Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies (ie – bits of tasty heaven)

So after the onslaught of cookies that the holiday season brought to my house I finally had the craving for something sweet again. I was browsing one of my favorite food sites the other day (www.seriouseats.com) and this recipe just about jumped out and kicked me in the face. I immediately started drooling and knew I had to make these cookies. I was not disappointed. These tasties come from the cook book Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson.

To make this little bit of toe curling heaven you need:

1c All Purpose Flour

½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Salt

1c Quick Cooking Oats

1 stick Butter

½ c packed Brown Sugar

½ c Sugar

1 Egg

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

½ c Dried Cranberries

½ c Chopped Peacans

¾ c White Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put your flour, baking powder, salt, and your oats into a small bowl. In a big bowl put your butter (softened) and your two sugars. Mix until creamy with your hand mixer. Then add in your egg and vanilla.

Next beat in your flour mixture. Once thats good and mixed add in (stir by hand) your cranberries, pecans, and white chocolate chips.

Take a tablespoon on dough, roll by hand and place on your cookie sheet. Then take a fork and squish the balls of dough down a bit. Bake for 15 minutes. They are done when gold on the edges (mine took only 13 minutes not the full 15). Let them cool for a moment on the cookie sheet before moving to your cooling rack. Let cool a bit then eat and be delighted!

Breakfast Burrito Bonanza!

Every morning you run out the door and the last thing on your mind is stopping to make breakfast. Maybe you grab a bagel and stuff it in your mouth wishing for something with a little more flavor and perhaps a little healthier for you. Well I have the solution! The home made frozen breakfast burrito! You can put whatever strikes your fancy into these little guys. Just make sure your ingredients are dry or when you reheat your burrito it gets kinda soggy. You can make as many of these as you want at a time. I made a dozen of them this time and for that I used:

1 dozen eggs

12 burrito shells

1 pack lean turkey bacon

1 can black beans

Grated cheddar cheese

Salsa

Rinse and drain your beans well. Chop the bacon and cook well. Cook your eggs, but just before they really start firming up add in the turkey bacon and black beans and mix together. Cook your eggs all the way through (or burrito will be soggy!). Let the egg mixture cool all the way.

Now take your shells (I used whole wheat this time) and put a ½ cup of your egg mix in the middle, top with some salsa and cheese, fold up tight!

The important part to making these is really in how you freeze them. Place them on the freezer shelf, or on your cookie cooling rack, in a single layer with nothing covering them. Freeze them solid (takes maybe 2 hours). Then once they are solid you can store them in a big ziplock bag. When I need to take one with me I just take it out and put in a smaller ziplock in my lunchbox. Now to reheat wrap the burrito in paper towels and microwave for about 2 minutes. Tada! Insta-breakfast!

Berry Tasty Muffins!

I love a good muffin for breakfast and my favorites are filled with berries! In the summer I use fresh berries but in the winter frozen will do. This time I made them with frozen strawberries and this I do not recommend! The strawberries never quite get dry enough so you end up with soggy muffins. Try using frozen raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries as they work much better! Just make sure they are fully defrosted and let them sit for a while to dry out as much as possible. The less water on them the better! The recipe I use for muffins comes from my McCall's cookbook from 1963. I highly recommend finding some of these old cookbooks at book sales as they have lots of useful information and they come from a time before pre-made everything. So what you find in here is simple ingredients and good recipes.

Perfect Muffins
2c all purpose flour
1/4 sugar
3tsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1c milk
1/3c salad oil or melted shortening
1 egg (slightly beaten)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Take your muffin pan and either grease the cups or place paper liners in them. You will get about a dozen muffins from this recipe.
Mix your flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.

Add your well drained berries to your dry ingredients and mix together. In another bowl put your milk, oil, and egg and mix together well. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and pour in your milk mixture.

Stir quickly with a fork until just mixed (your batter will be lumpy). Fill your muffin cups until just more the half full. Now bake for 20-25 minutes and you're done! These are great to take to breakfast with you or if you just want a quick snack.

