Chai Hazelnut Biscotti

Crunchy & sweet biscottis filled with chai spices, dipped in white chocolate, and covered in hazelnuts.

These delicious twice-baked Italian cookies are filled with Chai spices, dipped in white chocolate, and covered in chopped hazelnuts. They are easy to make and require simple ingredients!

What are Biscottis?

Biscottis are Italian almond biscuits that are essentially twice baked! They are usually oblong-shaped, dry, crunchy, and often paired with a warm drink.

Biscottis are often flavored with vanilla, anise, or almond. Most biscottis have add-ins such as nuts and/or dried fruit.

This biscotti recipe is filled with flavors of Chai from cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. They are dipped in white chocolate and covered in chopped toasted hazelnuts.

How to make Chai Hazelnut Biscotti:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking powder, spices, and salt. Pour in oil, milk, and vanilla extract. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to combine until fully incorporated and a soft dough forms. Once the dough starts to come together, form it into a ball. The texture should be slightly dry, but smooth enough to cohesively come together.  
3. Cut the dough ball in half and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Form each half into a rectangle about 9” long, 3” wide, and ½” thick. Leave several inches between each dough half. Sprinkle raw sugar over dough. Bake for 23-25 minutes until light golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 325F.  
4. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut each rectangle crosswise into 1.5” thick slices. Place the slices upright back on to the baking sheet. Bake for another 23-25 minutes until golden brown and mostly dry. Allow cooling for at least 1 hour. The more they cool the drier and crispier the texture will be.  
5. Set a wire cooling rack on top of a large baking sheet. Once biscotti’s are dry, dip half of the biscotti into the melted white chocolate. Place dipped biscotti onto wire cooling rack. Immediately sprinkle over chopped hazelnuts. Repeat with remaining biscotti’s. Let chocolate set for 30-45 min. Enjoy!  

Tips for making delicious & crunchy biscotti’s:

Boost the flavors with spices and extracts. Homemade biscotti without extra flavor will result in a bland, dull final product. This pretty much applies to most baked goods as spices and extracts boost the flavor tremendously! I love adding warming spices, such as cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg. This recipe has several warming spices for that Chai flavor.

Almond extract, vanilla extract, and even lemon extract adds a fresh and sweet addition to the biscotti! I added vanilla extract to this recipe.

Add texture. Biscotti is already very crunchy, but who says there can be too much texture? Having a variety of texture in a baked good creates a more satisfying and delicious mouthfeel. I love the addition of nuts or dried fruits.

Don’t let the biscotti loaf sit too long after the first bake. You want the dough to cool enough so you can still handle it. You don’t want it to cool to where it’s difficult to slice! Ideally you should let it cool for at most 15 minutes.

Use a sharp serrated knife to cut. The sharper your knife is the better! Ideally a serrated knife. You don’t want the biscotti to crumble while your slicing it.

Cool the biscotti on a wire rack to crisp up. Cooling the biscotti on a wire rack allows more air to circulate which means a crispier biscotti!

If you’re looking for more delicious desserts to pair with a warm beverage, you’ll also love these Orange Chocolate Biscottis, these White Chocolate Pistachio Biscottis, and these Almond Orange Shortbread Cookies.

Also, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram don’t forget to tag me @healthienut + #healthienut! I love seeing your mouthwatering recreations!