Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

from 3 votes

These Pumpkin Pie Biscotti are decorated with a drizzle of chocolate and chopped pumpkin seeds. They’re ideal for dunking into hot apple cider, tea or coffee!

Pumpkin pie biscotti that are drizzled with melted chocolate and topped with chopped pumpkin seeds.

In the world of cookies, when crispy faces off against chewy, 99 times out of 100, I’m choosing chewy. Chocolate chip cookies? I’ll take mine soft and crumb-free. Shortbread? Sign me up for tender and buttery. Perhaps that’s why biscotti and I have only recently become acquainted.

I could think of no better way to segue into crispy confections than with pumpkin pie biscotti. These sliced sweets are loaded with three times the pumpkin power: pumpkin purée, pumpkin spice and pumpkin seeds. They’ve definitely got me on the biscotti bandwagon, one crispy, crunchy bite at a time. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, spiked apple cider—beverages be warned: You’ll never go biscotti-less again.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Make-ahead. You can keep the cookies in an airtight container for a couple of weeks.
  • Crowd-pleasing. This recipe makes 24 biscotti–more than enough to feed a crowd—even if guests have two!
  • Great for gifting. A bag or container of these makes an incredible housewarming or holiday present.

Ingredients

  • Unsalted butter: This Italian cookie is known for its distinctive dry and crunchy texture. This texture is achieved, in part, by using a lower amount of butter compared to traditional soft cookies, like my recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies. You’ll want to use unsalted rather than salted butter since you’ll be adding salt yourself.
  • Sugar: Granulated sugar adds sweetness here. You’ll want to avoid using light or dark brown sugar, which would change the flavor and add too much moisture.
  • Pumpkin pie spice: This spice mixture is like bottled fall. Pumpkin pie spice typically has ground cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and allspice in it.
  • Ground cinnamon: Extra ground cinnamon amps up the fall flavor here. 
  • Baking powder: Baking powder helps these cookies rise, preventing them from becoming too dense.
  • Salt: Just ½ teaspoon of salt is enough to enhance sweetness. Don’t skip it!
  • Egg: An egg will help bind the ingredients, giving them structure that’s perfect for slicing. 
  • Pumpkin: Pumpkin purée adds real-deal squash flavor. Make sure to get 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.
  • All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour adds structure without making the cookies too dense or crumbly. 
  • Chocolate chips: These cookies are drizzled with melted chocolate. Chocolate and pumpkin are a combo made in heaven!
  • Pumpkin seeds: Pumpkin seeds—also called pepitas—add a nice crunch and extra pumpkin flavor to this dessert (or, let’s be real, snack).

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions

  • Use another type of chocolate. Instead of semisweet chocolate, you can use another type for drizzling—like dark, milk or white chocolate. 
  • Use a different nut. Instead of chopped pumpkin seeds, these pumpkin spice biscotti would be lovely topped with toasted, chopped pecans, pistachios or walnuts.

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

  1. Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
  2. Make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, sugar, spices, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth and creamy (a couple of minutes). Add the egg and pumpkin and mix. Then, add the flour and beat until just combined.
Biscotti dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. A gob of dough is stuck to the paddle.
  1. Shape the dough. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet and divide in half, then shape into logs and pat into rectangles.
Two unbaked rectangles of pumpkin pie biscotti dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  1. Bake. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and let cook for 5 minutes. (In the meantime, reduce the oven temperature to 325ºF. Transfer the rectangles to a cutting board and using a sharp knife slice each into 12 diagonal pieces. Return to the baking sheet, standing them upright and spacing them an inch apart. Return to the oven, bake 25 minutes more, turn off the oven and keep the cookies in the oven until it cools completely.
Two rows of sliced, baked pumpkin pie biscotti on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  1. Decorate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, then drizzle the cookies with the chocolate and top with chopped pumpkin seeds. Let the chocolate harden before serving.
Two rows of pumpkin pie biscotti, with all but two of the biscotti drizzled with melted chocolate and chopped pumpkin seeds. Two small bowls of more chopped pumpkin seeds and melted chocolate sit beside the biscotti.

Pro Tip: For super-neat chocolate drizzles, transfer the melted chocolate to a piping or zipper-lock bag, snip off the bottom of the bag and pipe the chocolate onto the cookies in zigzags. Alternatively, you could use a squeeze bottle.

Kelly’s Recipe Tips

  • Making a Double Boiler: To make a double boiler to melt the chocolate, place a small amount of water in the bottom of a saucepan. Using a large heat-safe mixing bowl (it should rest on top of the saucepan and not touch the water), place the chocolate into the mixing bowl. Once the water is simmering, place the bowl over the saucepan and stir the chocolate until it’s melted.
  • Use a Sharp Knife: You’ll want to use a long, sharp knife to cut the rectangles. An 8-inch chef’s knife or bread knife will work well.
  • Let Cool Completely: For biscotti to get their crumbly texture, they need extra baking and cooling time. This is why you need to leave them in the oven as it cools completely, so they’re able to dry out.

