Stir-fried bitter squash

So this dish was originally made in December and I have finished this draft now at the end of February. Wow I have been very lazy with updating. Okay, if you try to make this, I'm sorry if it doesn't look completely like the picture. I don't really remember how many of this or that was in it any more, after two months have passed =P.

My mom actually made this dish, and I just took pictures and watched.

Stir-fried bitter squash:
2 bitter squash
2 stalks onion
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 eggs

1. Slice the bitter squash lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the core and throw the core away. Slice the bitter squash thinly. Also slice two stalks of green onion thinly.


2. Heat a large pan or wok with some oil on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the bitter squash. You can add the fish sauce now, or wait to add it in with the eggs, depending on your preference. Stir-fry: use a spatula-type tool to mix and flip the veggies frequently, about every 15 seconds. After a minute, add the green onions.

3. Crack the eggs in a small bowl and whisk. You can add the fish sauce into the eggs here if you want. When the bitter squash has softened, pour the eggs in the pan. Let the eggs cook for about 20 seconds then start to stir continuously till the eggs are completely cooked. Then you are done.

Stir Fried Noodles

Yum yum yum I love noodles.

1 package Chinese flat rice noodles
1 pound beef
4 baby bok choy (optional)
2-3 cups bean sprouts (optional)
3-5 stalks of green onion
sesame oil
2 tablespoon soy sauce
3-4 tablespoons oyster sauce
pepper to taste
veggie/olive oil for cooking

1. Open up your package of noodles. You can buy them precut. I unravel the noodles with my hands. My dad doesn't do that, but I wanted to see if it made a difference. I think that it was helpful, but not totally necessary because the noodles do separate as they are cooking.

2. Slice your beef into small pieces. You can use something lean like round or go for something more fatty like a ribeye. Marinate with 1 teaspoon soy sauce and a 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil. Note: I tried to use cornstarch here and that's why the meat looks pale. The texture came out bad in the end...don't do it!


3. Wash the baby bok choy and cut however you like, in large chunks or small slices.


4. Slice the bulb of the green onion finely and slice the tops of the green onion into 1-inch pieces.

5. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large pan/wok on high heat. Toss in the meat. When the meat is still pink, add 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce. Cook, stirring every 30 seconds or so until it has browned on the outside. Set aside in a bowl. In another small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 3-4 tablespoons oyster sauce, and 1 tablespoon water.

6. Add another 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the bulb of the green onion. Let it cook for about 30 seconds then add in the boy choy. Stir so that it is evenly coated with oil. When the leaves start to wilt, add in the noodles. Stir occasionally; if you stir it around too much the noodle will start to break apart. Add pepper and use a spoon to drizzle the sauce mixture over the noodles, then stir it, then add more sauce, then stir it. After the noodles cooks for a minute, add the beef back in. Keep adding the sauce until the noodles are flavored as you like it. The noodles will become soft when they are cooked.

That's all there is to it.

Potato Latkes

During my stay in St. Louis, I helped Rachel make potato latkes for Hanakkuh.

1/2 - 1 small onion, depending on your preference
4 large potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper

1. Peel your potatoes if you want (we didn't). Coarsely grate the potatoes and onions together. Get ready for a crying fest. I wear contacts and chopping onions have never bothered me.


2. Use your bare hands to squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated onions and potatoes. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the egg, flour, salt and pepper. As it sits, more moisture will get drawn out from the potatoes.


3. Heat a pan with 1/2 centimeter layer of vegetable oil. Olive oil isn't good because it has a lower smoke point and may burn. Form patties in your hands and squeeze even more moisture out from the potatoes. Cook on medium-high heat for about a minute or until it's dark brown. Then, flip over and cook the other side. When both sides are nice and browned, transfer to something to drain the oil. You can put them on a plate with paper towels. We didn't have paper towels, and when Rachel didn't like my newspaper idea, she made a rack station with dinner napkins underneath.


Yummo! Makes about 10 palm-sized latkes.

