Snicker-doodle Muffin

Will loves Snicker doodle cookies and so I thought this recipe would be a fun change to have for breakfast!

2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cream of tarter
¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 and ¼ cup sour cream
2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar and 2 TBSP cinnamon mixed together for rolling

1.Cream the butter and sugar until soft about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.
2.In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder and cream of tarter.
3.Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-butter mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out  muffin batter one at a time and drop into a shallow bowl filled with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll the muffin around in the mixture until it is covered completely in cinnamon sugar.. Place muffin into a greased muffin tin.. Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 to 14 muffins. Bake them for approx. 20-22 minutes in a 350F oven or until they are golden brown.

Puffy banana pancake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
• 5 large eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 bananas, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Add 1/2 stick butter to a 9-inch square baking dish and melt in the oven, about 5 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and granulated sugar, then whisk in the egg-milk mixture.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish; bake until the pancake begins to rise, 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook the brown sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat, stirring, until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 stick butter, the sour cream and bananas and heat through.

5. Drizzle the pancake with half of the butterscotch sauce and sprinkle with walnuts. Slice and serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

Pita bread

I am currently loving bread making! I decided to try out homemade pita bread- it really was pretty easy. 1 out of my 8 pitas didn't "puff"- I call it a success!

Makes 8 pitas


3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, butter, or shortening

If you are using active dry yeast, follow the instructions on the packet to active it (see the note on yeast above). Otherwise, mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a wooden spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water (I had to add an extra 1/4 cup).

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface, such as a cutting board, and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes (or until your hands get tired). If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.

When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. I use canola spray oil, but you can also just pour a teaspoon of oil into the bowl and rub it around with your fingers. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down to release some of the trapped gases and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it'll be easier to shape.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pitas.

After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough. You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If the dough does not stretch sufficiently you can cover it with the damp towel and let it rest 5 to 10 minutes before trying again.

Open the oven and place as many pitas as you can fit on the hot baking surface. They should be baked through and puffy after 3 minutes. If you want your pitas to be crispy and brown you can bake them for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, but it isn't necessary (in the batch pictured here I removed them at 3 minutes).

Kung Pao Chcken

Ingredients: 1lb boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces) 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons green onions (chopped) 3 garlic cloves (minced) ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes ½ teaspoon powdered ginger 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 tablespoons soy sauce 2 teaspoons sugar 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts

Step 1: combine the chicken and cornstarch in a small bowl and toss to coat. Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium heat, add chicken and stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove chicken from wok.
Step 2: Add green onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and powdered ginger to the wok and stir fry for 15 seconds.
Step 3: Combine vinegar, soy sauce and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well and add the sauce to the wok.
Step 4: Return chicken to the wok and coat with sauce. Stir in roasted peanuts. Heat thoroughly. Top with additional green onions if desired and serve over white rice.

Amish White Bread

• A little sweet and stays together well!
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• 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 6 cups bread flour

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water, and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam.
2. Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead for a few minutes, and divide in half. Shape into loaves, and place into two well oiled 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Homemade peanut butter!

• 2 cups Roasted, Shelled, Salted Peanuts
• 2 Tablespoons Oil, Preferable Peanut Or Vegetable
• 1 Tablespoon Honey Or Agave Nectar
• Place the peanuts and honey in a food processor, and process for 1 minute. Use a spatula to loosen mixture from the sides of the bowl if it’s sticking. Then continue to process while slowly drizzling oil into the mixture for another 2-3 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth, thick and shiny. (Nuts will go from a rough chop, to finely ground, to a thick paste, and then finally a shiny, smooth peanut butter.) Remove and store in an airtight container, and refrigerate. If mixture is too thick and cool when you’re ready to use it, simply place the container in a warm water bath, or pop your needed amount in the microwave microwave to warm and soften it up.

Crockpot Adobo

I made this recipe because I always hear Will raving about this chicken his mom would make. It has a very intense flavor- if I were to make this again (and I am sure I will) I would make it with Low Sodium soy sauce to cut back on the salty flavor.

1 (3-lb) frying chicken, skinned and cut into serving pieces
5 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
3/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh peeled ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken stock
Green onions, sliced, for garnish

Place the chicken pieces in the slow cooker. Add the garlic, bay leaves, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, ginger, peppercorns and brown sugar and toss all to coat. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and chicken stock together. Pour over chicken and mix gently.

Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hours (or until chicken is cooked through). Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and keep warm.

Take the remaining liquid and put it in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until reduced to half. Pour over reserved chicken. Garnish with green onions and serve at once.

Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients:
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

Directions:
Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated. Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined. (It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.) Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares as desired. Store in an air-tight container.

Perfect Pizza Crust

I really liked this recipe because I love a thick crust... To the crust I added some rosemary, but I want to try other add-ins!

• 1 cup Lukewarm Water Or Beer
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Quick Acting Yeast
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 2-½ cups Flour
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• Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let yeast rise for at least 15 minutes.

Add: salt, and vegetable oil and stir. Add any other seasonings as desired. Then add flour and mix.

Knead on a floured surface until dough is not sticky anymore but still feels moist. Cover and let rise in a warm place for at least 30 minutes. Roll on a floured surface and put on a lightly greased pan.

Add toppings and cook at 425F for 10-20 minutes (depending on your oven). The crust is cooked when the bottom starts to brown.

Tasty Cookies

PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes 16 cookies

Note: Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh. moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored.

1 3/4 cups (8 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar

3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large ( 18-by-12 inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium b0wl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Zucchini Cookies

1 cup shortening or butter

2 cups sugar

2/3 tsp. salt

2 eggs

2 cups grated zucchini

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour (a little extra if needed)

2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp soda

1 tsp cinnamon (I always put in extra)

a pinch of nutmeg

375 degrees for 11-12 minutes.

Serve with a cream cheese frosting with lemon zest!  Yum!