Tag: Flour

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

Not going to lie. I never thought I’d post a recipe for lactation cookies on my blog. (And no, I haven’t hidden the pregnancy and birth of my first child from you. I made a batch of these cookies, or more correctly, the cookie dough, for my sister-in-law.) But, here I am sharing a recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies.

So, why am I sharing these? Because they are GOOD. Like. Really good. Also, these are perfectly acceptable to have even when you’re not nursing. (What? I had to sample them before giving them as a gift!) But if you want other cookie options, I have plenty to choose from as well!

Oats, brewers yeast and wheat germ are ingredients that not only promote lactation, but have a bunch of other great benefits:

  • Brewer’s yeast helps maintain a proper digestive tract while also enhancing energy and strengthening the immune system. It’s also a source of protein, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium.
  • Wheat germ is a good source of magnesium, zinc, potassium, folic acid, and vitamin E. It also can boost your immunity, reduce the risk of heart disease, and help maintain a healthy weight.
  • Oats are high in fiber and iron, protein and complex carbohydrates.

After that lesson, I think we all deserve a little treat!

Ingredients – makes about 2 dozen cookies (get all ingredients here):

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons brewers yeast
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (I like to use a mixture of milk and dark chocolate chips)

Continue reading Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies

Eggplant Meatballs

The end of April can mean only one thing, Flavors on the Avenue is almost here! Held the last Sunday of every April, Flavors on the Avenue is one of my favorite annual events. The food festival is held on E Passyunk Ave from Broad St to Dickinson St this Sunday, April 28 from 11am to 5pm.

Over two dozen of the region’s best restaurants will fire up street food, small plates, and signature dishes along the Avenue, ranging on average from $3.00 to $6.00 and will be pay-as-you-go. Craft beef, wine, and seasonal sips will also be available, sold by select restaurants, plus a Founders Brewing Co. Tasting Tent. Restaurants participating include:

  • Barcelona Wine Bar
  • Bing Bing Dim Sum
  • Brigantessa
  • Cantina Los Caballitos
  • Chhaya Cafe
  • El Sarape Restaurant
  • Essen Bakery
  • Fond
  • Fuel
  • ITV Philly
  • Izumi
  • Le Virtù
  • Mamma Maria Ristorante
  • Manatawny Still Works
  • Noir Philadelphia
  • Paradiso Restaurant
  • Pistola’s Del Sur
  • Plenty Café
  • P’unk Burger
  • Redcrest Fried Chicken
  • Saté Kampar
  • Stogie Joe’s Tavern
  • The Bottle Shop
  • Teas n’ Mi
  • Tre Scalini
  • Vanilya Bakery

In addition to all of the yummy food options, look for live music and entertainment throughout the festival, plus bring the kids for free family fun activities in kid zones up and down the avenue.

Source: EPABID

Retail, family, and fashion shops along the avenue will also be participating; look for shopping, sidewalk sales, special events, workshops, and much more!

Source: EPABID

This is an event that I’ve been attending since it first began as Flavors of the Avenue, under a tent. In 2017, the event moved along the avenue itself and has become the largest event on E Passyunk.

Source: EPABID

To read some of my past posts highlighting this event, check out:

This year, I wanted to highlight one of the many vegetarian options that will be offered on Sunday: Eggplant Meatballs from Brigantessa! I attended a media event for Flavors this year and was struck with how many delicious meatless options will be offered this year.

Every Sunday is pasta night in my house, so we went for a meatless Sunday, substituting in these yummy Eggplant Meatballs for our usual Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1 large eggplant
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced (or use a garlic press)
  • 2 (28 oz) cans tomato puree
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 tablespoons chopped basil, divided, plus more for serving
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2.5 cups bread crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • crusty bread or pasta, for serving

Continue reading Eggplant Meatballs

Harira (Moroccan Lamb, Tomato, Chickpea, and Lentil Soup)

Harira is a wonderfully filling and hearty soup originally from Morocco. It can be made with many different ingredients (and can be made vegetarian), but it’s typically made with lamb, chicken, or beef, lentils, and chickpeas in a lightly spicy tomato broth.

This dish is a staple during Ramadan to break the daily fast, and also makes for an awesome dinner on chilly nights!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 lb lamb chunks
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced (or if you’re like me and don’t like the texture of celery, keep large so you can remove later)
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ground ginger
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon harissa paste, depending on your heat tolerance
  • 1 (28oz can) crushed tomatoes
  • ½ cup parsley, chopped, plus more for garnish
  • ¼ cup cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish
  • 1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
  • 1 cup red lentils, rinsed
  • 1 (15 oz can) chickpeas, drained
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 4 oz vermicelli, broken into smaller, 1-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch to make gluten free)
  • 1 large egg
  • The juice and zest of 2 lemons

Continue reading Harira (Moroccan Lamb, Tomato, Chickpea, and Lentil Soup)

Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

Tomorrow, March 19th, is the Feast of St. Joseph, an important feast day in Italy or more specifically, Sicily. St. Joseph is particularly important to Sicilians, because he is credited with preventing a famine in Sicily during the Middle Ages through prayer. Each year, a large feast is prepared in his honor. Desserts typically include Zeppoli and Italian Fig Cookies.

