These Panettone Fruitcake Biscotti are a delicious addition to your holiday cookie baking! A crisp traditional Italian cookie flavored with Panettone and fruitcake flavors of nuts and candied fruit.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This Panettone Fruitcake Biscotti uses the popular flavors of Panettone and Fruit Cake and puts them into a crispy Italian cookie recipe.
Panettone is similar in flavors to fruitcake but different in how the bread is made.
These crispy Italian cookies are perfect for a cup of coffee or tea, or to add a colorful addition to a Christmas cookie platter.
What is Biscotti?
Biscotti is an Italian cookie that means “twice baked.”
The key to biscotti is their twice-baked nature, which gives them a crunchy texture.
It is a very crisp cookie that is flat and long, getting its name from a double bake first as a loaf and then as slices.
There are many different flavors of biscotti, such as our Chocolate Chip Biscotti and Lemon Lavender Biscotti.
What is Panettone?
Panettone is a traditional Italian sweet bread originating from Milan. It is typically enjoyed during the Christmas season but is available year-round in many places. The dough is enriched with ingredients like eggs, butter, and dried or candied fruits.
Key Features: Panettone has a light, airy texture and a tall, cylindrical shape. It often contains raisins, candied orange, and lemon peel. The top is usually adorned with powdered sugar or a sweet glaze.
Filled with candied fruits, it is almost like the Italian version of the fruitcake but much, much better!
The bread has a buttery flavor and when paired with the flaky and airy texture, you will see why they love it so much!
Ingredients
For a full list of quantities and instructions, see the full recipe card at the bottom of this post.
These are the ingredients you need for this Italian cookie recipe:
All Purpose Flour
Sugar
Baking Powder
Salt
Large Eggs
Unsalted Butter – unsalted butter is best for baking as you can add the exact amount of salt that you want
Vanilla Extract
Candied Fruit – a mixture of cherries, pineapple, citrus peels, and similar flavors that have been candied and are bright colors
Almonds – optional, but traditional for panettone
Bright White Candy Melts – optional, for decorating
Instruction Overview
For full instructions and recipe details, see the full recipe card at the bottom of the post.
In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed. It will look like wet sand.
Add in one large egg at a time.
Add the vanilla extract.
On low speed mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix until just combined.
Add the chopped almonds and Candied Fruit mixture. Mix until just combined.
Shape the dough into two logs approximately 12 inches long and 2 inches wide. Slightly flatten them.
Bake until they are starting to crack, approximately 20 minutes.
Let the logs cool for just 10 minutes. Too long and they will harden and crumble when cutting, and too short they will be too soft and crumble.
Slice the logs into cookie pieces and place back on a baking sheet.
Bake again for 15 minutes and let cool completely before decorating.
Kim’s Tips
The dough will seem almost too dry. As long as it presses together, you are good! Dough that is too wet will be difficult to work with.
For decorating, I like to use Bright White Candy Melts. They are much easier to work with than white chocolate, and white chocolate has a yellow tint to it.
Modifications and Substitutions
The cookies will continue to crisp up when they are cooling on the baking sheet. If you want them extra crunchy and crisp, bake a couple minutes longer.
If you want longer cookies, make one log that is about 4-5 inches wide instead. The baking times will also increase slightly.
Not a nut fan? Skip the nuts completely!
The almonds are traditional for panettone but you can also use walnuts or pecans.
Toasted nuts will bring a deeper nutty flavor.
FAQs
Is panettone a fruitcake?
Panettone is Italian and uses similar flavors of fruitcake (candied fruit, nuts, orange). But it is made in a light and airy bread as a very popular Christmas dessert.
Is biscotti a cookie or a bread?
Biscotti is a cookie.
What does the Italian word biscotti mean?
Biscotti means “twice baked” in Italian as the cookies are baked twice.
More Italian Cookie Recipes
Italian Cookies
Spumoni Sugar Cookies
Based on the popular Italian flavor combination of cherry, pistachio, and chocolate in a tye dye sugar cookie.
Panettone Fruitcake Biscotti
Equipment
- Stand mixer or large bowl and hand mixer
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring spoons
- Knife
- Silicone Baking Mats or parchment paper
Ingredients
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup candied fruit
- ¼ cup almonds
- 1 cup bright white candy melts optional, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or using a large bowl with a hand mixer) beat the butter and sugar together at medium speed.4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 cup sugar
- Add the eggs one at a time, combining fully before adding the other.2 large eggs
- Add the vanilla and briefly mix to combine.½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Reduce speed to low. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix until just combined.2 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the candied fruit and almonds and mix on a slow speed until just incorporated. See note 1.½ cup candied fruit, ¼ cup almonds
- Remove the dough from the bowl and split into two halves.
- Roll the dough out into two logs approximately 12 inches long and 2 inches wide (slightly flattened with your hands). Place on a silicone mat or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the loafs for about 20 minutes, or until they are starting to develop cracks on the top.
- Remove from the oven and let the logs cool for only 10 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the logs, at a diagonal, into cookies approximately 1/2 inch thick.
- Place all of the slices onto the baking sheet again (touching is fine as they will no longer expand).
- Put the cut cookies back in the oven for an additional 15 minutes.The cookies will feel crisp on top but still slightly "give" and push down in the middle.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack completely before storing in an air tight container up to 1 month.
- Optional decorating: Melt the candy melts per package directions. Dunk the cookies or spoon the chocolate over the cookies to coat as desired.1 cup bright white candy melts
- Let harden on a cooling rack or parchment paper.
Notes
- Adding the almonds at the end will leave them larger for big chunks. If you want them smaller or finer, add before the fruit and process a little longer as desired.
