Gluten Free Biscotti – Tastes Like the Real Thing!

These Italian cookies are often dry when made with gluten. However, this gluten free biscotti recipe is far from dry. Many prefer them over their gluten counterparts.

Most of the biscotti cookies I have tasted contain anise, of which I am not a fan. I’ve never enjoyed anything with a black licorice taste. However, my mother’s recipe, which I recently found 12 years after she passed away, made a wonderful gluten free biscotti. Everyone used to rave about them!

I used superfine rice flour, along with starches. If you do cannot find any superfine rice flour locally, which is highly likely, you may wish to try grinding regular rice flour about 4 times in an electric coffee grinder. It makes it fine, but not superfine. I cannot guarantee it won’t be gritty, but it is definitely worth a try, especially since this recipe contains eggs, which will soften the grittiness.

Also, if you’d like to skip the alcohol in this recipe, try substituting it with  some almond milk or the milk of your choosing, or perhaps even water. Though the alcohol cooks out, I know some of my readers avoid it in all of their gluten free recipes. Mom always made them with almond extract and walnuts, but choose your favorite extract and nuts. You really cannot go wrong with this gluten free biscotti recipe. Enjoy!

When making cakes I like to use my Gluten Free Cake Flour Blend because it contains sorghum flour which gives it more structure and a better crumb. However, for cookies, you’re looking for more starch. Therefore, I created a new gluten free all purpose flour. I hope you enjoy both recipes!

However you enjoy your biscotti, soft, or crisp enough to dunk, you can use this recipe, as the baking time and thickness determines how crisp or soft your cookie is. I made one batch thick so that it would be softer, how I like them and the other only 1/2-inch high and baked them longer for a more toasted biscotti, how my husband likes them.

Gluten Free Biscotti – Like the Real Thing!

51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Yield: Makes 32 – 34 cookies

Gluten Free Biscotti – Like the Real Thing!

Gluten free biscotti that tastes just like the real ones!

Ingredients:

  • 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, extremely soft
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons pure extract (almond, lemon, anise or coffee)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons brandy
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 3 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Blend
  • 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
  • 3/4 cup chopped nuts, dried cranberries, and/or poppy seeds
  • 11 ounces finely chopped, high-quality, gluten-free chocolate (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Line a silicone mat or other non-skid surface with a sheet of plastic wrap as long as your baking sheet, 17 inches; set aside.
  2. In the bowl of your mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time while mixer is running on low to medium-low speed. Add extracts, brandy, and water and mix until well blended. (Do not over mix, as you do not want a lot of air bubbles in the dough.)
  3. Whisk together the flour blend and baking powder. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until a dough forms.
  4. If adding nuts or other add-ins, fold in using a wooden spoon until evenly distributed.
  5. While the dough is still in the bowl, divide into two pieces. Place them on the plastic wrap. Using wet hands, form each piece into a log, 17 inches long by 1/2 – 3/4- inch high. To make them the traditional shape, arch the top by making the middle of the length higher than the rest of the log.
  6. Cradle the roll by picking up the right corners of the plastic wrap with one hand and the left corners with your other hand. Invert the roll onto the prepared baking sheet. Reshape if necessary. Repeat with the second log. Bake on separate baking sheets.
  7. Bake for about 30 minutes and until slightly golden brown. (If your fingers burn when you touch them, they are over-baked.)
  8. Once the first baking cycle is complete remove from oven and lower temperature to 300°F. (They will be the texture of cake.) Holding onto the sides of the parchment paper, transfer the rolls to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes..
  9. Using a serrated knife, slice each roll into 1/2 – 3/4-inch wide cookies, or diagonally for longer biscotti. Place each slice on its side onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  10. Bake cookies on the middle shelf for 10 minutes (longer if you like them crisp; shorter if you like them soft). Turn them over and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
  11. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  12. To Coat with Chocolate:
  13. Place chocolate in a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once heated, begin to stir until almost all pieces melt. Remove from heat. Dip half of each biscotti into the chocolate. Set them on the edge of a chopping board with a heavy knife placed on top; refrigerate until set.

Tips

If baking the cookies in the morning, leave the stick of butter out the night before.

If you choose to dip a portion of your gluten free biscotti in chocolate, use a high quality chocolate, not morsels. I used one king size Hershey bar and was able to dip 9 biscotti.

15 Replies to “Gluten Free Biscotti – Tastes Like the Real Thing!”

  1. I have King Arthur Gluten Free Flour. Are you familiar with it … & can I substitute it in your biscotti recipe without making any other changes?

    1. Hi Sharon,

      I haven’t used King Arthur’s flour in my recipes. Many of my readers have used Cup4Cup and Better Batter flour with good results. I have tried Cup4Cup and feel that it doesn’t come anywhere near my homemade blend. Sorry I couldn’t be of any help.

      Carla

  2. I am very excited about this recipe. I have missed dunking my Biscotti’s in coffee or hot chocolate.
    When reading through your recipe it states to put the roll in plastic wrap and then bake? Was the plastic wrap just for the creating the logs and THEN transfer to the parchment? (#9)
    And just make sure the baking sheet is lined with Parchment or silicone mat?
    Thanks !

  3. Hi Carla, Your recipe for biscotti looks delicious. In your comments before the recipe you said you created a new flour blend for cookies, which is highlighted and underlined. Yet, when I click on it, says page not found. Can you help?

  4. I bought my rice flour from an Asian market. It is the finest flour I have ever seen. One cup weighs 5 and 3/8 oz. Touching this flour, I cannot imagine a flour any finer. However, I do not have another flour to compare it to. How much does your superfine rice flour weigh per cup?

    1. Hi Marie,

      The flour found in Asian markets is known in the gluten free community as sweet rice flour. It is finer than regular rice flour, but not superfine. I’ve tried sweet rice flour and though it is easier to find, it does not work like superfine grain. Per cup, Authentic Foods’ superfine “white” rice flour weighs 6.3 oz. You’ll find it in my store under the Gluten Free Pantry section at http://glutenfreerecipebox.com/store/.

      Carla

  5. Just made these. They turned out too soft to cut well. The taste is fabulous but they didn’t turn out to be quite biscotti for me. Wondering if changing the amount of liquid or the cook time would help. The dough was quite soft. Any ideas?

    1. Judy,

      Sorry to hear that. The usual cause for most of my readers having too soft a dough is that they used regular rice flour or a gluten free all-purpose flour blend, other than the one suggested. My gluten-free all-purpose flour blend recipe calls for superfine rice flour. Let me know if this is the case for you, as well. If not, can you tell me if you made any changes or substitutions?

      Carla

    1. When you click on Print, a new window should open where you can print it. Perhaps you should wait a little while. On my computer, it opens up in a totally new browser, not a new tab. Hope this helps.

      Carla

  6. Hi Carla! Great recipe but is there a substitute for Brandy? What else can I use instead of Brandy. Please let me know.

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