Chocolate-Coated Lemon Almond Biscotti

I'm still kinda on "dark chocolate" for Anthony. And "lemon." Two flavors that I discovered go together when I first successfully made macarons. So I decided to do both for Anthony's present. I realized that (almost) every year so far I've made biscotti for someone. And for whatever reason, I decided that this year was gonna be Anthony's year to receive biscotti. I pretty quickly found a recipe that fit the bill, combining both the original recipe and a suggested variation, in Crazy About Cookies, one of my many baking cookbooks.

Chocolate-Coated Lemon Almond Biscotti (Crazy About Cookies, pg. 63-64)

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup whole almonds (I just used the sliced almonds in my pantry - they haven't failed me yet for biscotti!)
• 1 tbsp. grated lemon zest (I used lemon extract)
• 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups chocolate chips (the recipe says semisweet but I got the highest dark I could find. Which isn't very high)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325℉. Butter 2 cookie sheets (I doubt this is necessary if you have baking mats or parchment paper).
2. Toast the almonds on a cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes. Rub the nuts between paper towels to remove the skins. Let cool (or not. I know there is a taste difference but I've never thought that it mattered too much).
3. Combine the lemon zest and juice in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover and cook in the microwave for 15 seconds; set aside.
4. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
5. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and lemon mixture.
6. Gradually stir in the flour mixture. (The book never says when to put in the almonds but they appear to be in the cookies in the picture so I just added them at this point.)
7. Divide the dough in half and shape it into 2 logs about 3/4 inch thick, 1 1/2 inches wide, and 3 inches long. Place on the cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
8. With a serrated knife, slice 1/2 inch cookies. Place upright on the cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.
9. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat (I don't have a glass bowl to do this nor do I have the patience. So I just melted the chips in the microwave). Brush the tops of the logs with the chocolate and let cool to harder

A few things went wrong. For one thing, the dough was a lot wetter than biscotti dough I've had in the past. Also different from previous recipes: the size of the logs. I made them longer than they were supposed to be. Lastly, I only used about half the chocolate. This might be because I didn't shape the logs and cut the cookies right. In the end, the cookies were a little crumbly after the second bake and some were falling apart. Anthony still enjoyed them though. And that's all that matters.