What I'm actually cooking these days

I read a lot of cooking blogs and follow many chefs on social media. It is helpful and inspiring as far as meal times, but can also be a bit overwhelming - sometimes I feel like I just see too many recipes to handle.

I like to know what people are actually cooking, which recipes work out well for the "regular at-home chef," and which ones turn out too complicated or not that great. I thought I'd share a few recipes that have made it past the internet and onto our plates lately. Maybe you will find a new idea for dinner this week!

Tater Tot Chicken Pot Pie
recipe from TODAY Show

This recipe is so good that it's actually been made twice at our house already! It's comfort food to the max, and even better as leftovers a day or two later. That's my kind of meal!

Modifications: cook the chicken in a skillet prior to mixing it in with everything else - the directions in the recipe say to add it raw to veggies & such that are already cooked, and that idea makes me gag a bit. Also, get the "Extra Crispy" tater tots if possible (they hold up better when you're eating the leftovers).

Triple-Hitter Toddler Muffins 
recipe from food.com

I've been looking for a way to get more vegetables into the baby's diet, and this one a good one! These are toddler and mom-approved - I've eaten as many as he has!

Modifications: I used what I had and shredded three carrots and one small zucchini to get about two cups total of vegetables. I used unsweetened applesauce, and added 1/2 a cup of raisins. My mom suggested making mini muffins, and I think I may try that next time.

Baked Oatmeal
recipe from SkinnyTaste and recipe from Once Upon a Chef

Oatmeal is a galactagogue, which was my initial reasoning for eating a ton of it over the course of the last year, The fact that it's easily and hearty is a bonus. I combined two recipes to create one that works for me, and have basically lived off this baked oatmeal since going back to work last April. I make a batch of it on Sunday and portion it out into containers for the week ahead. Then in the morning, all I have to do is grab one and microwave to have a hot breakfast that holds me over for several hours.

I do the banana / blueberry step from this recipe and the oatmeal / custard portion from this recipe (minus the melted butter; just leave it out and never miss it) and it is SO delicious. The baby loves it, too!

Feel free to share some recipes or meal ideas that you actually make that work for you and your family - we are always looking for fresh ideas! Let me know if you try any of these... I promise they are delicious!

Summer Desserts

Happy June! Can you believe we are already in the 6th month of this year?? Not I, said the fly.

We were invited to a barbecue on Saturday afternoon, and I was volun-told to bring a dessert. Not knowing if the food was going to be served indoors or outside, I knew I needed something that was simple and would stand up to anything - nothing that had to be kept warm or cold or need attention throughout the party. 

I hemmed and hawed over several choices, but ended up going with a tried-and-true favorite: pineapple upside-down cake! I have a recipe that my grandmother taught me years ago, and I kind of forget about it at times, but whenever I make it, it's always a hit. Pineapple upside-down cake is severely underrated. Fact.

While I am looking forward to sharing the recipe for that cake soon, I thought I'd share a few of the ideas that were left on the cutting room kitchen floor this time around. It is definitely cookout and eat-every-meal-outdoors season, so I'm sure you may be needing a dessert or two soon. Maybe one of these will strike your fancy!

S'mores Trifle

Lemon Pie Bars

Watermelon Cupcakes

Raspberry Lemonade Bars

Banana Blondies

All of these recipes seem pretty easy to put together, and all use easy-to-find ingredients. Plus, they sound delicious! What is your go-to summer dessert? First and foremost, I'd obviously say ice cream or frozen yogurt, but when those aren't options, a cupcake or cookie bar that is easy to hold and not very messy is a great choice.

One-Bowl Brownies from Scratch

If you've learned anything from my baking adventures around here, it's that I truly believe that everything is better when made from scratch. This mantra applies to cookies, cakes, pie crust, muffins, and - you guessed it - even brownies. Don't get me wrong - there are some really good boxed mixes out there these days, and it's super simple to doctor a boxed mix to get great results. However, with just a smidge more time and patience, you can almost always make something from scratch and have it taste better and get the added benefit of knowing exactly what ingredients went into your creation. I like that.

