Lemon biscotti are bright, citrusy, and perfectly sweet from the addition of white chocolate chips. These easy lemon biscotti are bursting with lemon flavour! These biscotti are on the softer side because of the oil in the recipe. But if you’d like a more crunchy texture, you can bake them for longer in the oven!
Lemon biscotti have the most refreshing flavour that keeps you returning for more. I experimented with this lemon biscotti recipe after making Yiayia’s Soft Biscotti Recipe (Paximadakia)
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- It’s easy to double this biscotti recipe if you’d like to make lemon biscotti the next time you have friends or family over. Or, they’re perfect for a sweet lemony treat throughout the day.
- Freshly baked biscotti last for at least a week at room temperature in an airtight container, so you can make these ahead of time!
- Biscotti is a simple recipe to make and one of my favourite lemon desserts.
- You can take biscotti cookies with you as a snack to work, school, or travel.
- Biscotti are perfect with a cup of coffee, herbal tea, or just on their own!
WHAT IS BISCOTTI IN GREEK?
Paximadia is the Greek word for biscotti. The shape of Greek biscotti isn’t always as long as the Italian biscotti, but ultimately the size is up to you! These flavourful, slightly crunchy biscotti are twice-baked and are the perfect treat with your morning coffee or tea!
HOW TO SHAPE BISCOTTI
This recipe makes enough dough for approximately 20-24 biscotti. Depending on how thick you slice the biscotti loaves, you may get more or less. I usually make the biscotti loaves about 3 inches wide and an inch tall. The length is up to you! But it’s a good idea to keep the loaves similar in size so they bake evenly. Plus, the biscotti loaves will flatten as your score them and expand a little bit when they bake because of the egg and baking powder.
When it’s time to form the dough into loaves, it helps to rub your hands with a bit of oil or water. The oil will prevent the dough from sticking to your hands and make it easier for you to shape the biscotti.
EQUIPMENT
- Electric stand mixer with the whisk attachment and mixing bowl
- Large glass bowl or stainless steel bowl
- Non-stick large baking sheet and cooling rack
- Citrus zester and juicer
INGREDIENT NOTES
Below are some notes about the ingredients used for this recipe. For a complete list of ingredients, please review the recipe card below.
Egg: The egg should be at room temperature to mix better with the sugar.
Extra virgin olive oil:Â Olive oil adds more depth and richness to these lemon biscotti. If you don’t have olive oil on hand or don’t love the taste, then you can substitute the olive oil for equal amounts of mazola oil or another similar vegetable oil.
Lemon juice:Â Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best. Meyer lemons tend to be sweeter but feel free to use any lemon.
Lemon zest:Â Fresh zest will have more flavour, so it’s recommended to zest the lemon just before you need to add the zest to the wet ingredients. That way, the zest retains all of its flavours for the biscotti.
White chocolate chips:Â If you’d like biscotti to be less sweet, you can add 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips instead of 1/2 cup. I’ve chopped the white chocolate chips into smaller pieces, but you can leave the chocolate chips as they are if you’d like. Chopped chocolate chips will mix into the dough better, but the flavour will be the same.
Flour:Â I recommend all-purpose flour for this recipe. The dough will be sticky, but that’s ok! Try not to be tempted to add too much extra flour. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes at room temperature, uncovered, before forming the dough into biscotti.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON BISCOTTI: STEP BY STEP
STEP 1: Preheat your oven. The oven temperature should be at 325 degrees F on convection bake.
STEP 2: Prepare the wet ingredients. Use an electric mixer and mixing bowl with a whisk attachment. Add the egg to the mixing bowl and whisk together on low to medium speed. Add in the sugar and vanilla extract and continue to mix until the eggs are a frothy and pale yellow colour. Then mix in the oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and white chocolate chips.
STEP 3: Prepare the dry ingredients. Sift two and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour into a separate medium bowl. Add baking powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt well together.
STEP 4: Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Slowly spoon the flour mixture into the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl. To prevent the flour from going all over your countertops, having the mixer on a lower speed is a good idea. Once all of the flour is absorbed, turn off the mixer. The dough will be sticky, but it should still be pliable. If it’s too sticky, you can add a teaspoon of flour at a time. The dough will be easier to work with once it rests for 10-15 minutes.
Lightly grease a large bowl with a little bit of mazola oil. Use your hands to transfer the biscotti dough to the greased bowl. Allow the dough to rest uncovered at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
STEP 5:Â Make the biscotti loaves. Clean a flat surface like your kitchen counter or dining table. This surface is where you’ll roll out the dough and form the biscotti loaves. Add a little oil to your hands and roll the dough into a ball. Next, roll the dough and press your hands lightly outwards to form a long dough log. Use a sharp knife to cut the biscotti log into two equal pieces.
STEP 6: Score the loaves. Roll each piece into a ball, and then following the same technique as above, slide your hands lightly outwards to create a log. Shape the biscotti dough with your hands into loaves. The loaves should be relatively even in width and height so they bake evenly in the oven. I usually prepare about 3 inches wide and 1 inch in height loaves. The shape of the biscotti will be longer if the loaves are wider.
