• In a mixing bowl, beat together brown sugar and butter until creamy. Add sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold in the cashews, cranberries, and white chocolate.
• The dough will be very sticky, and chilling it will make it slightly easier to work with; chill for at least 2 hours, or freeze until a later point.
• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a small scoop or teaspoon to dole out balls of dough spaced out on the sheet. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, until set with tops just turning golden.
• Cool completely then store in sealed container at room temperature. Cookies will keep for at least 2 days.

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• In a large food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, and salt. Add about a third of the butter and pulse. Add the remaining butter and pulse into it’s the size of peas. Add the vanilla paste, bourbon, and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Pulse until it comes together, adding a little more water if needed.
• Turn dough out on a surface to knead until it fully comes together. Flatten it into a disc and wrap in plastic to chill for at least an hour or up to a few days. It’s also great to freeze for future pies.

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• If the pie crust is not already in a pan, rolled it out and shape it into dish, crimping edges. Set it in fridge to chill while filling is prepared.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Place a metal cookie sheet in oven to heat as well.
• In a big mixing bowl, combine both sugars, the flour, and salt. Set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, vanilla, and bourbon. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans to coat.
• Pull out chilled crust. Pour filling inside. Carefully place it on the hot cookie sheet in the oven; this will hopefully prevent the dreaded soggy bottom on the crust.
• Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the middle no longer jiggles and passes the toothpick test. If the edges start to brown too much, use care to cover the crust with strips of foil. When the bake is done, the entire top of the pie should be set and golden.
• Cool completely before serving. Store covered by foil at room temperature.

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• Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Generously coat a large bundt pan with baking spray with flour.
• In a large bowl, combine everything except for the chocolate chips. Mix for 2 minutes, then scrape the bottom of the bowl, then mix for another 3 minutes. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Add batter to prepared bundt pan. Level out to make even. Bake for 55-60 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in cake.
• Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then use mitts to carefully tip cake onto a baking rack. Cool completely.
• If desired, dust confectioners’ sugar on top prior to serving. Store in sealed container at room temp or in fridge. Cake can be cut into slices and frozen for up to a month.

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• In a large bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter, and use either fingers or a knife and fork to break he butter down into pea-sized pieces. Add the water and vinegar until it just comes together as cohesive dough.
• Flour a large, clean surface. Roll out the dough to a 12×18 rectangle. Fold it in thirds like a letter. Rotate the dough 90 degrees. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 30 minutes.
• Repeat this process 3 more times: roll out to 12×18, fold, place in fridge, wait at least 30 minutes, rotate dough, do it again. (There are videos on YouTube for visual guidance!) There will be a total of 4 roll-outs.
• Once this is done, wrap up dough again to begin baking process in 30 minutes or sometime soon, or wrap well and freeze for up to a few weeks.

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Prepare filling

• Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add ground beef and cook until browned and broken up into small pieces. Carefully drain off fat.
• Add diced onion and garlic, cooking a few minutes, until distributed and browned. Stir in thyme, basil, paprika, pepper, and salt. Add beef broth and tomato paste. Cook about 5 minutes to season and thicken.
• Stir in the green onions. Add 1/4 cup bread crumbs to absorb extra moisture. Grab a spoon and do a taste test. Add more seasonings and spices to preference.
• Transfer the filling to a medium bowl and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Create the plait

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Roll the puff pastry to a 12×16 rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Move it to a large piece of parchment paper.
• Eye the center of the pastry, figuring on about 4-5 inches needed down the middle to hold the meat. Use the ruler to gently mark this area. On either side of this, gently mark where strips will be cut at a diagonal, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. On the two ends, leave flaps of about 2-inches. Now, use the knife or bench knife to cut the strands using the marks.
• Bring out the cooled meat. Fold in the shredded cheese. Return to the prepared puff pastry. Sprinkle extra panko bread crumbs down the center; this will help absorb moisture and hopefully prevent a soggy bottom. Spoon the meat in a big long row atop the panko.
• Fold over the two flaps left at either end, then begin doing the braid. Bring over one strand, then bring in one from the other side to hopefully overlap. Continue going back and forth. The meat may be visible in patches or totally covered. Tuck the pastry or pretty up as needed, which may mean clipping an extra strand or two. (Bake any extra pieces along with the plait! Waste nothing. But remember any spare pastry will cook much faster than the entire plait.)
• Use the parchment to carefully transfer the heavy plait to a large rimmed baking pan. If the meat is totally enclosed, cut 3-4 slits for venting. Crack the egg into a bowl and add a touch of water. Beat the egg. Use a pastry brush to fully coat the outside of the braid (plus any extra pieces of pastry to the side).

Bake!

• Bake for about one hour. Check on it at about the 45 minutes point and cover with foil if it is browning too quickly. Add about 5-10 minutes to the hour if needed; the braid should be golden all over, and a digital thermometer should read over 165 degrees in the middle.
• Let plait set for at least 10 minutes. Use this time to prepare a veggie for the side and heat up some beef or brown gravy.
• Cut pieces of plait between the braids. Serve with gravy. Take pride in this literal showstopper you have created. Refrigerate any leftovers and heat in oven.

