Cranberry Orange Biscotti

Last Updated on November 25, 2025 by becky

Cranberry orange biscotti cookies made with dried cranberries, walnuts, dark chocolate, and orange zest. The perfect cranberry biscotti recipe for holiday gifting, and a sweet, crunchy treat to enjoy all winter long.

Why Make This Cranberry Orange Biscotti?

I love the combination of cranberry and orange. In the past, I’ve mixed these two fruit flavors in a cranberry and orange parfait, a cranberry curd tart, a festive cranberry compote, a cranberry punch, and these chocolate cranberry orange muffins.

In this recipe, I’ve combined dried cranberries and bits of orange zest (along with dark chocolate, walnuts, and Demerara sugar) to create a seasonal biscotti recipe that captures some of the most classic flavors of the Christmas season. It’s the perfect cranberry biscotti recipe for holiday gifting, and a sweet, crunchy treat to enjoy all winter long.

In addition to its versatility (biscotti works for breakfast, brunch, coffee hour, or dessert!) I love this recipe because it freezes well, and thaws quickly at room temperature. During the festive period, you can bake-ahead and keep a batch in the freezer for when guests drop in unexpectedly, or whenever you need a last-minute hostess gift or cookie swap treat.

Cranberry Biscotti Recipe Ingredients

To make this cranberry biscotti recipe, start by gathering the following ingredients:

• All-Purpose Flour – In the US I test with King Arthur, Pillsbury, or Gold Medal all-purpose flour; in the UK I recommend McDougall’s plain flour in the red-and-white bag.
• Granulated Sugar – Granulated sugar helps to sweeten the cookies and create a lighter, crunchier texture, along with a pretty golden brown color.
• Baking Powder – Eggs and baking powder give the biscotti dough its lift.
• Fine Sea Salt – Fine sea salt (or kosher salt, or table salt) balances the sweetness of the sugar, chocolate, and berries.
• Butter – Start with cold, cubed unsalted butter. Do not melt or soften.
• Almond Extract – I test my recipes with Nielsen-Massey almond extract, but any good-quality brand will work. If you don’t have (or like!) almond extract, replace it with vanilla extract, or 1/2 teaspoon of pure orange oil.

• Cranberries – Choose dried cranberries rather than fresh or frozen, which contain to much moisture. You can save the rest of the bag to make cranberry scones, or my mini Christmas puddings.
• Chocolate – I’ve worked chopped dark chocolate into the dough, but feel free to substitute chopped milk or white chocolate, or even chocolate chips. For extra-chocolatey biscotti, you can finish each cookie with a dunk or drizzle of melted chocolate. See my notes below.
• Walnuts – Chopped walnuts add texture, crunch, and a nutty note. You can substitute pistachios or pecans, or omit the nuts if baking for someone with a nut allergy.
• Eggs – You’ll need 2 large eggs for the dough, plus an extra white for egg-washing the logs before baking.
• Demerara Sugar – Before baking, I like to sprinkle my egg-washed biscotti logs with Demerara sugar. You can replace it with Turbinado sugar or Sugar in the Raw, or skip it altogether.

Special Tools and Ingredients

To make the cranberry biscotti dough, a simple plastic bench scraper helps with mixing and portioning. You’ll also need a pastry brush to egg-wash to the tops of the logs.

In addition, you’ll definitely want to make sure you have your serrated knife at the ready (see below). I also like to use a metal ruler to measure the logs and slices.

Tips and Tricks for Making the Best Cranberry and Orange Biscotti

To make the best cranberry and orange biscotti, keep the following tips in mind:

Slice with serrated. Use a serrated knife (the kind with a saw-toothed edge, typically used for slicing loaves of homemade bread) and a gentle sawing motion to cut the partially-baked logs into individual biscotti slices. A chef’s knife can create uneven edges and crumbly, broken biscotti.

Reach for a Microplane. Zesting the orange on a Microplane (rather than a box grater) creates small, easy-to-incorporate pieces of citrus zest.

Use cold, cubed butter. To work the butter into the dry ingredients, you’ll use the “rubbing in” method, which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like— rubbing the butter and flour between your fingertips. I employ the same traditional French  pâtisserie technique to make scones, biscuits, and sweet pastry.

Flour your work surface. Before rolling the logs, dust your countertop or work surface with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. I like to cover my countertop with a silicone rolling mat for easy cleanup.

Decorating with Chocolate

This biscotti recipe includes chopped dark chocolate (or chocolate chips) in the dough. But for an extra-chocolatey treat, you can finish each cookie with a drizzle or dunk in dark, white, or milk chocolate. Visit my white chocolate pistachio biscotti recipe to learn how to apply the chocolate drizzle, or these chocolate orange shortbread cookies for an example of a chocolate dunk.

You don’t have to temper the chocolate for drizzling or dunking, but I do recommend it. Tempering (the process of heating and cooling melting chocolate to specific temperatures) helps the chocolate to set more quickly, with a signature shine and snap.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

Cranberry orange biscotti cookies taste best on the day they are made.

Layer leftover biscotti in an airtight container between sheets of parchment or wax paper and store at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Other cranberry recipes you might enjoy:

Festive Cranberry Jelly Candies
Cranberry Compote
Orange and Cranberry Parfait
Cranberry Curd Tart with Gingersnap Crust
Brie and Cranberry Brownies
Chocolate Cranberry Orange Muffins

If you’re a biscotti lover like me, try making my white chocolate pistachio biscotti or pumpkin spice biscotti, too!

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

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