February 27, 2012
These vegan oatmeal cookies are a new favorite of mine. They are soft, chewy, and taste like a quintessential oatmeal cookie. They aren’t just really good vegan cookies–they are really good cookies… period.
To create that rich flavor and texture that you would normally get from using butter, these cookies use a number of surprising ingredients. In addition to the usual suspects (like flour and oats), they also have finely ground toasted walnuts, coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond milk in them. It’s amazing that with all those ingredients, they still manage to taste like oatmeal cookies… really, really delicious oatmeal cookies.
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See more: Almond Milk • Cinnamon • Coconut Oil • Cookies • Cranberry • Nuts • Oats • Vegan • Whole Grain
February 24, 2012
I have a soft spot for spinach and artichoke dip. If it’s on a menu at a restaurant, there is a good chance that I want to order it. For as long as I have been ordering it, I never thought about making it until recently. I didn’t even think it was something that people made at home (I always left it to the restaurants), until I had my friend Jackie’s killer homemade spinach and artichoke dip awhile back.
Ironically, I didn’t get the motivation to try making this dip until this week when I came across a couple of healthy versions online. I say “ironically” because my version is probably one of the unhealthiest dishes to ever come out of my kitchen. Delicious as it is, it’s not a health food, my friend. Don’t be fooled by the use of vegetables. For me though, if I’m going to be eating spinach and artichoke dip, I want the real thing–none of that low-fat nonsense.
What makes this dip so good is that I use three good quality cheeses: mozzarella, Gruyère, and Parmesan. Also, I use frozen artichokes, which I think have more flavor than canned or jarred artichokes. The end result is an incredibly creamy and cheesy dip that will have you addicted after one bite.
If you are having an Academy Awards viewing party this Sunday, you might want to consider serving this dip. It would also be great for sports watching if you’re into that. Either way, make it when you have a crowd of people over, not when it’s just you and your husband on a weeknight or else you will end up eating way too much and still have leftovers (take it from me).
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See more: Appetizers • Artichoke • Dips • Snacks • Spinach • Vegetables
February 21, 2012
Let me introduce you to the first fully baked pound cake that I have ever made! The first two times I made pound cake, I under-baked them. Don’t ask me how that happened, but now I will only use a knife (not a toothpick) to test if a pound cake is done. Third time’s a charm, right?
This version is kind of special because you use a whole vanilla bean in the batter. Vanilla beans are a total luxury ingredient in my kitchen, but I think it was worth the splurge for this cake. The batter is so silky and lovely. And if you look close you can see that it’s speckled with vanilla bean seeds.
This cake bakes up with that characteristic crack down the center, creating that imperfectly perfect look that all good pound cakes should have.
While this pound cake is good on its own, I consider it a “blank canvas” kind of cake. You can add some berries and ice cream, chocolate or caramel sauce, or even a fruit compote to turn this into an entirely different dessert. One cake and lots of possibilities–what’s not to love?
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See more: Cake • Loaves • Quick Breads • Vanilla Bean
February 15, 2012
This recipe is for all you Nutella lovers out there. I know there are a lot of you! This homemade chocolate hazelnut spread is really good and dare I say, even better than store bought Nutella. It’s smooth, chocolatey, and nutty like Nutella, but it’s made with only natural ingredients (no emulsifiers or artificial flavors) and is dairy-free and vegan-friendly.
If you own a food processor, making this chocolate hazelnut spread couldn’t be easier. First, you roast and skin some hazelnuts. Notice that mine aren’t perfectly skinned (it’s okay if yours aren’t either).
Then you blend the hazelnuts until they turn into hazelnut butter.
Once you have a smooth hazelnut butter, you can blend in the rest of the ingredients (cocoa, salt, almond milk, agave nectar, coconut oil, and vanilla).
Like Nutella, I like eating this stuff by the spoonful. But if you want to be a bit more civilized, I suggest slathering it on bread or crackers, putting it in a crepe, or eating it with fruit like bananas or strawberries.
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See more: Agave Nectar • Almond Milk • Chocolate • Coconut Oil • Condiments • Gluten Free • Nuts • Vegan
February 4, 2012
I adore these cookies. Don’t let the oats fool you into thinking that they aren’t delicious. They look deceptively healthy, but this is shortbread we are talking about. There is plenty of butter in them, I promise. Essentially, this is a shortbread that uses mostly oats instead of flour–genius idea, if you ask me.
All you need is one bowl, one pan, and a handful of ingredients. First, you mix all the dry ingredients together–oats, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Then you work some butter and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients (I just use my hands), press the mixture into a buttered pan, and bake.
The end result is a shortbread that is a cross between a granola bar and a cookie. Because of the oats, I like to call them breakfast cookies. I find myself eating them on their own or crumbling them over yogurt for breakfast.
By the way, I really encourage crumbling. The crumbs turn into the most delicious granola–great with yogurt, milk, or even vanilla ice cream.
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See more: Cookies • Oats • Shortbread • Whole Grain
January 31, 2012
A couple of years ago, I ate at BLT Fish in New York. I don’t really remember much about the meal or even what I ordered, but I do remember thinking how nice it was that they gave me this:
It’s a recipe for their cheddar and chive biscuits, which they serve before the meal. I’ve had it tucked away for a long time, but I finally got around to trying it out.
