Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Small batch cranberry orange biscotti full of flavor, soaked in orange juice and drizzled with a white chocolate coating.

Don’t get me wrong as much as I love baking a giant batch of cookies on a rainy day, we all know the feeling in mid December of being flooded with tupperwares on tupperwares of Christmas cookies. Thats why I challenged myself to develop a series of small batch cookies this year, they make just about 9 or 10 and can be gone before the next tupperwares of cookies get dropped off on your doorstep. No one has any big holiday parties to go to, so theres just enough for you and your inner circle before they go stale.

What are Biscotti?

Biscottis are my all time favorite cookie, you feel so elegant while eating them just because of the name, and they’re not overly sweet so you can enjoy in the moment and not feel sick afterwards. There used to be a foot soak and tea house about 15 minutes away from my house and they made THE BEST gingerbread biscotti. I used to order chamomile tea and would eat gingerbread biscottis while my mom and her friends soaked their feet. The tea house has since closed and I spent hours last week scouring the internet for any photo to base these biscottis off. I found nothing, so I went freestyle while developing these small batch cranberry orange biscotti and the results are incredible.

What makes these biscottis special is the orange juice soak that is brushed on in between bakes, it adds moisture to an otherwise dry cookie and since you bake them twice, they still get nice and crisp. This soak also helps enhance the orange taste since there is no juice in the actual cookie.

How to Make Cranberry Orange Biscotti:

These cranberry orange biscotti are so easy to make. Start by whisking the egg and sugar together in a medium sized bowl until pale, light, and ribbony. This will take roughly three minutes and a good bit of arm strength. Pour in the melted butter and vanilla and whisk in. Whisk until the butter is fully emulsified into frothy eggs (this may take a minute or two). Note: make sure the butter is cooled slightly before pouring it into the eggs to avoid the eggs scrambling. Then dump in the salt, baking powder, orange zest, and flour and beat in with a spatula. Then, fold in the dried cranberries until evenly dispersed. Note: chopping up some of the cranberries add a fun texture.

Dump the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and form a log. Bake for roughly 25 minutes until firm and then remove from oven. Let cool for 3-4 minutes before slicing with a serrated knife and turning horizontal. Brush with orange juice and bake for 10-12 minutes until light golden and crisp.

While cookies bake, melt white chocolate in the microwave stirring every 15 seconds until liquid and smooth. Once cookies are baked, drizzle the white chocolate onto the biscotti using a pastry bag or spoon. Serve and enjoy!

Small Batch Biscotti Tips:

• Don’t add juice to the dough, orange juice is an acid and if just the right amount is added, it will react with the baking powder and cause a possible sodium citrate reaction. Instead add zest and the orange juice soak to ensure no reactions take place.
• Only let the log of biscotti cool for 3 minutes. The biggest mistake bakers have with biscottis is slicing the cookies without them crumbling apart. Like all cookies, these set up as they cool so if they set up too much, they’ll crumble apart as you slice.
• Still struggling with slicing? Opt for a serrated knife to ensure success

More Cookie Recipes:

Want another small batch cookie recipe? Try these chocolate mint biscotti

Looking for a cookie that screams holiday cheer? Go for these stuffed red velvet cookies.

Going for an elevated classic? These brown butter oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies are the best!

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