One month ago today, I returned from Italy.

One month.

We devote so much time to departing but the return is so quick. And the time after vanishes at a breathtaking pace.

One. Month.

I never quite know how to describe what I feel like when I return from Italy. I feel happy at the memories created, but I also feel a bit sad, as though I left something behind and it will be many, many months before I can reclaim it.

At times like these, there’s only one thing to do for me and that’s go into the kitchen and bake.

I’m an emotional baker. I like to bake what feels good and lately, almonds feel good. I made an incredible cake with almond meal a few weeks ago and I used more almond meal for these pretty and unusual cookies.

The recipe is once again via Leite’s Culinaria but the original is from Guy Mirabella’s Eat Ate.

A cross between a cookie and a meringue, these biscotti satisfied my almond craving on a very deep level. They were delicious.

While the recipe instructs you to shape them into mounds and then form the mounds into triangles, I wet my hands and rolled the cookie dough into little balls.

When I bake, my mind clears and organizes itself. I breathe deeply. I have ideas. I dream. Sometimes I hum without realizing it.

The making and the baking is just as rewarding as the eating.

When I bake, time is suspended.

One month. Feels like yesterday.