My try at macarons

So after making a double batch of creme brulee, I had many egg whites leftover. I tried my hand at making macarons. BTW I like to measure things in grams, I have scale and it makes it easier for me. Sorry, I don't have this in cup measurements.

Italian-style macarons:
400g almond meal
400g powdered sugar
400g sugar
100g water
300g egg whites, divided into two

Chocolate ganache: (half batch)
50 mL heavy cream
125g chocolate

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the powdered sugar and the almond meal together. Sift into a large mixing bowl with a strainer, and set aside.

2. In a small pot, heat the sugar and water until it reaches 245F.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whip 150g of the egg whites until stiff peaks form. That's when, when you dip the whisk into the bowl and flip it upside down, the egg whites will form a tip and won't fall over.

4. Mix the egg whites on low while slowly pouring the sugar syrup. Then whip on high speed until the mixture is glossy and firm. You won't get stiff peaks anymore.

5. Stir the almond meal/powdered sugar with 150g of the egg whites. Fold in the egg white mixture until it is combined. Now stir until the batter falls in ribbons and the ribbons will disappear back into the batter in 10 seconds. If it takes longer than that, keep stirring. The longer you stir, the more runny it gets. So stop once you reach that 10 second mark.


6. Add food coloring if you want. I did! Pipe the batter onto making pans covered with parchment paper, silicone mats, or foil. Pipe them into 1" rounds. The batter should flatten out. Let them dry out in the air for at least 1 hour.

7. Bake at 320 degrees for 15 minutes. Here are how they turn out. Some of them domed up and was hollow inside. Some were nice. I think it was because I baked some on my bottom rack, and it got too hot. So make sure you place the oven racks in the very middle. Let them cool to room temperature.


8. To make some filling, you can try chocolate ganache. Put the heavy cream and chocolate (chips or chopped) in a bowl. Microwave until the heavy cream starts to bubble. I microwaved it for 30 seconds at a time. It will look like barf at first, but keep stirring until it's smooth and shiny. Leave out at room temperature. It will firm up later on.


Try to find two macarons of equal size and sandwich them together. I also tried making raspberry buttercream, but it did not taste good.

Lots of mishaps, maybe I'll try them again another day.

Easy Creme Brulee

I tried making creme brulee after getting a torch for my birthday from my sister Cindy. Fun with fire! So traditionally, the creme brulee is set in a hot water bath and baked in the oven. This one uses a steamer, which makes it slightly easier to make.

Easy Creme Brulee (makes 3 ramekins, I made a double batch)
4 egg yolks
200mL room temperature heavy cream
100mL room temperature milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

1. In a mixing bowl, stir your egg yolks and sugar together. Doesn't need to be a whisk. For this dessert, the least amount of air in the mix is desirable.

2. Add the cream, milk, and vanilla. Stir until mixed.

3. Set up the steamer. In the lowest level, pour enough water to make a 2 inch layer and heat on high to bring it to a boil. Use a ladle and strainer to pour the mixture into ramekins (which are oven safe, straight-edged bowls). Cover each ramekin with foil, so that the steam won't condense into the creme brulee.

4. Once the water reaches a boil, place the ramekins into the steamer. Cook for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat but allow the creme brulee to continue cooking. After another 15 minutes, remove the ramekins from the steamer and allow the creme brulee to cool.

Here they are, no bubbles or lumps!

5. You can let the creme brulee refrigerate until chilled or eat them now. Evenly spread one tablespoon of sugar one top of the creme brulee. Then torch it! The flame is very close to the sugar, about 1 inch away. The torch needs to be constantly moving around the ramekin. Brulee until you get a nice browned, crisp top.

Here the sugar is starting to melt and carmelize

Almost done...

Enjoy!

Lemon-blueberry cake

Lemon-blueberry cake:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest from two lemons
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups blueberries

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

2. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the butter and sugar together. Beat on high speed for about 5 minutes, until the butter is fluffy.

