Cake Mix Biscotti

So a little get together was thrown this past Saturday for my good friend, Megan's, 28th birthday. I definitely wanted to contribute to the edible goodness that would be there but, as I said yesterday, was limited to the ingredients that were in our pantry at the time.

Because I already made the Chocolate and White Chocolate Pretzel Fudge, I was out of milk chocolate chips and out of sweetened condensed milk. I did, however, have about 1/3 cup of white chocolate chips left over and I had a box of Devil's Food Cake Mix.

Hmm, what could I do with that?

Consulting, yet again, the endless depth of creative knowledge Pinterest, I typed "Devil's Food" and "White Chocolate" into the search field and found this:

The photo isn't totally appetizing but it was a recipe for Cake Mix Biscotti and I was intrigued enough to click on the link.

Leanne Kelly on Food.com shared her Cake Mix Biscotti recipe and I just happened to have everything I would need for it (with some minor adjustments of course).

Now, I'm not what you would call a biscotti connoisseur. The last time I had biscotti was maybe 3 years ago and that was probably the only time I've ever had it. But, the recipe was different and I was willing to give it a try. I'll put an easy copy and paste version of the recipe at the end of the post if you'd like to try it too.

Here's what I needed:

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 cup chopped almonds (I used the rest of the white chocolate chips I had instead)

I set the oven to 350 degrees and lined a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then I used cooking spray to grease the parchment paper.

All the ingredients (except the white chocolate chips) were tossed in a bowl and mixed up until blended. The dough is really dry (which is a good thing because biscotti is really dry). I guess I should have used a mixer but I used a spatula until I couldn't stir any longer and then just used my hands (such fantastic tools).

I mixed in the white chocolate chips and separated the dough in half. Each half was formed into a 12x2 inch log and placed on the parchment paper. The logs were then baked for 35 minutes.

Biscotti "logs"

Not gonna lie, they smelled real good.

I transferred the baked logs onto cooling racks for 15 minutes and then used a serrated bread knife to cut the logs into 1/2 inch (okay, maybe I was a little more generous) slices. I gingerly (as in the logs had the potential to crumble if I wasn't careful) cut the logs on a diagonal because, let's be honest, biscotti is fancy, people.

 

Those slices were then placed (side's up) back on the baking sheet and baked again for an additional 10 minutes to finish drying them out.

You can see how much they already dried out in log form around the edges.

After they had finished baking, the slices went back on the cooling racks to cool completely.

I got to try one later with some coffee and they turned out great! Everyone at the party (and at brunch the next morning) gave great reviews. It made me really curious to try other cake mix flavors. The combinations are endless.

I just love that little mug. It reminds me of my mother :)

I added the recipe to my Yay or Nay board on Pinterest as a "yay." It was so fun to make something that was, not only easy but, different!  Seriously, sometimes baking can become same-old, different-flavor, you know what I mean?

Here's a more concise, copy and paste version of the recipe:

Cake Mix Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/2 cup fun addition (such as chopped almonds, white chocolate chips, dried cranberries, etc.)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
3. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
4. Add remaining 1/2 cup fun addition.
5. Divide dough in half and shape into two 12x2 in. logs.
6. Place logs on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake 30-35 min. or until lightly browned.
7. Allow logs to cool on cooling racks for 15 min.
8. Cut longs into 1/2 in. slices and place back on baking sheet sides up.
9. Bake for an additional 10 minutes and then cool completely.

Happy baking! Let me know what combinations you come up with!