Buttery Soft Italian Sprinkle Biscotti Cookies (gluten-free!)

These melt-in-your-mouth gluten-free Buttery Soft Italian Sprinkle Biscotti Cookies are so easy to make for any occasion. The vegan buttery cookie dough is made with almond flour and cassava flour, dairy-free milk, butter, and yogurt, then dipped in an orange-flavored icing and sprinkled with rainbow nonpareil sprinkles!

I grew up in an Italian (Sicilian) household with my first generation Italian American grandparents. Gosh did they make the best food! Every Christmas my grandma would make these soft, iced Italian biscotti cookies decorated with cute little rainbow sprinkles. They were so good, and quickly became one of my favorite cookies. They’re soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet but not too sweet cookies.

I finally asked my sister to sort through my moms cookie recipe box to send me a copy of our family soft biscotti cookie recipe that has been passed down through generations. I was hopeful that I could adapt the recipe to be gluten-free and vegan, but these amazing little gems turned out even better than I could have imagined! Seriously. Maybe it’s just the nostalgic first bite talking, but I think they are the best cookies that I’ve ever made! 🩷

Cookie Dough Ingredients

Cassava flour. Cassava flour has become one of my favorite wheat flour alternatives to bake with. Not only is it gluten-free but also grain-free. Cassava flour can be tricky to bake with depending on the brand you use, so keep in mind that not all cassava flour yields the same results. I used Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour.

Almond flour. I love baking with almond flour and I use it in a lot of my recipes. Using almond flour in these soft Italian biscotti was a perfect choice to pair with the vanilla- often a common combination in Italian baking.

Sugar. Often times I use coconut sugar or maple syrup in my recipes as a natural sweetener option. In this recipe, however, I use organic cane sugar to keep these cookies looking white/cream colored like traditional soft Italian biscotti cookies. Keep in mind that not all cane sugar is vegan, so if you’re a strict vegan be mindful of that. It should be marked on the package if it is a vegan sugar.

Baking powder. My grandma’s recipe called for quite a bit of baking powder! I was kind of surprised because I’ve never put that much baking powder in any of my baking recipes, lol. BUT I trusted it because I’ve had them and they’re perfect! So the 4 teaspoons of baking powder in the recipe is not a typo, haha.

Salt. Just a pinch to bring out the sweetness.

Milk. The original recipe uses real dairy milk, but in my recipe I am using oat milk. You may use another plant-based milk, such as almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, etc.

Butter. You will need 1/2 cup of butter for these cookies. I used Miyoko’s plant-based stick butter- it’s my favorite to bake with!

Yogurt. The original recipe calls for eggs. I was trying to figure out the best egg replacement- I thought about applesauce or even a flax egg, but ultimately decided to go with dairy-free yogurt. Wow, it worked perfectly! I used Kite Hill Greek Style Plain Unsweetened Yogurt.

Vanilla. Vanilla is the key flavor profile in these Buttery Soft Italian Sprinkle Biscotti Cookies. So where you might be used to recipes calling for 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, we’re adding 2 teaspoons in this cookie recipe.

Can I Make The Cookie Dough Ahead Of Time?

Yes! I actually didn’t have time to bake the cookies and take photos in the same day so I made the cookie dough, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and chilled it in the fridge overnight. I actually think if you have time to do that, the cookies will turn out even better!

Baking Instructions

To make the cookie dough, whisk together the cassava flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. 

Melt the butter in a medium bowl and allow it to slightly cool, then add the sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla. Stir to combine and then pour it into the bowl with the flour. 

Mix the dough together until a cookie dough forms and there’s no dry flour left. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of cookie dough and roll the cookie dough into balls. Place them about an inch apart on the baking sheets. 

Very gently, press down on each ball with the center of your palm, not too much to where the dough starts to crack. If the dough does crack, you can pinch it back together.

Bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes and allow them to cool completely before icing.

Easy Orange Juice Icing

The icing on top is made with 2 ingredients: powdered sugar and orange juice. You don’t have to make the icing with orange juice, you can use plant-based milk or even water instead, but I like the slightly orange flavored icing on these cookies.

Simply sift 1 cup of powdered sugar in a bowl and add 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Whisk the mixture together until smooth and you have a glue-like consistency. Gently dip the tops of the cookies in the icing and then sprinkle with the sprinkles. Allow the icing to set for about 30 minutes and enjoy!

The Sprinkles

My grandma always used rainbow nonpareils to sprinkle on top of these cookies. I happened to find rainbow nonpareil sprinkles from my favorite brand of sprinkles come from Baking Time Club. All of her amazing, gorgeous sprinkles are gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, Kosher, Halal, and made with natural ingredients and colorings (dye-free)!

Use code HLV15 for 15% off at BakingTimeClub.com

What If My Cookies Crack?

These cookies are so light and airy, and they don’t contain any eggs or gluten, so they are likely to crack. However, don’t worry because I don’t think it matters that much, haha. Once you ice and sprinkle them, no one will even know 😉 .

Tip: when they come out of the oven, gently press the cookies back together where they cracked and hold it for just a few seconds.

Serving Suggestions

These Buttery Soft Italian Sprinkle Biscotti Cookies are perfect to serve at any occassion, but I particularly love them during the holidays! There’s just something so nostalgic about them to me around Christmas time. They would also be great served at a birthday party, a baby shower, wedding shower… really they’d be great any time of year!

My Sicilian grandparents would enjoy these Italian cookies with a cup of coffee or tea alongside other Christmas cookies or traditional biscotti, as I share in my baking cookbook, while we sat around the dining table talking and laughing and listening to Nat King Kole Christmas music.

How To Store These Soft Biscotti Cookies

These cookies are very soft. I suggest storing leftover cookies loosely covered on a plate or in a container on your counter for up to 3 days. If they are just too soft for your liking, you can let them sit out uncovered on your counter for a day or two.

Let me know what you think about these Buttery Soft Italian Sprinkle Biscotti Cookies down below in the comments section as well as giving it a five rating  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ so that others can discover an easy and fun Italian cookie recipe! Be sure to tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest if you make them.

Other Biscotti Recipes To Try

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