Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 13, 2020 by

If there is one recipe every baker needs it is chocolate chip cookies. I have made countless… and I mean COUNTLESS batches of chocolate chip cookies in my life. I developed this recipe some time ago and it’s among the many I have yet to share here. And then the inevitable happened. I went to make some with my kids and COULD NOT FIND THE RECIPE!
I made them to the best of my memory but they weren’t quite as good. Then I found the original recipe (my daughter had used it for an art project!) and there was much rejoicing. They are my ultimate hands down best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made or eaten!

A few notes on why these cookies work so well.
Adding extra egg yolks increases the fat making them more tender and rich. It also assists in that perfect chewy texture.

I played around with using more or less of white sugar vs brown sugar but half of each seemed just right. I made some with less butter and while they were less buttery… they were less buttery. And not quite right. They were more puffy and cakey. (If that’s your preference just reduce the butter to 1 cup)

Adding a little bit of cornstarch helps with a more tender cookie but it also seems to make a difference in how fast you can bake. With the added cornstarch I saw no difference between baking immediately and chilling the dough. And who wants to wait for cookies?!

If you make them without browning the butter they will still be amazing cookies. Occasionally I do that when I don’t want to wait for the butter to cool down. And they are still amazing, delicious cookie perfection.
Browning the butter will add that little something. It gives an almost toffee like flavor with some nuttiness. See those brown flecks? That’s flavor!

Now go forth and make cookies with or for someone you love!

Filed Under: Cookies

Pad Thai

July 8, 2020 by

I have experimented a long time trying to recreate our favorite Thai restaurant’s pad thai at home. This version checked all the boxes!
At an Asian market I picked up some “red pepper powder” similar to these found online. They were the flavor I was missing in previous batches. They are more like flakes then powder and are moderately hot with more flavor than heat. If you don’t have them you could also use crushed red pepper flakes or chili sauce to add to desired heat level.
I’ve made the sauce with tamarind paste before but I was all out this time and to my surprise this version was just as good!

Filed Under: Asian, Pasta Tagged With: , , , , ,

Whole Wheat Banana Bread

June 22, 2020 by

I love my old banana bread recipe. But I wanted to give it a healthy boost. It took some tweaking but this one is a keeper!
I replaced some of the sugar with applesauce. I tried making it with no sugar and played around with honey and applesauce but the texture and flavor just isn’t right. And I wanted it to actually be eaten as well, so I settled with reducing the sugar in the end. Adding yogurt helps make a more tender loaf as well. Plus with the added yogurt and applesauce I could reduce the butter by half.
The other change is using whole grain flour. You could use regular whole wheat flour and even though I grind my own white whole wheat flour when making quick breads or any non yeasted recipes using a whole wheat pastry flour is your best choice. It is still whole grain but has a finer grind and is lower in gluten (which you don’t need for quick breads, pancakes, etc.) I keep a few bags in my freezer at all times.
I added some spices which you could leave out if desired but I really liked the addition.
All in all, this has replaced my old recipe to be a new favorite! And if your kids are bored right now banana bread is a great beginner recipe to teach them how to cook!

Filed Under: Bread, Quick & Muffins, Whole Grain Tagged With: , , ,

Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

May 15, 2020 by

This is the bread my family lives on. It is soft, tender, slices well, and my favorite soft sandwich loaf bread to make. As much as I love making artisan bread loaves and experimenting with different add ins this is the bread I use for toast at breakfast, grilled cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, or my daughters favorite- smeared with my favorite lime marmalade (can’t keep that hidden well enough!)
While this does contain yeast it is a fairly small amount. The sourdough flavor is mild and great for kids who don’t like the stronger sourdough flavor. I have chilled the bread overnight for the second rise but usually I bake the same day. I adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour and after tweaking it I love it even more.
I usually make at least 3 loaves of bread at a time, just triple all ingredients.
What won’t get eaten within a couple of days I thinly slice and freeze. To defrost I just put in the toaster.
A note on whole wheat: White whole wheat is my go to choice. I have a wheat grinder and keep a stock of white wheat berries on hand fortunately so I don’t worry about running out. White wheat has all the nutritional benefits of red wheat but is lighter in color and softer in texture and will make a lighter loaf. If you only have red wheat you could even use a third all purpose flour to keep it from being too heavy.

Filed Under: Bread, Yeast, Sourdough Tagged With: , , , ,

Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

May 6, 2020 by

I considered saving this recipe for next Easter… but there’s no way I’m waiting that long! Besides Mother’s Day is this weekend and this would make any mother happy! Unless she’s one of those people who don’t like chocolate… do those people really exist?
Anyways, last week I promised my daughter we could make a dessert one night. I had carrots that needed used up and my husband voted for carrot cake and my daughter wanted chocolate. So we mashed the 2 ideas together and this is my favorite chocolate cake now.
Super moist, flavorful, with a great texture. I resisted adding my usual excessive spices like I would a carrot cake since I wanted the chocolate to shine here. Just a bit of cinnamon compliments the chocolate.
And the chocolate cream cheese frosting is my new favorite child.
Not too sweet, with a little tang. Perfect.

