Chocolate Espresso Biscotti are boldly, richly chocolate cookies designed for the ultimate munching, crunching, dipping, and dunking experience. If you are a chocolate lover, or are baking for one, this recipe is a keeper!
There are a lot of new verbs in the English language that a short time ago were only nouns; text, blog, pin. I did not grow up with these verbs and occasionally find them confusing.
I have learned to text, though I don’t have the thumb dexterity that seems to have evolved in humans younger than me. Obviously, I am learning to blog. And most recently, I am attempting to pin.
I am not completely sure that I understand the intrinsic value of all the “liking” and “repining” that gets announced with great fanfare to my inbox. What I do understand is that Pinterest enables me to search for pictures of stuff that appeals to me, and then allows me to store those images in an organized manner. (I only wish the rest of my life was so neatly organized!)
I have heard that people get addicted to Pinterest. I don’t think I am an addict yet, but there have been a number of missing hours in my days lately and a marked increase in the number of pins on my Pinterest boards.
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that much of the time that I spend on Pinterest, I am looking for baking ideas, specifically mailable baking ideas.
There is a lot of amazing looking food out there and some very talented cooks/bakers/decorators. I am accumulating a sizeable collection of recipes for Monday Box ideas.
One category that I keep coming back to is biscotti because, as I have mentioned every time I post a biscotti recipe, biscotti are fantastic travelers and keep well for several weeks.
I would like to introduce you to biscotti so rich and chocolaty, that adding any additional dips or drizzles would be over kill.
I understand that there are those who say that there is no such thing as too much chocolate (I live with several such individuals), but believe me when I tell you that Chocolate Espresso Biscotti is perfect as is.
I am excited about Chocolate Espresso Biscotti because I think they are an excellent way to mail chocolate cookies, even to really hot places.
By leaving out the chocolate chips (you can substitute chopped nuts if you like them), Chocolate Espresso Biscotti would still be very chocolaty and there would be nothing to melt in transit.
When coffee and chocolate flavors are combined in a recipe, they make each other bolder and richer. The chocolate flavor in Chocolate Espresso Biscotti comes from Dutch process cocoa, ground semi-sweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
The coffee flavor comes from powdered espresso and coarsely ground espresso beans. The resulting biscotti are crunchy, sweet, and full of mocha flavor.
For more delicious coffee cookies, don't miss these!
Chocolate Espresso Spritz Cookies
Chocolate Espresso Biscotti
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder Note: If you use natural cocoa powder instead of Dutch-process , use ½ teaspoon of baking soda instead of the baking powder.
- 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chopped or broken into small pieces
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons espresso beans coarsely ground
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, cocoa,espresso powder, salt, baking powder, and chopped chocolate. Pulse until the chocolate is ground into the flour mixture.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
- Gradually add the flour mixture just until combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and ground espresso beans into the biscotti dough.
- Divide dough in half and form two logs about 14” x 2”. Place logs on prepared baking sheet at least 4” apart for the first bake.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes. Logs should be firm but not hard.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Leave the oven on.
- On a cutting board using a serrated knife, cut each loaf into ½ inch slices. (If the slices are crumbling, let the loaf cool a little longer.)
- Place slices, standing ½ inch apart, on a parchment lined cookie sheet for the second bake. Bake for 30 minutes until the surface of the cookies is dry ( though the chocolate chips will be gooey).
- Cool on a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.
Judy Hedlin
Made this gluten free for a family member who requires this and it was terrific. Held it’s shape and flavor very well.
Paulette
I’m
Anxious to make these. Am wondering if I can make/bake the logs and leave them overnight, then slice and bake the following day.
Wendy Sondov
I wouldn't leave them uncut over night because I think the dough might crumble while you were slicing. If you have to bake in two sessions, I would either make the batter on day 1 and both bakings on day 2, or do the first baking and slice on day 1 then do the second baking on day 2. I do think optimal results would come from baking both times on the same day.
Nil
These sound DELICIOUS, and I plan on making them. Can I melt the semi-sweet chocolate and add to wet ingredients vs blending with the dry?
Wendy Sondov
Maybe? I haven't tried to use melted chocolate instead of pulverizing the chocolate chunks with the dry ingredients. What I wonder is whether the warmth of the melted chocolate would change the fluffiness of the creamed butter and sugar (collapsing the tiny air bubbles?) and somehow effect the texture of the biscotti. If you try it, please let me know. That would be an interesting shortcut/variation!
Nil
I did it, and it worked out wonderfully! I let the melted chocolate cool, and added at the very end (ie, I mixed the wet and dry ingredients, then folded in the melted chocolate). These are delicious! Thanks for the recipe. 😊
Callmeafoodie
Callmeafoodie - Amazing ! About to make them for the 3rd time .. everyone wants them but not everyone bakes .. perfect for holiday gifts. I have never had espresso beans on hand and I switch either the baking chocolate or the chocolate chips for dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet ( 1 will be semi-sweet and 1 will be dark) and they're out of this world !!!
