Lavender Honey Biscotti with a Lemon Glaze

I think next time I have tea with the queen, I'll make these.  They taste so elegant with a hint of the promise of sunny spring weather.  The main reason I made these is because I happened upon some culinary lavender and I really wanted to use it.  Most recipes out on the Internet with lavender are for shortbread cookies or syrups.  I get frustrated most times I make shortbread and I have no use for a syrup.  Then I saw this - wonderful!  I think this may be my favorite biscotti recipe now - it's still so crisp but it's not as sweet as most biscotti's.  And the lemon glaze I decided to top it off with?  Mmmm, I love the tang of lemon.  I brought this into The Environment Report this morning and they all loved it!  If you can recall, Lester challenged me to a "biscotti off" when I first started working there last August.  I wonder how these would fare in a biscotti off, part two...

Lavender Honey Biscotti with a Lemon Glaze

Adapted from bake.mix.stir

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons honey (I used a raspberry infused honey)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon dried lavender blossoms
• Juice of one large lemon
• Approx. ¾ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs until it achieves a light lemon color. Mix in honey, vanilla, zest and lavender. Sift dry ingredients over the wet mixture and mix just until dough is combined.
4. The dough will probably be a little sticky. Cut the dough in half and move one piece of dough to a parchment lined baking sheet. Using lightly floured or wet hands, stretch dough into a rough 13×2″ log. Repeat with remaining dough (you want them to be about 3″ apart on the baking sheet.) Pat down each dough a bit to flatten and to smooth the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until firm and golden brown – turning pan once halfway through.
5. Cool the loaves for 5-10 minutes – until you can handle them. Lower the oven temperature to 325.
6. Using a serrated knife, cut each loaf diagonally into 1/4 to 1/2″ slices. Lay slices back on the baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake 15 minutes, until dry, turning over after 7 minutes. Transfer biscotti to wire rack and cool completely.
7. In a bowl with lemon juice, add in powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time until glaze at at the consistency you want.  Drizzle on cooled biscotti and sit until dry to the touch.