Nut & Seed Biscotti
Thin, biscotti-style crackers densely pebbled with all manner of nuts and seeds - green pistachios, rust-toned hazelnuts, and black poppy seeds.
I set out here to make thin, biscotti-style crackers. They were to be densely pebbled with all manner of nuts and seeds - green pistachios, rust-toned hazelnuts, and black poppy seeds. I envisioned nuts and seeds packed together like pebbles in concrete, with barely enough flour and egg to bind everything together. I'd double-bake them - first in a loaf pan, after which I'd slice them thinly. Then back in the oven on a baking sheet until crisp. They turned out fantastic, a welcome addition to any cheese board.
These biscotti make a nice, three-bite base for a generous slather of goat cheese topped with a bit of chutney or chile jam.
Pro-tips
The best of the best of these biscotti were the ones I sliced thinnest. They had good snap, toasted up beautifully, and were notably better than their thicker counterparts. As I mention in the recipe, I used a serrated knife and a combination of two knife techniques. 1. A back-and-forth slicing motion (if there were lots of nuts at the surface of that particular slice) 2. A fast and decisive single cut. But the real key to easy slicing is making sure the loaf is well baked through.
Switch It up: Variations
You can incorporate any number of spices, herbs, or zests into the biscotti dough. You can experiment with your own medley of nuts and seeds. The next time I bake these I’ve made note to slice them the long way. It might bit more challenging to slice, but the results will be even more dramatic. You can see the dough below here.
More Biscotti Recipes
- Sicilian Pistachio Cookies (Biscotti al Pistacchio)
- Chocolate Dipped Biscotti
- - all cookie recipes
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Nut & Seed Biscotti
The seed mixture for the biscotti pictured was a blend of 1 cup lightly toasted hazelnuts, 1/3 cup each of lightly toasted walnuts, pistachio nuts, and pumpkin seeds, and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds. If you don't have white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour will work.
- 1 1/3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 cups mixed nuts and seeds
- scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup natural cane sugar, fine grain
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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Preheat oven to 300°F degrees. Rack in the middle. Lightly butter or oil a 1-pound loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
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Combine the flour, nuts and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In a separate large bowl whisk together eggs and sugar. Add the flour-nut mixture to the egg mixture and stir until combined. The dough will be quite thick. Scoop into the prepared pan and press the dough into place using damp fingertips. You want to be sure everything is nice and compact, level on top, with no air bubbles hiding in there. Bake for 45-50 minutes - or until the loaf tests done. If you under-cook the loaf at this stage, it makes slicing difficult. Remove loaf from the oven, and turn the oven up to 425°F.
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Immediately run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the loaf, remove it from pan, and set the loaf upside down on a cutting board. Allow to cool a bit. Using a thin serrated knife (or the thinnest, sharpest knife you have), slice the loaf into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet. Brush tops with a bit of olive oil and bake for 3-4 minutes or until the bottoms are a touch golden and toasty. Pull them out of the oven, flip each one, and brush the other side with olive oil. Bake for another 4-5 minutes or until nice and crisp. Let cool.
Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen.
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Comments
I’ve made these several times. I’ve used a thin sharp carving knife to cut the loaf. It was easy to do following the directions. I love using different nuts and seeds. Excellent recipe!
Thank you!
Thanks Judy!
I just made these yesterday, and they turned out beautiful and delicious! I used pecans, macadamia nuts, pistachios, and poppy seeds. My loaf kept crumbling, until I reread the recipe, and cut them upside down. Made a big difference. Thanks, Heidi!
Hi! I made them twice and loved them, thank you for this great recipe!
Beautiful! And they seem very healthy and not too sweet. When I found this recipe this morning I knew I’d have to drop in at the nearest supermarket to get some seeds (still got some hazelnutz leftover from christmas) and some goat cheese – and voila, dinner for two.
I’m looking forward to try these tonight. I guess I’ll substitue some sugar for honey, and then go from there..
My first batch were with brown rice flour and carob powder, agave nectar, eggs, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, freeze dried bananas and raspberries. Because of the liquid from the agave nectar I left out the oil. They were a tiny bit dry, but delicious!
My second batch of these are in the oven right now with finely chopped dried apricots, agave nectar instead of sugar, brown rice flour, and cashews. This time I put about a tablespoon of oil. They smell amazing!
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes and the inspiration to eat more healthy!
I think: these are the perfect gift to give to a friend who is departing on a long train ride across the country. I used spelt flour for WW, 1/3 c. agave nectar for sugar, raw pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds/cocao nibs/almonds, and added a sprinkling of large grain sugar on the top, all to great success.
here’s to experimentation in the kitchen, long train rides, labours of love and Heidi.
