Apple Crisp

Liz Liz Liz ... where are you?  I need my gourmet cooking club buddy to cook with. 


6 large apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats

Place sliced apples in mixing bowl, stir in white sugar and cinnamon and mix well.  Arrange into 9" round or square baking dish.  Combine brown sugar and flour; cut butter into mixture with a pastry blender.  Stir in rolled oats.  Spoon mixture over apples, pressing down lightly.  Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.  Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!

Levain's Knock off Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ever been to New York?  Ever found Levain's?  The cookies are so confusing.  Are they a cake or a cookie or meal?  Either one they are delicious!  This is knock off recipe.  What do you think?

Ingredients

• 2 sticks ‘cold and cubed’ unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups AP flour
• 1 teaspoon table or fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 cups good quality semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (I usually use half semisweet and half milk chocolate)
• 1 cup walnuts (Toast the nuts for more flavor, if desired. Use any kind of nut you like. I love macadamias in these)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time.. and beat until well incorporated.

2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips/chunks and nuts.

3. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients. Divide into 12 equal portions, **about 4 oz each

4. Place each on sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake in the preheated oven 15-20 minutes depending on how gooey and raw’ish’ you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. Let cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat in an airtight container.

These are best eaten on the day they are made (ESPECIALLY warm out of the oven – like most chocolate chip cookies). To freshen them after a few days (if they last that long), give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

Also, once again, the Levain Bakery does not use vanilla extract in their chocolate chip walnut cookies.  If you’d prefer to use it, add 1 tsp along with the eggs.

Makes about 12-14 cookies

• * 6 oz portions will give you about 8-10 cookies – bake another 3-5 minutes at 375F.

Vitamix Ice Cream

Every time I try this at Costco, I'm always pleasantly surprised.

1 cup thawed frozen fruit juice concentrate (i.e. Welch's or other 100 % juice)
3 baby carrots
1 small handful cabbage (purple)
1 tblsp. protein powder or nonfat dry powdered milk
1-2 cups frozen fruit, 1-2 cups ice (3 cups frozen fruit and/or ice total)

Run VM on High 45 - 60 seconds (or until you see 4 "columns" inside container)

Cranberry Salsa

This has been our new favorite Thanksgiving Must-have.  It makes everything taste wonderful!

1 small bag of cranberries
1 half of a red onion
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of cumin
jalepeno to taste

process them in the food processor until small but not liquid. 

This would also be great over cream cheese!!!!

Chocolate Waffles

This was another book club favorite from Susie Corrigan.  She made these incredible Chocolate Waffles that were off the charts.

½ cup butter

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 ¼ cup flour

4-5 heaping T cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

1.  Cream together butter and sugar.

2.  Add eggs and milk and mix well.

3.  Sift dry ingredients into egg mixture.  Mix well.

4.  Pour into hot waffle maker.

5.  Top with anything!  (Ice cream, whipped cream, fresh fruit, etc.)

Whole Wheat Bread

Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1/3 c. oil
1/3 c. brown sugar
7 c. whole-wheat flour
1/3 c. gluten flour

1 3/4 Tbsp. Yeast
1 3/4 Tbsp. Sugar
1/2 c. warm water
2 1/3 c. warm tap water
1 Tbsp. Salt

Mix 1 3/4 Tbsp. Sugar into 1/2 c. warm water. Mix yeast into sugar water mixture. Let
stand 10-15 minutes.

While yeast is standing, combine 2 1/3 c. warm tap water, gluten and half of the wheat
flour. Mix on low speed until blended. Add salt, oil and brown sugar. Continue to mix
until well blended. Add 1/2 c. of wheat flour and blend again. Add yeast mixture and
blend thoroughly. Add remaining flour until dough begins to clean the sides of the bowl
and is consistency of cookie dough. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes.

Spray bread pans with Pam. Grease hands and remove dough from mixture. Mold into
2 loaves and place in pans. Cover loaves with damp cloth, let rise approximately 1/2
hour. Cover with foil and bake at 350* for 38-45 minutes. Remove foil last 5 minutes of
baking time. Remove from pans. Cool on rack.

Cranberry Wassail

Susie Corrigan ....  What a dear friend.  This is another great recipe from one of the recipe swaps I hosted.  I miss those days.  Why doesn't anyone like those down here?  Or perhaps I just haven't find the right friends for those sort of venues yet.  

1 can frozen apple juice, prepared (or 48 oz. bottled)

1 can frozen cranberry juice, prepared (or 48 oz. bottled)

2 cups orange juice

1 cup pineapple juice (opt)

sugar to taste (opt)

2 cinnamon sticks

6-10 cloves

4-6 allspice

Mix juices and sugar in pot.  Place spices in spice ball into pot.  

Heat for 30-45 min. or until hot.  Remove spice ball and serve.

(I did not add sugar.)