Lemon Almond Biscotti

Lemon and almond make a great pair, not unlike my California-based best friend Amanda and me. Yes, I also have a Pittsburgh-based best friend, Kate; and yes, I get that you’re not supposed to have more than one best friend because best is a superlative but I’ve always marched to my own drummer so there you have it. Anyway…Amanda and I have known each other since we were 14 and despite a distance of about three thousand miles, still text each other nearly every day.

Amanda is  big fan of lemon, and I baked this biscotti for her. Biscotti travels very well, so it’s suitable for a trip across the country. It’s packaged up with the Halloween M&M cookies I made for her kids, tucked into a recycled box from my latest Amazon delivery because I know she won’t judge me for using a recycled box, and will instead applaud my attempt to save the planet one recycled box at a time. Enjoy, my dear friend!

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, almond extract, and lemon extract and beat on medium speed until combined.

Add flour all at once; beat until combined. Dough will be very thick and somewhat sticky.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for just a moment to bring the dough together; divide the dough in half and roll into logs about 14 inches long; place on your baking sheet and press dough down to about 1-inch thickness.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Slice each log into 1 1/2-inch slices, then place slices on baking sheets and return to the oven and bake for another 6 minutes on each side. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature; makes about 20 slices.