Soft White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

This recipe from Sally's Baking Recipes is now the base of so many of my favorite cookies. I've made this version with cranberries, a blueberry version and used it as a base for M & M cookies. It's soft, chewy and delicious.

Soft White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies
3/4 cup butter (170 grams)
3/4 cup brown sugar (150 grams)
1/4 cup sugar (50 grams)
1 egg, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (250 grams)
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cups white chocolate chips (135 grams)
1 cup dried cranberries (140 grams)

In a large bowl, beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together on medium until combined and creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides as needed.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Gradually mix them into the butter mixture on low speed. Add in the mix ins (chocolate chips and cranberries). 

Cover the dough tightly and chill at least one hour or up to 4 days. If dough has chilled longer than 3 or 4 hours, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Scoop dough into 1.5 Tbsp. balls. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place dough onto it. Bake 11 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. The centers will still look soft. If the cookies didn't spread much, you can lightly tap the baking sheets on the counter while the cookies are still warm. You can add a few extra chips or cranberries for garnish while the cookies are still warm if desired.

Let cookies stand at least 10 minutes, and then cool completely on a cooling rack. Makes 2 dozen cookies. 

Sticky Meatballs

This recipe from Half-Baked Harvest was a hit with our family. Everyone enjoyed it, though we substituted venison. We will repeat this again.

Sticky Meatballs

1 lb. ground meat

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

2 green onions, finely chopped, or half an onion, chopped

1 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup sesame oil

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 head broccoli, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp. chopped ginger

Toasted sesame seeds

Combine meat, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. ginger, onions and a pinch of pepper into a bowl. Combine until mixed. Roll into tablespoon-sized balls. The mix will be wet. 

Place 2 Tbsp. cornstarch in a shallow bowl. Dredge the meatballs in cornstarch to coat. Take remaining 1 Tbsp. cornstarch, and combine with 2 Tbsp. water and set aside. 

To make the sauce, whisk together 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup honey and 1/3 cup water.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs, and cook until seared on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and add broccoli, and cook until lightly charred (5 minutes). (Note: I just steamed broccoli and added in to the sauce at the end.) Add in ginger, garlic and chili flakes. Poor in sauce mixture, and bring to a boil. Add chicken, and toss with the sauce. When sauce starts to thicken, add the cornstarch slurry, and cook another 2-3 minutes, until the sauce is thick and coats the meatballs. Serve meatballs with steamed rice and sesame seeds. Serves 4. 

Graham Cracker Cookies

These cookies from Two Peas & Their Pod are fantastic. These have become my new base for s'mores cookies as well because they are so good.

Graham Cracker Cookies
18 graham cracker sheets (one box)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Buttercream frosting

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Blend graham cracker into crumbs. Combine crumbs with flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed. Add in eggs and vanilla, and beat until smooth. 

Add dry ingredients, and mix on low until just combined. Cover the dough, and chill for at least 1 hour up to 48 hours. 

Let dough come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into 2 Tbsp. balls. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until set around the edges but still soft in the center. Remove from the oven, and let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes. 

Remove from baking sheet, and let cookies cool completely. Top with frosting. As an added bonus, top with graham cracker crumble. (To make crumble, combine cracker crumbs with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar.) Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

This soup from How Sweet Eats is amazing! Seriously, it's so simple to make and incredibly tasty. I've made it twice in the past months and love eating it and the leftovers. Our entire family enjoyed it, and it was great to dip our sourdough.

Chicken Tortellini Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. tomato paste
14 oz. fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 parmesan rind
4-5 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups chopped/shredded kale or spinach
8 to 12 oz. cheese tortellini

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat, and stir in onions, garlic and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste. Cook a few minutes, allowing the color and flavor to deepen. Pour in the diced tomatoes, chicken, parmesan rind and 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer and cover, and then simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream, and the kale or spinach. Add the tortellini, and cook 5 minutes until it's tender and cooked through. 

