Make the dough

• In a medium saucepan, warm the half & half, water, and cubed butter until an instant thermometer reads 120-130 degrees. Immediately remove from heat. The butter should be melted.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Beat in the warm milk mixture. Beat on low to combine. Beat in egg.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add 2 more cups of flour. The shaggy dough will start to come together.
• Switch to a dough hook attachment. Continue beating dough until a soft dough forms, about 12 to 15 minutes. If it is excessively sticky, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it smooths out.
• Turns dough out on a floured surface to knead for a minute, then shape it into a round.
• Add oil or nonstick spray to a large bowl. Place dough inside and flip it around to coat. Place a towel or plastic wrap as a lid and set to warm in a draft-free place, about 75 degrees, for 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should double in size.
• Punch down dough and cover it to rest for a few more minutes while more preparations are made.

Shape the rolls

• Coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray with flour.
• Turn out dough onto a stretch of floured parchment paper. Roll out to a 15×12 rectangle. Using a bench knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into roughly 1-1/2 inch squares. Smaller pieces are fine, too.
• In a large bowl, combine the filling ingredients: cheese, melted butter, rosemary, and basil. Toss in the dough pieces, moving them around to mix and coat.
• Pluck up pieces of dough and cheese and arrange them to more or less equally fill all 12 muffin cups. Pay attention to where the cheese is placed, because if it’s on the outside it could ooze out of the pan. Squeeze everything in. Cover with plastic wrap and set again to rise for 20 to 30 minutes. The rolls should look puffed.
• Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Finish them!

• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls.
• Bake for 24 to 27 minutes, until the tops are browned. An instant thermometer should read at least 200 degrees on the inside.
• As the rolls begin to cool in the pan, stir together the melted butter and salt. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops of the rolls. Serve hot.
• Store in the fridge for up to a few days, always warming to serve. Rolls can also be frozen for upwards of a month.

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Make the dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine ricotta, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth and creamy.
• In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually combine with the wet mixture, scraping the bottom to incorporate everything. Fold in the chocolate chips.
• At this point, the dough can be divided, if desired, to freeze half or all. If baking soon, wrap and chill the dough for about two hours or overnight.
• To begin baking, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a large or small scoop or spoon to dole out dough balls spaced out on cookie sheet. Large cookies will bake in about 15 to 18 minutes; small cookies will need 11 to 13 minutes. The edges should be golden brown. Let cookies sit for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Make the glaze

• Mix confectioners’ sugar and orange juice until thick and smooth. Use the back of a spoon to spread atop a cookie. Continue with the rest of the batch.
• Let cookies rest until glaze is set, about an hour or so, then transfer to a sealed container. Place waxed paper between layers if stacking the cookies. Store at room temperature.

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• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat the interior of a 10-cup bundt cake with baking spray with flour.
• Beat butter and almond paste together until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by the extracts. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to mix in everything.
• In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet alternatively with the half & half/milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl again, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, leveling out the top.
• Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. A thermometer plunged into the cake should read over 205 degrees.
• Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Cool completely, speeding in fridge, if desired.
• For the glaze, mix together the confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and half & half, adding more sugar or liquid as needed to reach a good thick, oozy consistency. Dollop onto the cake so that it dribbles down the sides. Sprinkle sliced almonds on top.
• Store in a sealed container in the fridge or at room temperature. Cake can also be individually sliced and frozen for later.

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Poolish:

• In a medium bowl, stir together bread flour, the water, all-purpose flour, and yeast. Get everything moist. Cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature for 14 to 16 hours. Don’t stir. Just let it do its thing for half a day.

Dough:

• Place the poolish in the large bowl of a stand mixer, paddle attachment on. Add the 1 cup water, oil, and yeast. Follow that up with the two flours and salt. Beat for a few minutes.
• Switch to the dough hook attachment. Beat at medium speed until dough gathers around dough hook and begins to pull away from sides of bowl, 8 to 10 minutes. Pry it off the hook a few times, too, to make sure everything is well kneaded.
• Oil a large bowl. Dump the dough into that, pivoting the dough around to coat the whole surface with oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
• Let rise in a warm (75ish degrees), draft-free place. After 30 minutes, knead dough using a greased or floured hand to take turns folding all four sides over the middle.
• Let rise another 30 minutes. Fold again. Set the timer for another 30 minutes.
• Near the end of that rise, line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Lightly flour a level surface. Turn out dough, then pat it out into a thick 12×6 rectangle. Use fingertips or a butter knife to lightly demarcate the dough into 3-inch squares, then use the bench knife to slice them apart.
• Set the 8 portions spaced out on prepared pan. Pick up each and gently stretch as needed to even out the sides, tucking excess dough underneath.
• Cover with plastic wrap or a floured towel to let rise in a draft-free spot for another 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours, until puffed. The dough should hold an indentation if poked with a finger.
• Preheat oven at 425 degrees.
• Remove cover from rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 18 minutes. An instant-read thermometer plunged into the center of one from the side should read 205 degrees at minimum.
• Let cool somewhat before eating fresh, or reheat at meal time. Store in a sealed container up to 5 days. They can also be frozen as long as a couple months.

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