Nonna Laura Fosco’s Sweet Lemon Zest

The first time I baked with Nonna Laura, she reluctantly allowed me to shop for the ingredients she needed. I purchased a little bottle of lemon extract as she asked, but upon arriving to her darling house in Astoria, Queens, she instructed me to return it and get my money back for two reasons: 1. “It’s expensive!” and 2. “I make!” She pulled a jar out of the refrigerator with a small, faded label on it that said, “Nonna Laura’s Sweet Lemon Zest.” It was ba