Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits

I had some leftover ricotta cheese from a recipe last week. I also have a big bag of lemons that needs to be used up. Whenever I think of ricotta cheese, I think Italian food. And when I think Italian, I think of Giada De Laurentiis. She has some amazing recipes using ricotta cheese. I wanted to make something sweet to satisfy my sweet tooth, but I didn't want to make cookies because I don't have any self control when it comes to having cookies in my house! These muffins were perfect. They were light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. My husband even liked them and he won't normally eat anything with lemon. I took the suggestions from the comments on the Food Network site to use more lemon for flavoring. I also added cinnamon because I could eat cinnamon with everything. I didn't add the almonds and the sugar on top because I forgot, but it was still delicious without it.

Source: http://foodnetwork.com Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients:
2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c plus 1 tbsp sugar or more as needed for sprinkling
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest ( from 2 lemons)
1 c. whole - milk ricotta cheese ( I used skim)
1 large egg
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice ( I used the juice from 1 whole lemon)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/3 c thinly sliced almonds

Directions:
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in ricotta. Beat in egg, lemon juice and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir until blended ( the batter will be thick and fluffy).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.