This gingerbread biscotti is dipped in white chocolate and decorated with holiday sprinkles for a fun, breakfast treat! Perfect for Christmas morning with a cozy winter latte! These biscotti are basically just adult gingerbread cookies!
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What is Biscotti?
Biscotti is a long cookie that is twice-baked to make them super crisp and crunchy!
Biscotti is also the all-encompassing term for "cookies" or "biscuits" in Italian. The more specific name for this style of cookie is cantucci or cantuccini, but outside of Italy they are commonly just called biscotti.
They might seem a little complicated but they're actually super easy to make! We simply shape the dough into logs and bake it. Then let the logs cool slightly, slice them, and then bake the slices a second time! Super easy!
You might also like this butter pecan biscotti or this pumpkin biscotti!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few ingredients to make this Christmasy gingerbread biscotti!
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. Best of all, brown butter pairs beautifully with the gingerbread spice. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
Molasses - This is one of the key ingredients for classic gingerbread! Molasses adds a distinct, rich flavor and color to the biscotti. Just be sure to use unsulphered molasses (do NOT use blackstrap molasses). The brand you're most likely to see at the grocery store is Grandma's Molasses, you can usually find it with the honey!
Gingerbread Spice - Gingerbread contains a delicious spice blend of ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. I use my homemade gingerbread spice mix in this biscotti but you can use whatever blend of spices you prefer! Pumpkin pie spice plus a little extra ginger is a great alternative.
White Chocolate - You can use white chocolate baking bars or white chocolate chips to melt to dip the biscotti in.
Christmas Sprinkles - I like to garnish the gingerbread biscotti with red and green holiday sprinkles or sanding sugar!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Biscotti
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the softened brown butter and brown sugar until smooth.
Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Then beat in the molasses until fully combined.
Add in the flour, gingerbread spice, baking powder, and salt and mix until fully incorporated. The dough should be sticky.
Scoop half the dough onto one side of baking sheet and pat it into a 10 inch x 2 inch rectangle that’s about 1 inch thick (lightly wetting your hands helps a lot with this step). Repeat with the other half of the dough.
Place the baking sheet with the shaped biscotti logs in the fridge and chill for about 20 minutes (this helps them not spread too much).
While the biscotti logs are chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top and edges are set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 to 30 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board and use a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water to very lightly spritz them (just one spray on each section of the logs). Wait about 5 minutes before using a very sharp serrated knife to slice biscotti ½ inch wide.
Return the gingerbread biscotti slices to the baking sheet, standing them up with ½ inch in between them, so air can circulate around them. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until dry and golden.
Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
Dip the gingerbread biscotti in the melted white chocolate (or drizzle) and garnish with sparkling sugar or Christmas sprinkles. Let the chocolate fully harden before storing.
Serve the white chocolate gingerbread biscotti with your favorite chai or white chocolate mocha latte!
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the gingerbread biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Yes! I recommend freezing the gingerbread biscotti after the first bake. After the biscotti are sliced, freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. To finish baking, let thaw and then bake for about 25 minutes as normal. Then finish by dunking in the white chocolate!
You can eat this gingerbread biscotti like a regular cookie, but since biscotti is so crunchy, it's typically dipped into coffee, milk, or tea before eating.
Gingerbread is made with molasses, brown sugar, and warming spices like ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Gingerbread has a slightly spicy flavor that makes it perfect for the winter holidays!
Biscotti is crunchy and dry because it is baked twice! First as a loaf and then again after being sliced. This hard, dry texture is what makes this gingerbread biscotti perfect for dunking in coffee and gives it a long shelf life!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Gingerbread Biscotti
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Biscotti
- ½ cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup molasses
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon gingerbread spice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Garnish
- 4 ounces white chocolate, melted
- red and green sprinkles
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat together the softened brown butter and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add in the egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Then beat in the molasses until fully combined.
- Add in the flour, gingerbread spice, baking powder, and salt and mix until fully incorporated. The dough should be sticky.
- Scoop half the dough onto one side of baking sheet and pat it into a 10 inch x 2 inch rectangle that’s about 1 inch thick (lightly wetting your hands helps a lot with this step). Repeat with the other half of the dough.
- Place the baking sheet with the shaped biscotti logs in the fridge and chill for about 20 minutes (this helps them not spread too much).
- While the biscotti logs are chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes, until the top and edges are set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
- Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board and use a spray bottle filled with room-temperature water to very lightly spritz them (just one spray on each section of the logs). Wait about 5 minutes before using a very sharp serrated knife to slice biscotti ½ inch wide.
- Return the gingerbread biscotti slices to the baking sheet, standing them up with ½ inch in between them, so air can circulate around them. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, until dry and golden.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Dip the gingerbread biscotti in the melted white chocolate (or drizzle) and garnish with sparkling sugar or Christmas sprinkles. Let the chocolate fully harden before storing.
- Serve the white chocolate gingerbread biscotti with your favorite chai or white chocolate mocha latte!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Abby says
Hi! Is the brown butter measurement before you brown it or after?
Kyleigh Sage says
After browning! So you may need an extra 1-2 tablespoons of butter. But I have tested it both ways and the difference is negligible.