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Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

By Denise Pare-Watson

Going into an Italian store is always an adventure for me.  One of the many things that I am always fascinated by is the huge glass container filled with tall biscotti sitting upright in the jar.  They are typically large enough to feed a family!  As much as I like these huge cookies, they are just too big! I wanted a smaller biscotti that would be more suitable for a coffee gathering.  I adapted a recipe that uses a filling in the biscotti dough to make them more distinctive.   Biscotti are always a hit during the holiday season given their ease of storage and long shelf life, not to mention wonderful in texture and flavour.  

A Stack of Biscotti with pinwheel filling | urbnspice.com
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti | urbnspice.com

I had a little leftover cranberry sauce from my Dairy-Free White Chocolate Eggnog with Cranberry Coulis, so it was a great opportunity to utilise it as a filling in the biscotti.  These Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti are a tender, not hard biscotti and they are much smaller in size than traditional biscotti – you’re going to love them!  They also make excellent edible gifts.

Edible Gifts by Urbnspice
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti make excellent edible gifts

Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

CHEF TALK:  These Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti are a not-too-sweet cookie, with a pleasant tang from the cranberry filling.  The lemon zest adds brightness to the dough and pairs very well with the cranberry filling.  Serve with Dairy-Free White Chocolate Eggnog with Cranberry Coulis for a special treat.

Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti and Eggnog
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti and White Chocolate Eggnog with Cranberry Coulis

This recipe is adaptable to a gluten-free and dairy-free version with substitutions listed in the ingredients below.  You can easily decorate the twice-baked biscotti with an icing glaze, if desired (mix together 1 cup icing sugar, 1 tablespoon soft butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract, pinch of salt and 1 – 2 tablespoons of milk).  Enjoy!

CHEF TIP:  I have provided some steps and photographs below to roll the filled biscotti.   I show you how to simplify the process by using a sheet of lightly floured parchment paper to help you roll the biscotti dough around the filling.

Thanks to Taste of Home for the inspiration behind this cookie.  

Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

Yield:  3 dozen biscotti

INGREDIENTS:

Biscotti Dough:

  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (305 g) or gluten-free flour 
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (6 g)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter (113 g) or coconut butter (95 g), room temperature
  • 2/3 cups (140 g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Cranberry Filling: (See Step 7 below for method)

  • 2/3 cup (100 g) dried cranberries 
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) cranberry sauce (or jam of your choice)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml) or ½ teaspoon almond extract 

METHOD:

  1. Preheat oven to 350oF.   
  2. Make the Biscotti Dough:  combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
  3. In a mixer with a paddle or a large bowl, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy.  
  4. Add the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest.
  5. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until a smooth dough is formed.  Divide the dough in half (about 350 g each).  
  6. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll out each piece of the dough to form a 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
  7. Make the Cranberry Filling:  In a food processor, combine the dried cranberries, cranberry sauce and vanilla.  Process until you have a smooth paste.
  8. Spread one-half of the cranberry filling (about 100 g) on the dough, leaving ½ inch free of filling along one long side of the dough furthest from you.
  9. Roll up the dough starting on the long side of the rectangle nearest to you, using the parchment paper to help you, as shown in the photograph.  Place the biscotti log so that the seam is underneath when the biscotti log is placed on the parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Repeat with the other half of the dough.
  10. The two biscotti logs should be about 4 inches apart on the baking sheet.  Bake them for 25 minutes or until they are light golden and firm.  
  11. Cool the biscotti logs on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cutting surface.  CHEF TIP:  Cutting the biscotti logs while they are still warm makes it easier to get clean slices without breakage. 
  12. For the Biscotti Double Baking:  Cut the biscotti logs into ½ inch slices using a serrated knife.  Place each slice upright on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes or until the cookies feel dry and have turned golden brown.  Cool the cookies before storing them in an airtight container.  

Storage:  The cookies will keep in an airtight container for several weeks at room temperature, or for longer storage, the cookies freeze very well.

Here is the step-by-step in photographs:

Rolling out biscotti dough into a triangle | urbnspice.com
Rolling out Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti dough
Filling the Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti
An easy chef tip to roll the biscotti dough | urbnspice.com
The parchment paper makes the task of rolling the biscotti dough very easy
biscotti logs ready to bake
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti dough ready to bake
Baking Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti dough sliced and baked a second time
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

LEARNING TIPS:  

Please CLICK the link above to access my Urb’n’Spice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:

  • Creaming
  • Favourite Kitchen Tools:  Spatula
  • Oven Accuracy – Internal Thermometer
  • Vanilla Extract
    __________

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Dairy Free White Chocolate Eggnog with Cranberry Swirl

Christmas Morning Recipe Roundup

The Un-Christmas Day Feast

A Christmas-y Appetizer – Chicken, Millet and Spinach Appetizers (gluten-free)

Christmas Morning Coffeecake – Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake

If you try my recipe for Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti, please leave me a comment below with your feedback. Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti
Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

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Filed Under: Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes, Holiday and Special Occasion Dishes, My Recipes, Nut Free Recipes Tagged With: Biscotti, Christmas Cookies, Cookies, Dairy Free Recipes, Gluten Free Recipes

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Comments

  1. Colleen says

    at

    I love that these are tender and not hard, and their smaller size. The cranberry filling is especailly festive, and your step by step photos are very helpful. Thanks for sharing, Denise!

    • Denise Pare-Watson says

      at

      You are very welcome, Colleen! I love the smaller size of these biscotti, too. Perfect for edible gifts. Happy Holidays!

  2. Terri says

    at

    This is a fantastic way to make biscotti, Denise! I’ve never seen it in pinwheel form before. I always make cranberry biscotti during the holidays, so I’ll definitely be trying this with my leftover cranberry sauce!

    • Denise Pare-Watson says

      at

      Thanks so much, Terri! This tasty biscotti is fun to make and such a great way to use up the cranberry sauce.

  3. Marieke says

    at

    what a beautiful biscotti! It’s been hard to find good gluten-free biscotti, but these are just gorgeous, and I love the flavour combo!

    • Denise Pare-Watson says

      at

      Thank you very much, Marieke. Yes, gluten-free biscotti are indeed hard to find – I think you will be very pleased with the results of these Holiday Pinwheel Biscotti. All the best to you.

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Welcome to Urbnspice - A Taste of Heart and Home. Inspiration in my kitchen is often a trip to the market or an experimental coincidence! Come and join me on this culinary journey where I share my passion for the creative, technical and teaching components of the profession and unravel culinary quandaries for you with fun and easy to follow user-friendly recipes, tips & techniques.
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