The Best Thin & Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, room temp
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla or seeds of 1 vanilla pod
1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup raisins (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray lightly with nonstick spray.

Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar together using electric mixer. Beat in vanilla and egg.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats, followed by the raisins.

Shape the dough into walnut-sized balls, space 2-3 inches apart. Cookies will spread out thin as they cook. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before enjoying. Makes 24.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's chilly outside. You want to hang out near a warm oven. You need your chocolate fix. You need your salty peanut butter fix. You love tender, chewy cookies with crispy edges. If these statements apply to you, then you've come to the right place for THE BEST peanut butter chocolate chip cookies you can make from scratch. And the best part - they're so easy! This recipe is practically idiot proof because the texture is so perfect. I like to serve them still warm out of the oven for a maximum melt-in-your-mouth eye-rolling pleasure. I promise if you make these you will love them! Just be sure to toss a stick of butter onto the counter to soften a couple of hours before you want to bake.


Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) room-temperature butter
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat your oven to 350F or 176C. Mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt - in a small bowl and set aside.

In a larger bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter together with an electric hand mixer until blended. Add the white and brown sugar and blend together. Next, beat in your egg, milk and vanilla on low speed (no splashing!). Gradually beat in the flour mixture a little at a time; I do it in thirds. And now the most important part: chocolate chips! I like to use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chips, but bit tersweet works too. Just make sure it's some kind of sweet, because if you use unsweetened bakers chocolate then everyone will hate you.

Mix your chocolate chips into the dough using a wooden spoon. The mixture should come away from the sides of the bowl. If you like, transfer the mixture to some plastic wrap, then form a ball or tube shape that can be easily sliced later, and refrigerate for one half hour.

To bake, roll pieces of dough into ping-pong-sized balls, then place them 2 inches apart from each other on an ungreased cookie sheet. Use your fingers to lightly press down the dough balls. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Cookies should look pale and like they need a few more minutes of baking, but they don't! I swear! The edges and bottoms of the cookies will be a perfect golden brown and the texture will be chewy, melty, slightly cripsy and yummy to the max. Yes, I just said to the max, because I like to pretend that it's the 80s and I live in the movie Valley Girl. Finally, as with all warm cookies fresh from the oven, wash 'em down with a big glass of cold milk. Enjoy, fellow kitchen nerds!

Ginger Sesame Noodle Salad

Okay. I've made this several times now, and let me say this:

People LOVE this salad. At barbecues, at picnics, at home, at the office. You will be very popular if you show up with a ton of it for a party. This is an awesome salad that lasts for several days, travels well, and makes an excellent chilled lunch. The veggies stay crunchy and the flavor improves the more it sits. I've seen similar recipes for "Asian"-inspired noodle salads, but for mine, I prefer to leave out things like cucumbers or bean sprouts, and add things I like such as extra firm tofu (it does a great job of soaking up all the other flavors)!

To make this recipe vegan, simply replace the spaghetti with a vegan (no egg) version, leave out the oyster sauce, and increase the other liquids to make up the difference. If you can find a vegan oyster sauce substitute, even better. These days, it's all about that umami flavor! When it comes to this salad, it's easy to change it up to suit your personal tastes. You do you, boo.


Ingredients:

Salad:

10 ounces whole wheat spaghetti
1 package extra firm tofu, diced into bite-sized pieces
1 cup grated or julienned carrots (pre-shredded from the store is helpful)
4-5 scallions/green onions, finely sliced
½ cup julienned sweet red or orange bell peppers
half bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 head napa cabbage, sliced with thick core removed
1/2 head purple cabbage, sliced with thick core removed
1/2 bunch kale, leaves torn off the stalks and shredded
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
3 tbsp sesame seeds

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2-3 tbsp grated fresh ginger


Boil a large pot of water, add a small handful of kosher salt. Boil spaghetti 8 minutes and drain. You can use whole wheat, vegan, gluten free or whatever kind of spaghetti you like in order to fit your needs and they should all work fine.

Slice, julienne and chop all salad ingredients. Place sliced red cabbage, napa cabbage, kale, carrots, green onions, sweet peppers, cilantro, garlic, peanuts, tofu and sesame seeds into the largest bowl you can find.

Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and fresh grated ginger into a medium-sized bowl. Grab handfuls of pasta and drench into the dressing, then place into the large bowl of veggies. This step allows all of the noodles to separate more easily for tossing the whole salad together. Continue this step until all of the pasta is wet, separated and thrown into the mixing bowl. Pour the rest of the dressing into the mix and use your hands to toss the salad thoroughly.

Store in tupperware containers and chill at least 2-3 hours. Salad can last for 3-4 days and will taste better the longer it sits. Makes a lot!

The Most PERFECT Thin & Chewy Gingerbread Cookies!

I am really picky about my gingerbread cookies, and after a bit of trial and error, I can confidently say that these are the BEST gingerbread cookies I've ever made. They're not thick, dry, or bready, nor are they gingersnaps with crunch. These are thin, delightfully moist and chewy, and just the teeniest bit crisp around the edges. You can choose to either roll these in sugar before baking them, or glaze and decorate them after they've cooled. This dough also works for gingerbread men (or other cookie cutter shapes), if you feel like taking the time to roll it out with a rolling pin. This time I decided I was fine with regular circle shapes.

I opted to use a good amount of ginger in this to give it an extra punch. Dry ground ginger is fine, but you can also do a combination of dry ground, fresh ground, or crystalized ginger pieces. The best part about these bad boys is that the molasses in them lets them stay incredibly moist for days! These cookies are great for when the temperature outside starts dropping, and as an added bonus, they make your house smell AMAZING! I am so excited to add this recipe to my collection. I hope you give them a shot. Enjoy!



Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground ginger
OR ½ tbsp ground ginger and 1 tbsp chopped crystalized ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt
¾ cup butter (1 ½ sticks), softened/room-temperature
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 ½ tbsp milk
¼ cup molasses

Icing (optional but recommended!):

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp corn syrup
2 tbsp water
crystal sprinkles (optional)


1. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

2. In another large bowl, mix softened butter into sugar until uniformly blended together. Add the egg and mix thoroughly, then mix in the milk and molasses.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Gradually stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture until fully combined.

4. Shape heaping teaspoons of the dough into balls the size of a walnut or ping pong ball. If you are skipping icing and sprinkles later, you can use this time to roll each ball in sugar first (either regular white sugar or chunkier, raw turbinado sugar will do). Space dough balls 2 inches apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet, and use the heel of your palm to flatten the ball somewhat. They will flatten out a little more as they bake, but will not be flat enough if you don't give it a little pre-squish with your palm first. Alternatively, the dough can be chilled, rolled out flat with a rolling pin, and then cut into fun shapes.

5. Bake at 350 F for 9-10 minutes, then remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

6. Optional: Make the icing.

Mix together water and corn syrup, then add powdered sugar and mix thoroughly until a uniform icing has formed with no lumps. Scoop the icing into one corner of a plastic sandwich bag and cut the smallest bit of the corner with scissors, making sure to create a very small opening to better control the icing. Decorate the cooled cookies with the icing any way you like, and optionally, add sprinkles while the icing is still wet. The icing should dry within a few hours to be hard and shiny.

Makes approximately 28 insanely delicious cookies!

Best Ever Peach Cobbler That Will Ruin You For Life

Summertime means swimming, grilling, and of course, taking advantage of all the great fresh fruit in season. I love a good cobbler, and after fiddling with this recipe, I can say this is just the most insanely delicious, sweet-salty-tart, crunchy-gooey cobbler I've ever had. Be sure to choose peaches (or nectarines) that are really ripe, just not to the point of mushy. A hard peach without a lot of juice will be more difficult to slice and will result in a more tart cobbler. Otherwise, this is a very simple recipe, even if you don't bake! I hope you try it and let me know how it is. 

Filling:

2 tbsp butter
8 fresh ripe peaches, pitted and sliced
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice, plus zest
3 tbsp tapioca
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
6 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup boiling water

Topping:

5 tablespoons turbinado sugar (AKA chunky, "sugar in the raw" style sugar).
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F. Use 2 tbsp butter to grease a 2 quart baking dish. In a large bowl, combine sliced peaches, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, lemon zest, lemon juice, tapioca and cornstarch.  

