Cantucci, also known as Italian Almond Biscotti, are a classic twice-baked Italian biscuit that is crisp, nutty, and perfect for dunking in coffee, tea, or dessert wine. Made with simple pantry ingredients like almonds, egg, sugar, and flour, these crunchy cookies are surprisingly easy to bake at home and last beautifully in an airtight container. They’re the perfect Italian treat for gifting, holiday baking, or serving alongside an after-dinner espresso, rustic, authentic, and full of traditional flavour.
Cantucci a Classic Italian Almond Biscotti Recipe
Traditional Cantucci Biscotti Recipe
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Category
Dessert
Cuisine
Italian
Author:
Ashleys Place
Servings
23 Biscuits Approx.
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
32 minutes
Cantucci or as you may know it Biscotti is one of my all time favourite biscuits to have! Traditional Italian Cantucci made with almonds and baked twice for the perfect classic crunch ideal for gifting or serving with coffee. And these last so well in an airtight container so are perfect to make a batch and keep on hand for when guests arrive
Ingredients
-
275g of Flour ½ “00" Flour ½ ”0" Flour (See note 1*)
-
175 Caster Sugar (Super fine white Sugar)
- 140g Almonds
-
100g Eggs (approx. 2 Eggs) (see note 2*)
-
15g or 1 packet of Lievito per dolci (see note 3*)
Directions
Preheat oven to 180° Celsius
Prep your baking tray by lining it with baking/parchment paper and a dusting of flour down the centre where you will put the log of Cantucci
Add your Eggs and Sugar into your mixing bowl, using your whisk attachment or handheld mixer and begin to mix on medium - high speed for at least 8 minutes until it starts to become a little lighter in colour and thicker.
Stop your machine and add in your packet of Lievito and continue to mix until all is incorporated which is usually only about 30 seconds or so it just needs to be mixed through properly
Once it is mixed switch to your paddle attachment if you have one, if not a handheld mixer is fine, but when you add the nuts you may need to mix in by hand with a spatula if your whisk or beaters are thinner as it may bend your mixer attachments. So just be mindful of that and your machine. This is why we also switch to a paddle as the whisk isn’t the best to mix in the flour & nuts
Add your flour in ½ in at a time and continue to mix after each addition just until its incorporated well
Once the second lot of flour is added & incorporated you can add in the nuts, you only need to mix for about 20 seconds until the almonds are all mixed through. It will be a little sticky/separated in the bowl rather than a fully formed dough but that’s ok we will form it into the log by hand
Take your mixture out of your mixing bowl and start to shape into a long log that fits on your baking tray. If your tray isn’t very long you can always make 2 logs. I make mine about 5cm width wise but you don’t need to get the ruler out just simply guestimate and try to shape it so that it is the same thickness all over from end to middle. If you do 2 smaller logs just watch your baking tine as it may bake quicker being smaller
Once shaped dust with a little flour on top and pop into the oven
Bake for 20 minutes until its nice and golden brown on top (again if your log is smaller or you made 2 just bake until the outside is nice and golden, but only golden not too super brown or burnt
Take out of the oven and let it cool down completely on a cooling rack, then we are going to slice it up and re-bake it once cooled
With a sharp knife (I use my bread knife) slice into 1cm thick pieces and pop back onto a baking tray with baking paper. You want the inside facing up this time so lay them flat, you don’t need heaps of room in-between since it is already risen, we are just crunching them up
Pop back into the oven to bake for another 12 minutes, flipping them half way. You want them to be toasty and brown but not burnt or too super dark so keep an eye on them. If you find some are browning quicker you can always take them out first and keep baking the rest. This will make them harder cookies if you prefer them a touch softer cook for approx. 8 minutes
Take out and let them cool completely before storing in an airtight container. They are delicious dipped into a coffee
Recipe Note
FAQ & Notes:
- I use a mix of "0" and "00" flour which is an Italian flour that is pretty easily available these days, even most supermarkets stock it these days. But if you cant find the "0" flour then you can just use all "00" flour its no problem
- When measuring your eggs if you find that you are over 100g simply mix the eggs together so the yolk and whites are incorporated and take some out. I use my cracked egg shell to take some out as it is easy but please be careful no shell goes in the cookies. You can use a spoon
- Lievito per dolci is what we use for these cookies and is perfect because it has a vanilla flavour inside and the ratio is the right amount, it is what I have always used and what we used in Italy. I have not tried to substitute it for Baking Powder which you can do but I haven't personally tested the ratios. I will try to do a test on this but if you can just use the Lievito and the brand I see most available "Paneangeli" it is a green and blue packet but make sure you get the one that is Per Dolci which means "for sweets". You can find it in most fruit shops, Italian Supermarkets and Delis etc. If you are not sure let me know I can help
Q. Why do we double bake these?
These are a crunchy biscuit which is why we double bake them, the first bake really makes the outside more crunchy and cooks it a bit, where as the second bake does more of the baking on the inside. When you are baking them a second time if they are a nice golden brown colour like the pic they are done. We want them to be golden brown not burnt and it depends how big you cut them. You typically dip these in liqueur I dip mine in coffee so this is why we make them crunchier
Q. How long do they keep once baked?
A. These last really well in airtight containers because they are so crunchy, you can keep them for weeks in an airtight container. In fact that is what we did in Italy we always had a container around the house and they last for ages. They are a great cookie for a cookie jar as they stay pretty fresh.
Q. Can I make different flavours?:
A. You can switch up the nuts if you like or some people like to do chocolate instead of almonds. I haven’t personally tested these though, I love the OG version but will try to make some different versions to show you
Q. When to make this for Event:
Because these last so well you can easily make these a few days before your event. You can make them fresh if you like but if you are doing lots of baking and cooking make them a few days in advance and because you need to double bake I would recommend doing it in advance or making sure you have enough time to do so the day of. These are also great as a gift or bonbonniere for your event in a little sealed bag.