Bready or Not

• 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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Make the dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla 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.
• 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, milk, and almond extract until thick and smooth. Use the back of a spoon to spread atop a cookie. Immediately add a pinch of sprinkles. Continue with the rest of the batch.
• Let cookies rest until glaze is set, then transfer to a sealed container. Store at room temperature.

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Make crust

• Place the butter, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan and heat on medium until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is fully melted.
• In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs with the butter mixture to thoroughly moisten.
• Place tart pan on a cookie sheet. Press crumbs evenly across the base and sides of the tart pan. Use the cookie sheet to place pan in fridge for at least 1 hour, or freeze for 15 minutes.

Make filling

• In a medium saucepan, bring the heavy cream and espresso powder to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and butter; let them stand for 2 minutes, then stir until glossy and smooth. Pour the ganache into the crust and smooth out with an uneven spatula.
• Chill tart in fridge until it’s starting to set, about 20 minutes, then sprinkle flaked sea salt over top.
• Put back in fridge to chill until completely set, at least an hour. Carefully pop the tart pan's outer ring off. Place base onto a cake plate or other serving dish. Cut off slices to serve. Serve with a drizzle of caramel on top, or use honey or fruit preserves. Would also be great with ice cream.
• Cover tart with foil to store in fridge. Will keep well for at least 6 days.

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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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