Karen Gulley
These look amazing and I'd like to add them to my Christmas Cookies this year! Can you tell me what the difference is between the instant espresso powder and the ground espresso beans? Can I grind my own espresso beans? How would I do that and how course should the grind be? Thank you so much for such a yummy sounding recipe! Can't wait to hear from you!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Karen. Instant espresso powder is made with brewed espresso that has been dried and crushed into a powder. I especially like the King Arthur brand flavor for baking, but you can find espresso powder in the supermarket with the instant coffee. Ground espresso beans are the actual strong coffee beans ground to about the consistency of large crystal decorating sugar. The espresso powder dissolves in liquid, so it adds just flavor to the cookies. The ground espresso beans don't dissolve and will add both flavor and crunch to the biscotti. I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Karen Gulley
Thank you so much for your awesome response! I really appreciate it! I thought it had to do with texture and crunch as well!
🙂
Karen Mixey
These are amazing! I love them!
Teri Padula
I found this recipe a couple of years ago and have been making it since. Absolutely love it! Everyone who tries it also raves about it!
Thanks!!
Wendy Sondov
I'm so glad this recipe is a favorite of yours! I get repeat requests for these chocolaty biscotti from everyone I gift them too. 🙂
Maria Eugenia
Nunca he hecho biscotti, pero me gustó la receta. Los haré para probarlos gracias
Wendy Sondov
De nada, Maria. Son faciles para hacer y muy deliciosas! Disfrute los!
Jeanette
HOLY MOLY! These are amazing! Just made them today and they are so easy. My house smells like chocolate and coffee and I love it!
Kim Meeusen
Again, another stellar recipe!!
Wendy Sondov
Thank you! I'm delighted that you are enjoying the biscotti!
Julie
These are delicious - unfortunately for me, I can't stop eating them. the whole house smells like chocolate. I didn't add the ground espesso beans (did add the powder) or chips but did add pastacios and dried cranberries. They aren't perfectly shapped, and they didn't expand like i expected, but I think my cocoa isn't dutched so want to make again with baking soda vs powder (i thought it was). still.... with all that didn't turn out perfect, these are really really good ! At the start, I spent a lot of time looking for a good chocolate biscotti recipe, and this is it.
Wendy Sondov
So glad you've found a good chocolate biscotti recipe that you can have fun adapting and creating variation with. 🙂
Julie
as a follow-up - the second batch using baking soda was perfection ! and I did add the ground espresso beans this time. really delicious and easy to make.
Diane
These are tooo good!!! They defiantly beat all the other chocolate biscotti recipes I have tried.
Thank you.
Wendy Sondov
I'm glad to hear you love these biscotti as much as we do! They are my go-to bake for gifting because everyone loves them. 🙂
Barb
These are way better than store bought and look wonderful,they didn’t fall apart. Didn’t have espresso powder so I opened a Nespresso Chiaro pod and used that.!
Fabulous
Thanks
Pam Rossini
Since prices have gone up on my regular quick fix grocery store purchase, I decided to venture into the homemade biscotti. I was told they were easy, so I ventured into the arena. This recipe turned out to be easier than I thought it would be and the mocha chocolate flavor did not disappoint. The cookie turned out crisp as expected of the biscotti, perfect for dunking in coffee or tea if you prefer. Looks like these will be one of my go to biscotti. And so much better than a store bought cookie. A keeper. Thanks for putting this recipe out there for all of us to try.
Wendy Sondov
I'm so glad that you gave these biscotti a try. I'm not sure why we all think biscotti are hard to make....until we actually make them and realize they are quite easy! Thank you for sharing your experience with the recipe!
Sharon
Wendy, I was excited to make your Choc. Espresso Biscotti & followed the recipe TO A T. They LOOK just as pictured here, and have a nice crunch. However, mine lack sweetness, and in my humble opinion, need more sugar to be ABLE to really taste all the yummy chocolate. Also, mine taste a bit burned. Will you PLEASE advise? MAYBE add 1/2 C more sugar, and set oven temp. lower to 250 or 275? I’m ready to TRY again once I hear back from you. Many THX, Sharon Bass, Raleigh, NC
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Sharon. If you used semi sweet chocolate for the chopped chocolate and for the chips, not dark chocolate, and you would like your biscotti to be sweeter, I wouldn't change the sugar amount but would change one or both the chips and chopped chocolate to milk chocolate. Milk Chocolate is much sweeter and will make the biscotti sweeter. As for the burning, I wouldn't change the oven temperature but I would change the timing. Each oven is different and recipe times are a suggestion that can't account for oven temperature variations or the type of baking sheet used. Because these biscotti are so dark, it's hard to tell when they are done, but here is the good news. You can always put biscotti back in the oven to crisp further if you take them out too soon. So I would take the biscotti out 5-10 minutes sooner on the second bake and see what you think. You could also do a second bake test with a few of the biscotti and see what the correct timing for your oven would be. Just put 2-3 biscotti in for the second bake and leave the others out until you have the timing worked out. I often do a test like that with recipes new to me, so that I don't over/under bake an entire batch. I hope this helps and that your next batch turns out exactly the way you like them. 🙂