In the spirit of honesty, I will admit to you that I usually have a boxed brownie mix or two stashed in my pantry - there are just occasions when you need to be able to have something in the oven in two minutes flat! (If you're wondering, Ghirardelli brownie mix is the. best. ever. so don't buy anything else!) Mixes are fine. But for the times when you don't need to use a mix, I have found a fantastic recipe for homemade brownies, which I'm super excited to pass along today!

These brownies are awesome because they only require one bowl, and everything just kind of gets dumped together. This is a "can't really mess it up" recipe, which I like, especially on a weeknight when I want something delicious but not overly complicated. You do the wet stuff first, then add the dry stuff right in on top, mix it all together, and bake it. Almost like a boxed mix! I did everything with a whisk and a spatula, too - no need to bring out the big Kitchen Aid or electric hand mixer. We are keeping the kitchen clean today! Who doesn't love that?

One-Bowl Brownies from Scratch
original recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar 
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled 
• Tip: drop in a sauce pan over super low heat and stir occasionally until fully melted, then remove from heat until ready to mix batter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. Stir together the sugar, melted butter, vanilla and eggs in a medium bowl. 
3. Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder all at once and stir until just combined. 
4. Stir in half of the semisweet chocolate chips and spread the mixture in the prepared pan. 
5. Bake until the brownies begin to pull away from the edge of the pan and set in the center, 30 to 35 minutes. 
6. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with remaining semisweet chocolate chips and let stand until the chips are melted, about 5 minutes. Spread the melted chips evenly over the top of the brownies with a spatula. Let the chocolate cool for about 10 minutes, then lift the brownies out of the pan with the foil and cool completely on a rack.

The batter for these brownies calls for three eggs, which makes these a lighter, fluffier brownie - almost like a chocolate cake before you cut them up, but once they've had some time to settle and cool, they do get a little denser and fudgier. The cocoa powder gives them a rich chocolate flavor, without being overwhelmingly sweet.

Spreading the remaining chocolate chips over the brownies, sort of like a ganache, gives a really luscious texture to the brownies - when you cut them, it gets crackly and awesome. Yum! (The picture above is before I spread the chocolate chips out - I was tempted just to leave them dotting the top, which would have been fine. I used a thin spatula to evenly spread them into a nice, chocolaty layer in the end.)

Cheesy Corn Dip (new recipe!)

Over the weekend, we attended a very sweet baby shower honoring my sister-in-law and my soon-to-be niece, who is going to make her arrival in April! So excited for the first grandbaby in the family. She will be here before we know it!

The shower was potluck-style, and everyone was asked to bring a dish with a yellow component, as the everything for the shower was color-coordinated. I struggled a bit with picking a dish, because I really didn't want to bring a dessert with yellow frosting or vanilla pudding - I was afraid everyone would do that! After much Pintrest browsing, I settled on a warm corn dip to serve with chips.

There were lots of variations of this on Pintrest, so I'm not entirely sure who to give credit to... sorry about that. The good news is, that means this recipe is easy to adapt with whatever you have on hand! Win.

I forgot to take any pictures of the dip, so instead I'll share the one cute one that we did manage:

Those are some mighty excited parents-to-be, and equally excited aunt-and-uncle-to-be!

Cheesy Corn Dip

Ingredients

• One package reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• One cup light sour cream
• One 8-ounce block of Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 2 15-ounce cans of sweet yellow corn
• 2 jalapenos, finely diced
• 3-4 green onions, finely chopped (I use my kitchen shears to make it quick!)
• 1/2 T chili powder
• 1/2 t garlic powder
• Couple dashes of hot sauce
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drain canned corn and lightly dry with a paper towel (you don't want to add extra moisture to this).
3. In a mixing bowl, combined cream cheese and sour cream (I used my hand mixer to make it quick, but you could do it with a wooden spoon or whisk if you need to).
4. Add remaining ingredients to mixing bowl and combine thoroughly, using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Make sure seasonings are incorporated throughout.
5. Pour mixture into a small baking dish (I used a 2.5-quart CorningWare dish) and bake for 20 minutes, until warmed through and melty.
6. Serve with tortilla chips, corn chips, or crackers. I thought "scoops" chips were perfect, but any of those would work!

