Dark Chocolate Espresso Biscotti

Name: Dark Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 175 min
Ingredients: 8 tablespoons of butter, melted; 1 cup of granulated sugar; 3 large eggs; 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon of baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt; 1/3 cup of natural unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 cups of all purpose flour; 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder; 1/2 cup of dark chocolate, chips or chunks; 1 large egg, whisked (the egg wash); 1 cup of dark chocolate, melted; flaky sea salt

May 20, 2024

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Growing up with an Italian grandmother put biscotti near and dear to my heart. There is no wrong time of day to enjoy a biscotti and these long, crisp cookies are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or espresso.

The word biscotti (derived from biscoctus) translates into “twice-cooked” and that is exactly how these cookies get there shape and crisp texture. The dough is cooked in large mounds until mostly set and then sliced into long strips and returned to the oven until wonderfully crisp.

They are simple to bring together, can be flavored in a wide variety of delicious ways and will keep well for up to a month in an airtight cookie jar. There are so many reasons why you should have biscotti on hand in your own kitchen, so let’s get started…

Today, we are making dark chocolate espresso biscotti and one of my favorite things about this recipe is that it uses melted butter, so nothing needs to be planned for in advance. If you have a sudden craving for biscotti, you can jump right in.

Begin by combining 8 tablespoons of melted butter, 1 cup of sugar, 3 large eggs and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in a large bowl.

Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 cups of all purpose flour and 1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder and mix until mostly combined.

As with many doughs and batters, you want to avoid over mixing this dough. We are about to fold in chocolate chunks and this will be enough to finish off the mixing necessary to bring everything together.

Add about 1/2 cup of dark chocolate. You can use chocolate chips or roughy chop up a portion of your favorite dark chocolate bar. Some places sell chunks of dark baking chocolate, which is also a great option.

Fold the dough until the dark chocolate is evenly distributed and the dry ingredients have been fully incorporated.

Cover the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 3 hours or the freezer for about 45 minutes. I know… waiting is rough, but all of the butter and chocolate needs to firm up fully or your biscotti will look like flat little pools of batter once they hit the heat.

Once the dough is firm, divide it in half and transfer it onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet.

Form each half into rectangles that are about 8 inches long, 4 inches wide and 3/4-1 inch thick. You can spray your hands lightly with cooking spray to help form the batter, but if it is really sticking to your hands, it is not firm enough yet and needs to be chilled a little longer.

Once the dough is formed, brush it with a whisked egg and bake in a 350 degree oven for 22-24 minutes or until the center feels lightly set to the touch.

Use the parchment paper or silicone mat to carefully slide the baked dough onto a cooling rack and let it sit for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, you should be able to carefully transfer the dough onto a cutting board and use a sharp serrated knife to cut both rectangles into long strips that are 3/4″-1″ thick.

Transfer the biscotti back onto a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet, cut side down, and place them back into the 350 degree oven to crisp up for 8-10 minutes per side.

The biscotti will have big beautiful chunks of molten chocolate when you first cut into it, but after the second bake, everything will dry out and crisp up nicely.

The second bake on the biscotti is what will determine how crisp they end up being. If you want the biscotti to be firm, but more chewy than crunchy then only leave them in for 6 minutes or so per side. Now if you want them crisp, like crisp enough to survive a 10 second dunk into your afternoon coffee, bake them for 10 minutes per side.

Once the biscotti has been baked twice, let them cool on a cooling rack and melt a cup of dark chocolate so we can dress them up a bit…

Once the biscotti has fully cooled, you can dip, dunk or drizzle the biscotti into melted dark chocolate and then return it to the cooling rack to let the chocolate set.

If you are adding some flaky sea salt (and I highly recommend that you do), be sure to add it before the chocolate hardens.

This dark chocolate espresso biscotti is fabulous. The chocolate flavor is bold and the sea salt and espresso help to further enhance those flavors.

Whether you want to bake a batch of chocolate biscotti to have on hand for snack emergencies or need a great cookie to give as gifts to friends, family or during holidays then I would love for you to give this dark chocolate espresso biscotti a try. You are going to love them!

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