Easy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Biscotti Recipe (2024)

Biscotti is a delightfully crisp cookie baked twice to achieve its signature crunch. In Italian, biscotti means twice-cooked. My easy gluten-free chocolate chip biscotti recipe offers subtle almond flavor and tastes like a classic crispy biscotti cookie. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

Biscotti cookies are elongated in shape and filled with almonds, nuts, or chocolate chips. They’re baked twice, first in a loaf shape, then sliced and baked again to ensure they’re super crunchy and perfect for dipping in your favorite beverage, such as hot coffee or tea. Many people enjoy them with their morning coffee.

While traditional biscotti are made with wheat flour, my gluten-free version is made without gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. It requires a special gluten-free flour blend that makes it possible for people with celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and gluten intolerance to still enjoy this classic Italian cookie.

I think you’ll love that the flavors in this gluten-free almond biscotti cookie are simple and not overpowering. The almond flour and almond extract give these biscotti a fragrant almond flavor, and the chocolate chips add a touch of sweetness to help these delicious cookies go down smoothly.

Ingredients for Gluten-Free Biscotti

Below are the simple ingredients you’ll need to make homemade gluten-free biscotti:

Shortening: You’ll need ½ cup vegetable shortening to make this recipe. Alternatively, you could use ½ cup of softened butter.

Sugar: You’ll need one cup of white granulated sugar, which will add the right amount of sweetness to the cookie. Biscotti cookies aren’t overly sweet.

Eggs: You’ll need three large eggs for this recipe.

Almond Extract: This recipe requires ½ teaspoon of almond extract. If you don’t have or don’t like almond extract, you can swap it for vanilla extract instead.

Gluten-Free Flour: You’ll need 2½ cups of gluten-free flour for this recipe. I used Bob’s Red Mill’s 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour, which contains a blend of sweet white rice flour, whole grain brown rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and xanthan gum. I haven’t tested it with other flour blends (yet). If your flour blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add one teaspoon of it.

Baking Powder: Add 1½ teaspoons of baking powder to your recipe to help the cookies rise.

Almond Meal: This recipe requires ½ cup of almond meal (or ground whole almonds). Remember, almond meal is different than almond flour. Almond meal is whole ground almonds with the skin and flesh of the almond both ground into small bits. Almond flour is typically blanched, its skin removed and pulverized into flour.

Chocolate Chips: Use ¾ cup of your favorite chocolate chips. If you’re worried about dairy, use dairy-free chocolate chips.

Milk: This recipe requires 1-2 tablespoons of milk. To make it dairy-free, use a milk alternative like coconut milk or almond milk.

How to Make Homemade Biscotti

Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl using your standing or handheld mixer, then add the eggs and almond extract and mix on medium speed until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients, including the gluten-free flour (and xanthan gum, if needed), baking powder, and almond meal, to the wet ingredients. Mix until the dough is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand.

Place the biscotti dough on the baking sheet, then form it into two loaves, approximately 10”x 6” each. The dough will be sticky and easier to handle if you wet your hands with a bit of water before forming the loaves.

Brush each loaf with milk using a pastry brush, then bake the loaves for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until they’re lightly golden brown.

Allow the loaves to cool for 20-30 minutes, then use a sharp knife to slice each loaf into half-inch thick slices. Place each slice on the baking sheet to prepare it for its second bake.

Bake the sliced biscotti cookies for an additional eight minutes on one side. Gently flip them over and bake for 5-8 minutes on the other side. The cookies are fragile when warm and before the second baking is complete. Be careful when handling them so they don’t break.

Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool before enjoying. The traditional way to eat biscotti is to dunk it in your favorite beverage. A steaming cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate can soften the otherwise hard biscotti, making it easier to bite and savor.

You could also enjoy them with a sweet dessert wine, which many people do during the holiday season.

Notes

Shortening vs. Butter: I used vegetable shortening to make the biscotti vegan. If you’re not worried about dairy, use 1/2 cup of softened butter instead.

Milk: Use regular whole milk to brush the biscotti; however, if you’re dairy-free, you can use coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, or another vegan milk alternative.

Chocolate Chips: If dairy-free, use dairy-free chocolate chips like these from Enjoy Life.

Almond Meal vs Almond Flour: Remember to purchase almond meal or ground up your own almonds. Do not use almond flour.

Extract: You can play with this recipe to change up its flavors. One suggestion is to use orange extract and orange zest to add hints of citrus notes instead of almond extract.

Add-Ins: You could swap the chocolate chips for nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, chopped almonds, or dark chocolate pieces. You could also leave them plain for a simple biscotti cookie.

Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to five days.

Egg-Free: I haven’t tested this recipe without egg, but if you do, I suggest using Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer.

Additional Articles and Recipes

For more breakfast recipes, read 51+ Easy Gluten-Free Breakfast Recipes and Ideas.

For more recipes using Bob’s Red Mill flour, check out my 23 Classic Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Flour Recipes.

For a list of holiday cookie recipes, read 13+ Easy and Impressive Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies.

You might also like to make my gluten-free pumpkin scones or gluten-free cinnamon coffee cake.