Use a butter knife to score the loaves into about 1/2″ – 3/4 inch slices. The butter knife shouldn’t go all the way down. Just enough to know where to cut the biscotti once it’s baked.
STEP 7: Bake the loaves (first bake). Transfer the scored loaves to a non-stick baking sheet and place them in the preheated oven. They’ll need to bake for about 25 minutes at 325 degrees F on convection bake or until lightly golden brown. It’s a good idea to keep some distance between the loaves on the cookie sheet since the biscotti will expand slightly as they bake in the oven.
STEP 8: Allow the loaves to cool, and cut the biscotti. Remove the biscotti loaves from the oven and wait a few minutes for them to cool. Then, carefully transfer the warm biscotti loaves to a cooling rack. Allow the loaves to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Allowing them to cool will prevent the loaves from crumbling when cutting them into biscotti. Next, use a sharp serrated knife to cut the cooled biscotti loaves along the score lines.
STEP 9: Second bake. Transfer the cut biscotti to the cookie sheet in a single layer and place them in the oven. Allow the biscotti to bake for about 20 minutes at 250 degrees F on convection bake. If you like your biscotti crispier, the baking time can be longer. Once they’re ready (golden brown and slightly crispy), remove them from the oven. Enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
- The biscotti dough will be sticky, but it should also be pliable so that you can form the dough into loaves. I usually keep about 1/4 cup on hand in case I need to add it to the dough.
- The dough should be easier to form after it rests for 10-15 minutes
- The longer the biscotti bakes in the oven, the crispier it will be. If you like soft biscotti, then take out the biscotti earlier from the oven during the second bake.
STORAGE AND FREEZING
Baked biscotti can last for at least a week if stored in an air-tight container at room temperature.
This recipe makes about 20-25 cookies, so if you’d like to freeze some, you definitely can! Freeze any leftover biscotti (or some that you’d like to save for a later date) in an airtight container in the freezer.
To defrost frozen biscotti, take them out of the container that they were in and place them on a wire rack or a cookie sheet. Allow the biscotti to come to room temperature. If you leave the biscotti to defrost in the container, they may get soggy.
- Yiayia’s Soft Biscotti Recipe (Paximadakia)
- Simple Greek Almond Cookie Recipe (Kourabiedes)
- The Best Honey Cookie Recipe (Melomakarona)
- Greek Iced Frappe Coffee Recipe
- Greek Easter Butter Cookies (Koulourakia)
Lemon Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1/2 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup mazola oil
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 3 small lemons
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice about 3 small lemons
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder level
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips you can chop the chocolate chips into smaller pieces or add them as they are
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F on convection bake.
- Use an electric mixer to whisk the egg, sugar and pure vanilla extract in the mixing bowl on low to medium speed. Continue to mix the egg until it's frothy and pale yellow. Add in the mazola oil, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and white chocolate chips.
- Sift two and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour into a separate medium-sized bowl. Add baking powder and a pinch of salt. Whisk together.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl. Keep mixing until all the flour is absorbed. Then, turn off the mixer. The dough will be sticky, but it should be pliable. Next, lightly grease a large bowl with about a teaspoon of mazola oil. Transfer the biscotti dough from the mixing bowl to the greased bowl. Allow the dough to rest uncovered at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
- Clean a flat surface like your kitchen counter or dining table. This is where you'll roll out the dough and form the biscotti loaves. Add a little oil to your hands and roll the dough into a ball. Next, roll the dough and press your hands lightly outwards to form a long dough log. Use a sharp knife to cut the biscotti log into two equal pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball, and then following the same technique as above, press your hands lightly outwards to create a log. Next, shape the biscotti dough with your hands into loaves. I usually prepare about 3 inches wide and 1 inch in height loaves. Use a butter knife to score the loaves into about 1/2" - 3/4" slices. The butter knife shouldn't go all the way down. Just enough to know where to cut the biscotti once it's baked.
- Bake the loaves. Transfer the scored loaves to a non-stick baking sheet and place them in the preheated oven. They'll need to bake for about 25 minutes at 325 degrees F on convection bake or until lightly golden brown.
- Remove the biscotti loaves from the oven and wait a few minutes for them to cool. Then, carefully transfer the warm biscotti loaves to a cooling rack. Allow the loaves to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Next, use a sharp serrated knife and a cutting board to cut the cooled biscotti loaves along the score lines.
- Transfer the cut biscotti to the cookie sheet in a single layer and place them in the oven. Allow the biscotti to bake for about 20 minutes at 250 degrees F on convection bake. If you like your biscotti crispier, their baking time can be longer. Once they're ready (golden brown and slight), remove them from the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
- The dough will be sticky but do not add too much extra flour
- The loaves should be relatively even in width and height so that they bake evenly
- The shape of the biscotti will be longer if the loaves are width
- It's a good idea to keep some distance between the loaves on the cookie sheet since the biscotti will expand slightly as they bake in the oven. Â
- Allowing them to cool will prevent the loaves
from crumbling when you cut them into biscotti.
Nutrition
Date Published: June 29, 2022
Easy Lemon Biscotti Recipe
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