Lightly orange flavored biscotti filled with dried sweetened cranberries and chocolate chips. This Orange Cranberry Biscotti is a crispy, delicious treat for breakfast, a snack, or dessert!
Baking Days
Since I’m currently home with my kids all day, every day, I have been trying to come up with activities to teach them, and also keep us all sane. They generally get excited about helping me cook, so I’ve tried to come up with some baking projects.
On Sunday I decided it would be fun for us to make biscotti together. However, my husband was outside digging in dirt, so obviously my kids decided that was way more fun. I ended up making the biscotti alone while each of my kids stuck their head in the door every few minutes to ask if the ‘cookies’ were ready for them to eat.
Biscotti
Truth be told, this year was the first time I ever made biscotti. No specific reason why, it’s just not something that had ever popped into my head to bake. But the last couple of times that I’ve seen my hairdresser, she has given me some homemade biscotti. I enjoyed it so much that I decided I needed to start making it at home.
My hairdresser told me her recipe, so I started with that as a base. I just made a few tweaks here to make it my own! A perfect combination of sweet and crunchy.
Orange Cranberry Biscotti
Liquid
If you do not want orange flavored biscotti, you can use another flavor, such as lemon. Or if you want a ‘plain’ traditional flavor, simply substitute an additional egg for the 1/4 cup of orange juice.
Flavor
For this biscotti, I wanted a subtle orange taste. If I were making it at Christmas and wanted to pack it full of orange flavor, I would add the zest of an orange.
Mix-Ins
You need a cup of mix-ins, so change it up as you see fit! I used 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries and 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. There’s plenty of room for flexibility here – you could use another dried sweetened fruit, white chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, etc!
Crispiness Level
I believe there is a wide range of preferences on biscotti crispiness. So let me help you make this recipe your version of perfect:
How do I make biscotti soft?
To make this biscotti on the softer side, when you cut it, don’t pull it apart. Let the biscotti bake like a loaf of bread.
How do I make biscotti crispy?
To make this biscotti crispy, you want to:
- Cut it into about 1/2 inch sized pieces. The thinner the pieces, the crispier it will get.
- After the first portion of the baking time, let the pieces cool, then lay each one on its side and bake again for 7 minutes, then flip the pieces to their other sides for another 7 minutes. You can increase the baking time(s) for a crispier biscuit, if desired.
This Orange Cranberry Biscotti is an easy, tasty treat that is fun to make for friends or even to bake with kids!
Orange Cranberry Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 3 large eggs
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
- 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large baking sheet or line with silicone baking mat.
- Use electric mixer to beat butter and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Mix in vanilla and orange juice, scraping down sides as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, again scraping down sides as needed.
- In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat into butter mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.
- Stir in cranberries and chocolate chips.
- On prepared baking sheet, spread out dough evenly into a ~1/2 inch thick rectangle that is ~14 inches x 12 inches.
- Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cut long slices into dough that are about 1/2 to 3/4″ apart (thinner will be crispier, thicker will be softer). NOTE: You are not moving the dough, just cutting into the dough.
- Return to oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Remove baking sheet and let cookies cool enough so that you can touch the cookies without burning yourself. Once cool, cut the slices again, to separate, and set each cookie on one side on the pan. Bake for 5-7 minutes (longer for more crispy), then flip and bake for 5-7 minutes on other side.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.
If you enjoyed this Orange Cranberry Biscotti, you might enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies with Nutella Filling
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Blueberry Banana Bread
Baked Blueberry Cake Donuts
Links to items used to make this recipe:
Silicone Baking Mat: I use these instead of parchment paper for most baking
Baking Gloves: These are the gloves my husband uses for grilling, but they work well for this recipe so you can use them to touch the biscotti when it’s hot.
