Mother and Grandmother Approved {Recipe: Coconut Cookies}

A quick Christmas cookie post before heading out on a holiday adventure. This is a recipe I found that my mother wrote on and underlined they were good and my grandmother wrote, "These are real good." They were right!

Coconut Cookies

Cream:
1 pound margarine (as always, I used butter)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring

Sift together:
5 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda

Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until well combined.

Add:
1 3/4 cups coconut-fine or angel flake

Divide into six sticks and freeze. Slice and bake as needed.

Bake at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes. (I placed them on a parchment lined cookie sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart.)

Can be rolled in colored sugar, nuts or chocolate bits. 

Note: This is fairly true to how my grandmother wrote the recipe with the exception of the coconut measurement (she noted that they needed more coconut, so I adjusted accordingly) and the combining of the flour and butter mixtures. Also, dough can be refrigerated for an hour or so if using the same day. If freezing, the dough thaw a bit before rolling in colored sugar, otherwise the sugar won't stick. Also, its too hard to slice if frozen solid. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Waste Not, Want Not {Recipe: Krispie Kreme Bread Pudding}

Fundraising an unfortunate necessity in most K-12 schools, my kids' school is no exception, and I hate them.  As much as I despise them, I always do my part.  This fall the kids wanted to try a Krispy Kreme Fundraiser in conjunction with a bake sale to raise money for a student leadership seminar. Most of the time with fundraisers I wind up buying more of whatever is being sold than I need.  This time was no different and I wound up with 5 dozen donuts. At $12 a dozen, I don't want to waste them. So I threw them in the freezer until I can come up with ways use them. So far I have tried French toast and bread pudding.

So first I tried donut French toast. It worked and was quite good, I just treated the donuts like bread, but I did have to poke the donuts with a fork to allow the egg mixture to soak in a bit into the donuts. Also, I pressed down on the toast with the back of a spatula while cooking to get more of a french toast appearance and texture.

The second use for the donuts I tried is bread pudding. This is really good! It is easier than the French toast and, I think, tastier. It makes for a really nice dessert when served with vanilla ice cream, a sprinkling of toasted pecans, then drizzled with a little maple syrup to top it off.

Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding

1 dozen day old glazed Krispy Kreme donuts*
1 14 ounce can of sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Powdered sugar for dusting. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13"x9" casserole pan with butter. Cut each donut into sixths and arrange in the casserole pan. In a medium size bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, eggs, milk, salt, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over prepared donuts. Let stand about 15 minutes, then turn over the donut pieces to allow for both side to soak in egg mixture; re-arrange the donut pieces. Let stand for 15 more minutes. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and set, but still a little wobbly. If you find the pudding is browning too fast and is not set, tent with foil until fully cooked. Dust with powdered sugar after removing from the oven. Serve warm or at room temperature. It is good on its own or with vanilla ice cream. Toasted pecans and/or a drizzle of maple syrup is good on it as well. 

*As mentioned above, I put the donuts in the freezer before using them. They were a bit hardened when I thawed them, but they work beautifully for bread pudding. 

Enjoy!

An Oldie but a Goodie! {Recipe: Butterscotch Brownies}

These are a mid-century favorite! This recipe comes from my mother's old recipe file which she probably started around the 1960s. (In true frugal form, she used an old metal file and the back of used index cards from my father's business.) These brownies also appear in some recipe pamphlets I have from the 1950s.  This recipe is quick, easy, and delicious! Also, a good alternative to chocolate brownies while having the same chewy, delectable texture. I love chocolate, but it's nice to have a change once in a while.

Butterscotch Brownies

This recipe doubles well. If doubling, use a 13x9" pan. 

1/4 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts, optional

Heat oven to 350°F. Melt butter over low heat. Blend in sugar. Cool. Stir in egg. In a small-medium sized mixing bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt; stir into butter/sugar mixture. Mix in vanilla and nuts (if using). Spread in well-greased 8x8x2" pan.* Bake 25 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Cut into bars. 

*Note: I use a parchment sling in the pan and spray with cooking spray. The sling makes it easy to lift the brownies out for cutting. 

Enjoy!

