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Backpacking Food & Dehydrated Trail Recipes

Practical, season-aware dehydrated meals and trail food systems for backpacking and backcountry travel.

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Big Trail Chocolate Biscotti

Recipe Details

Crispy dark chocolate biscotti with walnuts, perfect for a rich, portable trail snack to enjoy with coffee or stash in your pack for hiking energy. They can also make for a delicious dessert!

Prep Time

15min

Cook Time

55min

Wait Time

20min

Characteristic Details
Difficulty: Easy
Cost:
Fairly Low Cost
Category: Trail Meals
Seasons: All

Ingredients

Ingredients & Servings: Easily customize your meal with our adjustable servings slider. The ingredient list dynamically updates, ensuring perfect portions for your camping adventure, whether solo or with a group.

For 1 Batch(es)

Batter

5  Eggs 4 large eggs + 1 yolk
1 1/4  cups White Sugar
2  tsp Vanilla extract
2  cups All Purpose flour
1  cup Cocoa (Camino is recommended)
1 1/2  tsp Baking Soda
1  cup Walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
1  cup Dark Semi-sweet Chocolate chips

Big Trail Chocolate Biscotti Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use a large bowl and a hand mixer to whip 4 large eggs, 1 extra egg yolk, 1.25 cups of sugar, and 2 tsp of vanilla extract until pale yellow and nearly doubled in volume (about 3-5 minutes).

Sift 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup Camino cocoa powder, and 1.5 tsp baking soda into the egg mixture. Fold gently with a spatula until fully combined into a thick batter.

Add 1 cup chopped, lightly toasted walnuts and 1 cup dark semi-sweet chocolate chips. Fold until evenly distributed.

Transfer batter to the parchment-lined baking sheet, forming a partially flattened log (about 12x4 inches), leaving room for expansion. Bake for 35 minutes until firm.

Showing the biscotti batter formed as a log in the middle of a cookie baking sheet

Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes. Transfer the log to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch thick pieces (about 12-16 biscotti).

Place slices cut-side up on the parchment-lined sheet (or a baking rack for better airflow). Reduce oven to 275-300°F (135-150°C) and bake for 20 minutes, flipping slices halfway through if not using a rack, until crisp and snapping when broken. You can also stand them up if you've sliced your biscotti loaf thick enough.

Showing biscotti slices standing right side up for better drying while doing the second cooking

Cool completely (30 minutes). Store in an airtight container or wrap individually for trail packing.

Recipe Notes

  • For the second bake, use a baking rack to allow even heat and airflow, eliminating the need to flip slices halfway—this ensures crispiness without extra effort. Or, you can do what I did for this batch and stand them right-side up.
  • If you are lucky enough to have a large food dehydrator, you can use this to dry the biscotti (which is what you want). *I tried this with the second oven cooking and the dehydrator method. Both worked very similarly.
  • Substitute walnuts with unsalted pistachios (recommended) or halved almonds (not sliced) for variety; toast nuts lightly at 325°F for 5-8 minutes for richer flavour.
  • Pack biscotti in sealed bags or containers to stay crisp on the trail; store in a cool, dry place to prevent softening.
  • If biscotti aren’t crisp after the second bake, return to 275°F for 5-10 minutes; check for a clean snap.

Nutrition facts

Per Serving

Kcal: 90 kcal
Fibers (g): 1g
Sodium (mg): 75mg
Carbs: 11g
Sugar (g): 5g
Fat: 4g
Saturated fat (g): 1g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Proteins: 2.5g

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