3. Preheat your oven to 350 around here. Prepare your pan--spray or butter it. Add one egg and beat on high until incorporated, then mix in the next egg. Add the oil, vanilla extract, and zest and mix. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk (I separated it into buttermilk-flour-buttermilk-flour-buttermilk). Then beat for 3 more minutes to get it nice and aerated.



4. Gently mix in the blueberries. Pour the batter into your pan and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Sorry...I don't remember if this recipe fills up a whole 13x9 pan, or if I doubled the recipe to fit that pan. You will have to eyeball it...maybe it fits a round pan better >.<

Turtle Pretzels

My sister Tracy saw this on a random food blog and wanted to try these out:

Turtle Pretzels: makes 10-12 pretzels

2 teaspoons yeast
pinch sugar
1 tablespoon warm water

2 1/2 cups flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
2/3 cup water

1. If your yeast says "instant," you can skip this step. To wake up the yeast, mix with warm water and sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. You will start to see bubbles and smell the yeast working.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, oil, and water by hand. Knead by hand or machine for a few minutes until everything comes together, then add the yeast mixture. Knead for 10-15 minutes. When the dough is done kneading, it will be slightly tacky. If it is too dry, add a few drops of water at a time, and knead again. If it is too wet, add a tablespoon of flour at a time. The dough should also be smooth and when you squish it around, you can observe the dough springing back.

3. Place the dough in a greased, covered container and place in a warm spot. Let the dough rise until it is doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. Prepare to shape the dough. Clean a space for rolling out the dough and scatter flour over the space. Have some pans, a sharp knife, and saran wrap/moist dish towel ready for the pretzels.

5. Cut your dough into equal pieces. I cover my hands in flour or oil, remove the dough from the container as gently as I can, shape it into a rough disk, and cut the pieces that way. Save a piece of dough to make the arms, legs, and heads, then roll each remaining piece of dough into a smooth ball, and cover to prevent the dough from drying out. The weather will determine if you need to cover your dough in between uses or not.

6. Roll the ball of dough into a 12 inch strand. Swirl to make the turtle shell. You can use a little bit of water to make the ends stick. Shape the head, arms, and legs and attach. Keeping the limbs attached was the hardest part.

7. When you are close to done shaping the pretzels, turn the oven on to 425 degrees. Heat the water and baking soda in a pan that is at least 4 inches high. The pretzels will go in a baking soda bath before baking, which gives the pretzels their brown shell and distinctive taste. Each pretzel will simmer on low heat for 15 seconds. I used one tool to hold the pretzel in the pan, and then a spoon to baste the baking soda onto the pretzels.

8. Bake the pretzels for about 8 minutes.

Eclairs

Here is my attempt at making eclairs with the help of my sister Tracy. The recipes are from foodgawker.com

Pastry Cream:
3 cups milk
6 large egg yolks
9 tablespoons sugar
4.5 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso
3 tablespoon matcha

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch together. In a small pot, heat the milk on medium until it starts to simmer. Turn the heat off and move the pot away from heat. With one hand, ladle some of the hot milk into the egg mixture as you are continuously whisking with the other hand. This process is called tempering, and keeps the eggs yolks from scrambling. Keep tempering until the egg mixture feels warm. At this point, it is safe to pour all of the milk into the egg mixture. Then, pour the custard mixture back into the pot, using a strainer to catch any eggs pieces that did scramble. Heat the pot on medium and stir for around 3 minutes, when the custard will suddenly get thicker. Then, remove the pot from heat. Separate the cream into batches if you want different flavors. For vanilla, we added extract straight in. For the matcha and coffee, we mixed the powders with some hot water, and then added them into the cream. You can make this a day ahead (that's what we did). To store, use plastic wrap to touch the whole surface of the pastry cream, otherwise a film will develop on top of the cream.


Chocolate ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
4-5 ounces dark chocolate, in chips or chopped
1 tablespoon corn syrup (optional)

Heat the cream in the microwave till you start to see bubbles (around 30 seconds for me). Mix the chocolate and cream in a medium bowl. Keep stirring until the mixture is smooth. Add the corn syrup for additional shine.

