Lemon Biscotti - My New Favorite (not too bad for you) Treat

It's no secret I like my sweets. I read somewhere that people should have sweets only two times a week. To that I say HA!! Please two times a week...I am pushing for two times a day.

This attitude has caused me to do one of two things, depending on where I am in the seriousness of my weight loss efforts. If I am in a place where the "I am beautiful at whatever weight I am" phase is in affect I just eat what I want, obviously. If I am in the "I need to lose 20 more pounds" phase then I scour my cookbooks and Cooking Light magazines for anything that is sweet but better for you.

Since I am currently in the "I need to lose 20 more pounds" stage evident by the 30 Day Shred sitting in my DVD player at the moment (I am on day 17 thank you very much)...I am searching high and low for the aforementioned sweets. This time I hit a jackpot. In fact we love these so much I have made them the last two Sundays.

Here is the cast of characters:

Lemon Biscotti with Sour Lemon Drizzle
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 t baking powder
1 T grated lemon rind
2 T fresh lemon juice, divided
1 T lemon extract
1 T vegetable oil
3 large eggs
cooking spray
2/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. 3. Combine, flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. 4. Combine rind, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, extract, oil, and eggs.
5. Add to flour mixture. 6. Stirring until well blended. Now I had a moment of insanity the first time I made these and forgot that I had a Kitchen Aid mixer...duh Didn't make that mistake twice I assure you. The dough will be dry and somewhat crumbly.7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly 7 to 8 times. 8. Divide dough in half, and shape each portion into an 8 inch long roll. Notice the ruler...yeah I am neurotic like that...it is just the way I roll...get it...roll...

that is some funny stuff right there.
9. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, and flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness....no I didn't measure that...what kind of crazy person do you think I am...10. Bake at 350 for 3o minutes. Remove from baking sheet and cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.

11. Cut each roll into 15 (1/2 inch) slices...OK I am that kind of crazy.12. Place the slices, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Reduce heat to 325 and bake for 10 minutes. Turn cookies over, bake and additional 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet, and cool completely on wire rack. My oven is older than snot so it doesn't bake too evenly, thus the dark ones and the not so dark ones...13. Combine 1 tablespoon lemon juice and powdered sugar.14. Drizzle over the biscotti.

Here is the breakdown:

Calories: 91 Fat: 1.2g (sat. 0.3g, mono 0.4g, poly 0.4g) Iron: 0.6mg Cholesterol: 22mg Calcium: 23 mg Carbohydrate: 18.4 g Sodium: 39 mg Protein: 1.8g Fiber: 0.3g

Serve with a nice cup of warm tea...might I suggest Calm by Tazo...yeah that sounds just about right.

More Later

-A Ro