Chocolate chip cookies should be fuss-free to prepare and easy to tweak to your own taste. These babies are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The tricks are making sure your butter is at room temperature and, if you like your cookies chewy, remember to go easy smashing them down before baking. Feel free to scoop, let them freeze on a baking sheet and then vacuum seal or put in a freezer bag. Let them thaw and pop them in your toaster oven for a one-off treat later.
Ingredients
1 lb unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 ½ cups white granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp baking soda
4 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 325°. Prepare 2-3 sheet pans, either lining with parchment paper or grease with butter or baking spray.
Whisk or sift flour and baking soda together.
Cream the butter, salt and sugars until fluffy. Combine eggs and vanilla extract. Add one egg at a time, as each incorporates into the mixture. Scrape. Add flour mixture in, one third at a time, scraping in between. Before the last third is completely mixed, add chocolate chips. If you’re feeling frisky, sub out a portion of the chips for another chip (peanut butter, milk chocolate, etc.) or toasted nuts or candy-coated chocolates. Mix until just incorporated.
Using a 2oz ice cream scoop (or whatever size you like), scoop onto baking sheets, leaving plenty of room between each scoop. Pat down scoop to about 1 ½” in height. Bake for 8-10 minutes, rotating pans halfway during cooking time. Let cool.
Cookies can be kept for up to one week in a sealed container.
Don’t spend a small fortune on fancy cocktail cherries when you can make your own. These don’t require a lot of work (other than the pitting, of course). Use a sweet cherry to get the maximum flavor punch.
Use the best bourbon you enjoy drinking and can afford for this project. The flavor shines through. We like Bulleit, Maker’s Mark or for a NA version, Ritual Zero Proof Whiskey Alternative.
These store in the fridge for up to a year – so get canning now and then give them out as holiday gifts later. Done and done! Cheers!
Makes two quart-size jars.
Ingredients
2 pounds cherries, pitted
1 750ml bottle of bourbon
3 cups light brown sugar, lightly packed
Pinch salt
Directions
In a medium saucepan, bring bourbon, brown sugar and salt to a simmer over low heat until sugar dissolves.
Let sit until it cools.
Pack cherries into 2 quart-size jars, careful not to smash them.
Pour syrup over them until covered. Place lids on and store cherries in the fridge.
A staple of Scandinavian breakfasts of the 1970s, strawberry soup is a refreshing – and surprising – way to elevate your strawberry game in a relaxed, easy-going style, perfect for a summer first course or dessert.
Ingredients
2 pints strawberries, hulled, reserving 6
1 cup fresh orange juice
1¼ tsp instant tapioca
1/6 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
½ cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup buttermilk
Directions
Purée strawberries in food processor or blender. Strain into a saucepan. Add orange juice.
In a small bowl, mix tapioca, spices and 3 Tbsp of strawberry mixture together and add back to saucepan. Heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in sugar, lemon peel and juice and buttermilk until combined.
Slice the 6 remaining strawberries, add to the soup. Cover and chill soup for at least 8 hours. Keeps for up to three days.
How many recipes do you make that have 20 cloves of garlic? Bagna Càuda is a popular and traditional recipe from the Piedmont region of Italy. In Italy, the dish is eaten as a full meal rather than an appetizer… but feel free to enjoy it however you wish!
The “stinking rose” is paired with anchovies, olive oil and butter, and cooked down to a blissful umami-rich combo that’s definitely more than the sum of its parts. Dip raw or lightly steamed veggies and chunks of crusty bread into this masterpiece. Or toss with pasta, olives (we like Castelvetrano and Frescatrano) and your favorite greens. The perfect way to celebrate National Garlic Day!
Ingredients
20 cloves garlic, very finely chopped or pounded with a mortar and pestle
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup well-packed, anchovies in oil (about 5 ¼ oz), drained
½ cup unsalted butter, or sub in more extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Place oil and garlic into a cold pan. Over a gentle flame, allow garlic to soften but not color – will take about 10 minutes. Moderate the temperature as needed to ensure garlic cooks very gently.
