Festive Sugar Cookies

I made these simple and delicious heart-shaped Nutella cookie sandwiches the other day!
All you need is homemade cookie dough, a fun cookie cutter, and some Nutella or another brand of chocolate hazelnut spread.

I used a basic sugar cookie dough recipe I got from Real Simple magazine. My Kitchen Aid stand  mixer did a wonderful job of creaming the butter and the sugar, but one could also cream the butter and sugar by hand. After the dough is prepared it needs to be chilled for an hour or two. After chilling, the dough can be rolled out, and cut, and then the scraps go back in the fridge or freezer to be chilled some more.

After the scraps have chilled, the process of cutting shapes is repeated. Meanwhile, the cut cookies should be chilled on a baking sheet in the fridge or freezer before baking. At the end, I had a few scraps left and I decided to make a few jam thumbprint cookies (though they need to bake a little longer than the thinner sugar cookies). After the cut cookies have baked and cooled, spread Nutella on the underside of one and sandwich it with another cookie. Make more cookie sandwiches and enjoy!

Basic Sugar Cookie Dough Recipe from Real Simple
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping the cookies
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated (the dough will be stiff). Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to three days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each piece out 1/4 of an inch thick. Cut into shapes with a cookie cutter. Line baking sheets with parchment. Refrigerate on baking sheets until firm. Bake until just beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool and then make sandwiches with chocolate-hazelnut spread.

Pupusas!

I recently made pupusas from a Vegetarian Times recipe. They were so delicious and easy to make!

I first discovered pupusas when I lived in Los Angeles and visited the Eagle Rock Farmers Market. At the Farmers Market, a vendor made perfectly fried pupasas with various fillings to order. Pupusas have the same base as tamales and fresh torillas, masa harina, and I would love to make those sometime too.

Dough ready to be filled. 

 

 

Frying the pupusas.

Top the fried pupusa with curtido!

I veered slightly from the recipe and filled all of the pupusas with both beans and cheese. Pupusas are best served hot, so you may want to freeze some of the filled dough and fry them up later.

Pupusas with Curtido

Serves 8

 

Curtido

• 4 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 medium carrot, coarsely grated
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
• 1/2 jalapeño chile, finely diced, optional
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. dried oregano

Pupusas

• 4 cups masa harina, such as Maseca
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup vegetarian refried black beans
• 1/2 cup crumbled Cotija cheese
• 8 tsp. vegetable oil

1. To make Curtido: Pour 4 cups boiling water over cabbage, carrot, onion, and jalapeño in bowl. Steep 5 minutes; drain.

2. Bring vinegar, 1/2 cup water, salt, sugar, and oregano to a boil in saucepan. Pour over cabbage mixture. Cover, and cool.

3. To make Pupusas: Combine masa harina, cumin, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Stir in 3 cups warm water, adding more, if needed, to form soft dough. Cover, and let stand 30 minutes.

4. Line baking sheet with wax paper. Roll dough into 16 balls. Make indentation in centers; fill 8 balls with 1 Tbs. refried beans; fill remaining 8 balls with 1 Tbs. cheese. Fold edges over fillings, and roll into balls once more. Press into 4-inch disks. Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Heat 2 tsp. oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 Pupusas at a time to skillet; cook 5 to 6 minutes, turning once. Serve with Curtido.

 

Noodle Salad with Napa Cabbage

I found a great napa cabbage salad recipe from Vegetarian Times when I was looking for a creative way to use the napa cabbage I received in my CSA box. I love this salad because it has a peanut dressing (and I love anything that involves peanut butter). I like that the water for cooking the noodles serves two purposes in this recipe--to cook the noodles and steam the cabbage. The recipe could use a little more pepper, so you might want to add a little more red pepper flakes or chili sauce. A word of caution: this salad is best eaten within a day because the cabbage releases water over time and will water down the dressing.

Rice noodles and cabbage. (Sorry, a little out of focus)

Sesame Noodles with Napa Cabbage

Vegetarian Times Issue: February 1, 2007 

Ingredients 

Serves 4

• 3 Tbs. reduced-fat peanut butter
• 2 Tbs. roasted sesame oil
• 2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. sherry or mirin     (rice wine)
• 1 Tbs. rice vinegar
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp. chile sauce
• 10 oz. long noodles, such as udon or spaghetti
• 1/2 lb. napa cabbage, shredded (about 4 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Whisk together peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, sherry, vinegar, sugar and red pepper flakes in saucepan.
2. Cook noodles according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, place cabbage in colander over sink. Warm sauce over medium-low heat.
4. Drain noodles over cabbage in colander to wilt cabbage. Transfer noodles and cabbage to serving bowl, add sauce, and toss until combined.
5. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

 

Seasonal Pasta Salad

 

Here is a long overdue update on some delicious and fresh pasta salads I made a while back.

