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Pumpkin pie biscotti are crunchy almond cookies that are perfect for dipping in coffee, chai tea, or my sweet pumpkin pie dip. They’re also a guilt-free indulgence without grains or refined sugars.
I have a confession to make. Despite my having posted about how to make a super tasty cold brew coffee, I am not a javaholic.
Sometimes I feel like that makes me seem just a bit strange. Don’t get me wrong; I do enjoy an occasional good cup of joe, but I don’t wake up feeling like I need it, nor do l feel driven to drink some every day.
As the weather gets cooler, though, a warm, steamy cup of coffee is comforting and appeals to me much more often. I see a coffee break as a relaxing break in my day, but coffee by itself just isn’t as much fun as coffee accompanied by a sweet autumn treat; something that you can dip into it. Perfect for that, and for this time of year, is this pumpkin spice biscotti.
What are biscotti?
Biscotti are almond-based Italian cookies that are usually served with coffee. They are crunchy and dry, which is what makes them perfect for dipping into a beverage, normally coffee. The name “biscotti” actually means “twice baked” in Italian. That’s because they are baked in a log shape and then cut into individual oblong cookies before being baked again. This second baking session dries them out to give them their characteristic crunch.
I used to make biscotti quite often. I love dry, crispy almond cookies of almost any type. Once I started giving up wheat, though, I also stopped making them. While most biscotti do use almond flour, their main ingredient is often an all-purpose wheat flour.
During my experimentation with my diet to find what was causing me digestive and other issues, I decided to try to make grain free biscotti. I tried different combinations of almond flour with tapioca starch or coconut flour, or both. I burnt some, and some didn’t dry out to my liking, but I finally achieved making a cookie that I really enjoy eating!
Updating this recipe
When I first posted this recipe, some people found these cookies to be “cakier” than crunchy. That was, in part, due to a difference in ovens, environmental humidity, etc.. Their use of the word “Cakey,” though, made me think of brownies. Those who want cakier brownies usually use more eggs!
That’s when it hit me that perhaps these cookies didn’t need eggs at all. And I was right. I had been using the eggs as a binder, but in reality, they were unnecessary and only added extra moisture to the recipe, meaning that the cookies needed a longer baking session to get them to fully dry and crisp. I decided to update this recipe here on the blog. Not only are they easier to make, but they have the added advantage of being vegan-friendly! (Win-win, right?)
If you came here looking for the original recipe, you’ll be happy to know that the only thing that I changed was to remove the egg. So, if you want to make them as before, just add it right back in. I’d suggest you try them first without it, though!
As before, though, be careful not to cook them at too high of a temperature to keep them from burning. Adjust your oven as needed to get golden brown cookies.
Serving suggestions
As I mentioned before, biscotti are normally served with some sort of hot beverage. I recommend either coffee or a nice, steamy cup of chai tea. Chai tea has a lovely blend of spices that perfectly complements the flavor of these biscotti! (I show how to make chai tea in bulk from scratch on the blog.) Also, if you’ve never tried making cold brew coffee, I highly suggest it because it gives a nice, smooth, almost sweet coffee that can later be served cold or warm. (And you don’t even need a coffee maker to make it!)
Some people like to dip half of their biscotti in chocolate or drizzle some chocolate over them to flavorfully decorate them. I imagine that these would be tasty with white chocolate. To keep them paleo, though, you could also try a mix of coconut oil and cocoa- basically, my paleo chocolate bars melted and drizzled over top. Or you could make your own chocolate from cocoa nibs, and drizzle some of it over them while the chocolate is still in its liquid state.
These biscotti are also quite tasty paired with fall spreads like my sweet pumpkin pie dip or some spiced pumpkin butter.
Pumpkin Spice Biscotti Recipe
Pumpkin Spice Biscotti (Paleo, Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/3 cup pumpkin puree Making your own is best!
- 1/4 cup coconut flour You can make your own
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300ºf (150ºC).
- Combine all of the ingredients together. You can use a food processor to combine them thoroughly and easily, starting with the dry ingredients, and slowly adding in the wet ingredients like the pumpkin puree and the maple syrup.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Take the dough and form it into a long, flattened log-type shape on your baking sheet. If you’re having a hard time keeping the dough from sticking to your hands, dampen them before trying to shape the dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes, keeping your eye on it to make sure they aren’t browning too much. You want it to begin to firm up and begin to turn a light golden color. If it starts to get too dark, turn down the temperature a little.
- Take the log of dough out of the oven, and let it cool enough to handle it. Meanwhile turn the oven down to around 260ºF (125ºC).
- With a sharp knife, cut the dough into slices.
- Spread the slices out, on their sides, over the parchment paper, and return the biscotti to the oven.
- Bake for around 10 minutes, and then flip the biscotti. Bake for another 5-10 minutes before turning the oven off.
- Leave the biscotti in the oven until it cools. The heat from the oven will continue to crisp the cookies.
Storing leftover biscotti
Store any leftover biscotti, if there are any 😉 , in a sealed, airtight container to keep them from absorbing humidity in the air and getting soft. If they do become soft, you can re-crisp them over low heat in the oven.
Happy autumn!
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Kendra want
Just wondering if you could use just a regular gluten free flour instead of almond flour
Tracy Ariza
Hi Kendra,
I’m not really sure as I’ve never tried it. You could give it a shot, though.
Beth
My were a little cake-like as well, and the next time I make them (which will be soon) I will leave them in the oven for the first bake longer. They just didn’t seem cooked through enough, and so I’m thinking another ten minutes would do the trick. I am hoping that will make them drier. I am also going to try to compress the dough a little more, hoping that they won’t be as easy to fall apart. But they are still delicious.
