Mandelbrot

3 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon orange juice

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons peanut oil

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

½ cup slivered blanched almonds

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line several cookie sheets with baking parchment. Set them aside.

In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is thick and light. Stir in the orange juice, zest and almond extract.

Into a large bowl, sift 3 cups flour with the baking powder. Fold half of this mixture into the egg mixture, along with the peanut oil. Add the remaining flour-baking-powder mixture, plus the remaining cup flour, and beat the mixture for about 30 seconds.

Separate one-quarter of the dough, put it in a bowl, and stir cocoa and almonds into it. (Knead it with your hands if you have to to distribute the cocoa and nuts. The dough should be a uniform color.)

On a well-floured work surface, form the cocoa-almond dough into a thin #8220;log#8221; about frac12;-inch in diameter and 22 inches long. Add in flour, if needed, to make the roll.

With a rolling pin, roll out the remaining #8220;plain#8221; dough into a strip about 3 inches wide, 22 inches long and frac12; inch thick. Place the chocolate roll in the center of the plain strip of dough, and wrap the plain dough around the chocolate dough. Cut the roll in half. Arrange the rolls three inches apart on one of the prepared baking sheets. Bake 30 minutes.

Remove the rolls from the oven, and cut them into frac12;-inch-thick slices while they are still hot. Spread the slices on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 5 more minutes. Remove from pan, allow to cool on wire racks, and serve or store at room temperature in an airtight container. The mandelbrot can also be frozen for up to several months.

Makes 3frac12; dozen.

#8220;The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year, 1941-2009#8221; (2010 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)