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• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with a long strip of foil. Coat with nonstick spray.
• In a large bowl, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
• Next add the flour, baking soda, and salt, scraping the bottom of the bowl to be sure to incorporate everything. Fold in 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips.
• The dough may be quite sticky. Dollop it onto the prepared pan. Spray a piece of waxed paper with nonstick spray, then use the coated side to press down on the dough to roughly even it out. Then use a heavy drinking glass to press down more, creating an even, cohesive layer. Sprinkle on the remaining 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and gently tap in.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges are brown and the top is golden. Cool completely.
• Use foil to lift out bars. Cut into thick finger-like pieces. Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

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Make the dough

• In a medium saucepan, warm the half & half, water, and cubed butter until an instant thermometer reads 120-130 degrees. Immediately remove from heat. The butter should be melted.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beat in the warm milk mixture. Beat on low to combine. Beat in egg.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add 2 more cups of flour. The shaggy dough will start to come together.
• Switch to a dough hook attachment. Continue beating dough until a soft dough forms, about 12 to 15 minutes. If it is excessively sticky, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it smooths out.
• Turns dough out on a floured surface to knead for a minute, then shape it into a round.
• Add oil or nonstick spray to a large bowl. Place dough inside and flip it around to coat. Place a towel or plastic wrap as a lid and set to warm in a draft-free place, about 75 degrees, for 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should double in size.
• Punch down dough and cover it to rest for a few more minutes while more preparations are made.

Shape the rolls

• Coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray with flour.
• Turn out dough onto a stretch of floured parchment paper. Roll out to a 15×12 rectangle. Using a bench knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into roughly 1-1/2 inch squares. Smaller pieces are fine, too.
• In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients: cheese, melted butter, rosemary, and basil. Toss in the dough pieces, moving them around to mix and coat.
• Pluck up pieces of dough and cheese and arrange them to more or less equally fill all 12 muffin cups. Pay attention to where the cheese is placed, because if it’s on the outside it could ooze out of the pan. Squeeze everything in. Cover with plastic wrap and set again to rise for 20 to 30 minutes. The rolls should look puffed.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Finish them!

• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls.
• Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, until the tops are browned. An instant thermometer should read at least 200 degrees on the inside.
• As the rolls begin to cool in the pan, stir together the melted butter and salt. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls. Serve hot.
• Store in the fridge for up to a few days, always warming to serve. Rolls can also be frozen for upwards of a month.

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Make the dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth and creamy.
• In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually combine with the wet mixture, scraping the bottom to incorporate everything. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• At this point, the dough can be divided, if desired, to freeze half or all. If baking soon, wrap and chill the dough for about two hours or overnight.
• To begin baking, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a large or small scoop or spoon to dole out dough balls spaced out on cookie sheet. Large cookies will bake in about 15 to 18 minutes; small cookies will need 11 to 13 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. Let cookies sit for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Make the glaze

• Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until thick and smooth. Use the back of a spoon to spread atop a cookie. Continue with the rest of the batch.
• Let cookies rest until glaze is set, about an hour or so, then transfer to a sealed container. Place waxed paper between layers if stacking the cookies. Store at room temperature.

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• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the interior of a 10-cup bundt cake with baking spray with flour.
• Beat butter and almond paste together until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the extracts. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to mix in everything.
• In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet alternatively with the half & half/milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl again, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, leveling out the top.
• Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. A thermometer plunged into the cake should read over 205 degrees.
• Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely, speeding in fridge, if desired.
• For the glaze, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and half & half, adding more sugar or liquid as needed to reach a good thick, oozy consistency. Dollop onto the cake so that it dribbles down the sides. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
• Store in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temperature. Cake can also be individually sliced and frozen for later.

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Poolish:

• In a medium bowl, stir together bread flour, the water, all-purpose flour, and yeast. Get everything moist. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours. Don’t stir. Just let it do its thing for half a day.

Dough:

• Place the poolish in the large bowl of a stand mixer, paddle attachment on. Add the 1 cup water, oil, and yeast. Follow that up with the two flours and salt. Beat for a few minutes.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until dough gathers around dough hook and begins to pull away from sides of bowl, 8 to 10 minutes. Pry it off the hook a few times, too, to make sure everything is well kneaded.
• Oil a large bowl. Dump the dough into that, pivoting the dough around to coat the whole surface with oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Let rise in a warm (75ish degrees), draft-free place. After 30 minutes, knead dough using a greased or floured hand to take turns folding all four sides over the middle.
• Let rise another 30 minutes. Fold again. Set the timer for another 30 minutes.
• Near the end of that rise, line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Lightly flour a level surface. Turn out dough, then pat it out into a thick 12×6 rectangle. Use fingertips or a butter knife to lightly demarcate the dough into 3-inch squares, then use the bench knife to slice them apart.
• Set the 8 portions spaced out on prepared pan. Pick up each and gently stretch as needed to even out the sides, tucking excess dough underneath.
• Cover with plastic wrap or a floured towel to let rise in a draft-free spot for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until puffed. The dough should hold an indentation if poked with a finger.
• Preheat oven at 425 degrees.
• Remove cover from rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes. An instant-read thermometer plunged into the center of one from the side should read 205 degrees at minimum.
• Let cool somewhat before eating fresh, or reheat at meal time. Store in a sealed container up to 5 days. They can also be frozen as long as a couple months.

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