I had on hand standard whole wheat flour. To compensate for the resulting dryness I substituted honey for the sugar in equal measure. They are delicious. Thank you for your recipe.
HS: Thanks for the feedback. Glad to hear the ww version worked out with your substitute!
I made these with 1/2 tsp vanilla and a little cinnamon. I used whole wheat pastry flour (it’s what I had), walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and sesame seeds.
I’m taking them to a cocktail party tonight to have with cheese, jams and chutneys, and I’m kind of pleased with myself!
HS: Sounds great Bonnie – I hope people like them!
And another winner Heidi. Love the way these look. I made your Swedish Rye Crackers earlier with buckwheat flour, a savoury version, using Za’atar…& they were fab. I think I’m first going to make these sweet, & then later explore a savoury version. WOW…they are beautiful. I’ve spent an hour here already, between the post & the comments!!!
I made these this weekend and added toasted sesame seeds and sunflower seeds. The end product is amazing!….but the process of slicing the loaf is horrible….very crumbly and aggravating!
I made these yesterday, wrapped them while warm and let them age in the refrigerator overnight. No problems cutting them. I used spelt flower, pecans, cashews, pistacios, pine nuts and sunflower seeds. I planned to take them to work tomorrow. YIKES they are wonderful and I will be making several batches over the weekend so I will have enough to be willing to share!
I love you recipes and will be making more things soon.
Thank you for all the wonderful and healthy eats.
Just made these yesterday and they are wonderful! I used a mix of almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, sesame seeds and poppy seeds, topped with a sprinkle of salt. (I dubbed them “Everything Biscotti.”) Perfect mix of salty and sweet. Burnt the edges a tiny bit in my attempt at crispiness, but had no problem slicing thinly using a serrated knife. Great recipe, I’m sure I’ll be making these often with whatever leftover nuts and seeds I have lying around.
I made it twice this week, the first time with sesame seeds (not so great on taste with the sugar) and the second time with raw sliced almonds… bingo! What a delicious tea time treat. Thank you!
Just made these. They were super simple and delicious! Mine were much wider (made them in a regular sized loaf pan) but surprisingly easy to slice, even when they were hot. I don’t think they really need the sugar though as I thought they were too sweet. Next time I would cut the sugar in half at least, but I hope it wouldn’t alter the texture or affect the baking of them.
What a great idea. Nuts & seeds. Who would have thought.
These look absolutely terrific. I cannot wait to make them, they will be a wonderful addition to lunchboxes for sure.
These look gorgeous and delicious, I can’t wait to try them out!
These are so good! I made mine with cashews, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, hazel nuts, and sunflower seeds. Thanks!
I have not made this recipe but with other cracker/crisp type recipes I found it much easier to bake the loaf and then freeze it- makes for very easy cutting that way.
Wow…cooool.
It’s weird that you don’t see chunky biscotti very often. I mean not THIS chunky. I’m gonna try to make a gluten-free version. Maybe add chocolate chips to part of the mix, and some without–just for extra naughtiness. Or perhaps I’ll simply dip some of them half in chocolate. Hmm.
🙂
I just wanted to tell you that it was delicious! I love it!!
I’m really a fanatic of all kinds of nuts, so these cookies sound like heaven to me… I’d die to try one of them right now!
I made these immediately after I got home yesterday. Because I’m watching my figure I made the following subs:
– Whole wheat pastry flour
– Eggbeaters
– 1/3 cup of brown sugar
– 1/3 cup of raisins
– 1 1/3 cups of nuts (used sunflower seeds, pecans, pistachios and hazelnuts)
– Also added in 2 heaping spoonfuls of ground flaxseed.
Came out perfectly. I cut them as thin as possible to get them really crunchy and toasty and slathered them with Cypress Grove chevre for a delicious treat. Thanks!
heidi, i made these yesterday and they came out perfectly — nutty, crunchy, savory/sweet. wow. so easy.
thank you bunches for your endeavors.
Wow–these are gorgeous! They look like jewelry. Your dishes are always so multi-textured. I’m in awe!
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe. I will try definetely!. Just wonder whether you have a good taste of biscotti made from Egg Whites?
Thank you in advance1
I made them tonight, using a scant 1/2 cup of honey in place of the sugar and white spelt flour in place of the wheat. They came out a little bready, but very good.
Thanks!
I have never tried biscotti. But wow, these slices look really yummy, so many nuts, it’s almost like power bars!
