

How to store

Well wrapped, these loaves can be kept at room temperature for about one week. They can also be frozen for up to 2 months without affecting the quality of the cookie.

Tips

• For maximum flavor, use high-quality honey. 
• Roasting the almonds will yield a cookie with more flavor. 
• Blanched almonds can also be used. 
• Once combined, allow the cookie dough to rest for about 15 minutes. 
• Make sure the filling is properly enclosed in the dough otherwise there is a risk that the filling will leak out. 
• Spread the loaves at least 2 inches apart on the baking sheet as they expand a little as they bake.  

More traditional Italian cookies

If you like Italian cookies, make sure to take a look at this authentic recipe for pizzelle. You won’t believe how thin and crispy they are. If you are a fan of citrus, my mom’s recipe for lemon cookies is for you. 

Recipe inspiration

I can still remember how excited I was when “the internet” came to life. 

At the time, I was working in a rehab center, and it was my colleague Chris who was responsible to train all the managers on this new technology.

Does anyone else remember this sound as the connection was being established? Needless to say, this technology changed the world.

On a personal note, I would spend hours “surfing the internet” and looking for recipes. Unlike today where you can digitally save recipes, I would print them out and organize them in binders. It’s hard to believe that was just a few decades ago! 

To this day, I still have all my printed internet recipes. 

In August of 2008, Deborah from Italian Food Forever first published a recipe she entitled Mostaccioli. 

This recipe was not only visually appealing to me, but it intrigued me because it did not look at all like my mom’s mostaccioli recipe. It was however very similar to my Zia Maria’s honey biscotti. 

When my daughter-in-law first tasted these cookies, she informed me that her Calabrian mom would make a similar “mustazzoli calabrese” recipe. In fact, this mostaccioli cookie with almonds and chocolate is indeed a traditional holiday cookie from Calabria.

I just recently learned that in some areas of Calabria, the dialect name for these cookies is Pastura. 

Long story short, I adapted the recipe I found on the internet and incorporated the spices of my mom’s recipe.

Thank you Deborah for the initial inspiration. 

THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.

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Ciao for now,

Maria