Three Generations of Cookies {Recipes: Molasses Sugar Cookies, Oatmeal Cookies, Brown Sugar Cookies, and M&M Super Cookies}

Below is a photo of all of the cookies together, but photo is not good. It does show all of the cookies together along with the original recipes. Above is the more recent photo  of the Valentine cookies I made with the M&M Super Cookie Recipe.

Recently I came across my mom's old recipe file and my first recipe file. Both my mom and I had recipes in our files that were from my maternal grandmother (sadly I have no recipes from my father's mother, I understand she was quite the cook). The week I came across the files coincided with a bake sale fundraiser my son was taking part in, so I pulled cookie recipes from these files. While baking the cookies I realized I had 3 generations of cookies represented. Funny to note, older people bought my grandmother's cookies, younger people bought the cookies from my recipe, and all ages bought my mom's.

The only change I make to these recipes is if a recipe calls for margarine (or "oleo," as some of my grandmother's recipes say) or shortening, I substitute butter. Occasionally I will use shortening, but not often. I try to never use it because I can never use it up before it gets rancid. Most of my grandmother's recipes call for margarine or shortening because it was cheaper. She kept 6 kids well fed through the end of the depression and into WWII, and, boy, did she know how to stretch a dollar!

Molasses Sugar Cookies 

Whenever we went to visit my grandmother she always had a full cookie jar waiting for us. These are the cookies that were in that jar most often. 

3/4 cup shortening (or butter, see above)

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses (light)
1 egg
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups sifted flour
1/2 teaspoon each cloves, ginger, salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Melt shortening (or butter) in a 3 or 4 quart saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, let cool. Add sugar, molasses an egg. Beat well. Sift together flour, soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Add to first mixture, mix well, then chill. Form into 1" balls. Roll in granulated sugar and place on a greased cookie sheet 2" apart. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes.

Note: I noticed that some of my mother's and grandmother's recipes don't have the clearest instructions. I assume that "light" molasses is unsulphured, and the chill time would be at least 1/2 hour. Also, a parchment or Silpat lined cookie sheet, rather than greased, works well for all of these recipes. 
 

Oatmeal Cookies

This was my mother's recipe. They turn out thin and toffee like. For thicker cookies, increase the flour by 1/2 cup.  

3/4 cup shortening (or butter, see above)
1 1/3 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg 
1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups oatmeal

1/2 cup raisins, optional
                                                

Beat thoroughly shortening (or butter), sugar(s), egg, water, and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt, and soda. Add to shortening (butter) mixture, mixing well. Bake at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes. 

*The recipe is originally typed with 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. My mother crossed out the granulated sugar and added an additional 1/3 cup brown sugar. 

Brown Sugar Cookies

This is the most used cookie recipe in my mother's cookie box. It is the recipe that she, then later I, always used for making chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate chip cookies were and still are a favorite!  Add one 12-ounce package of chocolate chips for chocolate chip cookies. 

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter
3 eggs 
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone mat. 

2. Sift flour, baking soda and cream of tartar in a medium size mixing bowl; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition; add vanilla and salt. Stir in the flour mixture until well combined, but careful not to over beat or mix. Stir in chocolate chips, if using. 

3. Drop by teaspoonful* onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake in a moderate (350°F), oven for 8-12 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet, move cookies to cooling rack to finish cooling. Store in an airtight container.

*For the cookies shown a 2" cookie scoop was used. Cooking time needs to be adjusted depending on the size. For these, the baking time was about 12 minutes. 

Recipe yields 14-60 cookies, depending on size. Using a 2" scoop yields 14, using a teaspoon yields about 50-60.

 

Fun to note: My mother was a very good writer, but with her recipes not so much. Below is the recipe as written on the recipe card. Not the easiest to follow. 

Cream butter and sugar together, add eggs well beaten, then baking soda and cream of tartar sifted into flour, add vanilla and salt. Drop by tablespoonful on cookie sheet and press down with fork. Makes 70 cookies. 

M&M Super Cookies

This recipe is from my first recipe box that I received for Christmas when I was around ten. I don't recall where I got from, but I assume a M&M ad. I remember thinking that adding M&M's to cookies was just about the best thing ever!