Storage and Freezer Tips

Biscotti will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of weeks. You can separate the layers of cookies with pieces of wax paper.

To freeze them, allow to freeze in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, then place them into an airtight container. They can be stored in the freezer for at least 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is butter or oil better in biscotti? 

You can use either. Both butter and oil will add moisture, which lends a softer texture and extends the shelf-life of biscotti. 

What’s the difference between American and Italian biscotti? 

American biscotti are softer and have more sugar, while Italian biscotti are crunchier. Many traditional recipes only use eggs (leaving out butter or oil) which contributes to the cookies’ harder texture.

Can biscotti be healthy? 

Because biscotti use less fat and sugar than many cookie recipes, they are lower in calories, fat and sugar per serving. However, you should always consult with a health or nutrition professional if you have specific dietary concerns. 

More Fall Cookies

A number of pumpkin pie biscotti that are drizzled with melted chocolate and topped with chopped pumpkin seeds.
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Dessert

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

This easy recipe for Pumpkin Pie Biscotti is loaded with three times the pumpkin power: pumpkin purée, pumpkin spice and pumpkin seeds. 
Author: Kelly Senyei
5 from 3 votes
Pumpkin Pie Biscotti Recipe from justataste.com
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 24 biscotti

Ingredients 

  • 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped pumpkin seeds

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder and salt until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and pumpkin purée and continue beating. Add the flour and beat just until combined. (The dough will be very sticky.)
  • Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and divide it in half. Shape each piece into two 10×2 1/2-inch logs then pat the logs into rectangles.
  • Bake the biscotti for 25 minutes then remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325ºF.
  • Transfer the biscotti to a cutting board and using a sharp knife, cut each rectangle into 12 slices at a diagonal. Return the biscotti to the baking sheet, standing them up on the bottom edge and spacing them about 1 inch apart.
  • Return the biscotti to the oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes until golden and crispy. (The biscotti will still be soft in the centers.) Turn off the oven, crack open the oven door and let the biscotti cool in the oven. Once they are completely cool, remove the biscotti from the oven.
  • Melt the chocolate in the microwave or a double boiler until smooth. Drizzle the biscotti with the chocolate then sprinkle them with the chopped pumpkin seeds. Let cool until the chocolate fully hardens. Serve or store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Kelly’s Notes

    • To make a double boiler to melt the chocolate, place a small amount of water in the bottom of a saucepan. Using a large heat-safe mixing bowl (it should rest on top of the saucepan and not touch the water), place the chocolate into the mixing bowl. Once the water is simmering, place the bowl over the saucepan and stir the chocolate until it’s melted.
    • You’ll want to use a long, sharp knife to cut the rectangles. An 8-inch chef’s knife or bread knife will work well.
    • For biscotti to get their crumbly texture, they need extra baking and cooling time. This is why you need to leave them in the oven as it cools completely, so they’re able to dry out.
    • ★ Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!

Nutrition

Calories: 132kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 52mg, Potassium: 102mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 865IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1.2mg

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Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.


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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Excellent! Super easy. I doubled the pumpkin pie spice and used pecans because I didn’t have pumpkin seeds. Turned out great!

    1. Woohoo! Who says pumpkin is only for fall? I’m thrilled you’ve been enjoying the recipe, Dale!

  2. 5 stars
    I’ve made this twice already and have loved it! I have an amazing pic if you want. Thank you for posting this. This one is a keeper! I dipped the bottoms the first time and the second time I poured chocolate over the top.

  3. This is my first time making biscotti and it went so so well! It was delicious and super easy to make. The second I mentioned I made pumpkin biscotti I became a popular lady with my friends. So thank you! I should have made a double batch.

  4. I made these this afternoon with one oops. 1/2 CAN of pumpkin instead of 1/2 CUP. Dough was really really sticky so when I re-read the recipe I found my mistake. But I pushed on. The dough was too sticky to make into two logs, so I made one log and baked original time. Still too soft so I did 10 mins more, perfect. After cooling for 5 mins I sliced into 1″ slices and re-baked at original temp and time, then another 10 mins and left to cool in the oven. Instead of the chocolate chips I had a bag of Hershey minis so I picked out all the dark chocolate bars (only had 7 left), chopped them up, melted and drizzled away. Perfect and they taste so yummy. Thank you for sharing.

    1. So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Connie! And I love that you were able to be creative and turn your oops into a success!

  5. I really loved this recipe ! May I feature it on my blog (of course with full credits given to you, and a link to your website)? ~ let me know :)

  6. I’m with you. I’ll go for a soft, chewy cookie every time. But these look divine. I believe my hot chocolate is requesting a new dance partner :)

  7. I kid you not, homemade biscotti are the only way I like biscotti, and I have to be the one making them. Or you, you can make me biscotti anytime, specifically this recipe! These are perfect.

  8. I’m biscotti-obsessed right now after recently making some savory ones. These look perfect for a fall morning or evenign with coffee!