Almond Slices

There are biscotti people and then there are the rest of us.  I never thought I was a biscotti person.  I like my cookies soft and tender and I seem to have bad luck with dunking cookies in drinks.  My oreos always fall apart, my biscotti are always a man-overboard situation.  

However.  My wonderful, gorgeous, amazing mom has always had impeccable taste...in pretty much every way.  Of all the insanely delicious Italian cookies that we had every year at Christmas, these were always her favorite.  I never understood why until after I made these.

Which brings me to the real reason for this post...my mom's birthday was yesterday, happy birthday Mom!  

I decided against all odds to attempt to make her favorite cookies and mail them back home to her for her birthday.  I didn't anticipate success...maybe just one of those "aw that's so sweet you tried so hard" situations.  Also because I never thought I liked biscotti...I wasn't sure how they should taste or look or feel or all of that.

But if you're like me and you don't really think you're a biscotti person, these are probably the most approachable biscotti you'll find.  They're not rock-hard...they stay kind of chewy in the center.  They are AMAZING dunked in coffee or milk, and they pack a really nice almond flavor.  Give them a try.

One thing's for sure...they're mom approved.

Happy birthday to the world's greatest mom, from the luckiest daughter in the universe! 

Almond Slices
(adapted from The Cutting Edge)

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp water
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups sliced almonds

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil, water, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract.  Add in the flower gradually, mixing until combined.  Stir in almonds.

Roll the dough into 2 logs about 10 inches long and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, place logs of dough on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 25-35 minutes.  You kind of have to go on touch here.  You want the top of the log to be turning a light golden brown color, and when pressed gently, you want it to hold up, not squish down.  It will be slightly hard to the touch once it's done.  Just keep baking, about 5 minutes at a time until it's done.  

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on the pan for about 15 minutes, then on a wire rack.  Once cool, slice on a diagonal into cookies about 1/2 inch thick.  Dunk in coffee or milk and enjoy.

Will keep in an airtight container up to about 2 weeks.