1 package M&M's, plain (regular, dark, mini, or holiday)
1 cup margarine (or butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Coarsely chop 1 1/2 cups candies.* (Reserve the leftover M&M's.) Beat together margarine (butter) and sugars until light and fluffy; blend in eggs and vanilla. Add combined flour, soda, and salt; mix well. Stir in chopped ladies and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto greased cookie sheet (see note above under the Molasses Cookie recipe). Bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes. Press 3 reserved candies on top of each cookie (more if using mini M&M's)*

*I never bother to chop the M&M's and I don't always bother to reserve some to press on top. 

This is the first of the recipes I'll be posting from the newly found recipe files. It will be fun see what recipes I come across for future posts!

Happy Baking!

Happy Friendsgiving, It's Potluck Time! {Recipes: Easy 40 Minute Rolls and Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole}

My son joined ASB (associated student body) last year and continues to be a member this year. He hopes to continue next year as well. It is a tradition for ASB to have a Thanksgiving, or "Friendsgiving," potluck the last day before Thanksgiving break. I made these rolls last year for the potluck and they were requested again this year. I didn't get the recipe posted last year, so here it is.   There is little doubt they will be requested again if my son continues with ASB.

Easy 40 Minute Rolls

This recipe is easiest to make with a 6-7 qt stand mixer, but will work without one. It will take more muscle power to mix by hand, just think of it as exercise! 

Ingredients:

3 cups hot water ( between 105ºF and 110ºF)
2/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
3 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs
7-9+** cups all purpose flour***
Melted butter for brushing the tops of the rolls (1-2 tablespoons)

Instructions:

1. Line  a 12'x17"baking sheet with parchment and spray lightly with cooking spray; set aside. 

2. In the bowl of a 6-7 quart stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water, oil, yeast and sugar; let rest for 15 minutes. After the mixture has rested, add the salt and eggs. 

3. Gradually add the flour to the yeast mixture. Start off by adding 4-5 cups of flour, then slowly add the remains flour until a soft, but firm dough is formed. Be careful not to add too much flour or the rolls will turn out dry. 

3. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Let the oven heat up while forming the rolls and letting them rest. 

4. Shape the dough into dinner rolls (roughly 3"balls) and place in prepared baking sheet about 1/2"apart from each other. Let the rolls rest for 10 minutes.

5. Bake rolls for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush the tops with butter.*

*Note: For this step I usually take a stick of butter from the refrigerator, unwrap one end, go over the tops of the rolls, then rewrap and put it back in the refrigerator for future use. 

**Update: It may take more than 9 cups of flour to achieve desired consistency. We live in a dry climate and it takes about 9 cups, but when we made them in an area we were that has a more humid climate, we had to use around 10 cups of flour.  

***This recipe also works well using 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all purpose flour. I did find it took 15-20 minutes to bake, rather than 10 minutes. To test for doneness, insert an instant read thermometer into the center of one of the rolls in the middle. They are done if the temperature reaches about 185ºF to 190ºF. If the rolls are getting too brown on top before proper internal temperature is reached, cover the rolls with foil until they are done. The foil will prevent further browning on top. 


The following recipe is the all-time ASB favorite! This dish is requested for every ASB get together.

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole

This recipe is adapted from a Pinterest found recipe from a while ago, unfortunately the source is not printed on the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 30 ounce bag of frozen hash browns, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom
1 small onion, chopped
8 oz (or more, if desired) shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup sour cream
1 stick butter, melted

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Spray a 9"x13" casserole dish.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the hash browns, soup, salt, black pepper, and 1 cup shredded cheese (a bit more can be added if you want it a little cheesier). 
4. Add sour cream and mix well.
5. Add the melted butter and stir until all of the ingredients are well combined. 
6. Turn into the prepared casserole dish and top with remaining cup of shredded cheese (again, a little more cheese can be added). 
7. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until bubbly and starting to get a little browned on top. 

