Thursday, January 4, 2024

Recipe of the Month: Chocolate Chip Cookies (V, GF)

makes 48 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup hazelnut flour
  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1 2/3 cup white rice flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup vegan butter (I like Earth Balance, Violife, and Miyoko)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4 cup Just Egg (egg substitute for 1 egg)
  • 1 tbsp vanilla 
  • 12 ounces (1 bag) vegan chocolate chips (Ghirardelli is my favorite!)

Directions:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet (if needed).
  • In a bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, and salt.
  • In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars.
  • Add in the egg substitute and vanilla.
  • Slowly mix in the flour mixture.
  • Mix in the chips.
  • Drop onto your pre-greased, if needed, cookie sheet, in 1 tablespoon increments, about 2" apart.
  • Bake for 9-11 minutes, based on your preference for soft or hard cookies.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to complete cooling.

Nutritional Information*:

  • Calories: 128
  • Fat: 7.5 grams
  • Carbs: 15 grams
  • Protein: 1 gram
*per cookie

Vegan Pumpkin Hazelnut Bread

 I made pumpkin scones earlier in the week (that recipe will come later!), and had about 2 cups of pumpkin puree left.  What's a domestic goddess to do!  Make bread, of course!  My kids dig my vegan banana chocolate chip bread, so I thought why not make a vegan pumpkin nut bread...  But they don't love chunky nut pieces in their desserts and breads.  Enter hazelnut flour!  My go-to when I make chocolate hazelnut custard (I'll have to write up that recipe, too) and chocolate chip cookies will now be my newest addition to sweet bread as well!

Vegan Pumpkin-Hazelnut Bread

For the bread:

In a stand mixer bowl, squeeze in 1 ripe banana and mash until well blended.  Add in 2 cups pumpkin puree, 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie seasoning, and 3/4 cup grapeseed oil and blend. 

In another bowl, mix together 5 cups AP Flour, 1 cup hazelnut flour, 1 tbsp salt, 1 tbsp baking soda, and 1 tbsp baking powder.

Add in the dry to the wet and mix until batter.  It will be thick and sticky.

Pour into 3 prepared loaf pans and let rest.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In another bowl, make the topping by mixing together 1 cup softened vegan butter spread, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 2/3 cup hazelnut flour.

Sprinkle half the topping over the loaves.

When preheated, drop the heat to 350 degrees, and put the pans in, cooking for 50 minutes to an hour or until done.  You can use the leftover topping to spread on pieces (or as a bagel topping!).

Friday, October 13, 2023

Bagels

 It's been a long time since I've been to this space, but what an awesome way to come back: BAGELS!

I love a good New York City bagel.  In fact, Rockland Bakery is my favorite place to stop when I'm in the area.  I could eat a dozen of their fresh bagels in a single sitting!  (I won't, but I really want to!).  In fact, when I was pregnant with Michael, all I wanted to do was visit the Bakery and get a bagel off the conveyer belt.  It was a dream come true and totally worth the wait!

As I reembrace homemaking and, perhaps in the near future, homesteading, I decided bagels were something to attempt.  My teenage daughter loves them, my husband loves them, my mother-in-law loves them... Bagels for the win!  Peter says they are the best he's had from around here (a big kudos from a kid who grew up on NY bagels and thinks the only "real" bagels come from around "The City"), my mother-in-law (a Bronx native) loved biting into a fresh one and put in her request for the next batch, and Maya told me they are a 7 on the "Rockland Bakery Scale", which is a like a 15 on a normal 1-10. :)

Mom didn't even wait until they were fully cooled!


Bagels
(makes 1 dozen)

Mix together 2 1/4 cups of warm water (about 110 degrees) with 4 1/2 tsp yeast in a mixing bowl (of a stand mixer if you have it).  Let it sit for 5 minutes.  (Using regular yeast will deliver a chewier, denser bagel; using quick acting yeast makes a fluffier inside.)

Mix together 6 cups bread flour (I use King Arthur 12.7%)  with 1 tbsp sea salt and 1 1/2 tbsp barley malt syrup (I use Sanniti.)  Some recipes you see may show sugar being used.  I strongly suggest investing in some barley malt syrup.  It makes a HUGE difference.  Mix your flour mix in your stand mixture with the dough hook for 2-3 minutes, until all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Remove the dough to a floured bowl or board and hand knead for 5-8 minutes, until well formed.  The dough should return from a touch.  (Be careful to not over knead.)  When this happens, place the dough in a large bowl greased with olive oil and cover.  

Let rest and rise for 90 minutes. With traditional yeast, you will see a rise, but it likely will not double.  With quick yeast, you will see a doubling.  After 90 minutes, press the dough down, then divide into 12, even pieces.  Create a ring (with the traditional hole in the middle) and let the dough rest while you form all 12 pieces and create your water bath.

In a pot, mix together 2 liters of water (Want to make them extra NYC special?  Use water from the Catskills!) and 1/4 cup barley malt syrup.  Bring the water to a boil then lower the temp to keep the boil from rolling.  On my stove, this is around a number 7 or medium-high.  Drop the bagels in the water so that they have room to move (This could be anywhere from 2 to 4.  I use a Le Creuset small dutch, and 3 is really the max.)  Boil for 1 minute on each side, then remove to a rack.  Brush the top and sides with an egg wash created from 1 egg white and 2 tbsp warm water whisked together.  (If you want to do a vegan alternative, you can whisk together 2 tbsp warm water with 2 tbsp of a vegan spread, like Earth Balance.) 

