Sesame Chicken

Most of the recipes that I bookmark to make are desserts or crazy sweets of some sort. Weird considering I read almost exclusively dessert blogs, eh? I do get excited when one of my dessert blogs happens to post an entree that looks tasty simply because my dessert:entree "to-do" lists are drastically different lengths. The entree stands a chance of making the rotation sooner.

That was the case for this Sesame Chicken, which tastes an awful lot like Chinese takeout in a good way. Relatively simple to make. Quite healthy (especially when compared to the vast amount of desserts I make/bake). Crazy delicious. (As in we ate it all in one sitting without pausing to photograph its beauty. I know I'll make it again, but I can't make any promises that the same thing won't happen again.)

Sesame Chicken

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp.flour
2 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
2-3 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a bowl, whisk together chicken stock, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, garlic cloves, soy sauce and vinegar. Set aside.

Heat a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Toss chicken with salt, pepper and flour. Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil to skillet, and once hot, add chicken in a single layer. Cook until seared and golden on one side and then flip, and cook until golden again, about 2-3 minutes. Pour chicken stock mixture over top and toss to coat, and then turn off heat. Place skillet in oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and cover with sesame seeds. Serve with veggie of your choice and  rice. Serves 2-4.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I can't believe it took me as long as it did to make mint chocolate chip cupcakes for work, but the recipe I found at My Baking Addiction convinced me to make them. Mint and chocolate is a wonderful flavor combination, although it can't quite top the peanut butter and chocolate combo.

These were a hit with my co-workers. And me. And my hubby. And my 1-year-old son. Get the point?

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup soft butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 cup milk, warm
Frosting
4 sticks butter, room temperature
1.5 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
2 tsp. vanilla
3 to 4 Tbsp. heavy cream
Green gel dye
1/4 tsp. pure peppermint extract
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 24 cupcake tins. In medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mint extract.

Add flour and milk, alternating in three additions, ending with flour. 

Evenly distribute into prepared muffin tins. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or until the cake springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frostings, beat the butter on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes. Turn the mixture down to low speed, and gradually add in the powdered sugar until it is completely incorporated. Add in vanilla and heavy cream. Turn the mixer back up to medium-high speed, and beat the mixture for about 3 to 4 minutes or until light and fluffy.

Remove half of the frosting from the mixer bowl and set aside. Add a tiny amount of green gel dye to the remaining frosting. Turn the mixer on, and fully incorporate the dye. Slowly add more dye until you achieve a nice minty green color. Stir in peppermint extract.

Remove the mint frosting from the mixing bowl and set aside. Add the other half of the frosting back into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add in the cooled, melted chocolate and cocoa powder. Mix until fully incorporated.


Carefully fill piping bag with both frostings, so they'll both come out when you squeeze the bag. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Makes 24 cupcakes. (You could be less sophisticated with the frostings, and make mint chocolate frosting rather than making the frostings separate. Just combine all the frosting ingredients, less the green dye.)

Biscoff Granola Bars

Biscoff. It's something I've read about on food blogs for a long time but hadn't jumped on the bandwagon. Then I saw several recipes I couldn't pass up, so I went on the hunt for biscoff. This stuff is as freaken addictive as nutella, so I'm glad I held off this long before jumping into the craze because I don't trust myself with biscoff.

If you've never had biscoff, chances are you probably would recognize the flavor as soon as you sampled it. For as advanced as their society's are, Europeans just don't embrace peanut butter. When I studied in Spain, I discovered this the hard way. Biscoff is their alternative, along with nutella varietals.

The original recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod called for biscoff cookies in the mix, which I'm sure would be great. I omitted them because I didn't have them in my cupboard. Here's my version:

Biscoff Granola Bars

2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup golden syrup
1/4 cup biscoff
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Cut out an 8 x 8-inch square of parchment paper. Place the parchment paper in the bottom of an 8 x 8-inch baking pan. In a large sauce pan, add butter, brown sugar, golden syrup and biscoff. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to bubble. Once bubbling, cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.

Stir in the oats and crispy cereal well coated. Pour into the prepared pan. Press the mixture evenly into the pan. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the top, and gently press into the granola bars with your hands.

Place the bars in the refrigerator, and let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting. Cut into 10 bars. Store the bars in the refrigerator to maintain freshness longer. Makes 10 bars.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

I think one of the reasons my husband loved me during our college days was because I made him homemade chocolate chip cookies. He adored them, although I'm pretty sure I used the recipe from the back of the Nestle bag. His friends loved Kerry cookies as well.

I still break out that recipe every now and then, when I can break myself from exciting new recipes like this cookie version from Brown-Eyed Baker. These are fabulous! Topping the cookies with a sprinkling of sea salt adds a whole new dimension, and I love how large these cookies are! I think these will be one of the reasons my husband loves me now, all these years later.

Note: Definitely use a scale for these bad boys.

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 1/2 oz.) cake flour
1 & 2/3 cups (8 1/2 oz.) bread flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 & 1/3 cups (20 oz.) dark chocolate chips, at least 60% cacao content
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Sift together the cake flour, bread flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl and set aside. Cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, and then add the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, up to 72 hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Scoop 3 1/2-ounces of dough, roll into a rough ball (it should be the size of a small baseball) and place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have four mounds of dough on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer the parchment or silicone sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then transfer the cookies onto another cooling rack to cool a bit more, until just warm or at room temperature. Repeat with remaining dough (or keep some of the dough refrigerated for up to 3 days, and bake cookies at a later time). Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Makes about 18 cookies.

Recipe from The New York Times

Pie Crust Biscotti

Heating apple cider with a cinnamon stick transforms it into a heavenly fall drink. Add a piece of this biscotti from Cupcake Project, and apple pie flavors dance in your mouth. I decreased the recipe to a quarter the original size and ended up with 7 biscotti, enough to savor and not too much to lead to gluttony. (That's why all the rest of my recipes exist.)

Pie Crust Biscotti
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks butter, room temperature
4 egg yolks
Grated zest of one lemon

Preheat oven to 350°F. Clean your counter well, and pour flour onto the counter. Make a well in the flour, and put all of the other ingredients in the well. Using your hands, work the center ingredients into a paste, and then knead in the flour. If necessary, dip your fingers in water while you are working to help the dough stick together better.

Instead of putting the pie crust dough into a pie plate, form it into a flat rectangular(ish) shape on a Silpat- or parchment-lined cookie sheet.  My rectangle for my quarter batch was about 1/2-inch tall.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top and edges just begin to brown. Remove from the oven, and cool until you are comfortable touching the biscotti.  Carefully slice the biscotti without moving them at all.

Lower the oven temperature to 300°F. Return the cookie sheet to the oven, and bake for another 35 minutes or until the tops begin to harden (they won't fully harden until they cool).

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Serve immediately with hot apple cider or store in a loosely covered container. 
 

 And, yes, it is so good you'll have visions repeating in your mind like this tricked-out photo my husband took.