Happy Friendsgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some Things Are Worth the Extra Effort {Recipe: Crock-Pot Vegetable Chowder}

Fall is here and school is in full swing, so there is nothing better than a good Crock-Pot recipe for busy autumn days. My family especially loves a good soup this time of year, but not always one that is prepared in the Crock-Pot. Sometimes the taste and texture is not same as what can be achieved on the stove top. I find with a little extra effort I can get just as good results in the Crock-Pot as I do on the stove top.

Crock-Pot slow cooked meals are wonderful for their ease and convenience, but taking a little time to prep some Crock-Pot additions before adding them can result in better flavor. In particular, sautéed onions and garlic add a much nicer flavor to soups and stews than raw ones do when added to the slow cooker.

Finishing a Crock-Pot soup with a velouté sauce* or, as in this case, a Béchamel sauce** also adds to getting a better result from the Crock-Pot. Again, this takes a little extra time and stove top prep, but end result is worth the extra effort.

Crock-Pot Vegetable Chowder

Instructions:

Sauté in a medium sauté pan-
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2-3 carrots, sliced (about 1 cup)

Add at the just before pulling the sauté pan from the heat and stir until fragrant-
2-3 cloves of garlic (depending on size), minced

Place all of the sautéed ingredients in a 5 or 6 quart Crock-Pot, then add-
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1-1 1/2 head(s) of cauliflower (depending on size), chopped
2-4 Yukon gold potatoes (again, depending on size), cubed
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cup frozen corn or 1 15-oz can of corn, rinsed and drained

Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until the vegetables are tender. 

When the Crock-Pot cooking time is just about done, make a Béchamel sauce to add to the soup for thickening. 

For Béchamel sauce, melt in a medium sauce pan-
4 tablespoons butter

Whisk in and cook a minute or two-
6 tablespoons flour

Then whisk in-
2 cups milk
1/2 cup half and half

To finish the soup, add the Béchamel sauce to the Crock-Pot, cover and cook for about an hour more. 

Serve soup with shredded cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces is needed to top all servings) and chopped green onion (one bunch for all servings), if desired. 

Makes 6-8 servings

*Velouté sauce is basically chicken broth thickened with flour and butter (a roux), then seasoned with salt and pepper. 

**Béchamel sauce is a white sauce made with milk thickened with a roux (flour and butter).

Enjoy!

Farewell Summer, Hello Fall! {Recipe: Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream}

One quick last ice cream post to mark the official end of summer. This is the kids' absolute favorite ice cream. It is hard to beat a good homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream. The following recipe is the best one we have made to date.  

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

This ice cream has the same base as the Frosted Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream posted 9/19/17. It is a really good base for adding different flavorings and stir-ins. 

Ice Cream Base:

2 cups whole milk

1 1/2 heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Flavoring for Mint Chocolate Chip:

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 teaspoon(s) peppermint extract, depending on taste*

6 drops green food coloring, optional

1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips or finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate bar (I used a food processor to chop up the chocolate for the ice cream in the photo above and garnished with mini chocolate chips.)

In a medium bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in milk. Once dissolved, stir in heavy cream, vanilla, peppermint, and food coloring (if using) until well combined. Pour mixture into a one quart ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream makers instructions. When the ice cream is just about finished processing in the ice cream maker, add chocolate. For example, my ice cream maker takes about 25 minutes to process, after 20 minutes I add the stir-ins-in this case, chocolate. Once ice cream is processed, place it in an air tight container(s) and freeze until firm-at least 2 hours.** 

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream

*Add peppermint to taste, but keep in mind that flavorings can dissipate a bit in the freezer. My family likes it made with 2 teaspoons. Also, we find that using a good quality flavoring makes big a difference. Once we had to throw out a batch of mint chocolate chip ice cream because the flavoring we used tasted bad-such a waste of otherwise good ingredients!

**Freezing ice cream until firm is what a recipe means if it says to "ripen" ice cream.

Happy summer's end everyone, now bring on fall!

One Is Never Too Old for Circus Animal Cookies! {Recipe: Frosted Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream}

There are few store-bought cookies that will make there way into our house. My daughter and I both love to bake cookies so there is rarely a reason to buy them. But there is one store-bought cookie that the whole family is loves, and that is Frosted Circus Animal Cookies. There is probably a bit of nostalgia in the reason my husband and I like them so much, we both had them growing up. But, my kids devour them anytime they are around!

