Lemon Pignoli Biscotti with Pine Nuts

These Italian biscotti pair bright lemon with toasted pine nuts for a cookie that’s fragrant, crunchy, and built for dunking into coffee, tea, or vin santo.

The pine nuts get toasted first until golden and fragrant, which deepens their buttery, resinous flavor. They go into a butter-sugar dough brightened with both lemon juice and lemon zest. Two tablespoons of zest is generous, and you’ll taste it in every bite. Don’t worry if the batter looks curdled after adding the eggs and lemon. It smooths out once the flour goes in.

The twice-bake method is what makes biscotti biscotti. Logs bake first until set, then get sliced diagonally and returned to the oven to dry and crisp on both sides. The result is a cookie that’s firm enough to survive a good dunk without falling apart in your cup.

Chef Tips

• Toast the pine nuts carefully. They’re small, fatty, and go from golden to burnt in seconds. Stir frequently and watch them closely.
• Pat the logs to an even height and width so they bake uniformly. Uneven logs mean some slices are thick and chewy while others are thin and over-crisp.
• Let the baked logs cool for 5 minutes before slicing. Too hot and they crumble. A sharp serrated knife cuts cleanly.
• The second bake dries them out. Turn the slices once for even crisping on both sides.

Variations

• Dip one end of cooled biscotti in melted white chocolate for a sweet, elegant finish.
• Add a teaspoon of poppy seeds to the dough for extra texture and a lemon-poppy flavor.
• Swap pine nuts for sliced almonds for a more traditional Italian biscotti profile.