This recipe looks very unique. I like the fact that it is healthy.
its Looks So Delicious,
just Tried It,
Didnt end up Very Good But Taste Good,
Will Try One Or two More Times
The recipe ist absolutely interesting. I am always looking for new recipes – and this is one I HAVE to try! Thank you!
This recipe made my week! I have been meaning to come up with something like this. We sometimes get crackers like this from a local bakery but they are cost prohibitive, now I can make my own! For the people who wanted to omit the egg I have used EnerG egg replacer in all sorts or recipes. It should work here and it is vegan friendly.
These are beautiful. I bet these would hold up really well if flax seed slurry was subbed in for the eggs for vegan folks, given the nuttiness of the recipe.
Ah, fantastic! These remind me of some crispy, nutty crackers they sell in the cheese department at Whole Foods. I bought them once and they were wonderful, but they’re expensive enough that my “I could make that” reflex kicks in…only I hadn’t taken the time to figure out where to start. I think I’ll start with your recipe here…thanks!
I’ve never seen such a beautiful biscotti! And it gets extra points for being healthy, too!
I’m going to make them right now and it will be my snacks for tomorrow. 🙂
These look just like Almondina. Do they taste like them too?
Black Ceza Records
Hello, I’m a promoter in the south and i promote music and entertainment..
This is the best Biscotti Ive ever had in my life, i added a little tomato,corn and peanut butter for a neat tast. Try it!
Thanks
Ceza-
Heidi,
I made these the instant I was done reading your post and they are wonderful! I used almonds, pistachios, walnuts, sunflower seeds and some dark chocolate chips. I also used whole wheat pastry flour with fantastic results. A real winner…as usual. Thanks!
Hey Heidi,
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Can we make this without Egg?
Can you suggest me an alternative to Egg for this recipe?
this is awesome! i love baking biscotti, and the millions of variations that are possible! these look great, i love baked goods that are chock-full of nuts.
thank you for making food beautiful. I decided to make the biscotti, assembled my ingredients and realized that I gave away my loaf pan; no problem, they came out great shaped as a loaf on a cookie sheet. I did use white spelt as I have a wheat allergy, and I cut the sugar in half. wonderful & so easy. next time I’m going to omit the sugar and make them savory.
Savory biscotti…sounds/looks so wonderful, especially with the goat cheese. I just read on someone’s blog that she slices muffins vertically, thinly, and slow-bakes them into biscotti–thought that was such an interesting idea.
The goat cheese idea is what we’re talking about! It would be really good.
Those sound amazing!! i love how dense and crunchy they are!
This recipe is fantastic! A must-try!
Perfect! I have been looking for a good cracker recipe for ages…at least, one that doesn’t include lots and lots of butter. Can’t wait to give this a try. Maybe millet and/or amaranth would be a nice addition? I also have been making bread with a bit of uncooked quinoa thrown in and it has been quite nice.
Wow, Heidi, those look amazing. I’m such a fan of crackers, but I try to stick to lower, healthier carbs, and this would be such an awesome option. I think if I do get to try making these soon, I’ll give spelt flour a try. I’ve been meaning to pick some up and now that I have a new recipes waiting for me to try them in, I think I will. Would you use the same amount of spelt flour? I’ve never used it before so I don’t know if there are any tricks to spelt.
I’m so excited to try your method for these. There some crackers made here in Vancouver called Raincoast Crisps that are similar- nut, seed and dried fruit stuffed crackers. They are addictive, but expensive so I’ve been looking for a way of recreating them at home. Thanks for being my source for this.
I’ll be giving them a try this week. Thanks for the idea.
I might experiment with some anise seeds too!
The biscotti look great. I love how you really packed in the nuts.
@ Shanti: I have not tried millet flour yet but if I get my hands on some I think it sounds like a great way to make these wheat free. Thanks for the suggestion.
Looks delicious! I love the idea of incorporating all the nuts and seeds. I made a pistachio and dried cranberry version for Christmas which I have detailed on my blog:
theripetomato.wordpress.com
I don’t like to double-bake for as long though, I prefer my biscotti a little softer.
Wondering if you could make these into more of a savory application…. hmmm
These are just beautiful and they look crunchy! I’m going to make a variation using a non-glutenous flour.
