Banana Bread Biscotti

Take a classic banana bread and add those flavors to Italian biscotti…Banana Bread Biscotti are the perfect way to use up some of your very sweet and ripe bananas. These delightful biscotti are so nice dipped in your coffee or tea. The dough comes together without a mixer!

Originally published April 2020 and updated May 2022. It seems that these days I’ve been ending up with more ripe bananas than normally do. Maybe because my mom used to come by almost every day and I would end up sharing my bananas with her. Or she would just look at my pile of abandoned and ripe bananas and grab a few and say, “I’m going to make banana muffins!” Or, “I’m going to make you guys a banana bread.”

I like to use the ripe bananas in smoothies to enjoy after a run or peel and freeze them for a future smoothie. This week I ended up with 5 very ripe bananas. I typically will make my sourdough banana bread (boy, you guys really love this recipe! It’s the most viewed one on my blog for months!!).

I was craving a banana cookie. I know, who ever craves a banana cookie? Yes, these very sweet and ripe bananas are just perfect for a banana bread. It’s been a while since I baked a batch of biscotti and I thought I’m not the only one in house tired of the same ol’ banana bread recipe. I thought why not make  banana biscotti. And that’s how these banana bread biscotti came about.

What is really nice about this recipe is that you’re using up those sad and lonely very ripe bananas and you can make the whole thing by hand! It’s a 1/2 cup of ripe mashed up bananas. So it should be one large banana or two small ones.

Do I need a mixer to make this cookie dough?

The best thing about these biscotti (besides the fact that you’re using up those sweet ripe bananas)is that the whole thing comes together easily by hand.

What is the best spice to use in a banana bread biscotti?

I used what I would typically use in a banana bread. I added a little bit of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. You could use ginger, cardamon. You could even use a combo of whatever you like.

Let’s get to this delicious biscotti recipe!

What ingredients are in these biscotti?

• all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg
• light brown sugar
• banana
• egg
• coconut oil
• pure vanilla extract
• almonds (or walnuts)

I did end up following the base of these cranberry almond biscotti. The first thing you have to do is gather up all your ingredients. I used coconut oil. You could use whatever mild flavored oil you like. If you don’t have an egg on hand, you could use a flax seed egg.

These irresistible biscotti begin with the ripest bananas you can find in your kitchen!

Gather up all the rest of your ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add in whatever spices you are using (I did cinnamon and nutmeg).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, egg, oil and vanilla extract until smooth.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredient bowl. Add in the chopped almonds (you could use walnuts if you have them on hand).

Stir until the dough comes together.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured (and very clean)counter and work the dough together just a bit.

Transfer the dough to the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and divide into two logs. Shape the logs and sprinkle some of the reserved almonds on top (they won’t all stay on top while baking).

Bake the logs in a preheat 350 degree F oven for 20-25 minutes. The biscotti may be ready by 22 or 23 minutes. Keep in mind the ends may brown a bit more than the rest of the cookie log. Next, take the baking pan out of oven and let the biscotti cool for a bit (about 10 minutes). Lower oven temp to 300 degrees F.

I did score my biscotti logs like the way my mom does. It’s the first time I used her trick. It does really help when it’s ready to slice the biscotti.

Next step is to slice the biscotti on a diagonal. It should be about 10-12 biscotti per log, depending on how thick your log is.

Place the biscotti pieces on the baking pan and place back in the oven and bake for about 7  minutes. Flip the biscotti over and continue to bake for another 7 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for about 10 minutes, before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely and dry out a bit more.

How long will these biscotti stay fresh?

Simply store the biscotti in a zipped lock storage bag or a plastic container (or your favorite glass cookie container). They’re great for up to 3 days. Since it has egg in the batter, keep in fridge to store longer than a few days.

Can I freeze these banana bread biscotti?

Yes! Once they have completely cooled down, transfer the biscotti to a zipped lock freezer bag. Or you could wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe storage container. Freeze them for up to three months.

Some more of my favorite Italian biscotti recipes you may enjoy:

• Hazelnut and Dried Cherry Biscotti
• Apricot Spice Biscotti
• Bones of the Dead Cookies
• Lemon Cornmeal Cookies-Biscotti di Meliga

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Banana Bread Biscotti

Banana Bread Biscotti are the perfect way to use up some of your very ripe and sweet bananas. The flavors of a banana bread in crispy biscotti that are so nice dipped in your coffee or tea. The dough comes together without a mixer!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bananas, biscotti

Servings: 20

Author: Lora

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ cup packed dark or light brown sugar
• ½ cup mashed very ripe banana about 2 small bananas
• 1 large egg
• 4 tbs coconut oil
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup almonds toasted and roughly chopped divided (or walnuts)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and the spices. Set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour into the dry ingredients, along with ⅓ cup of the walnuts. Stir until all the dry ingredients combined in the wet. The dough will be a bit sticky. ( If you find it to be too sticky to handle, you could scrape out the dough and add a touch of flour onto a clean counter and work the dough together until it’s cohesive with your hands.)
• Scrape out the dough with a rubber spatula onto a lined cookie sheet and divide dough in half. Spray hands with cooking spray; form each piece of dough into a 2 1/2-inch-wide (1/2-inch thick)log. Sprinkle on top of the logs the remaining almonds (or walnuts). Score the logs diagonally with a very sharp knife. This is mom’s biscotti baking pro top and will help to slice when they are baked. Bake until dough is firm but gives slightly when pressed, about 20-25 minutes.
• Transfer sheet to a wire rack and let logs cool 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Transfer the loaf carefully to a cutting board. Using a long serrated knife, cut each log on the diagonal (if you scored the dough, follow the marks you made with your knife) into 1/2-inch-thick slices; place slices, cut side up, on sheet.
• Bake 7 minutes, flip biscotti, and bake 7 minutes more. Let cool completely (they will also dry out a bit more) on wire rack. Enjoy!

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