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Cardamom Orange Biscotti – Low Carb and Gluten-Free

Crispy low carb almond flour biscotti with a touch of cardamom and orange. This is a deliciously grain-free way to start your day!

Low Carb Biscotti Recipe

I am in full-on cookie-baking mode.  I’m all about the low carb Christmas cookie recipes right now and I don’t seem to want to make anything else.  Sorry, kids, I forgot about making dinner again, I was too busy dreaming up Christmas cookie ideas.  I didn’t actually develop this cardamom orange biscotti recipe for the holiday season, but somehow it still fits.  The warm spices and the orange zest in a cookie you can dunk into your hot drink…yep, seems like a Christmas cookie to me!  Truth is I was just craving biscotti one morning and want a new and different flavour.  Cardamom offers such a unique taste which goes well in both sweet and savoury dishes, I am rather enamored of it.

Cardamom Orange Biscotti

I really do love the Christmas baking season, and the majority of my baking does focus on cookies.  Cakes, pies and other desserts are all very well and good, but Christmas cookies are in my blood.  They are part of my heritage.  My mother used to make huge batches of her roll-out Christmas shortbreads and we kids would decorate for hours.  No icing, just cut up dried fruit and little sprinkles and coloured sugar that we would press into the soft dough before baking.  She would give them away like crazy and we’d still end up with dozens in the freezer that would last well into February.  Not that we minded.

Cardamom Orange Biscotti Recipe

And on the other side of my family, my father’s wife also had her traditional Christmas cookies, the pecan crescents.  These were also shortbread-like in nature, but shaped by hand into plump crescents and filled with finely chopped pecans.  And then topped with a sweet white glaze and sprinkles.  She made many other wonderful cookies, but those were my favourites.  I actually attempted my own low carb version a few years ago and they were quite good, but not quite the same.  I’ve actually gotten much better at low carb baking and I think I could try again and get an almost exact replica.  I may get to that, I may not.  I have way too many ideas for low carb Christmas cookies, and not nearly enough time.

Ah well…in the meantime, enjoy these not-quite-Christmas Cardamom Orange Biscotti!

Low Carb Biscotti Recipe

Print
Cardamom Orange Biscotti
Servings: 14 biscotti
Ingredients
Biscotti:
  • 2 cups almond flour
  • ½ cup Swerve Sweetener or granulated erythritol
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp xanthan gum
  • 1 tbsp orange zest
  • ¾ tsp ground cardamom
  • ¼ cup butter melted
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
Orange Glaze:
  • ¼ cup powdered erythritol
  • 1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, granulated erythritol, baking powder and xanthan gum. Stir in orange zest and cardamom.
  3. Stir together melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until dough comes together.
  4. Turn dough out onto baking sheet and form into low, flat log, 10 x 4 inches. Bake 25 minutes, or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250F.
  5. With a sharp knife, gently cut into 15 even slices. Place slices back onto baking sheet cut-side down and bake for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit inside until cool.
  6. For the glaze, whisk together the powdered erythritol with the orange juice. Drizzle over cooled biscotti and let set 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes

Serves 14. Each serving has 3.91 g of carbs and 1.79 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2.12 g.

Food energy: 123kcal
Saturated fatty acids: 2.65g
Total fat: 11.06g
Calories from fat: 99
Cholesterol: 8mg
Carbohydrate: 3.91g
Total dietary fiber: 1.79g
Protein: 3.75g

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Nutritional Disclaimer

Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.

Reader Interactions

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Comments

    • I made these last night and they are just about perfect. Crisp! Following directions for cooking times and leaving in oven until cool.

      I left out the butter and added another egg. Sometimes low carb food just has too much fat for me—not because of calorie concerns—just too much unctuousness. The recipe worked beautifully, and what a pleasure it is to dunk a biscotta into a low carb almond milk latte.

