Biscotti Thins -- Thin, But Not Too Rich
Biscotti Thins are one of my favorite cookies, and this my all-time favorite recipe. However, I can’t say I've ever made them the same way twice! I usually mix and match the fruit, or sometimes I just get trail mix or various dried fruit and nut blends from the bulk section of HEB or Whole Foods.
These biscotti thins can be made with almost any kind of chopped dried fruit, nut, candy and flavorings. You can also halve the recipe and bake it in cupcake tins or smaller loaf tins, in which case you have to cut the bake time somewhat. But usually it's made in a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Update: Here's a picture of some biscotti after the first bake. This is a weird batch because I made half regular and half keto (an experiment).
And here's what they looked like after I sliced them off the loaf. To make the biscotti thin, I froze the loaf and used a serrated knife. The keto ones are on the right and are a work in progress. I just substituted almond flour for the regular flour, used Lakanto monkfruit blend for the sugar and added a whole lot of Lily's chocolate chips along with pecans and maple extract. I've noticed keto biscotti takes longer to dry out. The "normal" ones are on the left and are made with walnuts, apricots and cranberries.
The only downside to homemade biscotti thins is that they are addictive. Seriously, they are hard to stop eating. I usually eat a few and hide the rest in the freezer, where of course they’ll stay fresh for months. Biscotti thins will stay fresh at room temperature for about a week, after which they'll still taste good but not quite as great.
Update: I've been happy with this recipe and have been using it for years, but I've seen some new variations which I'd like to try. Some of them call for baking powder. I may try adding a little to this just to see what happens. Will update.
Recipe
Cranberry, White Chip and Pecan Biscotti Thins
Ingredients
- 4 large egg whites 140 to 150 grams
- ⅛-1/4 teaspoon salt can omit or use less if desired**
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar 125 grams)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour 100 grams
- ⅔ cup toasted and chopped pecans
- ⅓ cup white chips or other flavor chip
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with strips of parchment paper.
- In a metal or glass bowl, beat whites with a little of the salt until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining salt and sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla.
- Sprinkle flour over meringue mixture, and with a heavy duty silicone scraper, fold it in.
- Mix together the pecans, chips and cranberries and fold them in carefully.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared loaf pan, spreading evenly. Bake on center rack for 35 minutes or until golden – it will still be a little soft. Cool loaf in pan for about 20 minutes, then remove from pan and let it cool to room temperature. When it’s almost cool, transfer to the refrigerator and chill until very cold – this makes it easier to slice. Better yet, freeze!
- Preheat oven again to 250 degrees F.
- Peel parchment off the cold loaf. With a serrated knife cut loaf crosswise into thin slices – mine are usually between ⅛ and ¼ inch thick. Arrange slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for about 45 minutes (check at 30 minutes), switching racks halfway through. The goal is to dry them out without letting them get too brown, so keep a close eye on them. Remove from the oven and let cool. If they’re not completely crisp while hot, they should crisp as they cool.
Notes
Anna
Shirley, I'm going to hold you to that.
Sue, they are good for both.
Jan, I use a serrated knife. I've found some biscotti recipes work better with a regular knife while some are easier to cut with serrated. These definitely fall into the serrated category.
Carolyn, thanks so much for taking the time to make them and post a comment! I really appreciate it. Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I was on vacation.
Carolyn
Wow - these are so good! Completely addictive! These are right up there with the cookie bark/brittle recipe from a couple of years ago. Thank you!
Jan Harris
I just finished eating my last pack of thin addictives, they're pretty good. My concern is the slicing of these, do you use a serrated knife, maybe electric? I have one impaired hand and it is difficult to slice, especially so narrow. I'd love to try these though!
Sue
These would be fun to have as part of a dessert or snack table.
shirley
Sound great, Anna. Maybe ? I'll really make these later this week or coming weekend. Alex has been asking for biscotti!
Anna
The same way, but line some cupcake cups with paper liners, divide the batter between the cups, and decrease the baking time to about 20 minutes. Once you've baked the little cupcakes, you chill the "cakes", turn them on their sides, slice into thin rounds, and dry out in a 250 oven.
sharona
how would you make them in cupcake cups?
Anna
Jessica, I've seen those but have never tried them. The packaged version I used to buy was called Almondina and could only be found in gourmet stores or delis.
Jessica
How funny! These look just like the cranberry almond thins I bought at Costco yesterday...and the brand is called Thinaddictives. Sounds like an appropriate name, but something tells me that your version would taste even better.