Sweet Melissa Sundays: Honey Beescotti

I raved about Lorelei of Mermaid Sweets in my last post. In case you don't recall, she recently kick-started a baking group called Sweet Melissa Sundays, aptly named after and inspired by Melissa Murphy's The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. Not only is Lorelei responsible for creating this marvelous group, but she also happens to reside in my neck of the woods. Do you know what that means? Yes, that's right: I have met Sweet Melissa Sundays's fearless leader, and man, is she cool! I knew Lorelei would be super awesome because, well, her blog is super awesome (and I'm currently operating under the philosophy that you can tell a lot about a person by her blog). But, what I did not know is that Lorelei would be a total kindred spirit! I'm already anticipating our next get-together! So, it is with so much pleasure that I get to share with you Sweet Melissa Sundays's first baking adventure, chosen by Lorelei: honey beescotti!

I'm a fan of a good biscotti. I like them dunked in my tea or coffee. But, aside from these dunk-in-drink uses, I'm not necessarily going to select a biscotti for snacking--or for dessert. However, I thought these biscotti were excellent! I've been snacking on them AND eating them after dinner (yes, after dinner would mean for dessert). I was so impressed with the orange and almond flavors. (The honey flavor was quite subtle.)

The biscotti get their orange flavor from chopped candied orange peel (which I made for the first time). It plays a delicious role in this recipe; the texture totally complements the cookie. The biscotti get their almond flavor from almond extract and almonds. Now, if you're like me, you sometimes get nervous about using almond extract. Have no fear! Put it in, put it in!! It smells delicious when the cookies begin to bake and adds great depth!

The only issue these biscotti presented was the dough. It was stickier than I anticipated and thus required a good bit of flour in order to roll it into the required logs for baking. Aside from that, this recipe came together like a dream! I would absolutely make these again--and that's saying something! Thanks, Lorelei, for starting this wonderful group and for choosing such a great christening recipe! Be sure to check out the other fabulous bakers in our blogroll! (And for the recipe, check out Lorelei's blog, Mermaid Sweets.)