Italian Fig Cookies, or Cuccidati, also tend to show up around Christmastime, so they are more of a “celebratory” cookie than linked to any specific holiday.

I wasn’t ready to conquer Zeppoli just yet, so I thought I’d try Italian Fig Cookies! This recipe is based off a recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients:

Cookies:

  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 6 tablespoons brandy
  • 4 teaspoons orange juice
  • 2 cups chopped dried figs
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 tablespoons milk
  • the zest of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup walnut pieces

Glaze:

  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, or as needed
  • 1/4 cup milk, or as needed
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Optional:

  • sprinkles, for decoration

Continue reading Italian Fig Cookies (Cuccidati)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

I don’t eat many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches these days. But on the rare occasion that I make myself one, I’m in heaven. There are few combinations as good as sweet jelly and salty peanut butter! Which is why I’m so excited to share this recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies!

I have a recipe for peanut butter cookies passed down from my great grandmother that I make every Christmas. So when I had a recent craving for PBJ, I figured a cookie version of it would be a fantastic adaptation! The cookie recipe below is based off of my great grandmother’s original recipe but is adapted slightly (I’m pretty sure peanut butter chips didn’t exist when she made this recipe!) And if you’re looking for other yummy cookie recipes, you can find plenty here!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup peanut butter chips
  • 2 (12 oz) jars jelly of your choice (I went with blackberry jelly. Feel free to use your favorite flavor)

Continue reading Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Cookies

Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake

My mom’s birthday was earlier this week and I wanted to make her a treat to celebrate. She might be citrus’ biggest fan, so I knew I had to incorporate a couple of citrus components into it. This Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake was the result!

This recipe is adapted from a NYTimes Cooking recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Butter, for greasing the loaf pan
  • 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided 
  • the zest and juice of 1 orange, divided
  • the zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided 
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, or vanilla extract to make nut free
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Continue reading Citrus Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Pressure Cooker Coq Au Vin

When I first began learning to cook, Coq Au Vin was one of the first recipes I attempted to make. And boy, did I fail miserably. So I’ve stayed away from the recipe since — I haven’t tried to make it in over a decade!

I figured it was time to finally try making it again, and use my trusty multi-cooker to make it fail-proof!

This one-pot-wonder for Pressure Cooker Coq au Vin takes about 80 minutes to prepare, so I’d suggest saving this for a weekend. I made this on a Sunday and saved it to eat during the week.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 4 ounces pancetta, diced
  • 2.5 lbs chicken, assorted pieces (I used bone-in and boneless chicken thighs and legs)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 (8 oz) container sliced mushrooms
  • 1 large shallot, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic gloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup brandy
  • 1/2 (375 ml) bottle dry red wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 10 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • freshly chopped parsley, for garnish
  • buttered egg noodles, cooked (optional)

Continue reading Pressure Cooker Coq Au Vin

Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

I’m hoping you’ll allow me to post one more cookie recipe this season. These Chewy Gingerbread Cookies are too good to not post!

Every year, my mom and I bake multiple cookie recipes to give to friends and family. While there are some that we bake every year, (like these Hot Cocoa Cookies), we try to make a new cookie each time. After many years of trying to make gingerbread cookies and failing at the decorating part, we decided to try making gingerbread cookies instead.

This recipe makes a wonderfully soft and chewy cookie all with the yummy flavors of gingerbread.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/3 cup molasses
  • 1 egg, at room temperature
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons sugar

Continue reading Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s Pie is one of my absolute favorite cold weather meals. It’s really simple to make and has all the components of a solid meal, just stacked into a layered pie form! 

I like to make shepherd’s pie on weekends, assemble, refrigerate, and then cook later in the week on a busy weeknight. This recipe is based off a shepherd’s pie recipe from the Food Network.

Ingredients:

Potatoes:

  • 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Filling:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced small
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 lbs ground lamb
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas

Continue reading Shepherd’s Pie

Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach

I love the combination of chocolate and pumpkin together. So when I was trying to think of an update to a traditional cookie, my mind went right to these flavors, which brings me to this recipe for Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach.

Rugelach are the perfect cookies for this combo. Traditional rugelach uses an apricot spread that is sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, walnuts, and raisins, and then rolled into a spiral. The pumpkin butter takes the place of the apricot spread, and mini chocolate chips are substituted in for the walnuts and raisins.

 

I based this recipe off the recipe I used in my Apricot and Raisin Rugelach post last month, based off a recipe from American Cookie: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations.