The first time I ever bought them for the kids was for Lili's first birthday party. I think these bright cheery cookies are perfect for kids parties. At the party, I soon noticed that my then 2 1/2 year old son kept going back to the bowl of them and grabbing a hand full at a time. I don't think he even bothered with the birthday cake. So ever since Lili's first birthday, both kids have been fans of this colorful little frosted treat.

Both kids are teens now and may claim that they are too old for circus animal cookies, but neither one objected when I made this ice cream. They also wanted to know if there were any cookies left over. I say one is never too old for circus animal cookies!

Frosted Circus Animal Cookie Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract*
1 1/2 cup roughly chopped frosted circus animal cookies
1/4 cup rainbow jimmies

In a medium bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in milk. Once dissolved, stir in heavy cream and vanilla until well combined. Pour mixture into a one quart ice cream maker and freeze according to your ice cream makers instructions. When the ice cream is just about finished processing in the ice cream maker, add the chopped cookies and jimmies. For example, my ice cream maker takes about 25 minutes to process, after 20 minutes I add the cookies and jimmies. Once ice cream is processed, place it in an air tight container(s) and freeze until firm-at least 2 hours.** 

Makes about 1 1/2 quarts of ice cream

*Vanilla amount can be adjust to taste, but keep in mind that flavorings can dissipate a bit in the freezer.

**Freezing ice cream until firm is what a recipe means if it says to "ripen" ice cream.

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Worth Stunting Your Growth For {Recipe: Coffee Ice Cream With or Without Add-Ins}

In a previous post on July 20, 2016 for Mocha Granola, I tell the story of how my mother would not allow my siblings and me to have coffee or tea when we were growing up. Whenever we wanted to try either one she would say, "No, it will stunt your growth." The one thing she would allow is coffee ice cream; I guess somethings are worth stunting your growth over.

My father-in-law's original recipe
handwritten by my mother-in-law.

Coffee ice cream never did much for me until I tried this one. This recipe comes from my father-in-law, the chemist. This recipe proves once again that chemists can cook (see the 7/19/17 post "Never Tell a Chemist He [or She] Can't Cook). The man certainly knew how to make ice cream!

So far I have only tried his ice cream recipes. He also prided himself on how well he made sourdough pancakes and waffles from his own sourdough starter. One day I hope to try my hand at these.

Coffee Ice Cream

The original recipe made about a gallon of ice cream, I cut the recipe down to make only about a quart. 

2 cups whole milk (Original recipe does not specify, but whole milk is usually used in ice cream.)

3 tablespoons ground coffee*

1 egg

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons flour

1 1/3 cups heavy cream 

Scald the coffee and milk to the boiling point; strain through cheese cloth. Beat egg, sugar, and flour together. Very slowly stir milk mixture into beaten egg mixture, be careful not to do this fast or the egg will cook and become lumpy. Cook the milk/egg mixture in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool. Whip cream until stiff, then fold into the cooled milk/egg mixture until well combined. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's instructions. 

*Use your favorite ground coffee. We use one we found at a local coffee place, Maps, in Kansas City, MO; it is so good in this ice cream! 

Update: We recently tried this recipe with Oreos-so good! Chop up about 10 original flavor Oreos and add to the ice cream during the last minute or two in the ice cream maker. Continue to process the ice cream until done and Oreo is well distributed throughout.

Enjoy!

Taking the Labor Out of Homemade Buns for End-of-Summer BBQ {Recipe: 40-Minute Hamburger Buns}

Confession time: burger shown is a veggie burger.

Labor Day weekend seems to mark the end of summer, even though it is not officially over until September 22nd and the kids started school a few weeks ago. I suppose it's a remnant of my childhood. School always started after Labor Day when I was growing up. My kids have always started school early to mid-August, but they feel the same about labor day-it marks the end of summer, and with it, the end of backyard barbecues and hanging out at the pool. 

