chocolate

• 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.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Zest and juice lemon. Set aside zest, and soak cranberries in juice.
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs with white sugar. Add oil, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and zest. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients.
• Drain lemon juice out of cranberries; discard juice. Fold cranberries into dough to equally distribute.
• 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 for 20 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 20 to 25 minutes; if cookies are laying on sides, flip them to other side halfway through. Biscotti should be golden and somewhat crisp.
• Let biscotti sit out for anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours so that they can cool off and dry out even more.
• If adding white chocolate on top, melt chocolate in microwave or on stovetop (keep in mind, white chocolate can burn fast!). Use a fork to drizzle chocolate, or dip an end of each biscotti into the chocolate. Let set again for an hour or so, then pack into sealed bags or plastic containers.
• Biscotti can keep in sealed containers for as long as a month.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with heavy foil and apply butter or nonstick spray.
• In a microwave safe bowl, heat the butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips in brief bursts until fully melted and smooth; watch it carefully and stir well between each burst. Stir in the white sugar, followed by eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Pour half the chocolate batter into the ready pan and spread into an even layer. Add small dollops of the marshmallow fluff across the top; it will be gloppy and sticky, so don't worry about getting it even.
• Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the fluff and batter. Drop dollops of the rest of the chocolate batter on top along with the remaining 1 cup chocolate chips. Even out a bit, then use a butter knife or narrow spatula to swirl the layers together for a marbled effect. It may be mountainous in some areas but it will even out as it bakes.
• Bake until the top is crinkled and edges are pulling away from the sides of the pan, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool at room temperature for an hour, then stash in the fridge for another few hours to completely cool.
• Use the foil to lift the contents onto a cutting board to slice into bars. Store in a sealed container in fridge, waxed paper between stacked layers to prevent sticking. Keeps for up to three days, or freeze for later enjoyment.

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• Place flour, sugar, espresso powder, and salt in mixing bowl; add butter, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix with fingers until dough holds together, then fold in the mini chocolate chips. Once chips are distributed, divide dough into two balls and press each ball into a pan. Flatten evenly with palms and prick surface all over with floured fork. Slash into wedges.
• Bake for 17 to 22 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Remove from oven. Immediately cut again following slash marks and carefully run the blade around the edge of the crust to loosen the shortbread.
• Let shortbread cool. Cut again along slash marks and the crust, then remove wedges to eat. Shortbread keeps in sealed container for several days.

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• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Line a 13x9-inch pan with foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• Place the 1/2 cup hazelnuts in a food processor. Process until finely ground.
• In a medium bowl, beat together the next two crust ingredients, the brown sugar and butter. Add the flour and ground hazelnuts. Press crust into pan; a piece of wax paper and a heavy glass makes it easy to form an evenly compressed layer. Bake for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, put the remaining hazelnuts in the food processor and give them a quick pulse, just to coarsely chop them.
• As soon as the crust comes out, sprinkle the hazelnuts over the top. In a small saucepan, warm the butter and brown sugar to boiling at medium heat. Boil for a minute. Pour over hazelnuts.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until edges are bubbling and center is set. Cool completely.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, zap the chocolate in 25 second bursts, stirring well between each pass, until it can be stirred smooth. Use a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the bars.
• Chill in fridge for 30 minutes, or until chocolate is set. Use the foil to lift contents onto a cutting board and slice into bars.
• Store in a sealed container at room temperature or in the fridge with waxed paper or parchment between the layers.

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• Drain juice from cherries into another bowl; reserve 1/2 cup of juice. Remove stems from cherries and roughly chop up the fruit. Set aside.
• Preheat oven at 350-degrees. Grease and flour a large bundt pan.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time. Pour in the cherry juice, water, and almond extract. Start adding the flour mix and the sour cream in small amounts, going back and forth until everything is just incorporated. Fold the cherries into the batter.
• In a microwave safe dish, heat the chocolate chips in short bursts until they can be stirred smooth.
• Spoon some cherry batter into the base of the bundt pan. Add dollops of chocolate, then more batter. Keep going back and forth until all of the batter and chocolate is in the pan. Drag a butter knife through--without touching the metal--to swirl everything together a bit more, then smooth the top.
• Bake for about 1 hour, until an inserted knife comes out clean. Set on a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then invert the cake and remove the pan so it can completely cool.
• Store covered at room temperature. Slices can also be frozen for later enjoyment.
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