 
Toss together until evenly coated. Bake peach mixture in buttered baking dish for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, begin preparing the crust. In another large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, white sugar, baking powder and salt together. 

Next, add the chilled butter pieces. 

Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles thick sand with no large lumps of butter.
 

Stir in boiling water and mix until combined, being careful not to over-mix. 

Remove the baking dish from the oven and cover the peaches with spoonfuls of the dough. 

Combine cinnamon and turbinado sugar. 

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar generously all over the top of the cobbler, then bake for another 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. 

Let sit for at least 1 hour before serving warm with whipped cream or ice cream!

AWARD-WINNING Almond-Scented Chess Pie!

February was a busy month! So busy, in fact, that I didn't get to post any of the recipe entries I had started, because I was waiting to take photos for them. I didn't want to post a recipe without photos, because photos are half the fun! So, I'm planning to catch up on my recipe photos and get my other posts up here soon. 

Now it's halfway through March, and even though I've been quiet on my blog, I've still been cooking! On Saturday I entered a pie competition in Claremont, California. It was held on the 15th, the day after pi(e) day on 3/14. I decided to be a little crazy and enter 4 pies in the competition, which meant I was baking for hours on pi(e) day and even into the morning of the 15th. There were three categories to enter: fruit pies, cream pies, and custard pies. I made blueberry pie, key lime pie with coconut-scented whipped cream, "Heisenberg" pumpkin pie (with a cracked caramel topping), and my winning pie was almond-scented chess pie. It earned 2nd place in the custard category, and I was really thrilled because I had never entered a pie contest before, and there were a lot of pies being judged! 

In time I hope to post recipes for all of the pies I entered because I think they all came out great, but first I'm posting the recipe for the pie that won a prize. I don't believe in secret recipes, so anyone who wants to try this pie should definitely give it a shot, because it's incredible. The fact that it was also the least-attractive pie I submitted yet won 2nd place told me the judges must have really liked it! It's hard to nail down a good description of the flavor, but I think it tastes sort of like a mix of amaretto, flan, and those buttery Chinese almond cookies. If you're at all a fan of almond flavor and custards, this pie might make you black out. 

Because so many pies had to be tasted, the judges only sampled small amounts from each pie, which meant that after the winners were announced, everyone got to try the pies! Big portions of my chess and blueberry pies were missing before the public even got to them, so I guess the judges really liked them. So, despite the fact that I was too busy baking 4 pies to take photos of the process this time around, I did manage to take a couple of photos of the winning pie, which should be enough to go with the recipe. 

I really recommend the vanilla beans if you're already going to be making a pie from scratch, but vanilla extract will work, too. 

Head here for my favorite recipe for a perfectly flaky, all-butter pie dough (makes 2 crusts). 

 Ingredients: 

1 pie crust, unbaked 

½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature 

1 2/3 cups sugar 

4 eggs 

1 ½ tablespoons cornmeal 

¼ cup half and half, cream, or evaporated milk 

1 tablespoon white vinegar 

1 vanilla bean, OR 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

½ teaspoon almond extract 

sliced almonds (in the baking aisle next to cake mixes and chocolate chips, not snacking nuts) 

good pinch of salt 

Toss a stick of butter on to the counter to soften for at least a couple of hours before you start cooking, OR, microwave on super low power, around 20%, for 1 minute, then let the butter rest in the microwave for another minute. Yes, believe it or not, my microwave has a setting for softening butter, and amazingly, it does NOT melt it! I was skeptical, too, but it's the real deal. 

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Using a sharp paring knife, run the blade lengthwise along the vanilla pod, split it open, and scrape the vanilla beans out with the knife. Beat the softened butter, sugar, almond extract and vanilla beans together. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl for 1 minute, then add the eggs to the sugar and butter mixture and beat thoroughly to combine. Add the cornmeal, cream, vinegar and salt. Set this mixture aside. Place about 3 tablespoons of sliced almonds into a small frying pan, and lightly brown them over medium heat for just a few minutes, stirring frequently. They should be lightly toasted, so remember to watch them and make sure they don't burn! Remove the toasted almonds from the heat and let them cool for 2 minutes. 

