Ginger Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Perfectly crunchy cookies are chock full of cranberries, orange and ginger goodness to make these beautiful Cranberry Orange Ginger Biscotti. This biscotti is the perfect cookie for anyone who prefers non-chocolate cookies.

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This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar, Dixie Crystals and Bob’s Red Mill. I received free product as a part of The Sweetest Season Cookie Exchange. As always, all opinions, thoughts and recipes are my own.

I didn’t try biscotti until I was in my late 20’s, and the first biscotti I actually ate was a savory recipe.

I didn’t try sweet biscotti until last December, when my friend, Erica, sent me Chocolate Chip Bronados, Snickerdoodles Three Ways and some salted caramel coconut biscotti for a cookie swap.

So when I sat down to think about this year’s The Sweetest Season recipes, I knew I wanted to include an American-style biscotti. It would be simple and delicious, and the biscotti would utilize classic holiday flavors.

As the brainstorming continued, I decided that cranberry and orange sounded perfect… but then I thought that adding ginger would add a bit of zing to the biscotti, which would no doubt be delightful on their own.

After all, I was going for something above and beyond.

Why I love this recipe:

Surprise, surprise, this flavor combination was PERFECT.

The cranberries provide some tartness and gentle sweetness to the cookie dough. The orange adds that acidic pop. And the ginger adds the kick that balances everything out.

And as a matter of fact, these Orange Cranberry Biscotti were the first cookie my daughter ever ate… because she reached her hand in the cookie jar to grasp a biscotti between her tiny fingers and promptly stuck it in her mouth before we could stop her. So Lady Baby got in on the biscotti goodness, too, and she wholeheartedly approved.

If you’re looking to make a cookie recipe that sings of holiday flavors that isn’t chock full of chocolate, this biscotti is for you.

This homemade biscotti is perfect for dunking in a mug of coffee (or a cup of tea) and savoring every bite.

More non-chocolate cookie recipes to try: Ginger Rosemary Shortbread Cookies | Cranberry Pinwheel Cookies | Spiced Maple Cookies

What you need to make this recipe:

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• Rimmed sheet pan or cookie sheet
• Parchment baking paper
• Kitchen scale
• Large mixing bowl
• An electric mixer, like a hand mixer or a stand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Serrated knife
• Wire cooling rack

Here is what you need to purchase from the grocery store:

• Unsalted butter — this is the fat base of our cookie. You could swap if with a vegan butter, if desired, for a similar result.
• Granulated sugar — also known as white sugar, this is the sweetener for our cookies. There is no substitute, so please don’t ask if you can use brown sugar here. It will change the texture.
• Eggs — for the cookie dough, as well as to brush on top of the biscotti before their bake. The ones going into the dough need to be at room temperature.
• Pure vanilla extract — this will help the other ingredients sing. Use the real deal stuff and not the imitation kind.
• Orange zest — from a fresh orange. This adds a nice citrusy pop to the cookie dough. You could replace it with lemon, lime or grapefruit if you prefer.
• All-purpose flour — we keep unbleached AP flour in our house, but the regular kind works, too. We have not attempted to make this recipe with gluten free flours or other substitutes.
• Baking powder — this is our leavener. Make sure yours is fresh. It is not the same thing as baking soda, and if you use that, you will not get the same results.
• Ginger — we use a combination of ground ginger and crystalized ginger to give us that one-two punch of ginger zing.
• Kosher salt — medium-grain kosher salt is my go-to for cookie recipes. (Diamond Crystal is my favorite brand.)
• Cranberries — much like the ginger, we’re using two types of cranberries here: fresh and dried. The dried fruit will hydrate in the dough and plump up.
• Raw sugar — this is for sprinkling on top of the cookies before baking. You can use demarara sugar or another large grain sugar.

Variations on this cookie recipe:

Add nuts, like chopped almonds or pistachios, for some bonus crunch.

Finish with a drizzle of melted chocolate or white chocolate.