Wonderful idea! I’ll cook them next weekend. It will be my first time for Biscotti! yours seem so delicious…
Oooh, your nut/seed mixture looks luscious! One of my new seed discoveries is the Chia seed. Great nutrition and taste, and yep, they are the same seeds used for Chia Pets 🙂
What a fantastic idea/concept! Usually the crackers are the base and not the flavor focus, but your biscotti-style crackers look beautiful and hearty, breaking free from the norm! Yum 🙂
These sound positively wonderful! I love making biscotti, and what a great transition from a treat with coffee to a cocktail snack. I am definitely going to make these.
thank you for giving the alternative to white whole wheat flour which we don’t get here. now i can try these.
i made niki’s healthy cookies the other day because the ingredients were so basic and all at hand. the result was delicious.
i am always glad when i have available ingredients to try your delicious recipes.
These are beautiful. I like the simplicity of the recipe–very appealing. I’d had hit-and-miss experiences with biscotti: sometimes they turn out beautifully, sometimes they turn into a crumbly mess of nut shards. I’ll be interested to try this recipe; hopefully it will be the former!
Hi, it looks great and it would be the perfect thing to bring to a party I’m going to on Wednesday, but I don’t eat any sugar. Do you think it’s possible to substitute agave nectar or honey? thanks, sari
Hi Sari, I think you can skip the sugar altogether if you like, or do a drizzle of agave nectar or honey. You should be fine. I’d say you probably won’t be using enough to have to adjust the baking temp.
Heidi,
I absolutely love biscotti (and the recipes you feature here on 101 cookbooks!). For years now, whenever I visit my Mum, she would ask me to bake her biscotti made with hazelnuts, cinammon, orange zest and honey.
After many years of practice, I found that there are a few tricks to making clean thin slices of biscotti:
1) get a good bread/serrated knife – I use one from the Wustof Le Cordon Bleu range and it is the best bread knife for the task. I think it is all in the serrated edge… some just work better than others.
2) a sawing motion i find is best,
3) wrapping the biscotti while its warm in cling wrap and allowing it to cool completely (even in the fridge overnight) allows the loaf to “set” and go a little “stale” (think day-old bread), making it easier to slice. A fresh or warm biscotti loaf will more likely crumble and break regardless of tool or technique used (think soft “bread” stands no chance against hard nuts)
Well, I hope this helps… Keep up the great recipes Heidi!
HS: Great tips Li, thanks for sharing. I’ll try the day-after technique the next time to see if I can get my slices even thinner.
To be honest, I’ve never taken a cooking class in my life (thought a month in Paris at le Cordon Bleu is on my to-do list!), so am always glad to get advice on such topics as cutting techniques… I’m learning, and you are a great teacher! I would go to California for a class of yours, for sure! Thanks, Heidi!
HS: Thanks Kim 🙂
Amazing pictures! You must have a better camera than me! Haha. I wish I didn’t live in the heart of Asia so I could have an oven and bake stuff!
These look great! I’m always on the look out for new and healthy biscotti recipes. Can’t wait to try this one…
oh this looks fantastic Heidi – you’re amazing!
Hello Heidi
These look great and I can’t wait to try them, but I always have difficulty to achieve a nice clean cut without the slices crumbling, do you have any suggestions, r would it be the knife I am using?
HS: there are a few tips in the post, and some great tips throughout the comments as well – hope they help Trish.
Wow, these look awesome!
They’re so chock full of nuts, a great source of healthy protein and fat!
They almost remind me of a fruit cake, except with nuts instead of fruit and crunchy instead of dense and cakey.
I can’t wait to try them sometime.
I was also wondering if you think the recipe would turn out okay if I changed it from savory to sweet by adding unrefined cane sugar (or agave?) and replacing the olive oil with coconut oil. Thanks again for the great looking recipe!
What an excellent idea. Definitely like the sound of this being thinly sliced. And toasted. And with goats cheese. Sounds like it would make a great tasting and great looking appetiser.
Ohhh yummy…I am always looking for different ways to use more whole wheat flour in my baking…will let you know how it goes…
CHEERS!
Hi, all –
I second the recommendation of using an electric knife for slicing. I use mine when making regular biscotti, as well as for slicing angel food cake, pound cake, quick breads, etc.
One of the nice things about it is no real downward pressure is needed if the knife does the work of cutting. It only needs to be guided, resulting in smooth, clean slices as thin as you can get them. I would also be inclined to wrap and chill the loaf a while to firm it up before trying to slice it thin.
This recipe has just been moved to the top of my to-make list…bumps down the chocolate tortillas for the ice-cream enchiladas that will eventually be made for dessert one day…
LadyBanksia99
What a unique idea!!! Do you think this could be made with barley?
HS: Let me know if you try it Nirvana.
hooray! i’ve been waiting for just this kind of biscotti recipe…something to satisfy a cookie craving but made with healthy ingredients. i like that these can be made into a savory snack too. Will be making these soon, probably with lemon zest and candied ginger too!
also, will whole wheat pastry flour work?