      Thanks a million once again.
      Maria Brent, NJ

      Reply

  5. I’ll have to give these a try. I’m probably substituting the cardamom with equal parts cinnamon and nutmeg (according to Buzzle.com substitutions). I’m running out of room in my spice cabinet for yet another spice I’ve never tried, LOL!

    Reply

      • Carolyn, where do you buy your almond flour? It’s costly to buy it in 10oz packages with as much as I’m beginning to use. We’re trying to kick the wheat out of our diet as my husband has very severe vascular disease.

        Reply

        • It is costly to buy, I agree. My favourite is Honeyville, and it comes in 25lb bags for about $30. Pricey, I know, but a bag lasts me a while and I bake a LOT! And if you sign up for their email list, you can often get 10 to 20% off. I usually wait for one of the coupon codes to buy.

          Reply

  7. When I saw gluten-free I had to stop and check it out. I’m not gluten-intolerant, but it never hurts to cut down on the wheat in one’s diet and I do like my biscotti. Nice recipe. I’ll have to give it a try.

    Reply

  11. As a recently-diagnosed diabetic, I had despaired the loss of baked goods. THANK YOU for making them possible again!!!

    Do you have a net carb count for these?

    Reply

    • Darn, did I forget the nutritional counts again? I will go and calculate, but I don’t think it’s more than about 3.5 net carbs per biscotti.

      Reply

  12. These look great. I love orange, and am working on a rolled orange cake right now. Any idea of the carb count in one of these?

    Reply

  13. I forget about fixing dinner, too… it’s all about the cookies, and brownies, and tarts around here 🙂
    I love homemade biscotti… that cardamom and orange combination is a brilliant idea!

    Reply

  15. These look great! How do you store them? I haven’t made any of your biscotti yet, but I’m sure it’s as delicious as all the other recipes!

    Reply

    • The great thing about biscotti is that they are supposed to be hard and dry. Just store on your counter in a dish. Easy!

      Reply

  17. I love cardamom and just posted a roasted duck with cranberry, orange and cardamom glaze last night – looks like we’re on the same page flavor-wise this week! I have been craving some biscotti, and was planning to play around with some savory ideas soon. I might have to scrap that idea and just make these though, since I have all the ingredients already and they look amazing! Looking forward to more awesome cookie recipes in the coming weeks – woo hoo! 🙂

    Reply

  18. Do make the effort to find cardamom in the pod, green or white, not black, then shuck out the little seeds and grind for the recipe. The difference in flavor is astronomical. Lemon also plays well with cardamom.

    Reply

  19. Okay now I want a cup of coffee and some of your biscotti for breakfast tomorrow. Your recipe sounds delicious! I’m not much of a baker but I do enjoy it this time of year. My hubby’s family bakes so much for the holidays. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Reply

  23. Fabulous flavor combination! Love cardamom.

    Any hints to keep them from breaking? Mine broke when I ever so gently sliced the loaf & others broke when baked. Thanks for another scrumptious recipe.

    Reply

    • Hmmmm. Okay, for one you need to make sure they are completely cool before cutting. Secondly, do it with one sharp knife and don’t saw back and forth but cut straight down in one motion. That should help!

      Reply

  24. I just made them with hazelnut extract and almonds…so good, my issue is when I make them I leave them out for quite a while after the 1 st bake because I always seem to have to run somewhere, but they end up still wet in the middle… This time I baked them at 300 degrees for 1/2 hour but they came out the same, they are even still wet after the 1st round of the 2nd set of baking is done…any ideas?

    Reply

    • No, I don’t have any ideas in this case. Very strange because I make biscotti all the time and it’s not wet in the middle. I am thinking you may need to leave the whole uncut log in your oven with the oven off after the first bake. That may help.

