The Easiest Way To Make Biscotti Comes Straight From A Box

Because biscotti are the type of cookies that are often sold at the fancier sort of bakery, as well as coffee shops that like to call themselves cafès, they seem to have a certain highbrow appeal to them. You might therefore expect the recipe to be nearly as complicated as that of macarons, a cookie with a similar cachet. Biscotti dough is actually pretty basic, though (as is the dough for biscotti's rustic, German cousin, mandelbrot). But you can simplify the process even more if you start with a box of cake mix.

You can use any flavor you like — chocolate, strawberry, or whatever flavor yellow is — as long as your box is the standard size of about 15 ounces. (Sadly, you may not be able to make black walnut, butter brickle, or pink lemonade biscotti, since these box cake flavors all seem to have been discontinued.) You'll need to add an extra cup of flour to the mix (since biscotti are known for being super-dry), plus three eggs and a stick of melted butter to hold everything together. You can also stir in a teaspoon of flavoring extract, as well as mix-ins like mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, citrus zest, or dried fruit.

The term "biscotti" is Italian for "twice baked," and, true to their name, the cookies do spend extra time in the oven. (This is far more truth in advertising than you'll get with that TikTok-trendy onion boil, as the latter dish isn't boiled at all.) In order to achieve that signature biscotti look and texture, you first take the dough you made by combining the above ingredients and shape it into two loaves, each about a foot long and two inches wide. These won't be cylindrical, but rather will be flattened to resemble slightly squashed Italian bread. Bake the loaves at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about half an hour.

After the first baking, let the loaves cool for 15 minutes or so, then use a bread knife to slice them into biscotti-shaped pieces. Bake the biscotti for five minutes, flip them over, and give them another five minutes in the oven. Once they cool, they should be nice and crunchy, and their lack of moisture means they'll also last a fairly long time. They can be kept in the pantry for up to two weeks, and you should also be able to refrigerate or freeze them for much longer without significantly altering the texture.