How to make Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Preheat the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer.) This will take 2-3 minutes and the mixture will turn a very pale yellow.

Break the eggs into a small bowl, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture with the vanilla extract and orange zest. Beat until smooth.

Measure the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt into the bowl with the wet ingredients. You may also mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding to the butter mixture.

Mix at a low speed until the dough is smooth. (This is important because otherwise, it will fly everywhere.) The cookie dough will be slightly sticky, but not overly so.

Gently fold in the cranberries and crystallized ginger with a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon.

Transfer the biscotti dough to the prepared pan. You may divide it in half to make two shorter logs or make one longer and wider log. Whichever you decide, just gently pat it down until the dough is in a rough rectangular shape and about ¾” tall.

Brush the top of the log(s) with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the raw sugar.

Do the first bake. Bake the dough for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

While the biscotti cools, lower the oven temperature to 325°F.

Cut the biscotti logs into ½” to ¾” slices with a serrated knife.

Set the biscotti slices on their sides, and arrange on the baking sheet with the cut side facing down for the second baking.

Return the cookies to the oven for their second bake. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the biscotti have turned a beautiful golden brown color.

The exterior of the cookies should be pretty crispy, but they should break apart easily, so transfer them to wire racks with care. (The cookies will firm up as they cool, too, but they should not become too hard.)

Enjoy when cool with a glass of milk or your favorite holiday beverage.

How to store:

Store the completely cooled biscotti in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Here’s how you make this Cranberry Orange Biscotti recipe:

Cranberry Orange Ginger Biscotti

Servings: 24 biscotti

Erin Parker, The Speckled Palate

4.67 from 3 votes

Perfectly crunchy cookies are chock full of cranberries, orange and ginger goodness to make these beautiful Cranberry Orange Ginger Biscotti. This biscotti is the perfect cookie recipe for any non-chocolate lover.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

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EQUIPMENT

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• Rimmed sheet pan
• Parchment baking paper
• Kitchen scale
• Large mixing bowl
• Hand mixer
• Stand mixer
• Rubber spatula
• Serrated knife
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

 

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon orange zest from 1 orange
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅓ cup dried cranberries
• ⅓ cup fresh cranberries
• 2 tablespoons crystalized ginger
• 1 egg for egg wash
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar

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We’ll email a link directly to you so you can come back to it later! Plus, you’ll receive new recipes delivered to your inbox each week.

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl using a hand mixer (or a stand mixer.) This will take 2-3 minutes and the mixture will turn a very pale yellow.
• Break the eggs into a small bowl, then add them to the butter/sugar mixture with the vanilla extract and orange zest. Beat until smooth.
• Measure the flour, baking powder, ground ginger and salt to the wet ingredients, then mix at a low speed until the dough is smooth. It will be slightly sticky, but not overly so.
• Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the cranberries and crystallized ginger.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. You may either divide it in half to make two shorter logs or make one longer and wider log, patting it down until the dough is in a rough rectangular shape and about ¾" tall.
• Brush the top of the log(s) with the egg wash, then sprinkle with the raw sugar.
• Bake the dough for 25 minutes, then remove from the oven, and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• While the biscotti cools, reduce the oven's temperature to 325°F.
• Using a serrated knife, cut the biscotti logs into ½" to ¾" slices.
• Set the biscotti slices on their sides, and arrange on the baking sheet for the second baking.
• Return the cookies to the oven, and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the biscotti have turned a beautiful golden brown color.
• The exterior of the cookies should be pretty crispy, but they should break apart easily, so transfer them to a cooling rack with care. (The cookies will firm up as they cool, too, but they should not become too hard.)
• Enjoy when cool with a glass of milk or your favorite holiday beverage.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour’s American-Style Vanilla Biscotti.

These biscotti can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for at least a week, but they shouldn’t last that long.

Nutrition

Serving: 1biscottiCalories: 111kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 2gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 87mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8g

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