We don't barbecue hamburgers often, but when we do, we want them to be good. We go to the local butcher and special order ground beef for the occasion, and not just any ole' hamburger bun will do! My daughter, Lili, makes fantastic Brioche Hamburger Buns (recipe posted here at Mother Always Told Me, April 21, 2016), but it is time consuming to make these. So we recently tried these 40-Minute Hamburger Buns and they are really good as well. 

So fire up the barbecue and get out there and enjoy the last weekend of summer! 

40-Minute Hamburger Buns

This recipe is adapted from one found on tasteofhome.com.

Depending on the size of hamburger buns you want, this recipe can make 6 for a hardy burger bun, 8 for an average sized burger bun, and 12 for sliders. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110-115℉)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon sea salt
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet(s) with parchment paper, then set aside In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg and salt. Then add flour, starting with 3 cups; gradually add more flour until you achieve a soft dough. 

2. If using a mixer with a dough hook, knead the dough on low speed for about 3-5 minutes, or until smooth an elastic. If a mixer is not being used, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 3-5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. After kneading the dough, weigh it, then divide by 6, 8, or 12, depending on the desired size hamburger bun. Shape each piece of dough into a ball and place about 3 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

3. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425°F for 6-12 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter, then remove to wire racks to cool. 

Note:

For making really good grilled burgers, we follow the tips from  Bon Appétit found here: <http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/common-mistakes/article/burger-common-cooking-mistakes>. 

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, there are a few vegetarians and vegans in our family and friend group that we try to accommodate. We recently discovered Field Roast Hand-Formed Burgers at our local Walmart and we were pleasantly surprised when we tried them. While they won't fool a meat lover, they are tasty. Both the vegetarians and non-vegetarians in our family like them. 

Enjoy!

Time Passes Too Quickly {Recipe: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola}

It is back-to-school time already, and as always, summertime passed far too quickly. It seems like summer just gets started, then boom, it is time to prepare for back-to-school. I think one of the things I dread the most is school lunches. It is always a challenge to come up with a variety heathy foods that the kids like. By the end of the school year they are tired of the some old lunches.

So this school year we are trying to come up with some new healthy snacks. So far we have tried a few nut butter and oat energy bites found on Pinterest, one made with peanut butter and another made with almond butter. Both received a thumbs up. Granola is not always a favorite, but they both loved this one. I am sure it has to do with the fact that I added a little more added sugar than what I usually do. The brown sugar can be adjusted to taste or left out.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Granola

The kids love to snack on this granola right out of the container! 

Ingredients:

5 cups old fashioned rolled oats 
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon salt (If leaving out brown sugar, only add a pinch or else it may be too salty.)
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup 
1/3 cup brown sugar (You can add less or leave out, depending on how sweet you like your granola.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 


Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat baking mat; set aside. 

2. Place the oats in a large mixing bowl, add chocolate chips and salt; set aside. 

3. In a microwave-proof quart-size bowl or measuring cup, melt coconut oil. Stir in maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Cool to room temperature, then pour over the oat mixture and stir until ingredients are well coated. 

4. Pour granola mixture into the prepared baking sheet. Spread evenly, then press down to compress mixture together with a large metal spatula.

5. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned, rotating the pan halfway through baking time. Let granola cool for at least one hour in baking sheet. Break granola up into desired sized pieces. Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. 

Variation 1: For  Maple Pecan Granola, substitute whole pecans for the chocolate chips. 

Variation 2: Crispy Rice Granola. My daughter prefers a lighter textured granola, so we tried 3 cups of oats and 2 cups of brown rice crisps cereal; it works well. We also left the chocolate chips out. In addition, this seemed to brown a little faster than the original recipe, so I gave it a stir 1/2 way through cooking and kept a close eye on it. It was done in about 30 minutes.


Enjoy!

Never Tell a Chemist He [or She] Can't Cook {Recipe: Chocolate Ice Cream}

It's summertime! Of course ice cream is good anytime of year, but when temperatures are rising nothing beats cool, creamy ice cream! Both my husband and I grew up having homemade ice cream. My family usually just made vanilla and served it with various toppings. My husband's family made vanilla, coffee, strawberry and chocolate. The only one I ever tried that my father-in-law made was the chocolate. 