Serving tip: since I knew the dip would be sitting out on the counter at the party for a while, I transferred it to my small crockpot after baking and plugged it in when we arrived. That way, it stayed warm and gooey the whole time, rather than starting to congeal and getting weird. It worked great! If I'd had time, I'm sure I could have just mixed everything together and then put it in the crockpot all morning to melt, but I didn't have that option.

cookies, steak, and stick-to-your ribs meals

Since we had yesterday off work, C & I took ourselves down to the lake for a long-weekend getaway. It was the kind of cold weather and cozy weekend that just screams for delicious meals, and we certainly delivered. I've got to say, we did some of our best cooking over the last few days! #winning

We both got home from work a little early on Friday, and loaded up the car and headed down. We took our time getting there, stopping for dinner and to grocery shop as we went. We also popped into an adorable little wine shop, which we've passed a million times and never stopped at. As it turns out, In Vino Veritas does free wine tastings on Friday night, so I got to start the party early!! We picked a couple of bottles that we liked, and splurged for a Valentine's Day treat. We don't do V-Day gifts, so wine is good for both of us!

On Saturday, we made a leisurely breakfast, then hung out relaxing by the fire for a few hours. Valentine's Day breakfast calls for mimosas. I have my priorities in order: cheap champagne and expensive orange juice. The perfect combination.

Have French press, will travel.

After an excursion to The Fresh Market in Roanoke for some fancy dinner supplies, we settled back in at the house and enjoyed a little happy hour.

We cooked steaks and scallops as asparagus for dinner and proclaimed it one of the top 5 meals we've ever made together. We loosely followed Kristen's advice for cooking the steaks and making a red wine pan sauce, and the filet mignon was just absolutely buttery. We actually made baked potatoes, too, but ended up putting them back in the fridge! We were stuffed from the rest of the meal. Very successful Valentine's Day, if I do say so myself!

On Sunday, my parents and my uncle joined us at the lake. It was miserably cold, so C made chicken Philly cheese steaks for lunch, and we watched movies all afternoon. For dinner, I made a big batch of Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew.... possibly another top 5 meal! I served it over garlic mashed potatoes instead of noodles, and it was the perfect stick-to-your-ribs meal for a cold night.

Yesterday, we headed home much earlier than usual, because it was already starting to snow at the lake. It's a good thing we did, because it snowed the whole way home, and the roads and traffic got worse and worse as we muddled along. A drive that should have taken us 3.5 hours took almost 7! C and I were almost ready to kill each other by the time we got home... we pulled into the driveway just in time to save our sanity.

Thank our lucky stars, they decided to just go ahead and make the announcement to close the government today before 10 PM last night, and we were able to relax and go to bed knowing that we got to sleep in a little. We don't get snow days, just telework days, but it was still nice to not have to get up and mess with trying to go to work! We got about 6" of snow, and I know my team members in Boston are just laughing at us. Sorry, guys!

There should actually be a porch railing there... we came home to some wind damage!
We were going to replace it this spring anyway.... guess that will be sooner rather than later :(

I always try to bake on snow days, and after looking through the pantry, went with two different types of cookies. I have the dough for Nutella cookies with white chocolate chips chilling in the fridge, and the best ever chocolate chip cookies are baking as we speak. I halved the chocolate chips and threw in rainbow sprinkles for the rest of the add-ins. They are going to be amazing.

Snow days call for hearty meals, so I'm going to make a batch of my mom's chicken and dumplings tonight for dinner. I got my workout in earlier this morning by shoveling the driveway, so I'm looking forward to just settling in in my sweatpants and letting other people deal with driving. No, thank you! Mom sent me pictures of the recipe... aren't the best ones pulled from old, wrinkly cookbooks with food spills and stains? I take that as a sign that they are well-loved recipes. I'm already excited for dinner. It's been years since I've had this!

Hope you are staying warm and dry, wherever you are. What is your favorite hearty, cold weather meal? Comfort food is the best.

Quick & easy hummus at home

When I was little, I insisted that I didn't like hummus. I'm not sure why - maybe I had a bad batch or something? I rediscovered it a few years ago (when it exploded in the culinary world again!) and have loved it ever since. It's healthy, delicious, and good on just about anything. What's not to like?

Hummus is one of those things that always makes me cringe when I reach for it in the store - the little voice in my head is always screaming "you could make that, so much faster and cheaper!" Le sigh. It is true, though. Look: quick and easy hummus at home, faster than you can jump in the car and head to the store to buy it. Trust!

