Bready or Not

• Line an 8×8 or 9×9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray. Set aside.
• In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat the white chocolate and sweetened condensed milk in 30 second increments, stirring well after each bout, until it is melted and smoothed. Watch it closely!
• Quickly stir in the frozen cookies, and pour into the prepared pan. Sprinkle caramel chips on top and tap them into place.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Use foil to lift fudge onto a cutting board to slice into small squares. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. Keeps for weeks.

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• Preheat oven at 400-degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crust to about a 10-inch diameter circle. Transfer it to the baking sheet and set in fridge while the other ingredients are prepared.
• Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples, placing them in a large bowl. Pour in the lemon juice, calvados, cornstarch, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Toss the apples to coat them completely.
• Pull out the chilled crust. Begin to arrange apple slices in the middle, fanning them out and stacking them, but leaving a 2-inch border of dough around the outside. DO NOT DISCARD THE LIQUID IN THE BOWL! Once the apples are arranged, fold the dough over to partially cover the apples.
• Start baking the galette for 15 minutes. While that is cooking, pour the leftover liquid into a small pot on medium-high. Stay close to the stove and stir liquid often. As soon as it gels, which is right at right about boiling temperature, remove it from heat. Set aside.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350-degrees. Bake galette for another 20 minutes.
• Pull out the galette. Drizzle the gel over the exposed apples in the middle of the galette then use basting brush to coat every nook and cranny. Measure out maple syrup. Use same brush (no need to wash it) to coat the top crust, then sprinkle maple sugar or coarse sugar over it to add a crystalline crunch.
• Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until apples in middle are fork-tender.
• Let cool slightly before cutting–a pizza cutter is ideal. Leftovers can be kept wrapped up in foil in the fridge for days.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, blend the butter, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt, until smooth and creamy. Mix in the egg and pumpkin puree. Gradually mix in the flour followed by the pumpkin kernels.
• Divide dough in half. Place each piece spaced out on parchment. Dough will be very sticky, so shape with plastic spatula or greased or floured hands into 1-inch high flat rectangular logs.
• Bake biscotti for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 5 minutes. Use a long bread knife and slice down--don't saw--into long, even cookies. Space out cookies upright, if possible, or lay on sides.
• Bake for another 25 minutes; if cookies are laying on sides, flip them to other side halfway through. Set out on stove or counter to cool and dry for several hours.
• Melt chocolate in microwave or using a double-boiler on the stove. Drizzle chocolate over the ends of the biscotti and set again on parchment to set.
• Store biscotti in sealed containers at room temperature for days or weeks.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees.
• In a big bowl, beat together pumpkin puree, sugar, and oil. Beat in eggs one at a time.
• In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Gradually blend into the pumpkin mix.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, carefully warm the cream cheese a touch, just to make it soft enough to mash. Stir in the white sugar and egg until it is cohesive; it's okay if there are still some small chunks of cream cheese.
• Place paper liners in the muffin pan (or two pans, if available). Apply nonstick spray in each liner. Add pumpkin to fill each liner about 1/3; a teaspoon scoop is useful for this. Add some dollops of cream cheese into each. Add layers of pumpkin batter to cover.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a middle cupcake passes the toothpick test. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then gingerly use two forks to pry out each cupcake to set on a rack to cool more. Place in sealed container in fridge to store.

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• Preheat oven at 375-degrees. Line large cookie sheets with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, pumpkin, brown sugar, butter, and applesauce. Add the half & half, pumpkin pie spice, espresso powder, and vanilla, until well combined. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.
• Use a tablespoon scoop to dollop dough onto the parchment paper, spacing out to allow for slight spread. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the tops.
• Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the tops are dry and set. Move to a rack to completely cool.
• Cookies will be slightly tacky, as many pumpkin cookies are, and should be stored with waxed paper between the layers to prevent them from sticking together. Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in the fridge.

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Make the crust

• Note that the dough can be made as days in advance and kept chilled. The crust can also be baked a day or two before the pie is finished; keep it covered at room temperature in the meantime.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add butter and coat it with flour, then use fingers to press butter into shaggy pieces of varying sizes. Drizzle in about 5 Tablespoons of cold water and knead it into flour. Add additional small increments of water until dough just starts to come together. There should still be visible pieces of butter.
• Dump dough onto a clean, lightly-floured surface and knead a few more times to work in any dry, shaggy bits. Form the dough into an even, broad disc and encase in plastic wrap. Tuck inside fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.
• To blind-bake crust, preheat oven at 400-degrees.
• On a floured surface, roll out dough to make about an even 12-inch round. Loop it over the rolling pin to lift it onto a deep dish pie plate. Shape it into pan. Form the crust edge as desired and trim away any excess dough.
• Line the inside of the crust with parchment paper. Fill entire crust with pie weights, such as dry beans.
• Bake until the edges of the crust start to brown, about 20 minutes. Use parchment to lift out pie weights and set aside to cool--do so with great care!
• Decrease the oven temperature to 350-degrees, and continue to bake for another 20 to 25 minutes. While it is baking, separate an egg; place the white in a bowl and beat it slightly, and reserve the yolk in fridge to use for the pie filling.
• Remove crust from oven. Immediately brush a tablespoon of egg white over the bottom, which will help it resist going soggy once the filling is added. Return crust to oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. Reserve the remaining egg white for use in the pie.
• At this point, the recipe can proceed to the filling stage, or the crust can cool completely and be covered to sit at room temperature for a few days.

Filling

• Heat oven at 350-degrees; set a baking sheet inside oven at heat up, too.
• While mixing the filling ingredients, toast the pecans on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring them once at the halfway point. The pecan should be a little darker and fragrant.
• If using an immersion blender, combine the following ingredients in an even-bottomed large pot (a slow cooker pot works for this) or use a large blender (in two batches, if needed). Combine eggs, egg yolk, pumpkin puree, heavy cream, and white sugar. Add the whiskey, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves, 6 Tablespoons brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons melted butter, and kosher salt. Blend until smooth.
• Pour into crust and bake until the filling is puffed and mostly set--a little wobble is okay--about 40 to 45 minutes.
• While that is finishing up, coat the pecans. Pull out the leftover egg white and whisk in 2 Tablespoons brown sugar and kosher salt. Add maple syrup and Tablespoon of melted butter, stirring until just combined. Add the pecans and toss to coat.
• Carefully use baking sheet to bring out the pie. Use a slotted spoon to add the pecans on top of the pumpkin, letting the excess egg white slurry stay in the bowl.
• Return pie to oven. Bake until filling is completely set, until a butter knife stabbed into center (avoiding pecans) comes out clean. This can take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes. If necessary, cover the edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.
• Let pie cool at least 2 hours before cutting in, chilling first if desired. Store pie loosely covered by foil at room temperature or in fridge.

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