Choux Pastry Dough:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature

1. Prep your pans. Use parchment paper to line your pans. It helps to use a little swipe of butter under the paper to keep the paper from curling and moving around.

2. Combine the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Then, add your flout all at once and stir the dough for 3 minutes to dry the dough out.

3. Transfer the dough to an electric mixer. You could also try an electric hand mixer or doing it completely by hand. Mix the dough on a medium speed, adding the eggs one at a time. At the end when you lift the mixer paddle out, the dough will rip in shreds and made a V shaped-tip.


4. Preheat your oven to 375. Fill the pastry dough in a pastry piping bag, or you can try using a ziploc bag with a small tip cut off one corner. We made mini-eclairs, so each one was piped out to 2 inches long. Tracy had the star-shaped tip, and I had the plain one. If you mess up, you can scrape it and put it back in the bag!



5. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotate the pans, and bake for another 5-10 minutes. When they looked lightly browned, turn off the oven and leave the pans inside with the door ajar. After 15 minutes, you can take out the eclairs. While you are waiting for the eclairs to bake, make your chocolate ganache.


6. When the shells have completely cooled, you can pipe. We made a hole in the side with a knife and then piped our cream. Other people make holes in the bottom of the shell and then fill it. Then, hold the eclair upside down and dip into a bowl of chocolate ganache. Keep the eclairs refrigerated and enjoy.

Kale Chips

Have you ever had seaweed snacks? I really like them, although one drawback is that they can get soggy. I saw a post about making kale chips and decided to try it myself.

It's really easy. All you do is wash and cut your kale into similar-sized pieces. Add oil, salt, and pepper.


Bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes and you're done!

Chicken and cheese quesadilla

Some time I'll have to try real Mexican food, but I do like Americanized Mexican food. Here is my recipe for chicken and cheese quesadillas. I tried to make my own taco seasoning out of the spices I have at home, but there are packets of taco seasoning in the supermarket that would be more convenient to use.

Seasoned chicken:

4 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup water
juice of half a lemon
2 large chicken breasts

1. I think this is what I used in the taco seasoning: salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Otherwise, use a premixed packet.

2. Heat a pan with some oil on medium-high heat. Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel. Fry the chicken, cooking both sides until the outside is browned.

3. Add the seasoning, water, and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, then flip the breasts over, and cook for about another 10 minutes.

4. Take out one piece of chicken at a time, and place on a cutting board or a bowl or a plate. Use two forks to shred the chicken. When you are done, add all of the shredded chicken back into the pan. Let the sauce simmer until it is thickened.


5. Then make your quesadilla! My method is to heat one tortilla on a pan on medium heat. When the tortilla is warm I flip it over. I add the chicken on one half and the cheese on the other, then fold the tortilla in half with a spatula. Then I press down on the quesadilla with the spatula. When one side starts getting brown, I flip if over. Then I use the spatula to cut the quesadilla into halves or quarters.

French Onion Soup

Today was my day off! It has been cloudy and cool over here; it's a good day for soup. Plus, Tracy and I were watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network and saw some French Onion Soup, which then made the both of us crave it.


Makes 10 big servings or 15 side servings

4.5 pounds beef bones
2.5 liters water
6 large onions
1/2 stick butter
2 tablespoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1.5 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper

1 block Gruyere cheese
1 bag croutons

1. Fill your biggest pot halfway with water. Add your bones. Bring to boil until all of the blood coagulates and floats on top. Drain the water and rinse the bones off.
2. Put the bones back in the pot and add two and a half liters of water. Heat pot on high until it reaches a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for at least two hours. It would be great if you have the time to cook for three hours or more.
3. Slice your onions however you want. Grab a second pot and add your butter. Heat on medium-low until the butter melts. Add the onions. Stir every few minutes, until the onions are dark brown all the way through. If your onions seems to be cooking too fast, reduce the heat to low. It will take a while, maybe twenty to thirty minutes, to caramelize the onions. Turn off the heat when the onions are done.
4. When the broth is cooked, use a strainer to transfer the broth into the pot of onions. Add your spices to taste. Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.
5. When you are ready to serve, get an oven safe container. We used ramekins, but soup bowls would be good. I've seen people use mugs too. Put your croutons on the bottom, then ladle your soup in, then top with cheese. Broil at 450 degrees in your oven or toaster oven till the cheese is lightly browned.

