A Tale of Two Cookies

I own and love the baking book from Rosies, a local bakery that makes (among other things) the best brownies in existence. I originally had a craving for a Peanut Butter cookie with chocolate chips. I started with her basic recipe

Ingredients
1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 cup + 1tsp white sugar
1/2 cup + 1 tsp brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups + 2tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda

Instructions
combine dry ingredients
Cream butter and sugar
Add egg, vanilla and peanut butter
Gradually add dry ingredients
Chill dough for a few hrs
Bake at 350 for 8-10 min

Alterations
For the peanut butter cookies, I only did a half cup of each sugar, and added a tablespoon of honey (peanut butter and honey sandwiches are a favorite treat of mine). I also added peanut butter anc chocolate chips and an extra 1/4 tsp salt to balance the honey.  Also, to chill the cookies I rolled them into tubes, wrapped them in cling wrap and threw them in the freezer for an hour. Then when you want cookies, preheat the oven, slice and bake

These cookies led to another idea: nutella cookies. I replaced the peanutbutter with nutella, only added 1/2 cup of each sugar, and upped the salt ( I did a whole teaspoon, next time I would do 3/4). I also added an additional 1/2 tsp of hazlenut extract because we had it on hand, a half cup chopped hazlenuts and a cup of white chocolate chips. I am pleased with the result.

http://www.rosiesbakery.com/rosies-bakery-cookbook/

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

I've been working overnights, and my hours are kinda weird, so  I've been watching more Food Network. Ina Garten made these on her show, so I decided to bring some to work.

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks butter at room temp
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 c smooth peanut butter
3 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c jam
2/3 c salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350
Grease and flour 9x13in pan
Cream butter and sugar
Add eggs 1 at a time, then add vanilla and peanut butter
Sift dry ingredients and add gradually, mixing just until combined
Take 2/3rds of dough and pat into greased pan and chill
Spread jam evenly over dough
Break remaining dough into chunks and sprinkle over jam
Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top
Bake 45min, cool and cut into squares  

H Mart, Bok Choi, and Korean Style Salmon

Today I went to Burlington to get Ninja (my Ford Focus Hatchback) an oil change at sears, with plans for a trip to H Mart. H Mart is a Korean grocery store that is GINORMOUS, with a food court (I had some fresh rolls from the Vietnamese booth "Pho Sure") and lots of people set up sampling foods. We got Bok Choi and Cucumbers in the farm share, so I figured I'd do something with the Bok Choi, with some salmon for supper tonight, and then make some Sushi Salad for dinner later this week (maybe Monday before trivia). I LOVE asian grocery stores. They have great prices on produce (lemons are even cheaper at H Mart than at Market Basket, which seems impossible) fun products (ask my roommate G about Red Bean Ice Cream Pops sometime) and ingredients that are hard to find.

Anyhow, for dinner tonight I made Bok Choi with peanuts and cilantro (which I love) and Korean Salmon.

Bok Choi with Peanuts and Cilantro (recipe from What Did You Eat)

2 bunches bok choi washed, and cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tbsp neutral oil (peanut or canola)

1/4 cup peanuts

pinch red pepper flakes

1 onion chopped

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp liquid (I used water, but OJ or lemon/lime juice would be interesting I think)

1 cup cilantro (aka Chinese parsley) chopped

heat the oil in a pan/wok and then fry the peanuts and pepper flakes and a pinch of salt for a minute

cook the onions and ginger for another minute or two

add the bok choi and cook until just starting to wilt 5 min or so

add the liquids and cilantro and simmer til the sauce thickens a bit

I used this as a side, but you could toss in some chicken or tofu and make a meal out of it. Especially over some soba noodles

As for the salmon, I made a sauce that I found on Morsels and Musings that uses a Korean ingredient called gochujang (my bottle was spelled Chogochyjang, which wikipedia tells me is actually a different product, made with gochujang with extra ingredients).