      Reply

  26. OMG this looks incredibly delish! LOVE it! I’m celebrating my birthday with a recipe link up along with a giveaway for 4 oz of each of these spices: ground cardamom, ground chipotle pepper, ground ceylon cinnamon, whole cumin, granulated garlic, and oregano. I’d love for you to stop by and link up this recipe along with any other’s that use any of these 6 spices. TGIF!

    marilyn

    http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-birthday-party-begins.html

    Reply

  27. I made these last night and they are amazing! I didn’t do the glaze. They made the house smell wonderful and the only negative is I’m afraid I might eat too many of them. They would make great cookies too. I left mine in the oven all night after making them and had them with my coffee and cream this morning. Yum Yum! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!

    Reply

  28. wow, these are SO good! And really easy. Great recipe! I try to keep my FODMAPs low, so I subbed half the erythritol for Splenda and skipped the glaze. Definitely making again. Now if I can just resist eating the whole batch in a day!

    Any suggestions for storing these?

    Reply

  29. I made these yesterday and I was very excited to try one this morning with my morning tea. I was not disappointed. Angels sang, world peace seemed attainable, and I felt as though someone was giving me a giant warm hug.

    Pretty good for biscotti, no? 😉 You knocked this out of the park! Such a delicious combination of flavors and the texture was divine. Thank you!

    Reply

  30. Love your recipes! I have so many printed in a binder to try, now I need the time to test them out. 🙂 Thanks for inspiration.

    Reply

  31. This recipe is amazing, thank you!
    I have been trying to find a website to order Almond flour cheaper than I can buy it at Costco and I saw your comment that you buy yours for 25 pounds for $30!!! I looked on the Honeyville website and it says it has 25 pound bags for $184… Was that a typo? I thought it sounded too good to be true as I’ve yet to find it for less than six something a pound anywhere :/
    I’ve started substituting one quarter cup of coconut flour for each cup of almond flour in many of my baking recipes plus adding one extra egg for each quarter cup of coconut flour. Do you think the biscotti would hold together as well if I made that substitution? appreciate your thoughts! 🙂

    Reply

    • Must have been a BIG typo. At the time, it was $130 or so. I haven’t tried the biscotti with coconut flour, but in my experience, coconut flour makes thing chewier so I just don’t know that it would work that well for biscotti.

      Reply

  33. Oh cardamom.. how I love it.. I miss German Stollen.. it’s the flavor of that for me.. I’m tempted to drag my very sick self into the kitchen and make these. 🙂 Nah.. better wait.. maybe I’ll ‘wheedle’ a little helper I can ‘instruct’ in making these (and maybe she will grow up to bake low carb, gluten and grain free).

    Reply

  35. Wow, Carolyn, I followed your recipe exactly. They did not dry out and get crisp. They taste good and I will eat them, but they are more like a soggy shortbread than a biscotti. Also, how do you get the Swerve to dissolve in the orange juice to make the glaze? It does not dissolve. I’m just wondering what I did wrong . . . ?

    Reply

    • What brand of almond flour did you use? If it wasn’t the finely ground stuff, that might be the issue. Also, were you using powdered Swerve for the glaze?

      Reply

  36. Hi Carolyn, I love your biscotti and have tried several variations. I just had a knee replacement and the dry biscotti is helpful with my pain meds. Which I hate to take but necessary right now. Helps with the nausea. And they are quite simple to make. I can mix up the dry ingredients and then rest before finishing if I need to. I have found i need to increase baking time for first and second baking usually leave in oven overnight or till oven is cool. Sometimes have to turn oven back on. Anyway, thanks for great recipes!

    Reply

  37. MAGIC – Love your recipe Carolyn, I switched the butter to coconut oil and the sweetener I hadn’t heard of ( in New Zealand) so I used Rapadura Sugar, I also tried them with Maple Syrup, Walnuts and Mixed (Dutch windmill biscuit spice to be precise) spice, all good. Lemon zest and mixed spice worked too. Next I’m going to try with crystalised ginger in them.
    Served with roasted fruits and whipped coconut cream…. mmmm

    Reply

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