Chicken Parmesan and Eggplant Parmesan

I had Eggplant Parmesan the other day and was surprised at the texture. I don't like eggplant because it gets really slimy, but in this dish I was able to eat it. So I decided to try to make it at home.

Ingredients:
6 cups tomato sauce
2 medium eggplants
2 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups flour
5 eggs
2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 package mozzarella cheese

1. Buy or make your tomato sauce. Today, I cooked minced onions in a pot on medium heat until browned. Then, I added three cans of tomato sauce. I add herbs and spices, including salt, pepper, oregano, marjoram, garlic powder, red pepper flake, and bay leaves. I let the sauce simmer for one hour.


2. Slice the eggplants into 1/2 inch rounds. Salt the slices liberally to draw out excess moisture. Leave the salt on the slices for 20 minutes, then rinse off the salt and squeeze out the extra water. If your mozzarella is whole, slice them into 1/8 inch thick slices. Or, you could use shredded mozzarella.

3. Prepare your dipping station. Next to your eggplant, place the flour in something deep, like a big bowl or a pot. Next to will be the beaten eggs. Finally, the Italian bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. I buy bread crumbs that are "Italian-style," meaning it contains Italian herbs and spices. I'm sure you could use plain crumbs and leave it like that or season it yourself.

4. Set the oven to 400 degrees. Dip each slice of eggplant into the flour, then shake off the excess flour. Dip the slice into the egg and then the breadcrumb mixture. Lay the slices on an oiled pan to go into the oven. I suggest using only one hand to dip, because the egg and breadcrumbs start caking to your fingers.


5. Bake the slices for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for 5 minutes. Take out the eggplant and change the temperature to 350.

6. Cut your chicken breasts into 1/2 inch slices. Repeat the dipping procedure. Cook the chicken breasts in a pan with oil on medium heat for about 4 minutes or until the first side is browned. Then, flip it over and cook the other side until browned.


7. Place the chicken in a oven safe pan. Spoon the tomato sauce over the chicken until the meat is halfway covered. Lay the mozzarella slices on top of the chicken.


8. In another pan, pour enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom. Lay the first layer of eggplant slices in the pan. Put some tomato sauce on top of each slice. Keep adding layers of sauce and eggplant till you've used them up. Finish with some mozzarella on top.

9. Bake the chicken and eggplant at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then, change to oven to broil to brown the cheese for two minutes.

Be careful not to burn your tongue! I almost did. If you don't have an oven, you can brown the meat or eggplant in a deep pan, them add the sauce to the pan and let the whole thing simmer.

Potato Hash

This was one of those days when I was using miscellaneous food items to make a meal. This is what I had in the fridge and freezer:

6 potatoes, cooked
4 strips bacon
2 eggs
1/2 onion
3 stalks green onion
1/4 pound ground turkey
8 large mushrooms

1. Cut the onions into wedges. Cook in a pan on medium heat with some oil until browned. Remove the onions from the pan.
2. Slice or chop the mushrooms, however you want to do it. Cook until browned. I didn't need to add more oil here. Remove from the pan.
3. Cook the ground turkey until browned, and remove from heat.
4. Cut the bacon into smaller pieces. Cook the bacon to whatever crispness you like. Leave the fat in the pan but take out the bacon.
5. Cube your potatoes. Cook the potatoes on high heat with the bacon fat. You make need to cook the potatoes in two batches. Just put enough potatoes to make one layer, so that each side of the cubes can brown. When the potatoes are close to done, add the green onions.
6. When the potatoes are browned, crack your eggs on top of the potatoes and scramble them.
7. Add all of the ingredients back in. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cheddar cheese would be good too, but optional.



