The kitchen becomes a sanctuary during these cold days. In front of an oven, warm after cooking or baking, is the ideal place to be. It’s especially the best place when baking and a hot coffee or dainty cup of espresso is steaming nearby waiting to be sipped. And even more so when you are waiting on a batch of biscotti to accompany it.
Clementine biscotti with pomegranate syrup is perfect for such an occasion. Bright clementine zest and warm cinnamon, sweetened with pomegranate syrup. The syrup seeps into the cookie, making it softer than intended, but infusing clean citrus and warm spice with the sweet flavor of the ruby fruit. A biscuit cookie so good that it was made four times in one week. Four.
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Clementine Biscotti with Pomegranate Syrup
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 32 biscottis 1x
Description
Bright clementine zest and warm cinnamon, sweetened with pomegranate syrup in a delightful biscotti.
Ingredients
Biscotti
- 2 2/3 cups (340 g or 12 oz) all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 1/4 cups (250 g or 8.9 oz) sugar
- 2 clementines, zested
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 yolks
- 1/4 cup (60 ml or 2 fl. oz) olive oil
Syrup
- 2/3 cup (155 ml or 5 1/4 fl. oz) pomegranate juice (approximately one fruit)
- 1/3 cup (79 ml or 2 1/2 fl. oz) clementine juice (one fruit)
- 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 stick of cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F (163C).
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, zest, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, yolks and oil to the flour mixture and stir well to form a sticky dough.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn dough out onto it. Knead dough 2 or 3 minutes or until it comes together but is still fairly sticky.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough into 3 and roll each piece into logs about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter. Lay each log onto the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until firm and lightly browned.
- While biscotti is baking prepare the syrup.
- Pour pomegranate and clementine juices into a sauce pan and add in sugar. Bring just to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low, stirring frequently until it becomes thick. Remove from heat.
- Remove logs from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes on a wire rack.
- Transfer logs to a cutting board and with a serrated knife cut each log into 1/2 inch thick slices.
- Lay biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet and return to the oven to bake an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Drizzle pomegranate syrup over biscotti when ready to serve.
Notes
- If you prefer a more crisp biscotti, turn them over and allow them to bake an additional 10 minutes.
- Also you can drizzle syrup on top of the biscotti before serving, but this will possibly cause the cookies to soften as the syrup seeps into them and making them become infused with pomegranate flavor.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 biscotti
- Calories: 90
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Frequently Asked Questions
The pomegranate syrup softens the biscotti — is that intentional?
Yes, and the recipe notes acknowledge it directly: drizzling the syrup causes the biscotti to soften as it seeps in, infusing the cookies with pomegranate and clementine flavor rather than keeping them fully crisp. The article describes this as a feature, not a flaw — it was made four times in one week precisely because of how the syrup transforms the texture. 
How do I get crispier biscotti if I prefer them crunchy?
After the first 40–45 minute bake, slice the logs into ½-inch thick pieces, lay them cut-side down on the baking sheet, and return to the oven for 10 minutes. For an even crispier result, the notes suggest flipping them and baking an additional 10 minutes — and drizzle the syrup just before serving rather than soaking the biscotti ahead of time.
Why does this recipe use olive oil instead of butter?
The dough uses ¼ cup of olive oil rather than butter, which is a traditional Italian biscotti approach. Olive oil keeps the dough moist enough to work with while producing a slightly denser, less crumbly cookie than a butter-based version — well suited to the double-bake process.
Great, innovative recipe! Just two questions: what do you do with the stick of cinnamon? And what do you mean by “cut side down”? Aren’t there two cut sides?