nutty

Frangipane

• Frangipane can be made immediately before the batter or prepared a day in advance.
• In a medium bowl, stir butter until creamy. Add almond flour, sugar, all-purpose flour, egg white, salt, and almond extract. Stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap pressed to the top, and place in fridge until ready to use.

Loaf

• Preheat oven at 375 degrees. Cut parchment paper to fit inside an 8×4 loaf pan like a sling extended up both long sides. Spray inside of pan with nonstick spray, then spray parchment.
• Use kitchen shears to break frozen raspberries into pieces of various size, measuring out 1 1/4 cup total. Stash raspberries back in freezer until ready to use.
• In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the extracts.
• In another bowl, sift together the 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually mix dry ingredients into the wet, mixing alternatively with the yogurt. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined.
• Fold the frangipane into the batter.
• Pull out the raspberries. Toss them with the remaining tablespoon of flour. Set aside 1/4 of coated berries for the top; fold the rest of the berries into the batter.
• Spread batter in prepared pan, evening out the top. Sprinkle reserved raspberries on top, followed by the sliced almonds.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Continue to bake until the top is golden and the inside registers an interior temperature over 200 degrees, which will be about another 40 minutes. (Total baking time will be between 55 minutes and 1 hour 5 minutes.) If the loaf is looking brown early on, cover with a small piece of foil.
• Let cool in pan about 20 minutes, then use the parchment sling to lift the loaf onto a rack to completely cool.

Glaze

• Once the loaf is completely cool, mix the glaze. It should be fairly thick; add a touch more confectioners’ sugar if needed. Drizzle over loaf so that the top is covered with glaze dripping down the sides.
• Give the glaze at least 30 minutes to set before cutting into the loaf, or wrap loaf to serve later or the next day. Loaf will keep well, wrapped at room temperature, for up to 4 days.

OM NOM NOM!

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Line 13×9 pan with wide aluminum foil and apply nonstick spray or butter.
• In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter, both sugars, and vanilla to create a smooth batter. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour mixture. Dollop about 2/3 of the dough in the pan; dough will be sticky, making it tricky to even out without smearing away the nonstick coating.
• Spread Nutella on top and to the edges. Add dollops of remaining dough. Use a knife to swirl layers together.
• Bake until evenly golden brown and set in the middle, 28 to 32 minutes. Cool completely at room temperature or chill before cutting. Blondies keep for up to 3 days in a room temperature sealed container.

OM NOM NOM!

• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry dough ingredients: flour, brown sugar, salt, yeast and nutmeg. Dig a well in the center.
• In a small saucepan, gently bring to medium heat the wet dough ingredients: buttermilk/soured milk, apple butter, and butter. Stir until the butter is melted and an instant-read thermometer is over 100-degrees. (Don’t go over 120 or the heat may kill the yeast.)
• Pour the saucepan contents into the well in the flour. Use a big spoon to stir until combined.
• Heavily flour a clean surface. Turn out the dough onto it and knead until the mixture is elastic and only mildly tacky, about 8 to 10 minutes. Flour hands and surface more if necessary.
• Apply nonstick spray inside a medium bowl. Place dough inside, turning to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put nonstick spray in a round cake pan.
• In a small bowl, stir together the first three filling ingredients: cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar.
• Punch down the dough and let it rest about 5 minutes. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface again and roll into a 14×8-inch rectangle. Spread the 2 Tablespoon softened butter over the dough, leaving a bare 1/2-inch frame around the edge. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture over the butter, forming a thick layer. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of pecan pieces on top.
• Roll up the dough, long-ways, and pinch the seam to seal it. Rock and roll the dough tube, stretching it out, evenly extending the length to 15 inches. Arrange it so the seam is on the side facing you.
• Use kitchen shears or a knife to cut the log in half lengthwise, but leave it connected by an inch at one end. Turn the cut sides to face upward. Carefully twine them together in a simple braid, bringing the uncut end around to tuck underneath, forming a braided circlet. Place inside cake pan with the cut sides facing up. Cover again to rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
• Place bread in hot oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes; an instant-read thermometer plunged into the middle should be over 190 degrees. If it’s looking very brown near the end, cover it with foil for the rest of the bake.
• Cool for about 20 minutes as the glaze is made.
• Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, butter and salt. Dribble over warm bread so that the glaze cascades along the ridges. Sprinkle pecan pieces over the top.
• Serve immediately. Any leftovers are best if warmed briefly in the microwave or oven.