My father-in-law liked to tell a story of when one ladies in his friend group said that baba au rum difficult to make and there is no way my father-in-law could make it. His response was, "I have a PhD in Chemistry, I can certainly make baba au rhum." So the next time they got together, my father-in-law made baba au rhum and, according to him, it was perfect. He would end the story with, "Never tell a chemist he can't cook." 

That was the only time he ever made baba au rum, but there were other dishes he prided himself with. One of them is ice cream, in particular, chocolate ice cream (the others are sourdough waffles and pancakes, which I hope to make one day). I have to admit, its pretty good. I don't usually like a custard based ice cream because I have had some that tasted "eggy." This one does not. 

Original Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

Chocolate Ice Cream

The original recipe for this ice cream is supposed to make one gallon. We don't go through that much, so I reduced to 1/3 and got about a quart of ice cream. 

2 cups whole milk

4 tablespoons grated chocolate

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons flour

pinch of salt

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

scant 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Scald milk, sugar and chocolate. Allow chocolate to melt and mix with other ingredients. Strain through cheesecloth, if necessary. Beat together the egg, sugar, and flour. Very slowly stir milk mixture into beaten egg mixture, be careful not to do this fast or the egg will cook. Return to fire and heat, but do not boil until mixture thickens. Cool. When cold, add whipped cream*, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Stir thoroughly and freeze [according to your ice cream maker's instructions]. 

*Note: All the other ice cream recipes that are from my father-in-law specify that heavy cream be "whipped stiff," so I assume the same goes for this recipe. The texture turned out perfect with whipping the heavy cream. 

This recipe comes from a hand written and illustrated cook book from my mother-in-law. At the beginning of the ice cream section she wrote out some tips for making ice cream. Here are the tips:

Enjoy and Happy Summer!

Dessert in the Desert {Recipe: Strawberry Honey Balsamic Ice Cream with Black Pepper}

We live in the desert, in both a literal and culinary desert. Our small desert community is isolated and doesn't support much in the way of fine dining. We have a few good restaurants, but mostly we have fast food and pizza. In part, this is why we sometimes go to extraordinary lengths make out of the ordinary foods at home. If we can't go out to get what we want, we will find a way to prepare it at home. This Strawberry Honey Balsamic Ice Cream with Black Pepper is a perfect example of the lengths we will go prepare something out of the ordinary. 

Many of the foods that we try to create at home are inspired by foods we have tried while traveling. This ice cream is a nod to the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper ice cream we had last summer at Salt & Straw in Portland, OR. The Salt & Straw ice cream is one of the best we ever had. So this summer we set out to find similar ingredients to those Salt & Straw uses. This is probably the most "foodie" thing we have ever done. 

Salt & Straw uses Honey Ridge Farms Balsamic Honey Vinegar and Pohnpei black pepper in their Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper ice cream. Honey Ridge Farms ships their products. As of this writing, the vinegar is $12.99 without shipping and handling for a 8.45 ounce bottle. It is a little trickier getting the Pohnpei black pepper. It is expensive and not readily available. We found it on Amazon for about $35 with shipping and handling. Although I just checked while writing this, and they seem to be sold out. The Pohnpei black pepper is a milder, sweeter pepper than ordinary black pepper.

Adding the honey balsamic vinegar to the strawberry seems to intensify the strawberry flavor. It does not add a vinegar flavor at all. It is what makes this ice cream so good! The Pohnpei black pepper adds a slight spice to the ice cream. It is not necessary to use it; the ice cream is quite nice without it. 

It may be awhile before we head back to Portland, OR. So in the meantime, we will be making our own version of Strawberry Honey Balsamic Ice Cream with Black Pepper. It's a little challenging and expensive to get the ingredients, but it is way cheaper and easier than traveling to Portland get it!

Strawberry Honey Balsamic Ice Cream with Black Pepper

The Pohnpei black pepper is expensive and can be hard to get. It is not necessary to use it, the ice cream is very good without it.

Recipe for Small Batch Strawberry Honey Balsamic Jam was posted on May 15, 2017.