The Smell of Home Made Bread is like Heaven on Earth

I find there is something so satisfying in baking a fresh loaf of bread that doesn't quite compare to any other baking project one can do. Watching your dough rise and knowing that you made it correctly is so satisfying. Not to mention how good fresh dough smells as it rises in the kitchen.
I love using this recipe to make fresh dinner rolls (great for bringing to dinner parties). However you can also use the same recipe to make a tasty loaf of white bread! It might not be as good for you as wheat bread but its still better then store bought brands. This dough is great because you can use it in so many different ways!
If you make bread a lot (I make it quite frequently) you know what a pain kneading dough by hand can be. I prefer a little bit of a cheat and I use the dough setting on my bread maker. Since this is the way I do it this is the way I am going to give the directions. However if you are a hands on person simply make the dough by hand as you normally would (or look up how to do so). Without further delay...

Super Easy and Totally Tasty Dinner Rolls!
1c Water (75-80 F)
1 large egg
4 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
3 1/4 c bread flour
1/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbs butter

If you store your yeast in the fridge (I have a big jar) take the 2 ¼ teaspoons out and place in a dish. Set this aside. The yeast will warm up a bit making it more active when you put it in the bread. Follow your bread maker directions for layering your ingredients. Mine go into the machine in the order above. My one suggestion is your flour. As you can see I use King Arthur flour. I LOVE this flour and use it for everything I bake. Their flours are unbleached, not tampered with, and are produced by real people on real farms. I think this makes a big difference.

Ok so you get your mixer going. I find that I need to add one additional tablespoon of water to my dough as it mixes or it is too dry. See what your dough looks like and if its not sticking together nice then add a bit more water. Now let your bread machine do all the work (unless of course you are mixing by hand then you get to work!).

Before Rising and After Rising

After its done you will have a nice smooth dough. Take a 13x9 pan (metal is best but glass works too. I actually bake in 2 8x8 metal pans) and lightly grease. Pull off small bits of dough and form into balls. I like to take the soft side of the dough and fold all the edges under so your rolls look nice and smooth. Place into pan and let rise (cover them with a towel to there is no draft). I let them double in size which takes about an hour in a warm kitchen.

The Rolls before Rising (I didn't take a post rise picture)

While they are rising preheat oven to 350. When ready baste the tops of the rolls lightly with butter and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes. When they are nice and golden brown on top test to make sure they are done (I use a tooth pick). If they are then take them out of the oven, let cool for a few minutes, then take them out of the pan. Eat them! NomNomNom!

These are excellent for bringing to dinner parties!

Home Made Cookies Are Always Better!

The holiday season is upon us and if your like me that means it is time to make cookies! Cookies may not be the healthiest food you could be eating but if you make them from scratch they are so much better for you then store bought cookies or pre-made batter.
For the first round of cookies this season I decided to make 'Chocolate Crunchy Tops with Peanut Butter Chips". I did not make these cookies organic (I had everything in my cupboard already) however everything you need to make them is easy to find in an organic brand.

To make these little bits of yum you will need:
7oz bittersweet chocolate (chop into small pieces)
7tbls unsalted butter
1/2c sugar
3 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup coco powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch salt

1/2 cups confectioners sugar
Take a heavy bottomed sauce pan and add in the butter and the chocolate. Melt these together on low until nice and smooth. Make sure to stir them frequently so you don't burn the bottom. Once melted remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until its dissolved. Then add your eggs one at a time stirring well after each one. Add in the vanilla and set aside.
Sift together your flour, coco, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. If you don't have a sifter mix the blend together well with a fork to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Add in the chocolate mixture a little at a time. You will have a soft dough when you are done. Then add in your peanut butter chips and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge until the dough is firm.

Preheat your oven to 325. Take the confectioners sugar and place in a small bowl. Scoop dough into small balls and roll around in your hands to make a good shape. Drop into the sugar to coat the dough then knock off any extra sugar. Then place on your baking sheet!

Bake your cookies for 10-15 minutes. You know the cookies are done when they feel slightly firm on top. Let sit for a few minutes on the cookie sheet then place on a cooling rack.

My dough was a little dry so they didn't quite have the look I wanted but they still tasted pretty yummy! You will want something to drink when eating these I can assure you!
One tip, if you are using a regular cookie sheet be sure to grease it just a bit. I prefer an air bake sheet which keeps the cookies from sticking and also keeps them from burning!

Enjoy!