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S’more Cookies

Published on by Dawn1 Comment

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It has been a while since I made something so good that it was worthy of prioritizing time to document…but here they are.  My time in the kitchen has resorted to cooking for survival – dinners at night, occasional banana bread (just so I have some in the freezer for those last minute baked goods) and jam.  Yes, plenty of jam.

These cookies might just be the best cookies I have ever made.  They are from a food store in Seattle called Dish D’Lish.  I made them smaller than the recipe called for and they were still giant – I also kept a careful eye on them and took them out a few minutes earlier since they were smaller.  Enjoy!!

Ingredients

Dough
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
One 8-ounce package toffee baking bits

Topping
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Preparation

To make the cookie dough, in a mixing bowl, cream the butter, shortening, sugars, egg, and vanilla well. Sift the flour, cocoa, soda, and salt together in a small bowl. Mix into the butter mixture. Stir in the toffee bits.

In a large piece of plastic wrap, roll the dough into a 3-inch-diameter log with flat ends. Wrap well and refrigerate the dough to chill for at least 1 hour, or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, preheat an oven to 350°F. Line 4 or 5 baking sheets with baking parchment (see Chef’s Note, below).

While the oven is heating, make the topping. Combine the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with a rubber spatula or spoon until the marshmallows are thoroughly coated. The mixture will be very sticky.

Cut the chilled dough into 10 equal slices. Place 2 or 3 slices on each prepared baking sheet. (When baked, these cookies spread to about a 5-inch diameter, so bake only 2 or 3 per pan.) In the center of each cookie, place about 1 heaping tablespoon of topping, using it all.

Bake the cookies for 18 to 20 minutes, or until just done. Let cool on the baking parchment until totally cooled and easy to remove.

Chef’s Note: If you’re short of baking sheets, just lay out the dough slices on additional pieces of baking parchment. When a pan of cookies is done, remove the pan from the oven, slide the parchment with the baked cookies onto a rack, place the next parchment sheet of dough on the pan and bake.

Recipe © Dish D’Lish®

For a printer friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Smores Cookies

Onion and Chive Dilled Egg Salad

Published on by DawnLeave a comment

onion-and-chive-dilled-egg-salad

My first post of the new year…I seem to be looking forward a lot more than normal.  I hate wishing the time away, but 4 years cannot go by fast enough.  I hate that in 4 years my oldest daughter will be in college.  I hate that these are such important years for her to grow as a woman.  But I dread more the role model that our electoral college chose to lead our country.  It wasn’t until Saturday that I actually believed there is a path forward, and that people are not going to sit back and watch.  I was almost in tears to see that our global friends were right there with us…standing up for what is right – Paris, London, Sydney, and on and on – it is not America First – it is Humanity First.

I find myself cooking and baking less and less these days – I am busier than ever, but unfortunately not in the kitchen.  When I am in the kitchen, I am focused on making things that are going to save us time during the week.  Tonight one of our dinner table conversations was about our public school system – and the huge budget deficit that we are facing.  My youngest daughter has decided that maybe if the government can fully fund education, that means that school lunches might actually be edible.  I didn’t have the heart to tell her that school lunches were the least of their worries – although I did remind her that she was lucky to have healthy food at home to bring for lunch.  Particularly this week!

Egg salad has become somewhat of a delicacy in our house.  It is definitely something that both girls LOVE for their lunches.  When Stonyfield Farms asked us to try their new Double Cream yogurt, along with some spices and mixes from Simply Organic – I was over the moon.  It didn’t take me more than a minute to figure out what I was going to make.  Aside from using the wonderful dips as an afternoon snack with carrot sticks – I decided to use some in making egg salad.  What a delicious treat.  First of all, this yogurt is really incredible, it is like a mild form of sour cream, it is so rich and thick, but more like a crème fraiche – since the sour flavor really doesn’t come out.  I hear it will be on the market real soon, so go give it a try yourself.  And as my daughter would say – School Lunches First!!

Ingredients

Preparation

Mix 2 cups of the triple cream yogurt with the package of onion and chive dip.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Chop the hard boiled eggs and mix with the celery, fresh dill and salt.  Add 1/2 cup of onion and chive dip.  Mix until all ingredients are incorporated.  Sprinkle lightly with smoked paprika on top.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  onion-and-chive-dilled-egg-salad

Please note: As a Team Stonyfield ambassador, I am being compensated. All opinions about Stonyfield Farm’s products and Simply Organic are always my own.

Basic Tomato Salsa

Published on by Dawn4 Comments

Basic Tomato Salsa

When I was pregnant with my first daughter, I felt horribly sick.  For the first three months, I had this nauseous feeling constantly.  Fortunately I never really got sick, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get that feeling to go away.  I ate a lot of saltines those first few months, and also craved salsa.  For the most part I only craved salty foods – in fact, sweet foods made me sick.  I could not even think about eating chocolate, that was out of the question.  I only wanted the savory stuff.

What surprised me the most is what I wanted with the salsa – it was primarily scrambled eggs.  Eating scrambled eggs by themselves made me want to be sick – but putting some delicious salsa all over the top made it into the most perfect meal ever.  I ate a lot of salsa those 9 months, and when I got pregnant for the second time – I knew exactly what I needed.  More salsa.

Most of my canning is focused on jams and jellies – and occasionally pickles.  This year though I promised myself I would branch out just a little further – and as I walked through the fall farmer’s market, looking at all those beautiful peppers and tomatoes – it was salsa that kept calling me.  I saw a recipe in the Food in Jars cookbook, and I figured like I had nothing to lose.  One way or another, I would find a way to use these amazingly fresh ingredients – even if the salsa came out tasting horrible.

Lucky for me – it was quite the opposite.  I kept going back to the pot for more tastes – I couldn’t believe how delicious this salsa was.  I seriously almost scrambled myself some eggs just to get the full effect – but I wanted to get as much as possible into the jars.  Once I processed them, they were just so beautiful, I couldn’t stop staring.  In fact – I had to strategically place them in the pantry so whenever I open the door – they are staring right back at me.  Salsa will always have a special place in my belly – and in my heart.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups chopped Roma or paste tomatoes (about 3 pounds)
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onion (about 2 medium onions)
  • 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (1 large pepper)
  • 1 3/4 cups cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 jalapeno or pablano peppers, minced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tablespoons bottled lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Prepare a boiling water bath and sterilize 4 regular-mouth 1-pint jars. Place the lids in a small saucepan, cover with water, and simmer over very low heat.

Combine the tomatoes, onion, chopped red pepper, vinegar, sugar, jalapenos, garlic, lime juice, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the salsa no longer looks watery. Stir in the chopped cilantro (or parsley). Taste and add additional jalapeno, lime juice, or salt if necessary.

Ladle the hot salsa into the prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. When the processing time is up, remove the canning pot from heat and remove the lid. Let the jars sit in the pot for an additional 5 minutes This helps to prevent the salsa from reacting to the rapid temperature change and bubbling out of the jars.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Basic Tomato Salsa

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