  Homemade Hummus Lightly adapted from Alton Brown Ingredients 

• 115-ounce can chickpeas, drained 
• 1 clove garlic, minced, or 1 tablespoon pre-minced
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 3 tablespoons tahini, stirred well 
• 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Add all ingredients to food processor (or blender, in a pinch) and pulse to combine until desired consistency is reached. Start with 1/8 cup of olive oil, and add a little more as necessary to bring together and smooth out.

Hummus is a wonderful vehicle for all sorts of flavors: you could add more garlic to the recipe above to make garlicky hummus, or add cumin for a different flavor. For the hummus pictured above, I added a frozen chipotle pepper in adobo (I always freeze whatever is left after I open a can) and made a spicy chipotle hummus. Other ideas: fresh basil, chili powder, roasted garlic, kalamata olives, 1/2 a fresh jalapeno - whatever you see in the store can be reproduced at home!

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: Santa's cookies

Holy moly, we finally did it - we've reached the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link-up! Today's post features "Santa's cookies" - in whatever capacity that means to you.

Growing up, we always had several special Christmas Eve traditions. My sister and I always got to open one present, which was pajamas (of course), and we usually had an "appetizer picnic" for dinner. Appetizers were easy for my mom to get together during the day, then we could nibble on them before and after church and everyone had a good dinner without having the added stress of doing some sort of sit-down meal. Additionally, we always left a plate of cookies for Santa by the Christmas tree, and we always threw some carrots out onto to the deck for the reindeer. Then it was off to bed!

I don't remember a year when we didn't bake something around Christmas time, so rather than have some specific type of cookie that were "Santa's cookies," we left a plate of whatever kind we had made that year. That included the standard sugar cookies with buttercream icing and usually included the candy cane cookies, too. The other type of cookie that I remember making year after year was haystacks - butterscotch treats made with chow mein noodles and peanuts. Those are still one of my favorites, year after year!

Haystacks
original recipes from... not sure!

Ingredients

• 1 (12 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips
• 1 (3 oz.) can chow mein noodles 
• 1 c. salted peanuts 

Directions

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt butterscotch chips: microwave for about a minute, stir, microwave for a minute, stir, and repeat until fully melted. 
2. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts and make sure everything is completely coated in butterscotch. 
3. Drop by teaspoonful on wax paper, shaping as necessary to make stacks and connect all little pieces. Allow to cool fully before handling.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: gingerbread

Merry Christmas Eve eve! It's Day 11 of the Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link-up, and today's theme is gingerbread! I was going to share a recipe for orange gingerbread with you from Joy the Baker (one of my all-time favorite bloggers!), but then I had a better idea. This recipe isn't for cookies, per say, but rather for cinnamon ornaments, which i have very special memories of making with my mom and my sister when I was little.

These ornaments are easy to make - a great activity for young hands (and I know so many people with toddlers at home now), and the ornaments are beautiful and smell great, too. It always amazed me how long the cinnamony scent lasted for... It seemed like years would go by and there would still be the slightest, sweetest aroma when we opened up the box holding them. I can't wait to make these someday with my kids!

[source]

Cinnamon Ornaments 
From McCormick spices
Makes 12-15 small ornaments

Ingredients / Materials

• 3/4 cup applesauce  
• 2 2.37oz bottles of cinnamon 
• cookie cutters 
• drinking straw 
• colorful ribbons 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 200°F. 
2. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. (You may need use your hands to incorporate all of the cinnamon.) 
3. Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. 
4. Cut dough into desired shapes with 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. 
5. Make a hole at top of ornament with drinking straw or skewer. 
6. Place ornaments on baking sheet. Bake 2 1/2 hours. Cool ornaments on wire rack. (Or, to dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally.). 
7.  Insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. Decorate with opaque paint markers, found in arts and crafts stores, if desired.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: family favorites

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link up! For the next two weeks, join us every day and add your favorite cookie recipe for that day’s theme. Please follow Lisa and I and check out some new blogs! Happy baking!

I have mentioned repeatedly that, in my house, the red Betty Crocker cookbook is pretty much the go-to cookie bible. The recipes in it are tried and true, and almost never fail (occasional failures due to baker error, not the recipe!) - my mom has been using the same recipes for over 30 years, and I've been helping for over 25 years. Now, those same recipes are the ones I use in my house, and will pass on to my kiddos, eventually!

