1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add in salt, baking powder, vanilla and lemon. Continue to mix for 1-2 minutes until combined.
3. Add egg. Mix and scrape the sides of your bowl until egg is incorporated into dough mixture.
4. Add flour one cup at a time until dough is no longer sticking to sides of the bowl.
5. Dust surface with flour before rolling out the dough.
6. Cook the cut-out cookies for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
7. Cool on cookie racks.
8. Once completely cool, ice as desired.

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Let the phyllo dough thaw to room temperature. Open one box at a time, so the dough doesn’t dry out.
2. For the syrup: Combine all syrup ingredients, including the lemon rind. Bring to a gentle boil for 10 minutes, mixing often. Let the syrup cool completely.
3. For the filling: Put walnuts in the food processer and grind. Add the cinnamon and sugar. Separate into 3 equal sections (about 2 cups each). Set aside.
4. Then, melt the butter in a measuring cup or saucepan. Brush a thin layer of melted butter to the bottom of an 11 in x 18 in pan. Then begin to layer a sheet of phyllo and butter, one at a time. Continue until there are 6 sheets of phyllo dough remaining from the first pound of phyllo.
5. Spread 1/3 of the walnut mixture across the phyllo evenly. Sprinkle the nut mixture lightly with melted butter, then add another layer of phyllo and brush that layer with butter. Add two more layers of phyllo the same way.
6. Add another 1/3 of the walnut mixture evenly. Sprinkle with melted butter and add 3 sheets of phyllo brushed with butter. Add the last 1/3 of the walnut mixture.
7. Then, open the second box of phyllo. Layer and butter the entire pound of phyllo dough. Lastly, brush the top of your baklava with butter generously.
8. Depending on how many pieces you want, cut the baklava into 6×4 inch or 7×5 inch square pieces. Then cut each square diagonally to make triangles.
9. Bake at 325 degrees until golden brown, approximately 40 minutes. Once it is finished, leave the baklava out to cool. Next, remove the lemon rind and cinnamon sticks from the syrup and slowly pour the syrup evenly onto the baklava to allow it to soak-in (there will be more syrup than needed). If possible, let the baklava soak overnight. Enjoy!

2. The recipe yields one quarter-sheet cake for each of the 3 layers. Prepare three quarter-sheet trays by putting parchment down and pan spraying. Set aside.
3. Using a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add butter, powdered sugar, almond flour and almond extract. Once all ingredients are incorporated, whip on high for 2-3 minutes until light in color.
4. Pour almond mixture in the largest bowl you have and set aside.
5. Sift all purpose flour onto a piece of parchment, set aside.
6. Using a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add whole eggs and egg yolks to the mixing bowl and whip on high until they form a ribbons.
7. Meanwhile in another mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment whip egg whites to stiff peaks then slowly add in sugar, making a meringue.
8. Add about a pint of flour to the almond mixture and fold together.
9. Add half of the whole egg mixture and fold together. Repeat with the rest of the egg mixture.
10. Add the rest of the flour and half of the egg white meringue to the bowl, fold together.
11. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold together until combined.
12. Divide batter evenly between 3 small bowls.
13. In one bowl add 15 grams of liquid green food dye and fold together, then add to 1 prepared sheet tray and spread evenly across.
14. In one of the other bowls add 15 grams of liquid red food dye and fold
    together, then add to 1 prepared sheet tray and spread evenly across.
15. Take the last bowl and add it to 1 prepared sheet tray and spread evenly across.
16. Bake at 325 for 11 minutes in a convection oven.

For Assembly

1. Start by lining a cutting board with a piece of parchment paper.
2. Turn over the green layer onto the cutting board, allowing the cake to lay upside down on the cutting board.
3. Add raspberry jam to cake and spread evenly across, only add more if needed.
4. Turn over the white layer onto the layer of raspberry jam, allowing the cake to lay upside down.
5. Add more of the raspberry jam to the cake and spread evenly across, only add more if needed.
6. Turn over the red layer onto the layer of raspberry jam, allowing the cake to lay upside down.
7. Top with another piece of parchment and another cutting board to weight it.
8. Put it in the fridge overnight.
9. On the next day, over a double boiler melt a small bowl of dark chocolate and heat to 115 degrees, checking with a temperature gun.
10. Temper chocolate once it comes to 115 using the seeding method.
11. Once the chocolate is less than 100 degrees stop adding chocolate, and remove the stacked cakes from the fridge.
12. Starting with the red layer, add the tempered chocolate, when ready and spread evenly across the entire cake.
13. Once the tempered chocolate has set, flip the entire thing upside down using cutting boards on each side of the cake until the green side is facing up.
14. Repeat tempering the chocolate and spreading across evenly on the green side when chocolate is ready.
15. Once the chocolate has set, grab a container of hot water and a chef’s knife.
16. Trim the sides of the rainbow cookies.
17. Cut 1 in x 2 in rectangles to create the finished cookies.

1. Chop chocolate.
2. Cream butter, brown sugar, white sugar, sweet soy, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides as needed.
3. Add eggs and ube extract. Mix until incorporated. Scrape down as needed.
4. Mix in chocolates and add flour and ube powder in a few increments. Pulse the mixer rather than letting it run. Once the flour is added, mix thoroughly, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients evenly. Mix for an additional 4 minutes on medium speed to create a chewy cookie.
5. Scoop cookies and chill in fridge overnight.
6. Space evenly on a parchment lined tray.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes if using a convection oven.

For the dough:

1. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. Add the egg and vanilla
3. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or two knives pulled in opposite directions. The dough should resemble cornmeal consistency.
4. Slowly, add ½ cup milk, mixing it with your hands. Add additional milk until it just comes together. Be careful not to make the dough too wet.
5. Once the dough is together, roll it into a long cylinder shape and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 45 minutes to an hour.

For the Filling

1. In a food processor, fruit grinder or high intensity blender, combine and finely chop figs, dates and raisins. You may need to do this a little at a time.
2. Add the nuts, jam, honey, orange zest, and cinnamon. Pulse to mix it or combine with fruit in a separate bowl.

For the Icing

1. Whisk together confectioner’s sugar and milk until it forms a thick glaze. Reserve nonpareils for final decoration.

Assembling the Cuccidati

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Unwrap and cut the dough in half.
3. Roll out one half at a time on a lightly floured surface into a long rectangle. Use a dough scraper to shape it.
4. Use half of the filling to make a log down the middle of the dough, then fold one side over it and then the other. Lightly pinch the dough together so it sticks.
5. Cut cookies to desired size. (I used a ruler and made mine 1-inch per piece in length.) Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down.
6. Bake for 15 minutes until the cookie is slightly brown on the edges and bottom. They should look slightly dry. Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
7. Once the cookies are completely cooled, sift the confectioner’s sugar into a bowl and add milk. Mix until smooth. Drizzle the glaze on top of the cookies a few at a time, sprinkling nonpareils on top.
8. Allow the icing to dry before serving. They can be frozen but the nonpareils may bleed when defrosting. They’re still delicious, though!