Tracy Ariza
Hi Beth,
Yes, they will be cake-like if you don’t work hard at getting them extra dry.
I’ve been wanting to experiment with this recipe again, and try making them without eggs to see if they would be more crispy without needing to work so hard at drying them. The problem with the way the recipe is now, they are crispy at first if you dry them well, but they get cake-like again as the humidity gets to them. I’ve always placed them in the oven again for a few minutes before serving, but I’ve been curious as to what would happen if I were to leave the eggs out entirely.
If I give it a try and like the outcome, I’ll update the post with my findings and will try to remember to comment here. 🙂
Tiffany
Excellent biscotti, I used 1/2 walnuts 1/2 almonds and added a little finely zested fresh ginger root. I had to bake about double the time recommended, could me my ovens off.
Great biscotti, thanks for the recipe ??
Tracy Ariza
Thanks Tiffany!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
Yes, baking time can definitely vary depending upon the oven, humidity, etc. My oven has a pretty strong fan and I often use it for dehydrating and it does a pretty good job. I like reading comments like this because it helps me update posts to help others know that there can be a big variance in baking times for a recipe like this. I don’t want people to get discouraged while making a recipe and just give up when they only needed to bake a little longer. So, really, thank you for your comment!
The addition of walnuts sounds great. I may have to try it and make some cranberry biscotti for Christmas. 😉
Julia Weatherbe-Compton
I live in Antigua where it is definitely a lot more humid than most places. Living on a tropical island must have a noticeable difference! I am just baking them now. I have used the almond meal instead of almond flour. Will this have a big difference in the outcome? I have also found that they come out more cake like and although I am not gluten free I really prefer using alternative healthy flours! I am going to cook them longer to see if it helps getting them more crispier! They definitely end up more soft with this almond meal but I do love the flavour so thank you and will continue to practice a healthy crunchy biscotti type!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Julia!
Yes, these do tend to be bit more cake like than regular biscotti. To get them crispier, you have to keep them going at a low heat for a longer time in the oven. If your oven has a fan or convection setting, that will also help.
I have used almond meal most of the time too, actually, because it’s so much easier to find around here, but I do think that it makes for a more cake like cookie than the finer flour. I think that that more finely ground you can get the almond, the more compact the cookie is and it can get a little crispier when you dry them in the oven.
It’s been a while since I’ve made these- but with autumn not too far away, I may give them another go soon.
If I come up with any new tips for getting crispier cookies, I’ll let you know!
I was thinking of trying next time without any egg. I think that could also help make a crispier cookie, but I haven’t tried it yet, so for now it’s only my theory based on some of my other cooking experiments. 😉
sarah warren
can i use peanut four instead of almond flour? i ran out
Tracy Ariza
To be honest, I’ve never used (or even seen) peanut flour before. 😉 That said, I would assume that it would behave like almond flour in recipes, but am not 100% sure.
I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it!
Melissa
Hi! I’m baking them now. I’m always looking for recipes gluten free. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Greetings from Puerto Rico.
Tracy Ariza
You’re very welcome!! I hope you enjoy them!
What part of Puerto Rico?
I’ve been there twice myself and loved it!!
The first time we travelled all over the big island and also made trips to Culebra and Vieques. The second time we stayed mostly in San Juan, with a trip to El Yunque, but we did make it to Culebra again too. I loved that little island!
Bridget
Thank you for sharing this gluten-free biscotti recipe. I was looking up recipes to make some of the tasty twice baked cookies, but my son is Celiac and we were having no luck finding a gluten free option. I would like to ask, are these more cake-like in texture or are they more on the crispy side as traditional biscotti are?
Tracy Ariza
Hi Bridget!
Great question! I have actually been experimenting with them a little bit more, and, yes, they can be a bit more cake-like, especially if your eggs are large and you bake them too quickly. If you let them dry out, though, by baking them at a low temperature, they are more crispy. They do absorb the humidity more quickly than a traditional biscotti, I think, and when they do that, they turn more cake-like again. (So eat them quickly or seal them well!)
I have been wanting to try to make them without the eggs to see if they hold up well because I think they would be even more like a biscotti.
I happen to really like them the way they are, but I’ve been wanting to get them to be a little bit more like some really dry almond cookies that I have bought here in Spain. Part of it also depends a lot on the way the almonds are ground. Mine had a coarse grind, and I think I fine grind would be better for a crisper cookie. I did try some experiments with tapioca flour, and that can help in the texture, but I don’t like the flavor for biscotti. In some recipes it really works well, but i didn’t like it here.
I will let you know if I come up with something really dry and crispy, OK?
Bev
Hello, I’m baking them now. I love pumpkin, have no problem with gluten but like to learn to bake with other flours too. I hope these are yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Tracy Ariza
Hi Bev.
I hope you liked them!
Alternative flours can be a bit tricky to work with at first, but once you get used to them, it gets easier. I really like almond flour for baked goods.
Barbara Amabile Munguia
I just stumbled upon your recipe and can’t wsit to make it. I’m always looking for converted recipes from conventional glutn to non gluten. Thank you for your efforts snd I’ll let you know how my biscotti turned out. I’m also an American living in Mexico City. Thanks again.
Tracy Ariza
Thanks for your comment!
I was in Mexico city for about a month years ago. I bet it has changed a lot since then, though.
I hope you enjoy the recipes!