Coffee Hazelnut Biscotti (vegan)

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These American style vegan coffee hazelnut biscotti are crunchy yet tender, not too sweet and very easy to make with simple ingredients.

Flavoured with espresso powder, packed with hazelnuts and dipped in chocolate they are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate!

Coffee hazelnut biscotti on a dark surface with cups of espresso, a bar of chocolate and a bowl of hazelnuts.

Biscotti are often enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee, but they are also great when they are flavoured with coffee as well! Especially when that coffee flavour is paired with toasted hazelnuts and chocolate.

These vegan coffee hazelnut biscotti are good all year round but I feel they are particularly suited to Autumn, and they would also be great to have around at Christmas!

What Are Biscotti?

Translating to "twice-baked", biscotti is actually just the Italian word for biscuits or cookies. What the UK and US think of as biscotti are actually called cantucci (or cantuccini if they are small), or alternatively as biscotti di Prato, as they originated in the city of Prato in Tuscany.

Cantucci are a very hard, dense biscuit that are made without the addition of any fat, other than that contained in the egg yolks; which ensures a very long shelf life as well as a dry, crunchy texture. They are served with a glass of vin santo or espresso to dip them in to soften them enough to eat without breaking your teeth.

American style biscotti are similar to cantucci in that they are baked as a log which is then sliced into fingers and baked a second time to give the biscotti a crunchy texture. But they differ in that they usually contain the addition of butter or oil, which gives them a lighter, more tender texture which is crunchy on the outside yet chewy in the middle. They can be eaten without having to dunk them first, though of course you still can if you want to!

These coffee hazelnut biscotti are American style ones, made with olive oil rather than butter, and hazelnut milk rather than eggs to make them vegan

A labelled photo of the ingredients needed to make vegan coffee hazelnut biscotti.

Ingredient Details:

Instant espresso powder: I prefer to use instant espresso powder rather than instant coffee granules as it dissolves easier; you can use granules instead though. You could also use Camp coffee extract, in which case you would need to reduce the amount of milk to compensate.

Hazelnuts: I use roasted, skinned hazelnuts but unroasted ones are fine too. You can also swap them for any other kind of nut, or use chocolate chips instead.

Flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. I haven't tried making them gluten-free.

Oil: Any kind of neutral oil will work, I use olive. You could even use melted vegan block butter or coconut oil.

Milk: This recipe will work with any non-dairy milk (except coconut), but I used hazelnut milk to amp up the hazelnut flavour a bit.

Baking powder: Needed for the biscotti to rise. Don't use baking soda instead, they are not the same thing.

Caster sugar: Either caster or granulated sugar is fine. You could also use light brown soft though the biscotti may have a softer texture in that case.

Chocolate: This is optional but chocolate goes so well with both coffee and hazelnut that I couldn't resist dunking my biscotti in melted chocolate. Either dark chocolate or vegan milk chocolate would be delicious.

A row of vegan coffee hazelnut biscotti.

How To Make Coffee Hazelnut Biscotti:

(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)

Step 1: Whisk together the oil, milk, sugar, espresso powder and vanilla extract in a large bowl.

Step 2: Whisk in the baking powder and salt then stir in the flour to form a slightly sticky dough. Mix in the hazelnuts.

Step 3, the shaped logs on a baking sheet.

Step 3: Divide the dough in half and use floured hands to shape each half into a log. Place them well spaced apart on a lined baking sheet and use your hands to slightly flatten them and square off the edges.

Step 4: Bake the logs for about 35 minutes until they are firm to the touch.

Step 5, one of the logs cut into slices.

Step 5: Place the logs on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Once the logs have cooled, use a sharp serrated knife to cut them into diagonal slices about 1 ½ cm wide.

Step 6, the finished biscotti on a baking sheet.

Step 6: Lay the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and return them to the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Vegan coffee hazelnut biscotti arranged in a row on a dark surface with cups of espresso, a bar of chocolate and a bowl of hazelnuts.

Top Tips:

USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!

Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for standard measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml.

The hazelnuts can be swapped for chocolate chips.

These biscotti have a mild coffee flavour, for more of a kick increase the espresso powder to 4 Tablespoons.

If you want softer biscuits you can reduce the second bake time a little; and if you want really super crunchy ones you can increase it a bit.

For small biscotti make the logs longer and thinner and slice them straight across, for larger biscotti make the logs shorter and fatter and slice them at an angle.

FAQ's:

How do I slice the biscotti logs?

Biscotti are tricky to slice neatly, vegan or otherwise, and you will get some crumbles no matter what you do. You will get better at it with practice!

Make sure that you let the logs cool for 20 minutes before you slice them, but don't leave them to cool for too much longer than that, they need to still be warm.

You need to make sure that you use an incredibly sharp serrated knife, preferably with a narrow blade, and don’t put too much pressure on the biscotti – try and gently ‘saw’ through the crust.

If you are struggling to slice them you can try spraying the crust with a bit of water and leaving it for a minute before slicing them, this should help to soften the crust a little so it is easier to cut through.

How should I store them?

Store the biscotti in an airtight container at room temperature. They should keep for at least a couple of weeks.

More Vegan Biscotti Recipes:

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