This Christmas classic is a family favorite. It is a bit of a labor of love, and we don't make them so much anymore because they are time-consuming - but they were always a top request from my sister and I when we were little, and my mom always indulged us. They are delicious!

Candy Cane Cookies
from Betty Crocker
Makes 4 dozen cookies (or so!)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red food color
• 2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions 

1. Stir together 1 cup sugar, the butter, milk, vanilla, peppermint extract and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Divide dough in half. Stir food color into 1 half. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. 
2. Heat oven to 375ºF. 
3. Stir together peppermint candy and 2 tablespoon sugar; set aside. 
4. For each candy cane, shape 1 rounded teaspoon dough from each half into 4-inch rope by rolling back and forth on floured surface. Place 1 red and white rope side by side; press together lightly and twist. Place on ungreased cookie sheet; curve top of cookie down to form handle of cane. 
5. Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until set and very light brown. Immediately sprinkle candy mixture over cookies. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: candy cookies

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link up! For the next two weeks, join us every day and add your favorite cookie recipe for that day’s theme. Please follow Lisa and I and check out some new blogs! Happy baking!

I have found what is quite possibly the world's best chocolate chip cookie recipe.

That's a big statement, I know. But I've made these cookies twice now, and both times, they turned out out-of-this-world. In fact, I took some to work, and put a sticky note on them that said "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies," because I needed people to know that these weren't standard chocolate chip cookies (which could be passed over) - these were the BEST cookies. And must be tried!

The recipe calls for the inclusion of mini M&Ms. When I can find them, I put them in - but if you can't find them or just happen to be out, they are just as delicious with just the chocolate chips. I'm pretty sure they would also be delicious with a variety of other mix-ins. It's the secret ingredient in the cookie base that makes them such a hit... the chips are just an added treat.

Make these!

Perfect M&M Cookies

from Picky Palate

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients 

• 1 stick/1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 1 large egg 
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1-1/2 cups all purpose Gold Medal Flour 
• 3 tablespoons Instant vanilla pudding mix 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips 
• 1 or 1-1/2 cups Mini M and Ms 

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with a silpat liner or parchment paper. 
2. In a large mixing bowl cream butter and sugars until well combined. 
3. Add egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. 
4. Add flour, pudding mix, baking soda and salt, stirring to combine. 
5. Add chips and M&Ms, stirring to combine. 
6. With a medium cookie scoop, place dough 1 inch apart from each other. 
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cooked through. 
8. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. 

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: non-cookie dessert

My mother-in-law makes a special holiday version of the classic "dirt" dessert every year - it's chocolately, pepperminty, goodness, and it always gets devoured!

I don't have her exact recipe, but this one from Taste of Home is pretty close to how she makes it - just add a layer of crushed candy canes or other mints while you are laying in the pudding and cookies!


Holiday "Dirt"
Original recipe from Taste of Home
Makes 20 servings

Ingredients 

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened 
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar 
• 3-1/2 cups cold 2% milk 
• 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix 
• 1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed 
• 1 package (15-1/2 ounces) Oreo cookies 
• Crushed candy canes or other mints
• Shaved chocolate, optional 

Directions 

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar until smooth. In another large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes; let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Gradually stir into cream cheese mixture. Fold in whipped topping. 
2. Spread 1-1/3 cups of crushed cookies into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. dish. Layer with half of the pudding mixture, half of the candy canes, and half of the remaining cookies. Repeat layers. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve topped with shaved chocolate if desired. 

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies / Five for Friday: no bake

I'm combining today's Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies post with a Five for Friday post... thought I'd switch it up for ya a bit!

Today's TDOCC theme is no-bake treats, and who doesn't love a good treat that has no over required?? Things like this are great to make while baking cookies, because you can have one kind of cookie in the oven and be creating a totally separate second kind at the same time. Multi-tasking at it's finest!

Here are five of my favorite no-bake treats from Pintrest (duh) - I am definitely going to have to test some of these recipes out on my family, neighbors, and co-workers! Yum.