OM NOM NOM!

• Line the air fryer tray with parchment paper cut to fit, then place tray on top.
• Place the nuts in a large bowl. Pour the butter over the top, followed by the maple syrup and salt. Stir the nuts to coat. Place them spread out on the mesh tray.
• Air fry at 325-degrees for about 5 to 6 minutes or until they begin to smell toasted, stirring one halfway through. They should look browned at the end.
• While they are cooking, pull out another small cookie sheet or plate, putting more parchment on it if desired; this will be a surface on which the nuts will cool.
• When the nuts are done, pull them from the air fryer and carefully transfer them to the fresh cookie sheet. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then sprinkle maple sugar on top, stirring to coat. Enjoy immediately, or place in a sealed container at room temperature to eat over the next month.

OM NOM NOM!

• In a stand mixer or by hand. beat together butter, sugar, and salt until they are pale and creamy. Add the egg. Gradually beat in the flour until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl a few times.
• Shape the dough into a flat disk and encase in plastic wrap. Place in the fridge for an least an hour, but overnight is preferred. Dough can be refrigerated for up to a week or can be frozen for up to 2 months. If frozen, thaw in fridge before using.

Form the crust

• If the pâte sucrée is quite firm from chilling, let it set at room temperature for about 20 minutes to make it more pliable. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12-inch circle, about 1/8-inch thick.
• Remove the base of the tart pan and trace the shape onto parchment paper. Cut paper to fit in bottom of pan and apply baking spray. Carefully transfer dough to pan, but if it falls apart, that’s okay–press it into an even layer across the bottom of the pan and up the fluted sides. Use a knife to cut excess dough from the top edge. Use a fork to dock the bottom of the pan, stabbing it here and there across the whole surface. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.

Bake the crust

• Preheat oven at 325-degrees.
• Top the dough with a large piece of parchment paper, with ends extending over the sides. Add pie weights to fill the basin.
• Bake the crust for about 15 minutes. Carefully lift with the parchment and weights, setting on another pan to cool. Brush the bottom of the pan with the egg white. Continue baking for another 15 minutes; the base should look dry with the dough lightly browned. Set aside to cool completely as the filling is made. Increase oven temperature to 350-degrees.

Make the frangipane

• Beat the butter and white sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure everything is mixed. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla, salt, and almond extract. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl. Gradually mix in both flours until just combined.
• Spoon frangipane into a pastry bag or a freezer quart bag. Cut off the tip.
• Use an uneven spatula to spread the cherry preserves over the bottom crust. Pipe the frangipane over the preserves. Use a clean uneven spatula to smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
• Bake until frangipane is set and golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes before removing the outer ring of the pan. Let tart cool completely on rack.

Add drizzle

• In a small bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar and milk. Spoon into a pastry bag or freezer quart bag and snip off a tiny corner. Pipe glaze back and forth over tart. Let glaze set, about 20 minutes, then dig in. Store wrapped up or in sealed container in fridge for up to 4 days.

OM NOM NOM!

Make the blondies

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil and apply nonstick spray.
• In a big bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
• Place the melted butter into a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar, ground coffee, and salt. Stir to combine.
• Add eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into pan and level out; an uneven spatula makes that easy. Sprinkle with almonds.
• Bake 27 to 30 minutes, until the middle passes the toothpick test. Let cool completely.

To complete with glaze

• Mix together the melted tablespoon butter and extract. Gradually whisk in confectioners’ sugar. Add teaspoons of water, as needed, until the glaze is thick but can be drizzled. Place it in either a pastry bag fitted with a plain round tip or a sandwich bag of which a corner will be snipped off. Drizzle glaze over blondies in a rough crosshatch pattern. Let glaze set for 1 hour before cutting blondies into squares. Store in a sealed container at room temperature. If making these in a warm place, put waxed paper between the stacked layers of blondies.

OM NOM NOM!