These crunchy Keto Biscotti are dipped in a sweet cinnamon mixture after baking. Made with almond flour, they have no grains or gluten, and only 3.9g carbs per serving. Dunk one in your coffee for a delicious low carb treat!
I started making keto biscotti early on in my low carb baking days. Because I wasn’t about to let a little thing like diabetes get in the way of my love for of biscotti and coffee!
I created my first recipe for this crunchy Italian cookie in 2011, when I made a delicious, albeit fragile, chocolate hazelnut version. I learned a few things from that experience and used them to my advantage in subsequent recipes.
This Cinnamon Keto Biscotti recipe employs all my best tricks for the perfect texture. They have the ideal crispness from double-baking, but they also aren’t too fragile to dunk into your favorite hot beverage.
And they taste fabulous on their own too!
Making crisp almond flour biscotti
I have gotten pretty fancy with my keto biscotti in the past. I’ve made everything from cranberry pecan biscotti to maple walnut to chocolate peppermint. This “cinnamon sugar” version is relatively subdued for me, but the truth is that they don’t need much adornment. They are delicious as is.
The one thing that all of these recipes have in common is that they are made with almond flour. The reality is that coconut flour really doesn’t make good crisp cookies like this. It’s too absorbent and requires too many eggs.
A good blanched almond flour, on the other hand, can make wonderfully crisp cookies. It’s just the right texture to bake hard and dry, and it doesn’t require as many eggs to hold together properly. I’ve used it for keto shortbread and keto thin mints. And of course, for all of my keto biscotti.
It is important to recognize that the sweeteners make a difference as well. As you may know, I’ve made a study of various keto sweeteners and their affects on baked goods. And only erythritol based sweeteners will produce a crisp cookie. Any amount of allulose or xylitol will prevent the biscotti from becoming crunchy.
Ingredients you need
- Almond flour: Choose a finely ground, blanched almond flour
- Erythritol sweetener: As mentioned above, it must be mostly erythritol, without any amount of allulose or xylitol. The new Swerve with Monk Fruit works well in this recipe. So Nourished would be another good choice.
- Xanthan gum: A little of this thickener helps make the biscotti less fragile. You can skip it, however. Just be a little more careful when slicing them.
- Butter or oil: I like to use melted butter for this recipe.
- Cinnamon: A little cinnamon goes in the biscotti dough, as well as in the cinnamon “sugar” mixture.
- Pantry staples: Baking powder, egg, salt, vanilla extract.
Step by Step Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
2. Turn the dough out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and form into a low, flat log, about 10 x 4 inches.
3. Bake 25 minutes at 325ºF, or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250ºF.
4. With a large serrated knife, gently slice the log into 15 even slices.
5. Place the slices back onto the baking sheet, cut-side down, and bake for 15 minutes, then flip each slice and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them sit inside for another 20 minutes. Keep your eye on them in case they brown too quickly.
6. In a shallow dish, whisk together the granulated sweetener and cinnamon. Dip the still warm biscotti on both sides and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Expert Tips
Biscotti means “twice baked”, and it really is important to bake these cookies twice. You first bake them as a log, and then as individual slices. For the second baking, you need to make sure to reduce the oven temperature to let them crisp up without over-browning.
Don’t make the log too wide, as it makes the edges more fragile as you cut it into slices. 3 to 4 inches is about perfect for keto biscotti.
Be gentle when slicing the log after the first baking. Don’t rush it. I find it helpful to hold the very edges of the slice so they don’t break off as I cut them.
Also be careful when moving the slices around the baking sheet and turning them over. They are much more fragile when they are still warm.
The cinnamon “sugar” should stick to the cut edges of the biscotti as you move it around in the plate. There’s no need for brushing with butter or oil, which would make the biscotti start to soften.
Frequently Asked Questions
Biscotti made with sugar and flour are quite high in carbs. A single slice often has more than 25g of carbs. These keto biscotti, however, have only 3.9g of carbs and 1.9g of fiber. So they have a net carb count of 2g per cookie!
Yes, it is remarkably easy to make almond flour biscotti. The process is similar to conventional biscotti and the results are crunchy and delicious. These keto biscotti are grain-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free. You can also make them dairy-free by using oil instead of butter.
Biscotti are baked hard and dry, so they have a longer shelf life than things like keto chocolate chip cookies. You can store them in a covered container on the counter for up to a week. You can also freeze biscotti for several months.
If you live in a humid environment, they may soften up as they sit. You can crisp them back up by placing them in a warm (200ºF) oven for 15 minutes or so, and letting them cool again.
More delicious keto cinnamon recipes
Keto Biscotti Recipe
Ingredients
Biscotti
- 2 cups (210 g) almond flour
- ½ cup (95 g) granular sweetener
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum, (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) butter, melted, (or avocado oil)
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon “Sugar”
- 3 tbsp granular sweetener
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared baking sheet and form into a low, flat log, about 10 x 4 inches. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool 25 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250ºF.
- With a large serrated knife, gently slice the log into 15 even slices. Place the slices back onto the baking sheet, cut-side down, and bake for 15 minutes.
- Flip each slice carefully and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and let them sit inside until cool. Keep your eye on them in case they brown too quickly.
- In a shallow dish, whisk together the granulated sweetener and cinnamon. Dip the biscotti on both sides in the cinnamon mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I use pecan flour in place of the almond flour in your recipes?
in some, but not all. Pecan flour is not blanched and will never be as finely ground as blanched almond flour… so many things (like these biscotti!) will be more crumbly.
Can glucomannan or guar gum be substituted for the xanthum gum?
Yes, that should work.
For your recipes that call for the original granulated swerve, are you now recommending the monkfruit blend swerve or monkfruit erythritol blend of so nourished in its place? I don’t want to ruin recipes I’ve previously made using the wrong swerve.
The monk fruit blend of Swerve is good for this.
So good! I made a half batch and used a flax egg because I was out of eggs. Worked like a charm! Also substituted pumpkin spice for the cinnamon. Yum! Skipped the sugar topping though. Might add pecans in my next iteration. 😋
Making these now. House smells so good
Made for my husband. Now he is addicted!
Love everything Carolyn shares. Bless her! She is amazing.
i love biscotti, but love cinnamon more! thank you for this!
I’m wondering what would happen if you dipped the cookies after cutting and before the second bake. Because the cookie is more moist at this point, I think the cinnamon and sweetener would stick to the cookie better. I love the crunchy texture of caramelize sugar/sweetener, however I’m afraid that it might burn, even at that low oven temp, because of the additional 30 minutes in the oven. Have you tried doing this?
When you cook the sweetener/cinnamon combo, it becomes very dark and not as “cinnamon sugar” like.