1 //  Coconut Pecan Pralines - how amazing do these look?? They remind me of the pralines C and I got in Savannah while on our honeymoon... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

2 // Baileys Bon-Bons - Baileys over ice is a standard post-Christmas dinner treat in my house. Turning Baileys into candy? What could be better!?

3 // Pretzel No-Bake Cookies - the combination of sweet and salty is always one of my favorites. Plus, the oats in the recipe would really give them some substance, I'd imagine. Sounds delicious!

4 // Millionaire's Shortbread Bars - I love the shortbread-cookie base on these... definitely a great semi-homemade trick! Makes them a little sturdier, while also adding that yummy, buttery shortbread flavor.

5 // Homemade Turtles - there will be no turtles for C, due to his nut allergy, but I'd be happy to suffer through a batch of these all on my own... they look absolutely decadent. And starting with caramel squares is genius!

What's your favorite no-bake recipe? Please share! They are a great thing to have an arsenal of.

linking up with the five on friday girls:  Darci, Christina, April,and Natasha

linking up with karli and amy

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: peanut butter

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link up! For the next two weeks, join us every day and add your favorite cookie recipe for that day’s theme. Please follow Lisa and I and check out some new blogs! Happy baking!

I have always loved peanut butter cookies, and really I don't think there is a wrong way to make them... except that they must be made with smooth peanut butter, because having crunchy bits in there just isn't right.

A few years ago, I discovered what might be the world's easiest peanut butter cookie recipe. It has just 4 ingredients, and you can have a batch baked in under 15 minutes. Trust me! This is a flourless cookie, and, I'll admit, I was skeptical when I first saw it. It doesn't seem like there are enough ingredients whatsoever to actually create cookies, but I gave it a try and was (very) pleasantly surprised by the results. One tip though: let the cookies cool almost completely on the baking sheet before you try to move them! Otherwise, they will completely fall apart on you.

[photo credit]

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
From Clare Robinson & Food Network
Makes 18 cookies

Ingredients 

• 1 cup peanut butter 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
• Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling 

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven. 
2. In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla and egg until well combined. 
3. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. 
4. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. 
5. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies. 
6. Bake until golden around the edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the sheets halfway through baking. 
7. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: chocolate

Hi there! Coming at you a little late today, but with the best of intentions - the whole world feels like one giant whirlwind the week before Christmas - amiright?! Hardly enough time to slow down and breathe.

Today's Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies post is all about CHOCOLATE - is there anything better in the world?! Possibly red wine... but possibly not.

Last year, I made a big batch of Hot Chocolate Cookies, which is an idea I got from Hungry Runner Girl's blog. She is a humongous fan of these cookies, and there is nothing better that C likes than a good, old fashioned chocolate chip cookie, so I thought he might appreciate these. I was definitely right - they were his favorite out of all the kinds we made. They are super simple to put together and bake, and the melty marshmallows on top take them to a crazy new level.

If you make one kind of Christmas cookie this year, make these!!

Hot Chocolate Cookies 
from Seeded at the Table
Makes 3 1/2 dozen cookies

[photo credit]

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 2/3 cup brown sugar 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 4 packages (or 1/2 cup plus 3 Tablespoons) Hot Chocolate Mix (store-bought or homemade) 
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat. 
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then blend in the vanilla. 
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, hot chocolate mix, and baking soda and salt. 
4. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in the chocolate chips. 
5. Drop dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 7 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. 
6. Working quickly, carefully add about 5 to 7 miniature marshmallows to the top of each cookie, and gently press. Return to the oven and bake an additional 2 to 3 minutes, or until the marshmallows start to puff. 
7. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheets for 10 minutes before removing. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Come back tomorrow for PEANUT BUTTER cookies!

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: nuts

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link up! For the next two weeks, join us every day and add your favorite cookie recipe for that day’s theme. Please follow Lisa and Lindsay and check out some new blogs! Happy baking!

We recently discovered that C has a minor tree-nut allergy, so suddenly my ability to bake with nuts is quite limited! Unless, of course, I am baking something that I don't want to eat... then I can load it up with walnuts, pecans, and hazelnuts, and keep it all for myself. Not that I would ever do that...!!

