Panettone Biscotti

These Panettone Biscotti are such a fun and festive way to use up leftover panettone or pandoro. They're crispy, crunchy and good and taste like panettone but in biscotti form. Suited to dunking in your morning cappuccino or gifting, Buon Natale!

We don't know about you but we find ourselves surrounded with Panettone and Pandoro at Christmas time.

As much as we love to eat a big slice of it as it is we also love to get creative and make fun desserts using them like our Panettone bread pudding (served warm with ice cream, good!) and a showstopping Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake.

This year, we're turning leftover Panettone into crispy and good Cantucci-style biscotti.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Panettone (you can also use Pandoro) – you don't need to use a high-quality, expensive panettone for this recipe. Biscotti have a dry and crispy texture so if you use a cheaper panettone which is on the dry side that's fine.
• Flour – we use Italian 00 flour but all-purpose flour (plain flour) works as well.
• Honey – We always add honey to our biscotti, it not only adds sweetness but helps with the texture too!

Step by step photos and instructions

This is a visual guide to help you with each step. For the full written recipe, ingredient amounts and tips scroll to the recipe card below.

1. Whisk eggs and sugar – add the eggs, sugar, honey and salt to a bowl and whisk until pale and frothy (photos 1 and 2).
2. Add the panettone – tear the panettone into small pieces then add it to the egg mixture and mix until combined (photos 3-5).

1. Add flour – mix the flour and baking powder together then add it to the panettone mixture 1/3 at a time. Knead the flour into the mix using your hands until a dough forms (photos 6 & 7).
2. Shape and bake – shape the cookie dough into a log then place on a large lined baking tray. Flatten the log on top (it should be around 10-5 inches long and 3/4 inch thick). Brush the log lightly with water then bake for 30 minutes at 180C/350F. (photo 8).

1. Slice the biscotti – after 30 minutes remove the log from the oven and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 130C/275F. Transfer the log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into biscotti (photos 9 and 10).
2. Second bake – lay the biscotti back on the baking tray and bake again for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack (photos 11 and 12).

More Christmas recipes to try

Italian Desserts

Panettone Bombe – Christmas Ice Cream Cake

Christmas

Ice Cream Stuffed Mini Panettone (Cherry and Chocolate)

Italian Desserts

Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake (Italian Christmas Cake)

Christmas

Panpepato (Christmas Spiced Cake)

Ingredients

Makes 16 large biscotti

• 300 g (10.5oz) Panettone ((can also use Pandoro))
• 170 g (1 and ⅓ cups) Italian 00 flour ((or all-purpose flour))
• 2/3 cup (120g) sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F and line a large baking tray with parchment.

2. Tear the panettone into small pieces and set aside in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, add the sugar, eggs, salt and honey. Whisk with an electric whisk until pale and frothy.

4. Add the panettone and mix well.

5. Mix the baking powder with the flour and add it into the panettone mix 1/3 at a time mixing it in with you hand to form a dough.

6. Shape the dough into a long log and flatten it on top (about 10.5 inches long and 3/4 inch thick). Brush the log lightly with cold water then bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 130C/265F.

8. Cut the log diagonally into biscotti and lay them back on the tray. Bake in the oven for another 40 minutes (30 minutes for softer biscotti). Once baked, remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Kitchen notes

• Slicing the biscotti don't let the log sit for more than 10 minutes or it'll start to crumble as you slice them. We find it easier to cut them with a sharp non-serrated knife after 5-10 minutes cooling. Give your oven at least 10 minutes to cool down to the correct temperature.
• Second bake these biscotti need slightly longer than regular biscotti because of the added moisture from the panettone. We find that 40 minutes is suited to crunchy biscotti or bake for 30 minutes for slightly softer biscotti.
• Adding extra if your panettone doesn't have much dried fruit in it you can add more candied peel, raisins and even vanilla to your own preference.
• Storage once cooled store the biscotti in a sealed jar or container to keep their crunchy texture. They'll keep well for up to 2 weeks.