I have made this sevral times. The most recent was for a cookie exchange and then taking the rest to a family gathering. I recived a TON of compliments. "Like ones from a bakery" among others. Someone asked me how I got them "biscotti shaped". The directions here refer to a 'ball of dough'. The "dough" is way too sticky to form a ball. I just try to get the mixture in half in the bowl and then scoop it into a pile on the pan. No amount of flour on your hands would stop this stuff from sticking. I spread it into a rough rectangle shape with the spoon I stirred it with. The rectangle spreads into that perfect rounded biscotti shape when it bakes the first time. For cutting them without crumbling: wait until they are cool, then I use a serrated knife and cut from the outside to the middle, holding the outside edge in place with my fingers. They seem to keep thier shape much better this way. I have made them just like the recipe and they are good. But almond extract is better. I also have had great sucess with other mix-ins; including 1C chocolate chips and 1C caramel chips, marchino cherries instead of candied (I prefer this marchino), 1C caramel chips, 1/4C cocoa powder (made it denser, but good and chocolaty). I plan to try other variations in the future including turtle, twist, and others.

I accidently only used 3 chocolate squares (semi sweet because that is what I had) and it wasn't super chocolaty, but it was still really good.

mix in ideas for next time: 3/4C butterscotch, 3/4C milk chocolate, pecans. Marchino cherries, almonds. craisons.

Very easy to make. I didn't have allspice so I used extra cinnamon. I also subbed 1/2 the butter for an extra 1/2 cup applesauce to make it more apple-y. As per another reviewer I also added a bit of vanilla extract. It made 12 regular sized muffins for me, which I cooked for 20 minutes, but my oven usually takes a little more time then suggested. I also mixed wet and dry ingredients separately and then mixed them together. They didn't brown as much as I thought they would. I like how they aren't overloaded with sugar, but still somewhat sweet. I do think that next time I will use a mix in like diced apples, nuts, or dried cranberries. My 2.5 year old begged for more.

Very easy to make. Very yummy. They spread out more then I thought they would and ended up being flat with a lump where the cherry was. They remind me of Christmas. I probably will make them again. I think they would taste good with the cherries chopped up and blended in the dough...

This is nearly word for word the recipe I got from my grandma. She used to make this for our birthdays. It is one of my favorites. It is sooooo hard to find one withOUT the cream cheese frosting, that stuff is good on carrot cake, but horrible on red cake. The frosting here (although my grandma made it with 2T cornstarch instead of 5T flour, she also used 'oleo' instead of butter) is much closer to the real thing. Red Cake is only good with the right frosting.