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon Pohnpei black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Strawberry Honey Balsamic Jam, divided

1/4 teaspoon Pohnpei black pepper, optional

Whisk together whole milk, sugar and salt, until the sugar and salt is dissolved. Add in heavy cream, pepper, and 1/4 cup Strawberry Honey Balsamic Jam; stir until completely combined. Pour into a 1 quart ice cream maker of your choice and process accordingly. We use a Cuisinart electric ice cream maker that takes about 20-25 minutes to process, then place in a container and freeze for another 2 hours to "ripen".  Swirl in another 1/4 cup Strawberry Honey Balsamic Jam before placing the ice cream into the freezer to "ripen", while the ice cream is still a little soft. 

Enjoy!

This May Sound Corny, but Chipotle Is My Life! {Recipe: Corn Salsa}

"I love Chipotle, Chipotle is my life!" I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this quote from some viral vine. My son went around saying it for months! He does love Chipotle though. One problem, we don't have a Chipotle anywhere near us, so I try to figure out copy cat recipes. In February I posted a cilantro lime rice recipe that is pretty close, and now for the corn salsa. It's been a little while since I had Chipotle's, so I don't know how close this is, but it is really good!

P.S. Sorry for the groan worthy title, my husband's knack for bad puns is rubbing off on me. 

Corn Salsa

There are lots of copy cat recipes on the internet, this is just the combination we like. It is easily adaptable to your tastes. Add more or less cilantro, onion, lime, salt, and/or pepper accordingly. 

1 16 ounce bag of frozen corn, defrosted and drained

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2/3 cup chopped red onion (about one small or 1/2 large red onion)

1 jalapeño pepper

juice of one lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Taste to check flavor and adjust accordingly. 

This is great in burritos and burrito bowls or on it's own with tortilla chips!

Enjoy!

Popularity Isn't Everything {Recipe: Baked Macaroni and Cheese}

Kraft boxed mac and cheese was all the rage when I was a kid, in fact I believe their ads claimed to be America's #1 packaged dinner, but my mother refused to buy it. I think I may have talked her into it once. She probably had a coupon. Mainly, if I had it at all,  it would be at a friends' houses. The only macaroni and cheese we ever had was made from scratch. While I liked the homemade macaroni and cheese, I thought the boxed stuff was way better. Of course my mom was right, the homemade was the better of the two and I will not touch the Kraft stuff now. 

The other thing my mother would never buy, which every other household seemed to have, is American cheese. That I could go along with. We only had Tillamook cheddar in our house (again, it's an Oregon thing). It about gagged me if I went to a friend's house and I was served American cheese. I still can remember struggling to swallow grilled cheese sandwiches made out of American cheese in an effort to be polite. 

Baked macaroni and cheese is one of the first dishes I learned to make on my own. I was around 10 years old when I learned to make it. The recipe I used came from my mother's old Better Homes and Garden Cook Book. I have no idea the edition, the cover wore off and the page with the copyright was missing before I ever used it. It was always held together with a large rubber band. I am not sure how much longer the cook book will survive, so I thought I better make another record of the recipe. It is not fancy like all of the mac and cheese recipes I see lately, but it is a good basic recipe. 

It wasn't until recently that I thought that my daughter should make this recipe. She is a little more experienced cook than I was at 10, so she had no problems making it. Although she did point out how vague the instructions are, so I will break it down a bit more. 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from Better Hones & gardens Cook Book, edition unknown. 

1 8-ounce package macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
1-3 tablespoons flour, depending on how thick of white sauce you want
2 cups milk 
Salt and pepper, to taste (I use about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon fine ground pepper.)
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese*
1 cup dry bread crumbs, optional (I have never used.)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
2. Cook macaroni until al dente according to package directions; drain and rinse. Pour into the prepared baking dish; set aside. 
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute or two, then whisk in the milk slowly to help prevent lumps, Continue to cook the white sauce until it starts to thicken, then add 2/3 of the cheese. Stir until all the cheese is melted. 
4. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni in the baking dish and give it a good stir. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and crumbs, if using, over the top. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and starts to brown. 

*Original recipe calls for American cheese. 

Serves 6

Enjoy!