If you want to add toppings, now is the time.  I have done everything seasonings (onion, poppy, sesame, garlic, salt), white sesame, and (minced, dried) onion.  Take a bowl or plate with whatever seasonings you want, then take the freshly boiled and egg-washed bagel and rub the top in it.  

In a preheated, 425 degree oven and on a greased baking sheet, bake your bagels for 12 minutes then rotate the baking pan for another 12 minutes.  Remove the bagels and cool for 20 minutes before cutting into them.  (If you can wait that long!)

some plain and everything bagels


These will sit out fine for about a week.  If they last any longer than that, you can freeze them.

Enjoy!   

Monday, May 4, 2020

Southern Fried Corn

Before anyone says it, yes, I know.  This recipe has basically taken corn and made it hardcore unhealthy.  But oh how delicious!  And the smell of it simmering... Yum!

It's really not ttthhhaaattt bad.  If you divide the recipe into 12 servings, they weigh in at about 285 calories each (about 20g carbs, 21g fats, and 2g protein... I know, I know- but delicious!!!)

In a large, cast iron pan (Don't have one? Stop now and go buy one.  Not kidding.), melt:
1 stick (4oz) of butter.

Stir in:
32 ounces/ 2 pounds of sweet, white corn (freshly schucked, in season is the best, but frozen will work).

Once the corn is fully coated in the butter, reduce the heat to low and stir in:
1 pint of heavy cream,
1 tbsp (to taste) of pepper, and
1 tsp (to taste) of salt.

Slow simmer all day (yep, I start this in the morning to serve with dinner), or for a minimum of 4 hours.  You want the cream to reduce and thicken, and the corn to melt in your mouth.


Southern Pecan Pie

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prepare an:
8in pie shell

In a stand mixer, mix together:
3 eggs,
2oz (4 tbsp) melted butter (cooled),
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar,
2/3 cup of brown rice syrup, and
1 tbsp of bourbon.

Stir in:
14-16 ounces of pecan pieces.

Pour into the prepared pie plate and bake at 350°F for 60 to 75 minutes.  The pie should be fully set and lightly caramelized on top.


Gluten Free Pie Shell

1 1/2 cups of GF AP Flour (I really like the Bob's Red Mill Pie Flour, but the 1 to 1 is great, too)

4oz cold butter, grated

Up to 1/4 cup of water


Finger in the butter into the flour, until it's the texture of breadcrumbs.  A tablespoon at a time, work in the water.  I usually find 2 to 3 tablespoons does the trick for me.  Chill your dough for about 30 minutes, then roll it into a disc.  Press into an 8 inch pie plate and create your magic!  This shell is great for pies and quiche alike!

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Gluten Free Orange Cranberry Scones

My kids lucked out with godparents (or mayb , we've just lucked out with the folks in our lives).  And nothing brings people together like food.  Sarah (Nicholas and Sophia's godmother) makes me think of halumpki (stuffed cabbage), while Terri (Alexander's godmother) makes me think of wine! 😉 When I think of Esteban and Jody (Bobby and Maya), I am reminded of Paraguayan stuffed meat rolls and scones always, always, always remind me of Gary, Barbara (Michael), and their family (their son of whom is Lucas's godfather and their daughter, Ana's godmother).  This quarantine has me missing the people I love and care about, and this morning, I was longing for one of Barbara's hugs and Gary's perfect scones.  Hence...  My first attempt at a gluten free scone!

(And not to leave anyone out... The other godparents also remind me of food: Meg (Maya) and dinner at a favorite gastropub; Eileen (Lucas) and chicken parm; and Clinton (Ana) and lunches with laughter and good times .)

Based loosely off my soda bread recipe, this one made 8 scones.  I don't have a pan, so I cut them by hand.  A note : keep it cold.  Freeze the butter, freeze to chill the scones before baking.  Cold, cold, cold.

Heat your oven to 375°.

In a small bowl, finely cut it grate 1/2 a cup of butter (1 stick), then put it in the freezer while you work on combining your other ingredients.  (Once you get going, this will go fast, so you don't want the down time).

In a mixing bowl , stir together :
2 cups of (GF) AP flour;
1 tbsp of baking powder;
1 tsp of baking soda; and
1 tsp of salt.

In another bowl, whisk together :
1 egg;
1/2 cup of buttermilk;
1 tbsp of orange juice; and
1/2 cup of sugar.



Prepare 1 cup of dried cranberries.

Flour your hands and quickly cut the frozen butter into your flour mixture before adding in the liquids and quickly mixing together.  Hand in your cranberries and roll onto a floured cutting board, forming the dough into a rectangular pyramid.


Using a floured knife, slice into 8 pieces and place on a greased baking sheet.  Put into the freezer while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  (For what it's worth, Peter and I danced in the rain for a few minutes too... Strictly for extra freezing time!  ♥ 💃🕺)

Melt 1/4 cup (1 stick of butter) and combine with 2 tbsp of orange juice.  Measure out 1/4 cup of demerera sugar.

Reserve 1/3 of the liquid and 2 tbsp of the sugar.  This will coat your scones prior to cooking.

Over medium heat (in a cast iron pan), add the remaining butter /juice and sugar.  Bring to a rapid boil and simmer until thickened but not candied, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.



Remove the scones from the freezer and brush with the reserved butter/juice.  Sprinkle with the set aside sugar.

Bake for 30 minutes .  They will be lightly browned and the sugar will glisten on the top.  Cool for 10 minutes and drizzle with the orange caramel sauce.