Posts by Beth

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit long-ways in a loaf pan, sticking up on either side as a sling. Apply nonstick spray into pan, place paper, then spray again. Set aside.
• In a big bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, cream of tartar, 1 cup white sugar, and salt. Gradually mix in the milk, vanilla extract, oil, and egg, until just combined.
• In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with the cinnamon.
• Spread about half the batter in the loaf pan. Sprinkle half the cinnamon-sugar on top, followed by about half the nuts (if using). Add rest of the batter. Use a knife to swirl batter, bringing the blade up and down a bit, to marble the layers together. Sprinkle rest of the cinnamon-sugar across the top followed by the nuts (if using). Swirl the batter again.
• Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick stuck deep in the middle comes out clean. About halfway through the bake, add foil over the top to prevent overbrowning.
• Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then use parchment sling to lift loaf onto a rack to fully cool.
• Well-wrapped loaf keeps at room temperature as long as 5 days. Slices can also be frozen for later enjoyment.

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• Place the butter, cheese, salt, white pepper, and cayenne (if using) in the food processor. Pulse until the butter is broken into uneven pieces and the mixture begins to form small curds. Add the flour and mix until it looks like larger curds. If the dough is stubborn, pulse a bit more to distribute ingredients.
• Dump dough onto a flat surface and gently knead with hands to make cohesive. Divvy dough in half, forming each piece into a flat disk, and wrap in plastic. Tuck into fridge to chill for at least an hour or a couple days; it can also be frozen at this stage.
• When time to bake, preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or nonstick mats.
• Pull out a dough disk. Use two sheets of parchment to roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness; if the dough is too hard to roll, let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes before trying again. Use a small cookie cutter (about 1-inch) to cut dough into crackers. Place them spaced out on parchment on pan. Gather the scraps to form more crackers, using a touch of water, if needed, to make it cohesive again.
• If desired, sprinkle some Maldon sea salt atop crackers; only a few flakes are needed to add extra flavor.
• Bake for about 10 minutes. Rotate pan. Bake for another 4 to 7 minutes, until crackers are lightly golden and firm to the touch. Let cool on pan or on a rack.
• Crackers are great warm or at room temperature. They are best eaten within 3 days. After that, they soften and become more crumbly, but they are still tasty.

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• In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and honey and beat until creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: bread flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Sift together.
• Slowly stir together the wet ingredients and flour mix until just combined. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and nibs. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for several hours or days; dough can also be frozen at this stage.
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350-degrees. Use greased stoneware, parchment paper, or silpat mats. The cookie dough, even straight from the fridge, has a soft Play-Doh-like consistency, and will spread when it bakes; keep this in mind when spacing cookie dough.
• Teaspoon-sized cookies need to bake 9 to 12 minutes; Tablespoon-sized take 11 to 13 minutes. Let set on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before moving to a rack to cool completely.
• Store cookies will keep in a sealed container, between waxed paper or parchment layers. Coffee and chocolate flavors will likely deepen after a day,.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a small bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the cube of butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Dump into prepared pan and compress into an even layer; a strip of waxed paper and a heavy glass make this easier.
• Bake base layer for 10 to 12 minutes, until it looks set. Sprinkle nuts over the baked dough.
• In the microwave, melt 1 cup caramel chips with the 2 Tablespoons butter by cooking for 20 second increments and stirring well between each pass, until smooth. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla extract. Pour over the nuts to cover as much as possible.
• Bake for 12 minutes. If adding extra caramel chips, do so now, covering any thinner areas atop crust. Bake another 5 minutes.
• Cool completely at room temperature. Use foil sling to lift contents onto a large cutting board. Slice into bars.
• Store at room temperature in sealed containers.

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