From More Cupcakes!

it looks a bit like ketchup, but it's made from red peppers and is fermented and has a nice kick. The sauce I made based loosely on the recipe from Morsels and Musings:

2 tbsp each

Miso Paste

Chogochyjang

Orange Juice

sesame oil

2tsp soy sauce

I combined them all, and then basted the salmon with it and broiled it

Roasted Tomato Pesto

Roasted Tomato Pesto
Originally uploaded by kel h

I had some tomatoes in my CSA share that were going to go bad, so I thought I would make this. It came out pretty tasty. It's a combo of two recipes. Oven Roasted Tomato Sauce from Earthbound Farms and Tomato Basil Pesto from Smitten Kitchen


Ingredients:
4 large tomatoes cut into quarters
1 large sweet onions cut into wedges
8 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil
1/2-1 cup toasted almond slivers
1 tbsp tomato paste
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 475
pour tomatoes, onions and garlic into roasting pan and coat with olive oil
season with salt and pepper
Roast in oven for 10 min
reduce temp to 425 and continue roasting for 40-50 min
let cool and remove tomato skins

toast almond slivers in pan
grind in food processor for a few pulses
add tomatoes, onions and garlic along with leaves from 1 bunch basil and tomato paste. Run until it becomes a paste and drizzle olive oil to desired consistency. Season to taste.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with craisins and pecans

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with craisins and pecans
Originally uploaded by kel h

so, when I'm stressed...I bake. And it's been a rough couple of weeks (minus the awesome birthday party that was awesome). Today I had chocolate chip craisin cookies at a training, and decided i wanted to take them up a notch.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
zest of 1/2 orange
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 c quick oats uncooked
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 c craisins
1/2 c chopped pecans

Directions
preheat oven to 350
Cream butter and sugar together
stir in eggs and vanilla
add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and orange zest. Mix well
stir in oats, craisins and chocolate chips
drop rounded tbsp on to cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 min (til golden brown)

Banana Oatmeal Walnut Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Muffins

Adapted from the Great Lake Effects Cookbook

Ingredients

3/4 c quick cook oats
1/2 c buttermilk
1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour (or do 1 cup all purpose)
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2-3 mashed bananas (1 cup)
1/4 c melted butter
1 egg

optional
1 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c peanut butter chips
1/2 c chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425
mix oatmeal and buttermilk
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well
mix banana, egg, and butter in a bowl, and add oat mixture
Add dry ingredients gradually and mix til smooth
Fold in nuts and chips

Pour into greased muffin tin and bake for approx 15 min

Cherry Coffee Cake Muffins

Image000.jpg
Originally uploaded by kel h

Cherry Coffee Cake Muffins (based on a recipe from Rachel Ray December-January 2008)

4 1/2 cups flour (I used half regular and half whole wheat in the cake batter, and all white for the crumb topping)
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used plain yogurt)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
! 10-ounce bags frozen cherries, thawed and drained (if you want to do a giant coffee cake instead of muffins, use two bags)
I also added 1/2 tsp butter extract, and 2 tsp almond extract to the batter
I also added 1/2 cup sliced almonds to the crumb topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, using your fingers, combine 3 cups flour, the brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix in all but 2 tablespoons butter until large crumbs form; set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the egg and the buttermilk.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, baking powder and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add the egg mixture and stir to form a thick, smooth batter. Fold about a third of the reserved crumb mixture into the batter; If you're making a cake, then spread evenly into the prepared baking dish. Otherwise put liners in your muffin pans and fill each one about halfway up.

3. Scatter the cherries over the batter; (if making muffins, make a well in the batter and then put four cheries per muffin. sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top of the cake or each muffin (be sure to shape the muffin top a bit so the crumbs stick together). Bake the cake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes (muffins are more in the 25 min range). Transfer to a rack to cool for about 20 minutes before serving. I would go the full forty minutes, cause the cake takes a while to bake.