MMM! I will be trying this today,only going to try Quinoa for my Gluten Free friends. Any thoughts on this? Les
Have always loved biscotti, and now I get to try to make some. My home will smell heavenly !!! Thank you, and love your site !!!!
I find it is easier to slice biscotti if I chop up the nuts a bit before baking, esp. the hazelnuts.
I don’t even know how to thank you Heidi. You are such an inspiration!
It’s a snowy day in NY and when I woke up to check my email, this recipe was there waiting for me! They looked great – I check the kitchen and had all the ingredients! (for my nut and seed mix I used – slivered almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and poppy seeds) They just finished cooling and I couldn’t resist trying one – wow, they came out wonderful! Thanks so much for your inspiration!
I have had great success using an electric knife for biscotti especially when using whole nuts. Am going to try making these as soon as I get home from work today!
Thanks for the inspiration.
I’d like to try these with matzah cake meal for Passover. They probably won’t taste as good as with spelt or whole wheat flour, but those grains together with rye, barley and oats are prohibited during Passover. Someone mentioned millet flour. Maybe I’ll try that.
Heidi, this sounds like fun AND not too complicated AND delicious. Thanks for the idea!
Biscotti-baking thoughts have been lingering in my mind for the last few days..now, they have a reason to materialize..
I am thinking of taking your recipe as a base, and making these twists:
1. using half millet and half whole-wheat pastry flour (please advice, if there is any reason I should use white whole wheat flour, instead of whole wheat pastr flour)
2. adding orange zest and a teaspoon of vanilla
3. nut mix: sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds (just because I have these on hand)
This will be my first time baking biscotti..I will let you know how this experiment goes..
-G
I’m not sure I’d go half-and-half with the millet, I might try with 1/4 or 1/3 millet flour first and then up the ratio in later batches if it is working. But please, report back – the orange zest sounds great 🙂
dear heidi, i always feel proud expecially when i got visitors. You really make me real man around the kitchen. keep up.
Never made biscotti but am looking forward to your recipes. On the subject of slicing thinly (whether cakes/cookie dough/making pinwheel slices of wraps with smoked slamon and cream cheese) I find that dipping my sharpest knife into very hot water helps enormously .
Dear Heidi, this would be wonderful with millet flour that we get so readily in Delhi. I cant wait to try this out with Pearlmillet or “Ragi” flour. It will make it even more nutty and nutritious. Thank you for all the inspirational meal ideas. You really lift my spirits!
I make all my biscotti recipes with spelt flour and they are great. This recipe is ideal for spelt flour.
HS: That was my sense as well Helen, glad you are seconding the sentiment – maybe someone will give them a go. 🙂
Maida Heatter has a terrific nut and seed biscotti recipe; it’s called Multigrain and Seed Biscotti on page 28 of Maida Heatter’s Brand New Book of Great Cookies. It contains whole wheat, rye and unbleached wheat flours, as well as oat bran, cornmeal, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts and honey. It is delicious. She makes it into logs for the first bake as you would normal biscotti. I regularly make biscotti with white spelt flour and it works just as well as with wheat flour. Also, I find when making biscotti in a loaf pan it is best to freeze the baked cooled loaf to facilitate thin slices.
Heidi, you’re great. This is a must try.
Hi Heidi
I just wanted to say thanks for all your wonderful recipes. I really look forward to my updates and not just for the recipes, wonderful photography and even the ‘what to dos’ and ‘where to gos’ if you’re in portland/tokyo etc but the sheer inspiring nature of this blog. I look forward to experimenting with these biscotti and loads more of your recipes. Thanks so much for sharing.
Mary x
HS: Thanks Mary. I certainly get a lot of inspiration from all of you – the great comments, suggestions, and all-around encouragement.
Thank’s alot for your healthy recipes which I always receive from you. Special for today the Nut n Seed Biscotti Recipe is one of my Favourite. thank’s again. GBU
mmm. Can’t WAIT to try these. Do you think a fine grain whole wheat flour would work? It’s hard to get whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour in Europe. Maybe I will use spelt or rye flour and let you know how it goes (still have left-over rye from making the Swedish rye cookies!). Thanks as always for your wonderful healthy recipes that make me feel good about being a foodie and a vegetarian 🙂
HS: I think I’d go the spelt route if you can get it. The whole wheat flour I get in the States is often hit-or-miss for substituting – I often end up with baked treats that are a bit on the dry side. I’ve had better success with spelt when I’m out of whole wheat pastry flour. Then again, it really depends on the recipe. Let me know how it goes! -h
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