In looking for a tree-nut-free recipe to use last year, my mom and I came across Pistachio-Cherry-Chocolate Cookies in an America's Test Kitchen: Christmas Cookies cookbook that my mom had stashed away. What a delightful combination of flavors! We adored these cookies last year, and knew we had to make them again this year. I had co-workers asking me months ago if I planned to bake these again - they are definitely a hit!

We have adapted the original recipe just slightly in order to make the production a little simpler. Other than that, we just followed the recipe!

Pistachio-Cherry-Chocolate Cookies
from America's Test Kitchen
Makes about 40 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened
• 1 1/4 cups shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped fine
• 1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped fine
• 1 ounce cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions

1. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter and stir until mixture is crumbly.
2. Stir in pistachios, cherries, cream cheese, and vanilla, and mix until well incorporated, but do not over mix - just until dough starts to come together in large chunks.
3. Place dough on a piece of plastic wrap and knead by hand until it starts to come together and all mix-ins are well-incorporated.
4. Split dough into two equal chunks, form into discs, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least one hour.
5. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 375*.
6. Take dough out of fridge and form balls using approximately 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie. Flatten balls into cookie shapes and place on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets - do not overcrowd cookie sheets!
7. Bake one cookie sheet at a time on the middle rack in the oven, for 9-10 minutes per tray, rotating tray halfway through baking.
8. Once cookies are cooled, melt chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Use a spoon to lightly drizzle chocolate over cookies, or dip cookies halfway into chocolate to coat. (The drizzle method is much faster and easier, but doesn't give the same visual appeal.)

 

Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies: decorated cookies

Welcome to our Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies link up! For the next two weeks, join us every day and add your favorite cookie recipe for that day’s theme. Please follow Lisa and I and check out some new blogs! Happy baking!

The best kind of decorated cookie, in my opinion, is traditional sugar cookies (see my post from yesterday for a great recipe!) with thick buttercream icing. I know that lots of people use a thinner glaze on sugar cookies, but we've always gone for a creamy, substantial buttercream with lots of sprinkles. I have so many memories from childhood of sticking my knife into a big bowl of icing and schmearing it all over a cookie. Many hours were spent creating beautiful, edible masterpieces!

I stick with a simple buttercream recipe that is quick and easy to make. It's almost impossible to screw it up! Once again, my girl Betty (Crocker) doesn't let me down.

Traditional Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Inspired by Betty Crocker

Ingredients

• 3 cups powdered sugar 
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk 
• Food coloring (I go with red and green for the holidays, of course!)

Directions

1. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar and butter with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk.  Add food coloring to reach desired color.
2. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. 
3. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

C is for Cookie, that's good enough for me...

I know it's not quite Thanksgiving yet, but my mama and I are already planning our Christmas-cooking-baking extravaganza day. With the short turn-around time between T-giving and Xmas this year, we pretty much have to roll straight from turkey to cookies. Last year we might have gone a smidge overboard with an eagerness to try too many different types of cookies (I think we used 8 different recipes??), so we are limiting ourselves to larger batches of a few types this year to make it a little easier.

We will definitely make our usual sugar cookies (the same recipe my mom has been using for over 30 years!), but there are a few other types that I'm thinking of that might just have to make their way onto the list. I want to make them all!

The recipes below are a mix of "lots of effort," "little effort," and "no bake" cookies, which will hopefully enable us to do lots of things at once. There is a lot of coordination and planning required for a major baking day! It's an art form, my friends. An art form.

Chocolate and Pistachio Dipped Cranberry Shortbreads

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Vanilla Rum Balls

Soft Molasses Cookies

Fudge Crinkles

Do you have a "must-make" holiday cookie recipe? A family recipe that just has to be included every year? Something new you want to try this year? Share it with me, please. I love collecting cookie recipes for my arsenal!

five for friday: favorites, short & sweet!

This week has crawled by at less than a snail's pace and I am so ready for it to be over. We have "plans" this weekend, but no real plans - aka, need to clean the house, want to see a movie, would like to visit with some friends. Just the kind of thing I need for a couple of days!

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite things lately... what have you been loving? This is a super random assortment... bear with me! Should give you a glimpse of my mind-state lately, though. Like a chicken with my head cut off, nonstop. C'est la vie!

