I love eating, making & sharing food. Here, I share recipes I've found on the web. Happy eating and cooking!
Recipe Library
MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE COOKIES {Source}
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Cookies 2010 Special Issue
Makes about 3 dozen cookies
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
½ teaspoon ground chipotle chile
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cups sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line two standard baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle chile.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 ½ cups sugar on medium speed until pale and fluff, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add vanilla and beat to combine. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beat to combine.
3. In a small bowl, combine remaining ¼ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon ground chipotle. Form heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture. Place on prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set in center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
CARAMEL APPLE COOKIES {Source}
Makes about 1 dozen
Ingredients
2 boxes Jiffy Apple Cinnamon Muffin Mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
2-4 tablespoons milk
Food coloring (optional)
5 oz. caramel bits
1 tablespoon water
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add 1 box of the muffin mix and beat together until combined. Stir in the egg until just combined, then add the remaining box of muffin mix. Beat the mixture until it comes together. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is barely sticky and a little wet. If necessary, add a little extra flour.Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes or the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with Silpat mats or parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to about 3/8-inch thick. Cut out cookies using a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter. Place 2-3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes.
For “apples:”make the “sticks” by rolling tiny bits of the leftover dough into the right shape and place them on prepared cookie sheets. With the remaining scraps of dough, then roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick and cut out mini apples. Position the apples over the bottom ends of the “sticks” and bake for 7-8 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool completely before decorating.
To decorate: Melt half of the caramel melts (about 5 oz.) in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of water. Drizzle the melted caramel over the cookies, then coat the “apples” so they look like dipped caramel apples. While the caramel is still wet, place the apples on top of the cookies.
Recipe by Darla
CHAI TEA SHORTBREAD {Source}
Makes 8 to 10 cookies
Ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground clove
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 bag chai tea leaves, optional (if they’re whole leaf, crush them to make them finer)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, but still cool (margarine, for vegan/dairy free version)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove, and nutmeg until thoroughly combined. Remove one teaspoon of the mixture and, in a small separate bowl, stir it into the 2 tablespoons of sugar; set aside.
In a medium bowl combine the remaining chai spice mix (and chai tea, if using) with the flour and salt; set aside.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter and confectioners’ sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat until the dough resembles wet sand, don’t over beat. Using your hands, press the dough together to form a ball then press into a shortbread pan, or shape into several 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls. If making the balls, press them down to flatten them slightly after placing them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press the chai sugar mixture into the top of the dough (I usually reserve half of it to sprinkle on the cookies once I take them from the pan, but you can use as much or as little as you like). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top feels firm and the edges are golden.
Recipe and “yummy/sweet” tea tags by Darla
Click on the link(s) below, then click File > Save as or Print. Print at 100%, do not scale, on heavy bright white paper, cut out along lines, fold in half and glue to the ends of ribbon, string, or twine.
RASPBERRY GINGER FLOAT {Source}
568g (20 oz) raspberries
1 cup water
150 g (1½ cups) sugar
2 tspn tapioca starch
2 tspn freshly squeezed lemon juice
(non-alcoholic) ginger beer, chilled
1. Combine the raspberries and water in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. If desired, strain and discard the seeds using a fine mesh sieve. Return the raspberry puree to the food processor bowl.
2. Add the sugar, tapioca starch, and lemon juice, pulsing to combine thoroughly until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Chill the mixture thoroughly.
4. Freeze according to your ice cream makers’ instructions. Remove the sorbet from the ice cream maker when it is mostly frozen but still soft and continue to let harden in the freezer until solid.
5. Serve with ginger beer.
POMEGRANATE CUCUMBER GUACAMOLE {Source}
2 Haas avocados In a medium bowl, mash up both avocados. Fold in minced shallot, pomegranate seeds, cucumber. Squeeze in lime juice and mix. Salt to taste. THAT’S IT! Recipe adapted from Recipe of Memory
1/2 shallot, minced
Handful of pomegranate seeds
1/4 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
1 lime
Salt
SPICY BUTTERY STEAMED MUSSELS (for two) {Source}
1 pound mussels 1. Place the mussels in a bowl and cover them with cold water. Mix in the two tablespoons of flour and allow to stand for 30 minutes. This will allow the mussels to release any sand. Next, drain the mussels and pull the “beards” off. If the mussels are dirty, scrub them, removing any dirt and be sure to discard any that aren’t tightly shut. 2. In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the shallots and garlic; cook for 3-4 minutes and until translucent. Add 2 tablespoons of Italian parsley, crushed red pepper and white wine. Bring to a simmer, reducing liquid for 5-7 minutes. 3. Transfer clean mussels to the pot and cover with a lid, steaming them for 2-3 minutes. Holding the lid down, give the pot a shake one or two times; this will make sure the mussels at the bottom don’t burn. You’ll know when the mussels are done when they’re all open, throwing away any that refuse to open. Scoop mussels into two separate bowls, and ladle liquid over each bowl. Serve with bread.
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
2 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced and divided
1 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (scale it back to 1 teaspoon if you’re adverse to spicy)
1 cup dry white wine
Salt
FILLED HEART CUPCAKES {Source}
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (always use pure vanilla extract if possible)
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream (or milk- although I do like the richness that cream adds)
Directions:
*Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
*Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
*Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cupcakes.)
*Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
HEART SMORES {Source} - have to give these a try!
What you’ll need:
- Perfect Graham Crackers -RECIPE - makes about 50 (depends on the size of the cookie cutter)
- Homemade Marshmallows - RECIPE - makes about 20 heart cut outs( amount depends on the size of the cookie cutter)I decided to make them extra special by adding 1/2 cup dry cranberries into the whipped batter just before spreading it in the pan. You can also use cherries if you’d like or bit of mini chocolate chips would be lovely too.
- Dipping Chocolate- Merckens Chocolate Wafers, about 2-3 cups
- How to Put Sandwich Cookie Together -Once you bake your cookies and make marshmallow cut outs you can make sandwich cookies.
In a heat proof bowl and over the pot with simmering water melt the chocolate wafers. Use a tiny bit of melted chocolate to adhere cookies to the marshmallow, you can either spoon some chocolate onto the cookies or spoon slightly cooled chocolate into the sandwich bag and pipe chocolate onto the cookies. How to fill a zipoc/sandich bag with chocolate. Once you sandwich cookies and marshmallow together let the chocolate set. Then if desired dip 1/2 of the sandwich in the chocolate, shake of the excess and let harden.Store S’mores in the airtight container in a cool place.Serving Suggestion : microwave for 3-5 seconds and enjoy
SAVORY CORNMEAL & CHIVE WAFFLES {Source}
serves 2 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup cornmeal (fine cornmeal is good, but I love a coarse grind for this recipe) 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter 2 large eggs 1 1/4 cup buttermilk 3 tablespoons chopped scallions 2 tablespoons chopped parsley salsa and eggs Set your waffle iron in a level, clean surface and turn on to preheat. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, butter, and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Add the scallions and parsley. Stir until just incorporated. Try not to over-mix the batter. If a few lumps remain in the batter, that’s ok. Cook according to your waffle machine instructions. While the waffles cook, fry up some sunny side up eggs in a nonstick frying pan. Serve waffles with fresh salsa and hot fried eggs. Top with extra chives and parsley. Waffles are best served immediately. Note: Allow waffles to cool completely. Store them in pairs in ziplock bags and store in the freezer. In the morning, gently reheat waffles in the toaster or toaster oven. Best toaster breakfast ever. You can even turn the waffles into bread for sandwiches.