While still over low heat, add anchovies and crush with a wooden spoon so they can melt/meld into the sauce. Keep cooking until they’re melted into the oil. Add butter, or more olive oil in place of butter; continue to cook over a gentle flame.
Serve in a way that you can keep the mixture warm, like a small fondue pot, with vegetables and plenty of crusty bread to mop up the savory sauce.
Store leftovers in the fridge and gently reheat in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly.
So, you’ve opened a can of chickpeas and the first thing you do is send that gooey liquid down the drain. Nooooooooooooo! Press pause, save that stuff. It’s called aquafaba and it’s Aqua-Fab-U-Lous!!!
Aquafaba is the thick liquid you get from cooking legumes, such as chickpeas, in water for an extended period of time. If you’re new to the wonderful world of aquafaba, stick to what you strain from canned chickpeas, since it’s nice and thick. Once you get the hang of it, you can use what you make yourself from cooking chickpeas at home, since you’ll have a better idea of the consistency that’ll get you the desired results.
Aquafaba can replace egg whites in a recipe, as well as whole eggs in baked goods. Two Tbsp unwhipped aquafaba is the equivalent of one egg white, and 3 Tbsp equals a whole egg.
Folks say you can also use the liquid from white northern beans or black beans, but for the fluffy lift you’re looking for in whipped aquafaba creations like meringues, or baked goods like muffins, chickpeas are your go-to.
When you’re ready to measure the aquafaba a recipe calls for, vigorously shake the unopened can of chickpeas. Drain chickpeas through a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl; reserve beans for another use. Whisk aquafaba and then measure. The starches in the aquafaba settle in the can and need to be agitated to ensure they’re evenly distributed.
If you’re going to whip it into foam, add 1/8 tsp cream of tartar for the aquafaba in a 15-oz can of chickpeas. It’ll help the foam whip up faster and stay fluffy longer.
Store aquafaba in a sealed mason jar in the fridge where it’ll last for up to a week. You can also freeze it up to three months. Measure it into 1 Tbsp portions into an ice cube tray, and just thaw out and use those little “nuggets ‘o gold” in place of eggs. Easy peasy, and you’ve now effectively made something outta nothing!
Ingredients
3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
1 ½ Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 ½ Tbsp aquafaba
Pinch sea salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp arrowroot starch
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
Add coconut to food processor. Blend about one minute or more, just until coconut flakes start clumping together. When you squeeze some together, it should stick together kind of like wet sand.
Add coconut oil, maple syrup, aquafaba, salt and vanilla and mix 20 seconds to combine. Add arrowroot starch and pulse to combine until a wet dough has formed.
Scoop into 1 ½ Tbsp mounds, gently transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet with room between each cookie.
Bake 13-15 minutes, until tops are lightly golden brown and bottoms a little darker golden brown…careful not to burn the bottoms! They’ll puff a little while cooking.
Cool on pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a plate/cooling rack to cool completely. Best served at room temp.
This vegan-friendly hot cocoa is the perfect antidote to a cold, wet Sierra Foothills winter evening. This drink is so tasty, you won’t even realize how healthy it really is. Get cozy and enjoy!
Ingredients
1 cup cacao powder
1 cup dehydrated coconut milk powder
1/2 cup collagen powder
1/2 cup cane sugar (or adjust to taste)
2 Tbsp Lion’s Mane Mushroom powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp turmeric powder
1 ½ tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
Directions
Add 1-2 heaping tablespoons to coffee for morning mocha magic, or 3 tablespoons to 6 to 8 oz of hot water or hot milk for coco magic. Use your own taste buds to decide actual measurements!
If you’re more of a Chilly Willy, try the iced version: make with 4 oz hot water and pour over ice, or make as you would hot and chill.