The first (pictured above) was made with fennel, apple, a little bit of mayonnaise, and salt and pepper. For the second (below) I cooked green garlic, fava beans, and cremini mushrooms with sake and olive oil, and then I tossed the ingredient with some leftover dressing (nutritional yeast, garlic, truffle oil, ground ginger). I used whole wheat macaroni for both salads.

Bread pudding!

Since December I've been making sourdough bread from my own sourdough culture. I used the guidelines in D.I.Y. Delicious to create the sourdough "starter" (basically flour and water), and followed the recipe for half whole wheat sourdough bread to use my culture to create delicious bread! I've also used my sourdough culture to make sourdough pancakes (recipe also in D.I.Y. Delicious).

I made a savory bread pudding from one of my last loaves. I based the recipe off of a savory bread pudding recipe from Bon Appetit magazine I made last Thanksgiving. The recipe was inspired by a craving for the corn chowder that was served in sourdough bread bowls at my college.

Savory Bread Pudding
A small baguette or loaf of fresh bread (about 4 cups once torn)
3 eggs
2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1 cup heavy cream
A heaping handful of spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon sake or white wine
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons chopped red onion
1 cup grated cheese (Gruyere and Cheddar work well)

Tear the bread into bite-size pieces. Use a whisk to beat the eggs in a bowl. Whisk in the heavy cream, sake or wine, mustard, and salt. Add the bread pieces to the egg mixture, and let the bread soak for 30 minutes. Butter a 9 inch pie dish (or other medium-sized dish suitable for baking.) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the corn and onion in a bowl. Use a slotted spoon to transfer a third of the bread pieces to the baking dish.  Cover the bread with all of the spinach and half of the cheese. Add half of the corn and onion mixture. Add another layer of bread, followed by the corn and onions, then sprinkle more cheese on top. Add the remaining bread to the dish. Pour the egg mixture over the dish, and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until the top has browned.

Assembled and ready for the oven!

Curry Hot Pocket

I love to cook and thus I love reading cookbooks. I recently got a new cookbook, Flying Apron's Gluten-Free & Vegan Baking Book. I'm not allergic to gluten, but the cookbook looked really good and another shopper recommended the cookbook, especially for the frosting recipes.The recipes are from Flying Apron Bakery of Seattle.

In addition to cookie, pie, and other sweet recipes, the cookbook also includes a savory foods section. I made the Indian Curry Apron Pockets and they were excellent! I love curry and bread, so why not combine the two into a meal you can hold in your hand!

First, make the gluten-free dough. Flying Apron's recipes often replace wheat flour with brown rice flour and garbanzo bean flour. Xanthan gum is often also called for because it makes the dough more viscous. The different flours and the xanthan gum are all made by Bob's Red Mill and can generally be found in health food stores.

Once the dough has been kneaded, begin making the curry filling.

Once all the curry ingredient are in the pan, divide the dough into about eight or ten pieces. Roll out the pieces into individual circles. Fill half of each circle, then fold the other half of the dough over the filling and crimp the edges closed with your fingers (like making perogi!). Try not to put too much filling on each dough circle, you don't want too much of it to spill out during baking.

The recipes from Jennifer Katzinger's cookbook are below:

Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are wonderful vegan cookies. Occasionally, if I offer a vegan baked good to someone who is not vegan I avoid mentioning that the item is vegan. Many people have preconceived notions about vegan food, and I would rather people focus on taste rather than how a food is different.

This recipe comes from Vegetarian Times magazine, which has a very useful website. I like to use the recipe search feature to find recipes to use up a particular ingredient, such as almond milk.

The recipe suggests either chopped bittersweet chocolate bars or chocolate chips. I used chocolate chips, but 1 cup of chocolate chips is plenty (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of chips).

The recipe requires a food processor or similar electric chopper for creating ground walnuts the consistency of peanut butter. I've found that my small food processor is one of the most useful appliances I have in my kitchen.

My cookies were more lumpy than those pictured on Vegetarian Times, but still delicious.

Walnut butter

  The Heart-Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 30 cookies

• 3 Tbs. canola oil
• 2 cups walnuts
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ cups oat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3 3.5-oz. bars bittersweet vegan chocolate, chopped, or 1½ (1 cup is plenty) cups vegan chocolate chips (12 oz.)
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
  2. Blend walnuts in food processor 30 seconds, or until ground into a fine meal. Add canola oil, and blend 2 to 3 minutes more, or until mixture has the consistency of natural peanut butter, scraping down sides of food processor occasionally. Transfer to bowl.
  3. Whisk together brown sugar and ½ cup water in small saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil. Pour brown sugar mixture over ground walnut butter, add vanilla extract, and stir until no lumps remain.
  4. Whisk together oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in separate bowl. Stir oat flour mixture into walnut mixture. Cool 10 minutes. Fold in oats, then chocolate chips.
  5. Shape cookie dough into 2-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten cookies with bottom of drinking glass dipped in water. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.