A note on sifting. If you don’t have a sifter just use a fine sieve. Or even whisk together well. Cocoa powder tends to clump so this step helps make sure you don’t have any clumps of cocoa in the cake.

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Easter Tagged With: , , ,

Grilled Greek Chicken Kabobs

May 4, 2020 by

I first shared this recipe about 10 years ago. (10 years?! No wonder there are so many recipes on here!) It was buried in a blurry picture and did not do this gem justice. I make it often still (which says a lot because I love alot of variety!) and it remains one of my most favorite meals. I especially love it served with cucumber salad with za’atar and sourdough naan but I have also served it with rice, as a burger alternative for BBQs. It is just crazy good combined with grilled lemons. Which I could squeeze over ANYTHING and love!

I have cooked this on an indoor grill pan and it is still so good. My favorite is cooked on an outdoor grill though to get just a little char and extra flavor. But if you don’t have a grill this recipe is worth making!

Filed Under: Chicken / Turkey, Grilling / Smoking Tagged With: , , , ,

Crispy Baked Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

April 29, 2020 by

These chicken wings have a super crunch factor. Have you ever had a frico? It’s like a cheese crisp. These are basically coated in that crisp crunchy cheese! No frying necessary!

Can you see the crunch?!

Filed Under: Appetizers / Dips / Snacks, Chicken / Turkey Tagged With: , , ,

Crispy Baked BBQ Chicken Wings

April 29, 2020 by

Baked and crispy don’t always go hand in hand. But these really deliver!
Baking powder and cornstarch really help give the crunch factor.
You can make them as spicy as you like by adding more chipotle powder too. I like using ancho powder more, as it gives flavor without heat.

Filed Under: Appetizers / Dips / Snacks, Chicken / Turkey Tagged With: , ,

Sourdough Pizza

April 24, 2020 by

In my husband’s opinion this is the most important sourdough recipe I’ve made… pizza and tacos are his love language.
We’ve been having pizza night every week while I’ve been perfecting this recipe and as much as I like variety, I think we’ll keep up the tradition still.
I like to make the dough at least 2 or 3 days ahead so the flavor really develops. There was a pizza place we went to when I was a kid, Uncle Milt’s. We rarely ate out so it was quite a treat for our family of 7. They had an arcade room and a giant pipe organ. They played silent movies and someone played the music for it on the organ. They had a disco ball too, I think? Oh, and some poor employee wore a pink panther costume occasionally! They closed it down years ago and while I in no way can reproduce the atmosphere the pizza as I remember it had a sourdough flavor. So whether I’m recalling the flavor correctly or not this is definitely the way I’m making pizza crust from now on! Both flavor and texture are exactly where I want them!

I like to heat my steels at 475 degrees but you can go up to 500. I also like placing my steel on the middle rack but play around with that and adjust as desired.

After the first proof at room temperature you can see the dough has risen double.

Don’t be alarmed if your dough has fallen while refrigerated. This dough has been chilled for over 3 days and is ready to use!

I am fortunate enough to have double ovens. (It would be really hard to not have them anymore!) I have 2 large rectangular baking steels after many broken pizza stones and I love them so much more! So I can bake 4 pizzas at a time now.
By putting each crust on parchment paper it makes it much easier to slide them onto the steel. (and no clean up!) I’m also able to get all the pizzas ready to go and toppings on them while the steel is heating up.
The dough is much easier to shape while cold but as it warms up it will get more and more sticky and difficult to work with.
I used to parbake the pizza crust for pizza parties but you just don’t get the same crust as the unbaked dough hitting that hot steel! This makes things so much easier using the parchment!

Filed Under: Pizza, Sourdough Tagged With: ,

Sourdough Bagels and Sourdough Soft Pretzels

April 23, 2020 by

I worked at a popular local bagel shop when I was in high school. I remember having to sign a non disclosure and there was much secrecy around their technique. Except… it wasn’t actually anything groundbreaking or different. Making good bagels is super easy. They just need a quick bath to get that chewy crust. If you brush them with water they just don’t get the same crust and will come out more like rolls.
One other thing. Soft Pretzels are actually made from the same dough! So when I make bagels you can bet I make a double batch and make half into soft pretzels to make my kids and hubby happy.

Shaping bagels is super easy. I just make shape a ball, poke my thumb through the middle and pull while going around to make the hole bigger. Remember they will expand some while in the water and baking so make the hole a little bigger than desired.

If I’m feeling lazy I do some simple quick sticks (great for dipping in salted caramel sauce, mustard, cheese sauce, etc!)

Or classic twists…

Or bagel dogs even!

But the ones that are gobbled up fastest? Topped with smoked cheddar and crumbled cooked bacon. Yum!

Double yum! Serve with garlic and herb cream cheese… if you’re into that kind of thing.

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Filed Under: Bread, Yeast, Sourdough Tagged With: , , , ,