These easy and delicious Peppermint Biscotti are perfect for the holiday season, and all winter long! They are minty, chocolaty, crunchy, and crumbly, truly the perfect Christmas biscotti recipe. Serve them on their own or with a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
(This recipe was originally published in December 2019, but was updated with new content in 2020).
There are many different flavor profiles one could use when making biscotti, but peppermint is abundant at Christmastime so that's what we're using. To do so we infuse the dough with peppermint extract, and add a hefty dose of crushed peppermint candies.
After baking, we coat the biscotti with chocolate at one end, and sprinkle with additional crushed peppermint candies for the ultimate peppermint-chocolate-cookie experience!
I'm a peppermint-chocolate fiend, so there's no surprise that I go gaga over these peppermint biscotti. They fulfill my ongoing craving for mint-chocolate with a crispy, crumbly, delicious cookie treat that is easy to store and share. They’ll last about a month if you manage to not eat all the minty Christmas biscotti by then!
Ingredient notes
- Peppermint Extract: Typically made with peppermint oil and alcohol, peppermint extract can be purchased in the spice aisle of supermarkets and at online retailers. Alcohol-free peppermint flavor also works very well.
- Peppermint Candies: Candy canes are a bit easier to crush than round peppermint candies because they are thinner and more fragile. You can also sometimes find crushed peppermint candies sold especially for baking.
- Chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate chips work perfectly for melting and coating these peppermint biscotti. You can also chop and melt high quality dark chocolate if you prefer.
How to make it
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides. Then beat in peppermint extract.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, crushed peppermint candies, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add it to the creamed mixture, beating until blended.
Divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into a 12-by-2 ½-inch rectangular slab arranged side by side lengthwise on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving space in between to allow for expansion. Bake until light golden brown.
Carefully remove the baked slabs to wire racks and cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife perpendicular to the board.
Place biscotti cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheets. You'll need 2 baking sheets for this step, or bake 1 sheet at a time reusing the same sheet pan. Bake until firm, then remove to wire racks to cool.
Next, make a double-boiler by placing a metal or glass mixing bowl over the top of a small saucepan filled about 1 inch full with water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water's surface. Add chocolate chips to the bowl on top. Heat the double-boiler over medium-high heat, and then lower the heat once it comes to a boil. Melt the chocolate chips, stirring occasionally until smooth.
Dip one end of each biscotti into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Sprinkle more crushed peppermint candies over the top and sides of where you coated with chocolate. Place the finished chocolate peppermint biscotti on parchment or waxed paper and cool until firm.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips and FAQs
Instead of slicing the biscotti on a diagonal, you may also slice it crosswise into even slices. This will yield a larger quantity of smaller biscotti.
I find it easier to hold the biscotti over the bowl of chocolate, and use a spoon to pour and then smooth melted chocolate over one end of the biscotti, since it isn't deep enough to dip very far. You can melt more chocolate than what is called for in the recipe, but I hate being wasteful so I prefer this pour and smooth method over traditional dipping in this case.
Biscotti is traditionally served with coffee or tea, but I particularly enjoy this peppermint biscotti paired with cacao tea to bring out more of the chocolate flavor.
Biscotti are Italian cookies which are twice-baked, once as a flat slab, and again after slicing into long shards. Their texture is firm and crunchy. They are the perfect complement to a cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate.
Place unwrapped candy canes or peppermint candies in a large resealable plastic bag and seal the bag. Use a heavy skillet, mallet or rolling pin to pound the candy-filled bag until the peppermint candies are coarsely crushed. Alternatively you may pulse the candies in a food processor just until they are crushed but before they turn into dust.
Other recipes you may like
- Peppermint Mousse Black Bottom Pie
- Capezzoli di Venere (Nipples of Venus)
- Vanillekipferl (Austrian Vanilla Crescent Cookies)
- Perníčky (Czech Gingerbread Cookies)
- Pfeffernüsse (German Iced Spice Cookies)
- Basler Läckerli / Leckerli (Swiss Spiced Cookie Bars)
- Chocolate Rugelach
- Chocolate Chubbies (Chunky Brownie Cookies)
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Peppermint Biscotti
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Decoration:
- ⅓ cup (8 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup crushed peppermint candies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides. Beat in extract.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, peppermint candy, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until blended (dough will be sticky).
- Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 12-by-2 ½-inch rectangular slab arranged side by side lengthwise on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space in between to allow for expansion. Straighten and smooth out the tops and edges. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until light golden brown.
- Carefully remove the baked slabs to wire racks (use a spatula on each end to carefully lift and move). Cool for 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut diagonally into ½-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife perpendicular to the board.
- Place cut side down on parchment-lined baking sheets (you'll need 2 baking sheets for this step, or bake 1 sheet at a time reusing the same sheet pan). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until firm. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Decoration:
- Make a double-boiler by placing a metal or glass mixing bowl over the top of a small saucepan filled about 1 inch full with water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water's surface. Add the chocolate chips to the bowl on top. Heat the double-boiler over medium-high heat, and then lower the heat once it comes to a boil. Melt chocolate chips, stirring occasionally until smooth.
- Dip one end of each biscotti into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off. Sprinkle candy over the top and sides of where you coated with chocolate. Place on parchment or waxed paper and cool until firm. Store in an airtight container for 1 month.
Notes
- Instead of slicing the biscotti on a diagonal, you may also slice it crosswise into even slices. This will yield a larger quantity of smaller biscotti.
- I find it easier to hold the biscotti over the bowl of chocolate, and use a spoon to pour and then smooth melted chocolate over one end of the biscotti, since it isn't deep enough to dip very far. You can melt more chocolate than what is called for in the recipe, but I hate being wasteful so I prefer this pour and smooth method over traditional dipping in this case.
- Biscotti is traditionally served with coffee or tea, but I particularly enjoy this peppermint biscotti paired with cacao tea to bring out more of the chocolate flavor.
- Adapted from Taste of Home
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Jane Padtore says
For crushed peppermint 1 large peppermint log yields 3/4 to 1 cup of crushed peppermint. Smaller candy canes are useless as it takes a whole box to get 1/2 cup..
DON'T BREAK UP CANDY IN A MIXER OR FOOD PROCESSOR..YOU WILL mark the bowls for life.
Instead, break up log with a meat .mallet in the bag that cereal . Comes in.It is tough and won't break with mallet.
Discard bag or save for 1 more use.Zip lock bags not good they rip with mallet..
Camille says
Biscotti were always a common treat for me growing up. My grandmother used to make them and she called them "toasties." We used to have them with either tea or coffee. I love how this is a variation on the plain biscotti and have some holiday flair!!