Meanwhile, line a pie tin with the pie crust, and place the unbaked crust onto a cookie sheet for easy removal from the oven later. Pour the filling into the pie shell about 2/3 of the way up, then lightly scatter the toasted almonds on top. Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-45 minutes. The filling expands and puffs up quite a bit, so it will overflow if you fill the crust too high. The pie may seem a little wobbly in the very center when it's done, but that's actually perfect. It should end up a nice golden brown color all over, and when you slice it you will be greeted by a sunny, bright yellow filling with visible specks of vanilla!

If you do bake the pie for too long, don't worry too much. It's extremely hard to dry out a chess pie. I can't wait to make this pie again soon for friends, and I really hope you give it a try.

Brussels Sprouts, Pimped Out!

Brussels sprouts are a notoriously-abused vegetable, which, through no fault of the humble sprout, causes some people to swear them off entirely. I've served this dish to notorious vegetable-haters and picky eaters, as well as people who were pretty sure they weren't that fond of the brussels sprout but put up with it from time to time. But when I serve this, everyone wants some and they actually finish it. I find myself not even wanting to cook brussels sprouts any other way after trying this! One problem with seasoning brussels sprouts is that it's very difficult to penetrate the center of the sprout. This is fixed by slicing the sprouts as if they were small cabbages. There can be a slight bitter taste that the cook must overcome, which is why brussels sprouts will sometimes be balanced with something sweet or savory, like a little brown sugar or balsamic vinegar. Bacon is a popular addition to brussels sprouts, and this recipe is no exception. However, if you'd like to stay vegan, omit the bacon and switch the butter for olive oil.


Ingredients:

about 25-30 fresh brussels sprouts (select small ones for less bitterness)
1 sweet onion
4 strips of bacon
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms (oyster, baby portobello, shiitake)
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp good balsamic vinegar
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper


Start by dicing your onion into bite-sized pieces, and cook them in a large pan over low heat with 1 1/2 tbsp of butter, 1/2 tbsp olive oil and a dash of salt. 

Stir occasionally and make sure they don't scorch. You want them to slowly turn brown and sweet. Next, begin cooking your bacon strips until firm and crispy using whatever method you prefer (microwave, stove, oven are all fine). The bacon should be crispy enough to chop easily. Some people may prefer to cook the bacon first and then cook the vegetables in the bacon fat, but I actually prefer to cook it separately. Sometimes the bacon grease can get too hot and taste a little scorched if you're not really careful, but experiment and see what you like. When the bacon is done, chop it into bits and set it aside. Remember to keep checking your onions.

Meanwhile, rinse and inspect your brussels sprouts, using a good knife to remove any funky brown spots that you don't like. This part isn't actually too important but it might make you feel good, and that's all that matters. Slice the brussels sprouts as thin as you can and set them aside. Remember to go check your onions! 

Next, dampen a towel and wipe any specks of dirt from your mushrooms. Rinsing mushrooms isn't the best method because they can act like sponges and retain too much water. Slice them up and set them aside. 

When the onions are starting to turn a golden color, add the mushrooms, along with the remaining butter and olive oil and another dash of salt and pepper. Cook the onions and mushrooms over medium heat for another 5 to 10 minutes, adding extra olive oil if necessary. You can't really overcook the onions and mushrooms at this point because they're pretty forgiving vegetables. Add the brussels sprouts to the onions and mushrooms and cook for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until they begin to wilt and change color. This is also when you should add your bacon. 

Your brussels sprouts should be tender but remain crunchy, and they're difficult to overcook using this method. Lastly, add the brown sugar and balsamic, adding additional salt and pepper to taste.  

 

With the help of things like brown sugar and bacon, any bitterness is completely cut out and it's as if you turned brussels sprouts into some kind of vegetable candy. I figure if this dish can't get you to like brussels sprouts, then nothing will! I hope you give it a try and enjoy it as much as my family does.