Favorite DIY: cranberry-lime-infused vodka // yes, yes, all of the yes. Planning to make a batch of this soon so that it's ready for the holidays. How delicious does that sound??

Favorite fall treat: pumpkin pie spice creamer  // This stuff is so good! It's all artificial nonsense, of course, but I don't care - it makes my coffee delicious and my tummy happy. I used this last year, and was really hoping to see it in stores again this fall... so I was super excited when it appeared on the shelf at my grocery store!

Favorite celeb moment: Carrie Underwood at the CMAs // What can I say? I adore her! Did anyone else watch the CMAs on Wednesday? This wasn't my favorite year as far as the awards go, but I did enjoy Carrie and Brad Paisley as the hosts again. And Carrie's maternity styling was just perfect! So gorgeous.

Favorite current read: Stella Bain by Anita Shreve // I've had this on my list to read for a while, and just found it at the library last week. I am always drawn towards any WWI or WWII-related historical fiction, so of course this caught my eye. I'm about halfway through, and it seems like a good read so far. Anyone else read it?

Favorite new recipe: Alton Brown's French Onion Soup // C & I have been experimenting with French Onion soup recipes for a while now, trying to find the most winning combination. I just found another one to try.... I'm hoping we'll have a chance to make it this weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend! What is your favorite thing about this week? Tell me something good!

linking up with the five on friday girls:  Darci, Christina, April,and Natasha

linking up with karli and amy

Birthday Cake Cookies

I love cupcakes as much as the next person, but sometimes, they can be too much - they are hard to transport, there is frosting everywhere, they get smooshed... sometimes, cupcakes are not the answer.

A co-worker was celebrating a birthday recently, and I wanted to bring in a treat - cookies seemed like the answer, but I wanted them to be special! I found the answer laying in my pantry (and no, it wasn't Toby, although that is where he likes to hide these days...).

I used the standard Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe as the base, but then swapped the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips and sprinkles. The recipe for the cookie batter is a classic, and you really can't go wrong when you start with it. These cookies turned out fantastically, and my co-worker loved them. Perfect for birthdays (or any day that needs a cookie)!

Birthday Cake Cookies
makes appx 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375° F. 
2. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. 
3. In a larger bowl, combine butter, sugars, and vanilla, and beat until creamy (a few minutes, at least).
4. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. 
5. Slowly add in flour mixture (I usually divide into three parts) and stir well after each portion. 
6. Stir in morsels and sprinkles. 
7. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. 
8. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. 
9. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

'Tis the season...

...for soups, that is! It has JUST started to get chilly around here, and I have immediately found myself craving a big pot of a hearty soup. I love to make a pot of something on Sunday and then eat it for lunch the rest of the week - it's so easy to just divide it up right away, then grab a container from the fridge and go.

I thought I'd share a couple of my tried-and-true soup recipes with you, in case you are looking for a little inspiration. Here are three that I've made and loved (and the husband did, too!).

Roasted Tomato Soup with Broiled Cheddar

from Smitten Kitchen

This is a recipe I go back to time and time again - the freshly roasted tomatoes give it amazing flavor (read: it doesn't taste like watery ketchup) and the broiled cheddar toast on top pushes it over the edge. I could eat this all winter!

Paula Deen's Black Bean Soup

from Something New is Cooking blog; 

originally from Cooking with Paula Deen Magazine

I can no longer find the original source that I got this recipe from, but a quick Google search led me to several bloggers who had the same recipe I did. This is definitely a good weeknight recipe - the soup comes together in about a half-hour, and it's got great flavor from the mix of spices (and bacon!). We love to pair this with simple grilled cheese. The black beans provide all the protein you need in one meal, but a good dipper is a delicious accompaniment.

Cheesy Chicken and Potato Chowder

from The Comfort of Cooking

This was a new recipe that I tried last year, and it was a home run. It's luscious and rich, without being totally over the top. The creaminess comes from using freshly-grated sharp cheddar and a roux, along with skim milk - no heavy cream to be found. It's another one that is pretty quick to prepare, especially if you use leftover chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Shortcuts are the way to go!

What are some of your favorite soup recipes? If all else fails, chili is a standard back-up recipe in our house. We almost always have all the ingredients with need to pull a pot together - no two batches are the same, for sure, but it always turns out to be delicious.