Bready or Not

• If the nuts are unroasted, roast them first for a boost of flavor. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat oven at 350 degrees. Spread cashews and walnuts in an even layer. Bake for about 6 minutes, whereupon they should smell pleasantly toasty. Let cool at least 30 minutes before continuing with next step.
• Fit processor with an S-shaped blade inside. Pour in cashews, walnuts, and sea salt. Process for about 5 to 10 minutes, stopping sporadically to scrape sides. The nut butter is done when the mixture looks smooth and flows over the blades like a thick river.
• Add the honey, ground cardamom, and vanilla. Process another two minutes to incorporate.
• Place nut butter in a clean glass jar (or jars). Store sealed at room temperature for as long as a year. Some separation of nuts and oil is natural--just stir them together again, if needed. If the nut butter dries out, warm what is needed in a microwave-safe bowl to make it spreadable.

OM NOM NOM!

• If the nuts are unroasted, roast them first for a boost of flavor. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and preheat oven at 350 degrees. Spread cashews and walnuts in an even layer. Bake for about 6 minutes, whereupon they should smell pleasantly toasty. Let cool at least 30 minutes before continuing with next step.
• Fit processor with an S-shaped blade inside. Pour in cashews, walnuts, and sea salt. Process for about 5 to 10 minutes, stopping sporadically to scrape sides. The nut butter is done when the mixture looks smooth and flows over the blades like a thick river.
• Add the honey, ground cardamom, and vanilla. Process another two minutes to incorporate.
• Place nut butter in a clean glass jar (or jars). Store sealed at room temperature for as long as a year. Some separation of nuts and oil is natural--just stir them together again, if needed. If the nut butter dries out, warm what is needed in a microwave-safe bowl to make it spreadable.
• OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 300-degrees. In a large bowl, beat together butter and shortening. Add both sugars, maple syrup, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat for about 2 minutes, scraping bottle of bowl often. Add egg yolks one at a time, followed by vanilla extract and maple flavor. Mix in flour until just combined.
• Use a scoop or spoon to dollop dough onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet, spacing out to account for spread. Bake for 11 to 16 minutes. Let set on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to completely cool.
• Once all cookies are baked and cooled, move them back to the parchment-covered pan, close together, before mixing glaze.
• In a small bowl, melt butter in microwave. Add the confectioners' sugar to bowl, followed by half & half and maple syrup. Stir. Add more sugar, if needed, to form a thick consistency. Drizzle all over cookies. Let set for 30 minutes to 1 hour before moving to sealed containers.

OM NOM NOM!

• Line a 9x9 or 8x8 square pan with foil and apply nonstick spray. Set aside.
• In a bowl, measure out the quick oats, almond flour, and macadamia nuts. Also set aside.
• Place the cashew butter, honey, and salt in a large pot on the stove. Bring the temperature to medium, stirring everything until it is melted and combined. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
• Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir until fully incorporated. Dump the mix into the prepared pan. Use a piece of waxed paper and a heavy glass to compress the contents into an even layer. Sprinkle white chocolate chips across the top and quickly press in by hand, as they will soften fast on the warm dough.
• Set pan in fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
• Use foil to lift square onto a cutting board. Slice into desired sizes. They keep in the fridge, in a sealed container, for as long as a week, and as long as a month in the freezer. If stacking, place wax paper between the layers.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9 baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a big bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping bottom of bowl as necessary. Follow up with the eggs, vanilla, and cookie butter, until blended.
• Gradually mix in the flour and baking powder.
• Spread about 2/3 of the batter in the prepared pan. Spread the jelly but not quite to the edges. Dollop the remaining dough all over the top.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the surface is golden and not jiggly, with the middle passing the toothpick test.
• Cool completely at room temperature or in the fridge. Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board to parcel into bars. Store in a sealed container with waxed paper or parchment paper between the layers, either in the fridge or on the counter.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 300-degrees. Line a 13x9 pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
• In another bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon zest. Using fingers, break apart the zest within the sugar to distribute the threads and release the oils. The result should be more yellow in coloration and quite fragrant.
• In a big bowl, beat together the butter, lemon juice, salt, and vanilla extract until it becomes creamy, scraping bowl as needed. Gradually mix in the sugar and zest. Slowly work the flour/cornstarch mix into the big bowl. The dough should become pliable and cling together, until it can be formed into a ball.
• Press dough evenly into the pan. Bake for 40 minutes.
• Immediately make glaze. Stir together everything to form a thick, spreadable glaze; thicken with more sugar, if necessary, or add extra lemon juice or water to loosen it. Spread glaze over bars.
• Cool completely, stashing dish in fridge to speed process if desired.
• Use foil to lift contents onto a cutting board. Slice into bars. Store in a sealed container, with waxed paper between stacked layers, either at room temperature or in the fridge. Keeps for at least 2 days.

OM NOM NOM!

• Mix flour and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl. Add pieces of butter and rub in with fingertips to break into smaller, flatter morsels. Make a well in the middle and add the beaten egg and one tablespoon of water. Use fingers to work in a bit before adding the second tablespoon.
• Work dough until it begins to lump together! Drizzle in tiny increments of additional water, if needed, to make it cohesive. The dough should be able to come together in a ball, not gluey.
• Wrap dough in plastic wrap and stash in fridge for at least 20 minutes--or for a few days, or freeze until ready to use.
• When ready to blind-bake crust, preheat oven at 375-degrees (180 C, Gas 5). Lightly grease pie plate.
• Lightly flour work surface. Use rolling pin to roll dough into proper size for your pan, at about 1/2 cm thickness. Gently set dough into dish and press into place. Make sure excessive amounts of dough don't stick out over the edge but do NOT trim exactly to edge yet.
• Cover the pastry surface with parchment paper. Use dried beans or other pie weights to completely fill plate. If using a 9-inch pie plate, bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until crust takes on a light golden color; for a smaller plate, reduce time and monitor color.
• Use parchment to lift out pie weights. Use a knife to trim excess dough from edge to form a nice, neat line. Follow filling recipe from here on and bake again as necessary.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven at 375-degrees (190C, Gas 5).
• Warm the lemon curd in the microwave for only 5-10 seconds, long enough to make it looser and more spreadable. Brush all over the bottom of the crust.
• In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add almond flour, flour, and lemon zest. Follow up with a tablespoon of lemon juice and the milk. Mix until just cohesive.
• Pour filling into crust. Bake for 25 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test in center. If parts of the filling uplift in crazy ways, worry not--it should even out as it cools.
• Cool pan for an hour at room temperature for an hour to set. Cut into it then, or chill in fridge to enjoy later. Keep stored in fridge with foil covering.

OM NOM NOM!