The procedure:

If the black sesame seeds you have are raw, place them in a large skillet over low heat and toast until fragrant. Try not to leave the pan as it’s difficult to tell whether black sesame seeds are burnt. Go by smell; once the seeds smell fragrant and nutty, scrape the seeds into a bowl and set aside to let cool.

Grind the cooled sesame seeds into a fine powder. I use a suribachi that I bought at my local Japanese supermarket; these things are super easy to use and they do the job quite well (you get a mini-workout in the process too!). If you can’t find a suribachi near you, a spice grinder or a coffee grinder would work equally well.

In the meantime, prepare the roasted flour by heating your large skillet over medium-high heat; once hot, dump the flour in and spread it around the pan and turn the heat down to medium-low. Keep stirring the flour so that it doesn’t burn, roasting it until it turns a golden color and lets off a nutty fragrance. Keep your eyes on the flour so that it doesn’t burn (unless you want random bits of burnt flour in your final product, an unfortunate mistake I made the first time I tried making these).

Once the flour is done roasting, scrape the flour into a bowl and set aside; return the skillet to the heat. Dump in your butter and let it melt (but don’t let it brown, we just want it melted). Once the butter is melted, add the roasted flour, sugar, powdered milk and a pinch of salt and stir with the spatula so that all ingredients are well mixed; at this point, it should look a bit gritty or sandy. Continue stirring, allowing the milk powder to toast, once it smells fragrant, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl and let it cool slightly.

At this point, you can shape the polvoron in several ways; the easiest is just to press the mixture into a well-oiled, foil-lined baking pan and cut into the shape you desire after it’s been refrigerated. If you feel like putting more effort into it, you could try using a mold like I did here (I was trying to recreate the chess piece shape that I remember so fondly). Essentially the basic process for shaping is the same whether you use a pan or a mold, take the polvoron mixture, press into the mold, pop it out of the mold (if not using a baking pan), and place on a sheet lined with wax paper or foil and refrigerate. Once refrigerated, the polvoron’s shape will set. Just make sure you shape the polvoron while the mixture is still warm; once it’s cooled, it is much more difficult for the mixture to stick together.

Or, if you can’t wait for the polvoron to set, you could eat it hot, straight off the burner in all its sandy goodness. I’m sure if you sprinkled it on top of yogurt or ice cream, it’d be delicious (Note to self: try this next time I make polvoron . . .)

The procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, sea salt, black pepper and caraway seeds. Whisk the dry ingredients together to make sure they are thoroughly combined.

Drain the sundried tomatoes of their soaking water and add to dry ingredients. Stir in the red wine and olive oil until well combined.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop dough onto the baking sheet and roughly form into a log about 10 inches long and 3 inches wide (there’s no need to be perfect here). Place sheet in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes have elapsed, remove the biscotti log from the oven and let it cool slightly, about 5-10 minutes (or until your hands can handle touching it). Reduce the oven to 200 degrees F (if you have a convection oven, using the convection function is quite useful here in ensuring crispy, crunchy biscotti). Using a long serrated knife, cut the log into 1/2 inch slices (either on the diagonal or straight across, whichever you prefer). Place the slices, cut side up, back on the baking sheet and bake until desired crispness. My batch took about 30 minutes, with a rotating of the sheet and flipping over the slices halfway in between.

The procedure:

Whisk together the cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.

Whisk together the olive oil, sugar and instant espresso powder until well combined. Beat the egg with the vanilla extract lightly and add it to the olive oil mixture.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Place dough in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to firm up; this makes rolling the cookie dough into balls easier.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a cookie sheet by lining with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Place confectioner’s sugar in a shallow bowl.

Roll dough into balls (about a tablespoon amount per ball); then roll each ball in the confectioner’s sugar, making sure all parts of the ball are covered. Place dough on the cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart. Use hands to lightly press down on the balls to flatten slightly.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through. Cookies will crack open while baking and when done will still look a bit shiny in the cracks. Let the cookies sit on the sheet for 5 minutes to firm up slightly before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Cookies will keep at room temperature in a airtight container for a few days; after that, feel free to place in the fridge (if they last that long).

The procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 F and roast the cashews, stirring every 5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Make sure to keep an eye on them as they will go from done to inedible very quickly. Set aside to cool. If using cashews that are already roasted, skip this step.

Increase oven temperature to 375 F.

Roll out dough base to 1/4″ to 1/8″ thick, depending on your preference and press into the base of a lightly-oiled, parchment-lined 8″ square pan. Prick the bottom lightly with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up, then place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, partially bake the shortbread crust for 20 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Roughly chop the cashews. Combine the honey, brown sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes without stirring, then add the butter and stir, allowing it to continue boiling for one more minute. It”s critical to keep an eye on your caramel to prevent it from burning.

Remove the caramel from the heat and quickly stir in the cashews, coating them with caramel. Pour the filling over the crust (which should still be hot from baking, as this allows the caramel layer to spread out easier), smooth out as best you can and pop it back into the oven. If it’s not completely smooth, don’t worry, as the baking will “liquefy” the caramel once again. It’ll all work out in the end.

Bake for 15 minutes (or until the filling is nicely caramelized and bubbling). Transfer to a cooling rack and wait until cool to slice (careful as it’s like molten lava fresh out of the oven.)

The procedure:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Whisk together flour, cocoa, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.

Cream butter and brown sugar on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg, molasses, and grated ginger; mix until combined.

Add flour mixture; mix on low speed until just combined.

Halve dough; flatten into two disks. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour. Transfer disks, one at a time, to a lightly floured surface; roll out to 1/4 inch thick. (If dough gets soft, freeze until firm.) Use 3-inch acorn or leaf cookie cutters to make shapes; place 1 inch apart on sheets. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

Score designs with a knife; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are firm, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.