Okay, so you might not find this type of biscotti in Florence (or anywhere else in Italy, for that matter), but it sure was fun to make! It's a striking red color that's perfect for Christmas. As for flavor, it's somewhat like red velvet cake, but leaning more towards chocolate. As a bonus, this recipe is super easy and only calls for a few ingredients, red velvet cake mix being the key.
Red Velvet Biscotti Overall Review
I thought it tasted good, Todd liked it and my mom had some with her coffee (and liked it). I have yet to test it on more discriminating palates, but I may. My only issue with this recipe was that the white chips on top of the biscotti got a little too brown during the baking process. If you use white chips, make sure you bury them in the dough. Pecans and chocolate chips might be good additions as well.
Jan's Version
This recipe isn't in my usual rotation, but we enjoyed it and other people seem to like it as well. Jan left her version of the recipe in the comment which I plan on trying. Jan makes Red Velvet Biscotti with 1 box of cake mix, adds 1 cup of flour, 1 stick melted butter, 2 eggs slightly beaten and almonds. She bakes it at 325 in a convection oven for 35 minutes and uses a confectionary sugar glaze on one end and sprinkled with red and green sugar. I'll update when I try it.
Recipe
Red Velvet Biscotti
Ingredients
- 1 box 18.25 oz red velvet cake mix (can use the smaller size)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup white chips or nuts or chocolate chips etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the cake mix, flour, oil, and eggs. The batter will be very thick, so you may need to use either the paddle attachment or your hands to get it to come together. Stir in the chips and nuts.
- Shape the dough into a rectangle about 15x4 inches on an ungreased baking sheet. If you've used the white chips, make sure they're all nestled in the dough and not sticking out on top, otherwise they may turn brown.
- Bake the rectangle for about 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for half an hour.
- Transfer the rectangle to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, make diagonal cuts down the rectangle, spacing about ½ to ¾ inch between each cut.
- Stand the cut pieces up on the baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Check to see how hard the edges have become. If they don’t seem quite crisp enough and the centers are still soft, turn off the oven and let the biscotti sit in the warm oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Jan says
Correction :
I line my cookie sheets with parchment when baking biscotti, eliminates the sticking. The red color washed off easily, although gloves would make things simpler. I used an 18.5 oz cake mix, added 1 cup of flour, 1 stick melted butter, 2 eggs slightly beaten and almonds (was out of pistachios). Baked at 325 in a convection oven for 35 minutes and used a confectionary sugar glaze on one end and sprinkled with red and green sugar. They were very good. Have made the same as chocolate biscotti using a devils food cake mix.
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Jan says
I line my cookie sheets with parchment when baking biscotti, eliminates the sticking. The red color washed off easily, although gloves would make things simpler. I used an 18.5 oz cake mix, added 1 cup of flour, 1 stick melted butter and almonds (was out of pistachios). Baked at 325 in a convection oven for 35 minutes and used a confectionary sugar glaze on one end and sprinkled with red and green sugar. They were very good. Have made the same as chocolate biscotti using a devils food cake mix.
Darlene says
Just wanted to say I had a few problems with these that can easily be avoided. I baked mine on insulated cookie sheets, and during the first bake time (22 minutes) the entire log stuck to the sheet. It also spread wider by quite a bit.
In the future, I would spray the pan lightly with cooking spray and make 2 thinner logs that would make smaller biscotti. If you have surgical gloves, you may want to wear them while shaping the log, as the dye transfers to your hands.
Anna says
Hi Erin,
Thanks so much for the second opinion! Glad to hear your coworkers loved them. I think biscotti cook-times always vary and that you just have to watch it. Thanks for the glaze recipe.
Erin B. says
I made these last night and my coworkers loved them! Some modifications: baked for 30 minutes instead of 22 (maybe my oven's not as powerful) and the consistency was perfect..crunchy on the outside with just a slight amount of chewy-ness on the inside. I also added a white chocolate glaze (you already have the bag of chips so why not?). Recipe found here.
Lisa@ButteryBooks says
These are perfect for Christmas! We are headed to Florida to visit the in-laws for Christmas and I will be taking this recipe with me. I like the idea of adding pistachios.
Holiday Baker Man says
What a great Idea!! I need to try these.
jess☆ @ Multicultural Melbourne says
Oooohhh they look so pretty!! What a fantastic idea!
nancy baggett says
Would never have thought of this--clever! Imagine that those who like red velvet cake would really like them.
Kerstin says
How creative - they are so pretty and sound delicious!
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
Great idea!
beth says
My family loves cake mix biscotti which I usually make at Christmas. The color of these cookies is just perfect for my holiday cookie tray. Cheers to Anna.
Anna says
Darlene, I think you can use any cake mix. And these were crispy and crunchy like typical biscotti.
Did not convection bake.
Katrina says
Are you trying to make me make everything you post for me to post on my 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies? 😉
Those definitely look perfect for Christmas. I see pistachios in there (and some white chocolate drizzled on or dipped. I'm surprised it only has 1 T. of oil--with that and two eggs it's enough moisture though huh?
Darlene says
Just a few questions: How crispy were they, and did you use convection bake? I wonder what other flavors of cake mix might be good as a base for biscotti, maybe spice or lemon?
vanillasugarblog says
Love this creation.
Very clever.
I do not like biscotti but this would I definitely try.
Maybe next time instead of putting the white chips inside (so they won't burn/brown) you could dip them in the white chocolate and then pecans, or is it walnuts on red velvet?
Erin says
OOOO those look awesome!
Anna says
Thanks Kris! I just fixed some typos in the ingredient list. There should be 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 large eggs.
Kris says
Do you add just one egg? The ingredient list doesn't have egg. Just want to make sure! My sister and I are always looking for something new and simple for our Christmas cookie trays...this should fit the bill nicely. Thanks!
Nom! says
I've never seen anything like this before, great for christmas
Nom!
Anna says
What's the debate?
T. Martin says
Anna,
Interesting you should post this recipe now. A week from today CTTC is hosting a Red Velvet Cake/Debate here in NYC.