Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

sliced chocolate espresso biscotti

These Chocolate Espresso Biscotti are crisp, with an intense chocolate flavor and background notes of espresso. They are the perfect afternoon treat, after-dinner dessert, and are fantastic dunked in a cup of coffee.

How to Make Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Making the Dough

The dough for these Chocolate Espresso Biscotti is really easy to make and doesn’t require any special ingredients other than instant espresso or instant coffee. The baking process is what differentiates biscotti from a traditional cookie, so the doughs are very similar. First, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, egg, and instant espresso, and stir to combine. I recommend using instant espresso over instant coffee because it has a stronger, richer flavor, but instant coffee can be substituted in a pinch. Next, add the baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder, followed by the flour. Once incorporated, the dough should be thick, but not crumbling. Stir in the chopped chocolate, if using. I used semisweet chocolate when baking these biscotti, but milk or dark chocolate would work just as well, too.

Baking the Biscotti

Biscotti translates to twice baked, or twice cooked, which is exactly how you will bake these cookies. Baking the biscotti twice gives it that dry, crisp texture. The first bake allows the dough to cook through and hold it’s shape, but still be soft enough to slice into individual cookies. The second bake dries the cookies out so that they are crunchy and perfect for dipping into a cup of coffee or glass of milk.

First, place the dough onto a parchement-lined baking tray and form the dough into a log approximately 9 inches long, 2 inches wide, and ¾ inch tall. Smooth and round off the edges before baking at 350°F for about 25 minutes, or until fully baked and set. The dough loaf will form a thin crust that will crack a little, which is normal. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, transfer the loaf to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice the loaf crosswise into individual cookies. Place each cookie back onto the baking tray, one cut-side up, and bake at 325°F for another 20-25 minutes, or until the cookies are dry and crisp. They may not be completely dry in the center, which is fine – they will continue to dry as they cool. Allow the cookies to cool completely before serving.

Serving and Storage

These Chocolate Espresso Biscotti are the perfect bite to serve with your afternoon cup of coffee, or as dessert with coffee after a meal. For decoration, I dipped mine in chocolate and let it set before serving them. You could try dipping them in white chocolate, drizzling on the chocolate in a pattern, just enjoying them on their own. These cookies will store well in an airtight container at room temperature for around 5 days before beginning to go stale. If you live in a humid area, you may notice that they soften over time. To fix this, you can bake the cookies for a third time to dry them out (if you didn’t cover them in chocolate), or store them in the freezer. To freeze these cookies, I’d recommend freezing them after baking. Simply freeze in an airtight bag or container and allow to come to room temperature when you’re ready to eat them.

I really like to have something sweet and crunchy with a cup of tea or coffee, and biscotti are ideal! The espresso powder in these Chocolate Espresso Biscotti really enhances the chocolate flavor in addition to lending it’s own flavor to the cookies. They’re lightly sweet, deeply chocolatey, and perfectly crunchy. For all you coffee lovers out there, these are a treat you’ll want to have on hand to enjoy, either on their own or with a cup of coffee!

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Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Chocolate biscotti mildly flavored with espresso.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: biscotti, chocolate, chocolate biscotti, chocolate espresso biscotti, espresso, espresso biscotti, mocha biscotti
Servings: 12 biscotti

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter room temperature
  • ½ cup (60 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp (4 g) vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp (4 g) instant espresso
  • 1 tsp (4 g) baking powder
  • ¼ tsp (~1 g) salt
  • ¼ cup (30 g) cocoa powder
  • 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup (50 g) chopped chocolate optional

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar.
  • Add the vanilla extract, egg, and espresso powder. Stir to combine.
  • Mix in the salt and baking powder, followed by the cocoa powder and flour.
  • Fold in the chopped chocolate if using. The dough should be thick but not crumbling.
  • Form the dough into a log approximately 9 x 2 x ¾ inches. Round and smooth the edges.
  • Bake the log of dough at 350°F for 25 minutes, or until it is fully set and forms a thin crust.
  • Remove the loaf from the oven and set aside to cool for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat in the oven to 325°F.
  • Transfer the biscotti loaf to a cutting board and slice to form ½-inch thick biscotti. Place the biscotti back onto the baking tray with one cut side up.
  • Return the biscotti to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes, or until the biscotti are dry and crisp.
  • Allow the biscotti to cool, dip them in chocolate if desired, and enjoy!

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