Week 6 - Chocolate Butter Spritz

This was the second time I have ever used my cookie press and I have to admit it is a lot of fun. It can be a little frustrating at times - I had problems making my dough stick to the pan (be sure to use an UNgreased baking sheet for these cookies). I let my brother Finlay and friend Allison pick the shapes of the cookies. These were delicious, the cocoa wasn't overpowering giving the cookies a subtle chocolate-butter flavour.

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/3 cup flour

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Beat the butter, add the icing sugar, brown sugar and cocoa and mix until combined. Beat in the egg yolk, vanilla and milk. Add the flour and combine.

Place the dough in a cookie press and press it through. Cookies should be about 1 inch apart. If you do not have a cookies press you can form rounded teaspoons of the dough instead.

Orange Chocolate-Chip Zucchini Bread

I made four loaves of this bread yesterday - each recipe yields 2 loafs. The orange juice is a nice addition as it cuts the sweetness of the chocolate - the first batch I made I used 1 tbsp orange zest instead of the OJ and it worked just as well.

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cup grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp orange juice (with pulp)

1 cup chocolate chips

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Start by beating the eggs until fluffy, then add the sugar until combined. Then add the oil, zucchini, vanilla and OJ. Then sift together and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Finally stir in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between 2 greased loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes.

Week 5 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe has always been the William Sonoma one. It's a classic recipe, and the cookies are delicious. But these cookies are definitely a little different - they are really soft, and the addition of oats gives them an interesting texture. I used a combination of white and semi-sweet chocolate chips (but that was because I actually didn't have enough of either). But they were really good.

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 F. Beat the butter, add the sugar, baking powder and salt. Then beat in the eggs, honey and vanilla. Add the flour - once mixed add the rolled oats and chocolate chips.

Drop tsp sized balls onto a baking sheet and cook for 12 minutes.

Week 4 - Trail Mix Cookies

Real food is good and all - but I still really like cookies. So last night I made the cookies for week four - trail mix cookies. You can do a million variations of these by switching the ingredients in your trail mix. Mine had a lot of nuts - but next time I will probably add some coconut, and of course there is always the option to add some chocolate chips. These are probably the healthiest cookies I will make all year...

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp allspice

2 eggs

3 mashed bananas

1 tsp vanilla

1.5 cups flour

1.5 cups rolled oats

2.5 cups trail mix

Preheat the over to 375 F.

Beat the butter, add the sugar (brown and granulated), baking soda, baking powder and allspice and beat all the ingredients together until combined.

Beat in the eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla. Then add the flour. Once the mixture is combined add the rolled oats and trail mix.

Drop tsp sized cookies onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes until golden brown.

Occassionally, Ash we all need real food!

So I have been really really bad about writing on this blog! My life became a little too busy and my kitchen space became incredibly small. So, I've been cooking almost never and baking even less. Because I haven't been baking I have no real recipes to add. I have done something else, though.

The other day i took part in a recipe exchange. You send out an email like this:

You have been invited to be a part of a recipe exchange. Please send a recipe to the person whose name is in number 1 position below (even if you don't know them) and it should be preferably one that is quick, easy and without rare ingredients. Actually, the one you know in your head and can type quickly and send right now is best. Then, copy this letter into a new e-mail; move my name to the number 1 position and put your name in the number 2 position. Only mine and your name should show when you send your e-mail. Send to 20 friends. If you cannot do this within 5 days, let me know so it will be fair to those participating. You should receive 36 recipes. It's fun to see where they come from!! Seldom does anyone drop out because we can all use new recipes.
The turnaround is fast because only 2 names are on the list.

1. mclean.robbins@gmail.com
2. k_libby@hotmail.com
   

Then you wait for all the recipes to role in. So, I'm going to add a few of these delicious recipes as they come. I apologize that they aren't baked goods and I promise my next post will involve some sort of fanciful confection.

Quick & Easy Lasagna

Ingredients

12 oz of ground beef (Italian/pork sausage)

1-2 boxes of preboiled lasagna noodles (box says no boiling required)

2 jars of pasta sauce (my favorite is Prego: Italian Sausage/Garden Combination)

1 beaten egg

1 (15oz) of ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Brown meat, drain. Stir in pasta sauce (save 1 cup)

• Add extra spices such as basil, pepper (if desirable)

2. For filling, combine egg, ricotta & 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3. Spread about 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom of 2-quart rectangular baking dish.

4. Layer noodles at bottom of dish. Spread with half of filling. Layer noodles again. Spread with meat. Layer noodles on top. Top with remaining sauce & mozzarella cheese. (vise visa - filling first, meat second)

5. Bake at 375 for 30 - 35 minutes.

Using the pre-boiled noodles & pasta sauce saves you time :)

AND

Lentil soup (or drain the broth and then it is just lentils)

1/2 package of lentils (flat brow almost bean things)
2? cartons of chicken stock (low sodium)
2-3 cloves of garlic
olive oil
1-2 carrots
1 medium onion
1 package of frozen spinach
Italian seasonings
salt (maybe)
pepper
1-3 tomatoes
optional (nice Swiss cheese or balsamic vinegar)
cooked brown rice


1) put the spinach on the counter to part way defrost, sort the lentils (pour a small amount on a plate to see if there are any rocks, etc) rinse the good lentils

2) heat some olive oil in the pan and saute the garlic and onion.

3) Peel and dice the carrot(s) add to the onion/garlic once it is about 1/2 way cooked (this is not precise)

4) once the onions are clear and the carrots have cooked about 1/2 way, Add the chicken stock and the lentils (stock should be about 1 inch above the lentil... maybe add some water)

5) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. let cook about 20 minutes... Add the spinach. (hidden veggies)

6) simmer some more. Add Italian seasoning maybe 2 tbs?

7) Salt and pepper to taste.

8) lentil are done when they are soft. Be sure to stir while cooking because otherwise they will cook at different times. 5 minutes before it is done add the fresh diced tomato.

9) Serve as a soup with brown rice or drain it for more of a side dish. Add just a bit of cheese and a dash of balsamic vinegar if you want..

YUM, easy, good for you.

Week 3 - Orange Coconut Macaroons

I don't know how I feel about these. They are not very pretty as they sort of got runny while baking. I think they look burnt but according to people at work they are caramelized. Interesting take on the classic macaroon but not sure I would repeat this recipe.

3 cups shredded coconut

1 can condensed milk

zest of 1 orange

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

Mixed ingredients together in a bowl. Dropped tsp sized balls on a parchment covered baking sheet. Baked for 10 minutes at 350 F until they became a golden brown.