If you want to add extra stock, now is the time. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Makes 4 servings. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

These bars from Britney Breaks Bread are irresistible ... at least to me. I can't resist the combination of peanut butter and chocolate, and these bars are no exception. My entire family enjoyed these bars, yet I was the one who kept sneaking them for breakfast, snacks and treats. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tsp. vanilla

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole oats

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13 baking pan with parchment paper. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, brown sugar and sugar. Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. Then add peanut butter and vanilla, and continue to mix until combined. Then add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. 

Gradually add the dry ingredients until batter is just combined. Press batter into the baking pan, using your hands or spatula to flatten the batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the center is set. Allow the bars to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt together the chocolate and peanut butter. Once bars are cooled, spread the chocolate mixture evenly on top. Let the chocolate harden before slicing into bars. Makes 12 to 20 bars. 

Marry Me Chicken

This recipe from Joy the Baker caught my eye for a savory recipe, and I finally worked it into our dinner rotation last week. It's definitely one to repeat in summer when my cherry tomatoes are in full production. For this, I used some cherry tomatoes I had roasted this summer with olive oil and garlic and then stuck in the freezer, so it was a win to clean out the freezer a bit.

Marry Me Chicken

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Pint of cherry tomatoes, halved

Sea salt and cracked pepper

2 lb. boneless chicken thighs or breasts (cut into even pieces if large breasts)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. crushed pepper flakes

Splash red wine

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. cornstarch

Capers, to garnish

Preheat oven to 400°F. Use a 12-inch oven-safe skillet or pot. Place tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper in the pot, and stir to coat tomatoes. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once, until tomatoes have browned slightly and reduced some of their water. Remove from oven, and reduce heat to 375°F.

Transfer tomatoes to a small bowl, and set aside.

Sear chicken in the same pan after sprinkling with salt and pepper. Add a little more oil, if needed. The goal is to brown the chicken, though you don't need to fully cook it. You may need to brown it in two batches. Once chicken is seared, remove and set aside. 

Add garlic to the pan, and stir constantly for 1 minute before adding oregano and pepper flakes. Add the tomatoes back to the pan, along with a splash of wine (or other liquid) and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. 

Stir in chicken stock, and heavy cream and bring to a low simmer.  Return chicken to the pan, and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. 

Combine water and cornstarch to make a slurry, and add to the pan to thicken the sauce. If the sauce doesn't thicken, you can put it on low heat until it thickens. (I think I cheated and just whisked the cornstarch into the cream, which seemed to work just fine to thicken the sauce and skip a step.)

Garnish with capers if you like and serve with rice, mashed potatoes or your carb of choice. Serves 4, though I highly recommend doubling the recipe to have leftovers. 

Lemon Loaf

 This lemon loaf cake from Love & Olive Oil is delicious. Although I used regular lemons instead of Meyer lemons, it was still delicious. My husband is begging me to make a version with poppyseeds as well. It's a bit of effort, yet it's worth the effort.

I also learned that baking a glaze sets it, which is a fun fact.

Lemon Olive Oil Loaf Cake
1 cup sugar (200 grams)
1 Tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. Meyer lemon juice
Syrup
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. olive oil
Pinch of salt
Glaze
7/8 cup powdered sugar
4-5 tsp. Meyer lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, and line with a strip of parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar and zest, using your fingers to release the oils. Add baking powder and salt, and mix to combine.

Add the eggs, and beat for 3 to 5 minutes or until batter is light in color. When the mixer is running on low, slowly drizzle in olive oil until fully emulsified. Then mix in half the flour, followed by half of cream. Add in the remaining flour, and then the rest of the cream and lemon juice and mix until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. To help define the crack in the middle of the cake, dip a bench scraper in olive oil and press it in the very center of the batter, about 1/4-inch deep. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.

About 10 minutes before the cake is done, prepare the syrup by combining all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until dissolved together.

Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, and then lift out the cake using the parchment paper overhang. Poke the cake using a thin skewer to create a bunch of holes to absorb the syrup. Pour the warm syrup over the cake, or use a pastry brush to coat the loaf. The goal is to maximize the syrup absorption.

Once cake is completely cool, mix the glaze. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the glaze over the entire surface of the cake. Bake for 2 to 3 minutes to set the glaze. Let cool for 30 minutes until glaze is cooled and set, and then slice and serve at room temperature. Makes 1 loaf.