Even with the recipe in hand, it took me a few tries to get these biscuits right. They could only fit so many words on that tiny tag, so the recipe is really vague and unfortunately missing a step–the step explaining what you do with the dough before you put it in the oven.
I had no idea if they were drop biscuits or if they needed to be cut out with a biscuit cutter, so I tried it both ways. Both resulted in totally delicious, but really flat biscuits (what I like to call “cheddar and chive cookies”). So on to another technique…
Then I tried the method that Heidi Swanson used on her Yogurt Biscuits in her book Super Natural Every Day. It required me to use a food processor, cut and stack the dough multiple times, and then bake them in a very hot oven on a preheated baking sheet. It totally worked!
The end result: the lightest, fluffiest biscuits you will ever have.
And if you have time to make the Sea Salt and Maple Butter, you should. The sweet and salty combination in the butter makes these biscuits even more delicious.
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See more: Biscuits • Cheddar • Chives • Quick Breads
January 26, 2012
This is the best kind of cake in my book–a “no fuss” kind of cake. The ingredients are minimal, it bakes in about 10 minutes, and you scoop it out with a spoon (no knife required). And lucky for me, warm chocolate cakes go over especially well with my husband. He’s the type of guy that always orders the chocolate dessert at dinner (very predictable)… but I digress.
This dessert is essentially a large molten chocolate cake and is kind of a cross between a cake and a pudding. The edges are more cake-like, while the middle is still soft and gooey.
I often find that the simplest desserts are my favorites and this one couldn’t be simpler. The cake is made from ingredients that I always have on hand: butter, chocolate, eggs, sugar, salt, and the tiniest amount of flour.
First, you melt the chocolate and butter together and add a bit of salt. Then you whip up a couple of eggs and egg yolks with some sugar. Once the eggs are beat to perfection, you add in the melted chocolate mixture, beat in the flour, and then transfer the batter to a baking dish.
After 10 to 12 minutes in the oven, dessert is served!
I always think confectioners sugar makes everything prettier, so I dusted the top of mine. Feel free to skip this step and just dig in.
See that missing piece there? That was my lunch today. This cake would also be perfect to make for that special someone on Valentine’s Day. Just a suggestion!
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See more: Cake • Chocolate • Valentine's Day
January 19, 2012
I have to say that I’m really excited about this post. I’ve always been a fan of lemon bars and have tried other recipes in the past, but this recipe is truly exceptional. Thanks are in order to David Lebovitz for introducing me to what I consider the holy grail of lemon bars. Not only are they totally addictive and delicious, but also the method of using a whole lemon in the topping (pith and all) is just so crazy, it’s awesome.
After baking the shortbread crust, you make the filling by cutting up one whole lemon.
Side note: Since you are using the skins, definitely get an organic, unsprayed lemon. I kind of forgot to mention it in this post because I always buy organic, but if you’re going to be eating citrus peels, you want to go the organic route.
Once chopped, you kindly plop the lemon chunks in a food processor with some sugar and a little more lemon juice and blend it until the lemon has broken up. Then you add the rest of the ingredients, give the food processor another whirl, pour it on top of the crust, and bake.
After they have cooled, you can cut them into squares and dust them with some powdered sugar. There you have it! Super delicious, “Wow, there’s a whole lemon in these?” lemon bars.
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See more: Fruit • Lemon
January 12, 2012
Peanut butter has got to be one of my favorite foods. I practically lived on it in college (that and Nutella) and have baked my fair share of peanut butter cookies. Like I said here, peanut butter cookies are my weakness.
In general, I prefer the homemade variety to any bakery’s (although Momofuku Milk Bar does have a killer peanut butter cookie for any of you New Yorkers out there). I’ve got a number of tried and true recipes that I turn to when I’m looking for a peanut butter fix, but I’m always intrigued by a new recipe and this one caught my eye because it’s flourless. No flour here–just peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and an egg. Simple to make and easy to eat… these are my kind of cookies.
With so few ingredients and no flour, they are rich, dense, and really packed with peanut flavor. A touch of Fleur de Sel on top doesn’t hurt either.
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See more: Cookies • Fleur de Sel • Gluten Free • Nuts • Peanut Butter
January 7, 2012
It’s been a rather atypical week in my kitchen. I got a juicer for Christmas (Thanks, Mom!), so I’ve been making juices instead of baking. I’ve been experimenting with different combinations of fruits and vegetables and so far my favorite juice is a green juice made with apples, lemon, kale, spinach, and cucumber. It sounds weird, but it’s actually really delicious and I kind of think drinking it will counteract all the butter and sugar that’s currently in my diet (I’ll just keep telling myself that).
Anyways, just because I’ve been juicing this week, doesn’t mean that I haven’t made anything on the sweet/unhealthy side. Instead of throwing away the peels from some oranges I juiced, I candied them and covered them in chocolate.
First, you peel the oranges and cut the peels into thin strips.
Then you blanch the peels twice in boiling water (to remove their bitterness), simmer them in simple syrup for an hour, let them cool and drain, and then dip them in melted dark chocolate.
The end result is pretty phenomenal. I didn’t even know you could eat orange peels until I saw these in a chocolate shop a couple of weeks ago and attempted to purchase them (when I say “attempted”, I mean that I ordered them along with a number of other chocolate-y items and came home to discover that they never made it into the bag). Since the incident, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them, so when I bought oranges this week, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the peels. Keep your peels, people! They make one delicious treat.
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See more: Chocolate • Fruit • Gluten Free • Oranges
