Decadent desserts

By Elizabeth Morse Read

Is there a better way to cheer yourself up on a blustery winter’s day than with a hot cup of cocoa, coffee, or tea? Yes! By pairing that hot cup of cocoa, coffee, or tea with some homemade biscotti! You don’t have to be a pastry chef to make these elegant, mouth-watering treats – and they make wonderful holiday gifts, too.

The secret to making these crunchy biscotti (“twice-baked”) is to begin with an off-the-shelf cake mix instead of having to mix a laundry-list of baking ingredients. The crucial secret to being a successful biscotti baker is to assemble all the ingredients and utensils before you start and to keep a sharp eye on the clock – exact timing will make the difference between rows of delectable, crisp biscotti instead of a baking tray scattered with scorched chunks.

So give it a try (even if you do end up with a lot of crumbs). Try them on top of oatmeal, mixed with yogurt, or as nibbles out of a small bowl.

Biscotti Baking Basics

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Select two cookie trays that will fit side-by-side on one mid-oven rack, rather than on separate racks – that way you won’t have to rotate the trays half-way through. Line each tray with a sheet of parchment paper (you can order them pre-cut online).

In a large mixing bowl, whisk your favorite flavored 14.25 oz. cake mix with ½ cup all-purpose flour and your selected dry add-ins like cocoa powder, lemon zest, or spices. In a measuring cup, whisk two large eggs and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and your selected wet add-ins like flavored extract, honey or syrups. Make a hollow in the center of your dry ingredients, then use a stiff spoon to mix in the wet ingredients.

Once your dry/wet ingredients are blended thoroughly, add any extra ingredients – chopped nuts, flavored morsel chips, raisins/chopped dried fruit, flaked coconut, etc. Again, use that stiff spoon to thoroughly incorporate all ingredients – but if the dough gets too stiff or crumbly, pour some vegetable oil on your hands and knead the dough to ensure that everything is uniformly moist throughout, leaving no pockets of dry flour. Incorporate the dry ingredients that inevitably end up in the bottom of your bowl by rotating and flipping the dough as you knead it. You should end up with a (reasonably) smooth, clay-like dough.

Split the dough into two sections, one for each tray, and roll/shape each into a 10-12” log. Moisten your fingers and gently pat the log on the parchment paper so that it’s uniformly about 3” wide and about a ½-3/4” thick.

Bake for 19-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove the trays from the oven and let them cool on wire racks for five minutes, then use a very sharp serrated knife to make ½” to 3/4” slices. Turn the slices onto the cut side and return to the oven for 7-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the slices onto the opposite cut side and bake again for 7-8 minutes.

Remove both trays from the oven and let the biscotti cool for five minutes, then move them all onto a wire rack to cool completely for at least 15 minutes before dipping them in melted chocolate or drizzling them with glaze (optional). Let them sit uncovered in a cool spot for about four hours so that the glaze hardens completely.

Keep the biscotti in an air-tight container at room temperature on the countertop for up to three weeks; or else freeze them on a cookie tray for 30 minutes. Line them up neatly on a sheet of plastic wrap and fold the wrap tightly over them, then put them in a freezer bag or plastic container for up to three months. Whether frozen or not, you can “refresh” them to make them crispier by putting them in a low 250 oven for a few minutes.

Add a Drizzle, Dip or Glaze

Biscotti are delicious as-is, so you don’t need to gild the lily, so to speak. But if you like, you can make an easy sugar glaze (whisk together 1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar, ½ tsp. flavored extract, 1-2 Tbsp. water/milk/juice to desired consistency) – use immediately on completely cooled biscotti and let them sit for a few hours on the wire rack or in the refrigerator until the glaze has hardened. You can also blend a ¼ cup of a premade frosting (try Betty Crocker’s “Rich & Creamy” frostings) that matches your biscotti flavor with 2-3 tsps. of juice, espresso, milk, etc. Spread on one side of a cooled biscotti with a spatula, let them sit for a few hours on parchment paper in the refrigerator until hardened, then store them loosely lined-up in an airtight container.

If you want a chocolate dip, glaze, or drizzle, melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. shortening in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. (You can also add a ½ tsp. of peppermint/almond/caramel extract for added flavor.) Drizzle, glaze, or dip the cooled biscotti in the melt, place on parchment paper, then refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.

Chocolate Nut Biscotti

Use a Devil’s Food/chocolate fudge cake mix, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. almond extract, ½ cup slivered almonds (or other crushed nuts), 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.

Coconut-Almond Biscotti

Use a moist white/vanilla cake mix, 2 Tbsps. vegetable oil (vs. 1 Tbsp described above), 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 cup toasted flaked coconut, ½ cup toasted slivered almonds (Toast the coconut and almonds ahead of time in a 250 degree oven for ten minutes, stirring once or twice until the coconut flakes are uniformly browned.)

Tropical Biscotti

Use a moist lemon cake mix, add 1 tablespoon each of grated orange zest, lemon zest, and lime zest. Add ½ cup chopped macadamia nuts (optional). If using a glaze, use lemon frosting, and lemon or orange juice. [see sidebar]

Cranberry-Almond Biscotti

Use a Butter Golden/Yellow cake mix, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 1 Tbsp. almond extract, 1 cup dried cranberries, 1/2 cup chopped almonds. If using a glaze, use vanilla frosting and cranberry juice. [see sidebar]

Spice Nut Biscotti

Use a moist spice cake mix (I recommend Duncan Hines), ½ cup crushed hazelnuts, 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ½ tsp ground cloves, ½ tsp. ginger, ½ tsp. white pepper. Once the biscotti are baked and cooled, use a small sieve to dust them with confectioner’s sugar.

Holiday Biscotti

If you like traditional German stollen bread or Italian Panettone cake, this is the recipe for you! Use a butter golden/yellow cake mix, 1 cup chopped dried cherries, cranberries, golden raisins, ¼ tsp. cardamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, 1 Tbsp. grated orange zest, ½ cup slivered almonds, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. butter-flavored extract, 1 Tbsp. honey. As an option, buy a 4 oz. tube of marzipan/almond paste. When you’ve shaped your dough logs on the cookie sheets, make a uniformly shallow indentation with your fingertips down the length of each log. Roll some of the marzipan/almond paste between your moistened hands to create a rope just a bit shorter than the length of the dough log. Press it into the indentation, and gently pat the sides of the dough inward and over to hide the marzipan/almond paste. Reshape the dough as needed to its original dimensions.

Cherry Cheesecake Biscotti

Use a vanilla cake mix, ½ cup crushed nuts (optional), 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. (Watkins brand) cheesecake extract, ½ tsp. nutmeg, 1 cup drained and chopped maraschino cherries. If using a glaze, use cream cheese frosting and cherry syrup from a jar. [see sidebar] Have a happy – and sweet – holiday season!

Elizabeth Morse Read is an awardwinning writer, editor and artist who grew up on the South Coast. After 20 years of working in New York City and traveling the world, she came back home with her children and lives in Fairhaven.