cookies

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, and continue to monitor a few more minutes, stirring often, to brown the butter. It should have a fresh, nutty smell. Remove from heat. Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla until the sugar is less grainy. Let the pan cool for a few minutes. Beat in the eggs until smooth. Stir in the dry ingredients next, followed by the apple pieces. Fold in the chips last.
• Pour the batter into the pan and smooth out the top. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test.
• Cool to room temperature. Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice up. Store the bars in a sealed container, with waxed paper or parchment between stacked layers.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×13 casserole pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, butter, vanilla extract, and eggs until no dry crumbs remain. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and even out surface. Add the graham cracker crumbs in little piles scattered across the top. Use a butter knife to partially swirl the crumbs into the dough. Add dollops of marshmallow fluff across the top. Again, swirl the marshmallow into the dough, coating it with graham crackers in the process. Don’t combine everything too much–there should still be visible swirls and varied textures.
• Bake at 350-degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are golden and contents look set.
• Completely cool at room temperature or speed process in the fridge. Use foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper between the stacked layers.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 9×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a big bowl, beat butter, vanilla, and salt until it is smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in the confectioners’ sugar followed by the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips and cocoa nibs.
• Dump dough into the prepared pan. Lightly flour hands and pat dough flat and smooth. Score through the dough with a floured knife to make rectangular wedges, then prick surface all over with a floured fork.
• Bake for 30 to 33 minutes, until shortbread is set and the edges are browned. Let set in pan for 20 minutes, then use the foil to lift contents onto a rack to completely cool. Move them to a cutting board and slice into pieces along original score marks.
• Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

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Make the Frangipane

• (This stage can be done as much as 3 days ahead of time. Cover the finished frangipane and store it in the fridge. There will be leftovers, but it’s great toasted on bread or mixed into other cookie dough recipes.)
• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a small rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spread out the pecans on it to mostly be in a single layer. Lightly toast them for a total of 6 to 8 minutes, with a pause in the middle to stir them. Let the pecans cool. Set aside 1 1/4 cups to go into the cookie dough.
• Pulse the 3/4 cup of pecans and white sugar in a food processor until nuts are very finely ground, which will take less than a minute (don’t let them become paste!). Divide the egg, adding the egg white to the processor; place the yolk in a small bowl, add a sprinkle of sugar to help preserve it, then stash it in the fridge to go into the dough later.
• Into the food processor, add the butter, espresso powder, salt, and almond extract. Pulse until everything is smooth and combined. Scrape the frangipane into a small bowl and chill for anywhere from 30 minutes (minimum) to 3 days.

Cookie Dough

• In the clean food processor, pulse the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 cup of the reserved pecans until nuts are very finely ground, about 1 minute. (Note that there is still 1/4 cup of pecans reserved for topping the cookies.)
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, white sugar, and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add in egg yolk and vanilla. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just incorporated, about 1 minute.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill dough until it is firm enough to be scooped and hold its shape, 30 to 45 minutes.

Make the Cookies

• Set oven racks in upper and lower thirds, and preheat at 350-degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar in a bowl. Scoop out dough by the tablespoon and roll into balls, then roll in confectioners’ sugar, knocking off any excess. Set balls on baking sheets, spaced a few inches apart.
• Bake cookies for 6 to 8 minutes, until puffed but edges are still soft. Remove sheets from oven. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with the handle end of a wooden spoon or a similar heatproof object. Spoon a heaping 1/2-teaspoon of frangipane into each well and top with a pecan half from the reserved 1/4 cup.
• Return cookies to oven and continue to bake until edges are set and very lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes more. Let cool on baking sheets.
• If desired, serve with a dusting of extra confectioners’ sugar on top. Cookies keep well in a sealed, room temperature container for up to 5 days.

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• In a medium saucepan on medium heat, constantly stir together the brown sugar, honey, butter, and molasses until the sugar is dissolved. Make sure it doesn’t come to a boil. Transfer the mixture to large bowl and let it cool to room temperature.
• Add the espresso powder and egg to the cool sugar mixture. Follow that up with the ground almonds and candied orange bits.
• In a separate bowl, stir together the rest of the dry ingredients. Gradually combine the two bowls until just mixed. Lift it up and knead it for a minute or so to make sure no flour remains at the bottom.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and stash in the fridge for at least a day.
• Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Cover two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Divide dough into 4 portions. Keep the other portions chilled while rolling 1 out into a 8×6-inch rectangle. Cut (a pizza slicer or bench knife are great) into 3×1-inch bars. Transfer to baking sheet, setting them an inch apart.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until firm. If cooking both sheets at once, switch their positions about halfway through.
• As soon as the cookies are out, mix up the glaze. Drizzle glaze back and forth over the warm cookies. Let glaze set for an hour before packing up cookies in sealed containers.

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• Place two cookie sheets in fridge to completely chill.
• Arrange oven racks at top and bottom of oven, then set to preheat at 350-degrees.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, honey, and vanilla. Gradually add in the dry mixture until just combined. Dough will be super-soft.
• Cookie presses vary in how they work–fill the device with dough, however required, and add decorative disk or nozzle. Press out cookie dough directly onto the cold cookie sheets, spacing 1-inch apart.
• If desired, add colorful sanding sugar or other decorations. Bake for 7 minutes. Switch placement of cookie sheets within oven. Bake for another 7 minutes, until set. Let cool on pans for about 5 minutes then transfer to racks to completely cool.
• Store in sealed containers at room temperature.

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