This is a favorite quick recipe. It's especially useful when you need cookies quickly, don't have time to make a batch from scratch, and going out and buying cookies is prohibitive for some reason or another (like it's 9:15 PM and snowing). You do need a red velvet cake mix (if you're really in a pinch, use a chocolate mix and add some red food coloring!), but with that and a few other ingredients, you'll be on your way to great cookies. The cookies mix up in only a few minutes, and you need little equipment and only one cookie sheet (great for limited wash up). The biscotti turn out dark red, crunchy, chocolatey, and quite addictive. If you want and have time, consider drizzling or slathering the biscotti with some melted white chocolate. It will dress up the cookies as well as make a nice taste contrast with the chocolate chips in the biscotti. Enjoy!
Cake Mix Red Velvet Biscotti -- Makes 12-18
1/4 cup of canola oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 tablespoons of water
1 15-16-ounce red velvet cake mix
1/2 cup of white whole wheat flour (all-purpose is fine, too)
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 cup of mini chocolate chips
Cinnamon sugar (mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla, and water. With a spoon, stir in the cake mix, white whole-wheat flour, and cinnamon just until combined and no streaks remain (the batter will be stiff). Stir in the mini chocolate chips. Form two logs (it's easier if you dampen your hands with water to do this), each about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide, on the prepared cookie sheet, leaving about three inches in between the logs. Sprinkle the tops of the logs evenly with cinnamon sugar. Bake the logs for about 30 minutes or until barely set. Remove the logs from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes, then cut them crosswise into 3/4-1-inch slices. Lay the slices flat, cut-side down, on the same cookie sheet and bake them for 6 minutes more. Flip the slices, then bake them another 6 minutes (the biscotti will crisp up as they cool). Let the biscotti cool and drizzle or slather them with melted white chocolate if you like. Or just eat them.
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