breakfast

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Use a floured baking spray on the entire interior of a bundt or tube pan.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the 1/2 cup orange juice, 1/4 cup of the fresh lemon juice, canola oil, all of the lemon zest, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl occasionally.
• Pour the batter into the pan and level it. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack.
• After another 10 minutes, assemble glaze to create a thick, slow-dribbling consistency. Drip it over the warm cake to coat the top and ooze along the sides. Cool cake completely.
• Store cake covered at room temperature. Pieces can be individually sliced to take on the go or to freeze for later.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Apply nonstick spray to both pie plates.
• Stir together the lemon zest, flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter, egg yolk, lemon flavor, and vanilla extract. Use hands to compress dough together to make a ball. Divide in half, placing one in each pie plate. Flatten dough with palms to create an even surface. Prick surface all over with a fork then use a knife to slash dough into triangular wedges.
• Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, until edges are golden brown and middle is set. Remove from oven and cut again along slash marks. Let shortbread cool completely.
• In a medium bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice to create a glaze with a consistency to drip and keep shape. Drizzle all over shortbread. Let set, then cut again along existing marks.
• Shortbread keeps for several days at room temperature. It can be stored covered in pie plates, or stacked in a sealed container with wax paper between the layers.

OM NOM NOM!

Make the crust

• In the bowl of a food processor, pour in the flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, then pulse until combined. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the bowl, pulsing until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 2 eggs and the extracts. Pulse to bring the dough together so that it's moist but not sticky; if it doesn't come together, add a small amount of water and pulse more.
• Turn out the dough to press it together. Use a food scale to weigh the dough and divide it in two. Wrap each piece with plastic wrap. Chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to a few days.

Assemble the shortcake

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle flour on a flat surface and roll out one portion of dough to make a 13-inch square. Set the pan on top as a guide to cut an even 9×9 square.
• Line pan with foil and apply nonstick spray. Place cut square inside. It’s okay if it tears as its being moved–patch it with fingertips. Pat the leftover dough up the sides of the pan to completely cover, sealing the edges together along the bottom and at the corners. Chill pan during the next step.
• Peel the apples and cut into quarter-inch slices, placing them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and 2 teaspoons of juice. Stir to coat apples. Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, remaining 3 Tablespoons sugar, and last bit of salt. Toss everything together, coating the apples. Spread the apples evenly across the bottom of the pan.
• Roll out remaining dough to make a 10-inch square to completely cover the top of the apples. Press overlapping edges to seal together, trimming dough if needed. Lightly beat the remaining egg then brush it over the top crust. Use a fork to poke the crust all over to create vents. If desired, sprinkle turbinado sugar across the crust.
• Bake until crust is golden brown, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. The apples should be tender if poked with a toothpick. Let cool in pan for at least an hour. Use foil to lift shortcake onto a cutting board for easy slicing.
• Store cake in sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days. It can also be cut into individual slices and frozen for later enjoyment.

OM NOM NOM!

• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, stir together warm milk and yeast, letting it stand about 5 minutes to get foamy.
• Mix in the eggs, 1 stick melted butter, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Follow up with the flour, sugar, and salt, beating until combined. Switch to the dough hook and beat for about 4 minutes, until smooth.
• Use nonstick spray on a large bowl. Lightly flour a flat surface and turn out the dough to form it into a round. Place it in a bowl, rotating it to grease the entire surface. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, until it doubles in size.
• Clean everything and return to the stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat the 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar with the cookie butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 3 Tablespoons melted butter, until smooth. Transfer the mixture to another bowl. set aside.
• Clean the mixer and paddle attachment again. Beat the final stick of softened butter, the melted chocolate, cocoa, remaining 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, and last 1 teaspoon vanilla, until smooth. Set aside.
• Lightly flour a flat surface again. Punch down the dough and turn it onto the surface. Use a food scale to divide the dough in half. Stash one half back in the bowl for now, covered to prevent drying. Roll the other half into a 20 by 9 rectangle. Use an uneven spatula to spread the cookie butter filling onto the dough, up to 1/2-inch of the edges all the way around. Starting on a long side, tightly roll up the dough, pinching the seam to seal. Set aside with the seam faced down.
• Roll out the other dough in the same way, this time spreading on the chocolate-cocoa filling. Roll it up as well, placing the two dough rolls side by side. Use a bench knife to cut each roll in half, lengthwise. With the multi-layered middles facing up, twine the strips together.
• Apply nonstick spray on tube pan. Lift braid into the pan and tug it to form a complete circle, tucking the ends beneath. Cover the bread and let it rise in a warm spot until it’s puffed, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven 350-degrees.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water. Brush the top of the dough, touching the cookie butter strands first, then the chocolate; this will prevent the chocolate from smearing too much.
• Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes, covering the bread with foil halfway through to prevent too much browning. When done, the top should be golden and an instant-read thermometer should be above 190-degrees.
• Let cool in pan for about 15 minutes. Turn out onto a plate, then tip it back onto a rack to completely cool, top-up.
• The bread is best eaten within a day, but it can also be sliced up and frozen in pieces. It'll thaw later and taste beautifully fresh! Eat at room temperature or slightly warmed.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment to fit like a sling inside the pan, extending up both long sides. Apply butter or nonstick spray in the pan, then set the parchment inside and spray it again.
• Beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add the dry ingredients in with the wet, adding in the yogurt/sour cream as well.
• Either by using a food scale or by eyeballing, divide the dough into three roughly equal portions.
• If the caramel/dulce de leche is stiff, microwave briefly in a microwave-safe bowl to make it looser. Mix that into one portion of dough.
• Add the cocoa powder with the melted chocolate, and fold that into a second portion of dough until the color is even throughout.
• To the third portion, mix in the vanilla to completely incorporate.
• Set a tablespoon with each portion. Scoop vanilla and chocolate to form a checkerboard-like formation in the bottom of the loaf pan. Add scoops of caramel dough sporadically over top. Tap pan to settle the dough. Repeat, mixing up the pattern so that different colors are near each other, tapping the pan on occasion. Once all of the dough is in the pan, use a butter knife to gently swirl for an extra marbling effect on the top. Tap pan again to level and work out bubbles.
• Bake for 1 hour 40 minutes. Check the middle with a toothpick. If it’s still wet, bake longer, checking every few minutes for doneness. Once it passes the test, let cool on stove top for 10 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift the loaf onto a rack to cool completely.
• Cake can be served warm or at room temperature. It will keep for up to 4 days in a sealed container. It can also be frozen in slices for later enjoyment.

OM NOM NOM!

• Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attached, combine the flour, yeast, and salt.
• Use a microwave or stove top to warm the milk, butter, sugar and honey to about 120-degrees (if it gets above that, give it a few minutes to drop down). Add the warm milk mixture to the flour until just combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Follow up with the egg and egg yolk, and continue to beat for about 6 more minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.
• Add nonstick spray to a large bowl. Drop in the dough, flipping it to grease the surface all over. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm spot until it is doubled, about 45 minutes.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Punch down the dough in the bowl. Lightly flour a work surface. Use a food scale to weigh the dough; divide it in half. Keep one of the halves covered while the other is rolled out to a foot-wide circle. Use a pizza cutter or knife to slice it into twelve triangles, like a pizza.
• To form a crescent roll, start at the wide end of a dough piece and roll it up, tucking and pressing the pointed tip underneath. Set spaced-out on a prepared pan. Repeat to form more rolls. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap to rise another 45 minutes to an hour.
• Near the end of the rise, preheat the oven at 375-degrees. Melt the half stick of butter and brush about half over the rolls.
• Place both sheets on racks inside oven and bake for 7 minutes. Switch placement of baking sheets on the racks. Bake for another 5 to 8 minutes, until they are a nice golden brown. Brush on the rest of the butter.
• Eat immediately, while warmed, or at room temperature. Crescent rolls will keep in a sealed bag for at least 2 days, and can also be frozen for later enjoyment.

OM NOM NOM!