 

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room  temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough

Pumpkin Butter:

  • 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • the juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice if you have it)
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 (10 oz) bag mini chocolate chips
  • 1 cup pumpkin butter (recipe above)

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water

Continue reading Chocolate Pumpkin Rugelach

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Note: I was sent samples of PBfit in order to write this post. All opinions are mine alone.

I try to do a few make ahead recipes when I have the time on my weekends to make weekdays a bit easier. I tend to focus on dinners for busy weeknights, but from time to time I’m able to whip up some make ahead breakfasts as well. My favorite make ahead breakfasts? Muffins, of course! So I decided to make Peanut Butter Banana Muffins!

Not only are muffins an easy way to make a huge batch of future breakfasts, but they also freeze well! We always have bananas around the house, so when we end up with some overripe bananas, I love to use them in muffins. This recipe adds in some PBfit powder for peanut butter-y goodness!

PBfit is peanut butter powder made by pressing roasted peanuts, grinding those peanuts and mixing in some coconut palm sugar, and a pinch of salt. The result is a delicious peanut butter powder that has 87% less fat and 1/3 the calories of traditional peanut butter. Because it’s in powder form, it works great in baked goods!

Ingredients – makes 24 cupcake sized muffins, or 12 large muffins (get all ingredients here)

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered peanut butter, such as PBfit
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 cups mashed bananas (about 6 bananas)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Continue reading Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

Apricot and Raisin Rugelach

Note: I was sent a copy of AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations for review. Opinions are mine alone.

Every cookie recipe has a back story, from the chocolate chip cookie to thumbprint cookies. What’s truly interesting about these back stories is how they align with the shaping of American baking through the generations. I love cookbooks that provide a back story to the recipes, like AMERICAN COOKIE: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations by Anne Bryn. Did you know that the first snickerdoodle cookie recipes were actually bars? Or that the first Girl Scout Cookies were baked at home to help raise money to send girls to camp?

Source: Penguin Random House

I assume I’m not alone in associating different recipes with different parts of my own life. I can’t look at a Peanut Butter Cookie without thinking of my family’s recipe, passed down from my great grandmother, or snack on a Neiman Marcus “$250” cookies without recalling many December weekends spent making them with my mom as a child.

I was first introduced to rugelach cookies — a cookie made by rolling a triangle of dough around a sweet filling — by my mother-in-law. She makes them every Christmas and has since my husband was little. So when I saw a recipe for Apricot and Raisin Rugelach in AMERICAN COOKIE, I knew I had to try them as a nod to my mother-in-law’s fantastic baking every December. This recipe differs from my mother-in-law’s version but the general idea is still there.

Rugelach cookies were first brought to America from Austrian-Hungarian immigrants, and has over time been adapted and modernized by Jewish-American bakers. Apparently, the original dough was quite time consuming to make. Somewhere along the line, cream cheese was added to rugelach dough, resulting in an easy to work with and flaky dough. Rugelach cookies have become a staple in many American households, and typically include raisins, nuts, spices and jam or preserves as a filling.

Ingredients:

Dough:

  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room  temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough

Filling:

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • 1 cup apricot preserves

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 teaspoon water

Reprinted from AMERICAN COOKIE. Copyright © 2018 by Anne Byrn. Published by Rodale Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House.

Continue reading Apricot and Raisin Rugelach

Smores Bars

I come from a fairly large family. Growing up, my cousins and I would see each other nearly every Sunday for dinner at our grandparents. As we’ve gotten older, we clearly don’t have as many opportunities to see each other. So we decided to have a cousin barbecue for those of us that still live in the Philadelphia area.

Whenever I think of outdoor cooking, I naturally think of S’mores for dessert.

Because I was hosting, I wanted to pre-make as much of the food as I could, so I decided to make Smores Bars for us to enjoy!

These are super easy, and absolutely addicting!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 (12 oz) bags semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 (14-ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 60-70 full-size marshmallows (about 1 1/2 10-ounce bags)

Continue reading Smores Bars

Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

Note: I was sent Northwest Cherries in order to write this post and recipe for Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread. All opinions are mine alone.

My husband and I were recently invited to go down the shore with our friends, and I wanted to bring something as a thank you for a weekend at the beach. Luckily, I had some overripe bananas sitting on my countertop, so I made this chocolate cherry banana bread to bring with us.

As I mentioned in my recent post, I have quite a few cherries in my house at the moment, so I decided to snazz up the banana bread with some fresh chopped cherries and chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

  • 2 to 3 very ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Continue reading Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

French Onion Soup

 Note: I was sent a box of Vidalia onions to make this post. Opinions are mine alone.

When I first received a box of Vidalia onions, I knew I had to make French Onion Soup. The sweetness of the onions, especially after caramelizing, is perfect for this recipe.

French Onion Soup is a favorite of mine. Who doesn’t love comforting soup with a bunch of bread and cheese goodness on top?

My version below is adapted from a recipe I found on Food Network.

Ingredients:

  • 6 Vidalia
  • 4
  • 1/4 cup sherry
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Continue reading French Onion Soup

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