Makes about 6 servings. Enjoy!

Carrot cupcakes

Here's the continuation of what I did with carrot pulp. I made carrot cupcakes. I would have to say, I really liked the cupcakes more than the cookies. With or without the frosting, these cupcakes are tasty. Also from King Arthur Flour.

Recipe:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/3 cup diced walnuts (optional)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrots, lightly packed; about 2 medium-large carrots

1. Add all of the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl--the eggs, water, and oil--and mix by hand or with an electric mixer on medium. By the way, if you want to frost your cupcakes, take out your cream cheese and butter to let them reach room temperature. It helps to break them into smaller pieces.

2. Add all of the other ingredients, minus the carrots. Mix until combined.

3. Stir in the carrots.

4. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5. Line your cupcake tins with paper and fill the papers, leaving 1/2 inch room at the top for expansion. (That makes me think about Starbucks...would you like room?).

6. Bake for about 12-14 minutes. To test if the cupcakes are done, insert a toothpick, knife, or fork. If it comes out clean, the cupcakes are done.

7. Take the tins out of the oven. Turn the cupcakes on their sides to let steam escape, or else the bottoms can become soggy. Let them completely cool to room temperature before frosting.


Cream cheese frosting: this made too much frosting for me, because I like my cupcakes with only a little frosting. I would say cut this by 1/3 or 1/2 and you'll be good.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
one 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (aka Confectioner's sugar), sifted.
milk or cream to adjust consistency of frosting, if necessary

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese (make sure they are room temperature) on high until mixed. Add the salt and vanilla.

2. Add 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar in small batches. Beat on low at first, otherwise the sugar will go flying. Increase the speed to high until well mixed. Add more sugar if you want the frosting to be thicker/sweeter.

3. Frost your cupcakes.

Delicious!

Carrot Cookies

So one of the doctors whom I work with recently received a juicer as a gift from a patient. I wish I got gifts that expensive! Anyway, he went and bought lots of fruits and vegetables to make juice out of, including carrots. When I was using the juicer, I was sad about all of the carrot pulp that I was throwing away. The next day at work when I make more juice, I decided to take the carrot pulp home. I made carrot cookies and carrot cupcakes (see other post) with them. Since the juice was already extracted from the carrots, I added a few splashes of milk to make sure it didn't turn out dry.

This recipe is from King Arthur Flour (yes, I use this website a lot), which they call Take-10 Super Cookies.

Recipe:

1/2 cup toasted nuts
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) boiled cider (for great flavor; substitute maple syrup or dark corn syrup, if desired)
1 cup shredded fresh carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries, packed
1/2 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred
1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

1. Chop your nuts and toast in a pan on a stove on medium heat for about 3 minutes. You could also toast in an oven or toaster oven, but I have a tendency to forget about them and end up burning the food.

2. Mix oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, salt, vanilla, syrup, and egg by hand or with an electric mixer on medium or high until smooth.

3. Mix in the carrots, cranberries, chips, and nuts until combined. Then the flour and beat on low until mixed.

4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease 2 cookie sheets or line with parchment paper (I used a silicon baking sheet).

5. Add in the oats and stir until mixed.

6. Drop the 1-tablespoon sized balls of dough onto the pans. It should make about 30 cookies. I made 12 huge cookies instead. If you make larger-sized cookies, make sure to press them until the dough is even. These cookies don't spread out much in the oven, so you can space them pretty close together, like an inch apart.

7. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. They will be soft, so let them cool completely on the pans before moving them.


They were pretty healthy, minus the amount of sugar in them. The cranberries became slightly juicy, which contrasted nicely with the toasted nuts. I didn't use quick rolled oats....I tried using steel cut oats. The result: the oats were not cooked all the way. All in all, a pretty good cookie.