nutty

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with aluminum foil. Spray nonstick spray or coat with butter.
• Beat butter in a large bowl. Add vanilla and egg. Add flour, sugar, and espresso powder. Scrape bottom to make sure dough incorporates everything. Fold in 3/4 cup sliced almonds.
• Press dough evenly into the pan. Sprinkle remaining almonds over the top. Gently press in.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned and the middle passes the toothpick test. Cool completely, speeding the process in the fridge, if desired.
• Combine the glaze ingredients, adding more confectioners’ sugar or half & half to reach a thick consistency. Drizzle glaze over the pan. Cool completely, until glaze solidifies.
• Use foil to lift onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store in a sealed container, using waxed paper between stacked layers.

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• Use the shredding attachment on the food processor to freshly grate the cheddar cheese. (Note that pre-grated cheese from the store may not incorporate well.) Temporarily move cheese to a large bowl.
• Use a knife or kitchen shears to reduce the bacon to small pieces. Set aside.
• Switch to the s-blade on the food processor. Add the pecans and process until finely chopped, but don’t make a paste. Add the diced bacon, cold butter, cheese (don’t wash the bowl), flour, and cayenne. Process until mixture begins to form a dough.
• Place empty former cheese bowl on food scale. Level out the tare for the bowl (or note number to subtract).
• Remove the s-blade and transfer the dough to the big bowl that previously held the cheese. Use hands to make sure everything is incorporated to make dough. Observe the weight of the dough; divide in half.
• Place each half of dough on a long piece of plastic wrap. Shape dough into long logs about an inch in diameter. Dough may be quite crumbly; use the coating of plastic and hand pressure to bring it together.
• Completely wrap dough to stash in fridge. Chill in fridge for anywhere from 8 hours to a couple days, or stash in freezer for up to a month. If frozen, thaw in fridge overnight before baking.
• To begin baking, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Pull out a log. Slice into coins about 1/4-inch thick; if they crumble a bit, reform with fingers. Place slightly spaced out on parchment. Sprinkle pretzel or flaked salt on top of each cracker.
• Bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Crackers should look pale golden and set. Leave them on the sheet to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Repeat to bake the rest.
• Store in a sealed container at room temperature. Crackers are best within two days but are still edible after that, albeit chewier.

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• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a big bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until they are light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract.
• In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet. Fold in the white chocolate chips and almonds.
• Use a cookie scoop or spoon to create dough balls. Space them out on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cookies look set. Let them rest on the sheet a couple minutes, then transfer them to a rack to fully cool. Store in a sealed container.

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Make the pie crust

• Combine flour and salt. Cut in the cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add in ice water, pausing to mix with hands every so often. Stop adding water when the dough comes together. Shape into a disk and encase in plastic wrap to chill for at least an hour or for a day.

Shape crust

• Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line a 13×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
• Lightly flour a clean, flat surface. Roll out dough to roughly fit the pan (hold the pan over the dough to gauge the correct shape). Press dough into pan so that it goes evenly across bottom and up all four sides. Pinch off excess dough and use that to patch and extend elsewhere. It doesn’t need to be pretty, as it will largely be covered by filling.
• Place crust in fridge to chill.

Make filling

• Melt the two sticks of butter in microwave or on stovetop. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, and salt, scraping bottom to incorporate. Stir in flour, melted butter, and vanilla. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• Pour filling into chilled crust. Sprinkle pecans all over top.
• Cover top loosely with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil. Bake another 30 minutes. Check for doneness; the pie is done when the top is golden and a butter knife tip inserted in the middle comes out clean. Pie may need as much as 15 more minutes to finish baking, meaning the total baking time can range from 50 to 105 minutes.
• Cool in pan on wire rack, then place in fridge to fully set and chill. Use foil to lift pie onto a cutting board to slice into bars.
• Store bars in sealed container in fridge. Best eaten within a few days.

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Preparing the crust

• Let pie dough sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out dough into a 14-inch round. Wrap it around the rolling pin to transfer it to a pie dish. Shape it into pan, cutting back overhang and crimping edges as desired.
• Set on a rimmed baking sheet and prick bottom and sides all over with fork tines. Freeze for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven with a rack in the lower third of oven. Line the frozen pie crust with parchment paper and filled to brim with pie weights. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes; check part way and cover edges with foil if they brown too quickly. At the end, the edges should look set and dry.
• Use parchment to lift out the pie weights onto another cookie sheet to cool. Put pie back in oven for another 20 to 25 minutes, monitoring it. If the crust puffs, use a flat metal measuring cup or similar device to press crust down. By the end, the bottom crust should look golden and dry. Let crust cool on baking sheet.

Assembling pie

• Reduce oven temperature to 350-degrees.
• Place pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes to roast, stirring halfway through. They should be dark and fragrant.
• Place 5 ounces dates and 1/2 cup boiling water in food processor. Let sit for 10 minutes. Process until smooth, about a minute. Add eggs, brown sugar, bourbon, butter, kosher salt, vanilla bean paste/extract, and cinnamon. Process until smooth, about a minute.
• Remove bowl and blade from food processor. Stir in pecans and remaining dates. Scrape the filling into the crust.
• Bake pie for 45 to 55 minutes, rotating halfway through. If the crust is getting too dark, protect edges with foil. At the end, the filling should no longer look shiny but be dry and set. Cool pie on wire rack and then chill at least 2 hours.
• Store covered with foil in fridge. Keeps well for days.

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• Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Line a 15x10x1 pan with a large piece of aluminum foil. Add nonstick spray or butter to coat.
• In a large bowl, beat butter to soften. Add both sugars to thoroughly combine. Add both extracts. Beat in flour until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times. Press dough evenly into the base of the pan. Bake until set, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Use an uneven spatula to spread fruit preserves over top. Crumble up the almond paste and sprinkle over top. Sprinkle on almond pieces.
• Bake for another 35 to 40 minutes, until both the almond paste and nuts have browned. Cool on a wire rack for a few hours, stashing in fridge to chill faster.
• Mix glaze, adding more sugar or water as needed to create a thick yet drizzable texture. Drizzle on glaze. Let set again, at least 30 minutes, or in fridge.
• Use foil to lift contents onto cutting board to slice up. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The bars can also be frozen fully prepared.

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