Baseball Nut Butter Cookies

I baked special cookies a couple of weeks ago to take to my friend, Tuck’s, memorial service. In a previous blog post, I mentioned how much he loved Baskin Robbins’ Baseball Nut flavor. We had great conversations while enjoying the cold treat. Those were good times that I will forever hold dear in my heart. 

As a tribute to my Baskin Robbins memories with Tuck, I researched what is in the Baseball Nut ice cream and incorporated it into Alice Waters’ Butter Cookies, a recipe that I have wanted to make for a while now. My research showed that apart from the usual ice cream ingredients (cream, milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, vanilla-vanillin extract, cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, carrageenan, guar gum, etc.) what makes Baseball Nut special is the black raspberry ribbon (with questionable ingredients) and roasted cashews.

So, I used the two special ingredients from the Baseball Nut ice cream, raspberries and cashews, to turn the butter cookie recipe into Baseball Nut Butter Cookies.   

Let’s start with the homemade raspberry jam. When I made these cookies a couple of weeks ago, fresh raspberries were not available just yet, so I made use of my handy dandy frozen stash from last summer. Homemade jam is easy to make and is pretty much no fuss, especially if you just make a small batch to use right away. There’s no need for too much sweetener because it is great to let the real fruit flavor come out.

Homemade Raspberry Jam (Makes about half a cup)

1 cup frozen raspberries
1 tbsp honey
½ tbsp sugar
 
Put frozen raspberries in a small, nonstick pan and turn the heat on medium low. Once you start hearing small, bubbling noises, stir the raspberries to let the other sides cook, about 3 minutes. Stir in the honey and sugar. Cook for about 10 more minutes or until the raspberries melt and the mixture starts to thicken. Turn the heat off and move the jam to a small bowl and let cool.

Use immediately or tightly cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.      

Now let’s get on with the cookies. These babies are truly special and I think Tuck would have enjoyed them.

In true Let’s Cook and Be Friends fashion, I used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose and lessened the amount of sugar by 25%. Whole wheat flour is my thing now… I love the heavy texture and the hint of sweetness that it lends. The sweetness from the raspberry jam and white chocolate chips made the sugar cut back necessary. And guess what? My special cookies came out just fine better than fine.  

 
Melt in your mouth sweet, tart, and buttery goodness with cashew crunches. These cookies are rich, lovely, and full of raspberry flavor!

Baseball Nut Butter Cookies (Makes about 54 small cookies)

Inspired and adapted from Alice Waters’ Butter Cookies, The Art of Simple Food
 
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp salt
1 egg
4 tbsp raspberry jam (homemade or store bought)
1 tbsp milk
 
2 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (sifted)
 
½ cup chopped cashews
½ cup white chocolate chips
 
tad of butter to grease cookie sheet
 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric hand mixer on low speed, until light and fluffy. Add in the vanilla extract, salt, egg, raspberry jam, and milk, and mix on low until everything is well incorporated.

Add the flour into the butter mixture a half cup at a time and continue to mix on low until everything is well-combined.

Fold in the cashews and white chocolate chips.
 
Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Generously grease a large cookie sheet with butter. Fill a cookie dough scoop with the batter and plop the ball of dough onto the cookie sheet. Place the cookie dough balls about half an inch apart.

Bake for 24-26 minutes, until the bottom turns brown and the top turns a light, golden brown. As soon as you take the cookies out of the oven, move them to a cooling rack using a cookie spatula (use an oven mitt and be careful not to burn your little fingers!).

 Enjoy these little cookie scoops of delight!

Skillet Broccoli Breakfast

Broccoli for breakfast is my new breakfast for champions. Here's a great recipe idea to jump start your day... I'm keeping this recipe loose because when I woke up Sunday morning, I just threw all these ingredients in a pan without measuring anything and with no other goal in mind other than to use up all the vegetables that we have in the refrigerator. However, it turned out so amazingly good and I loved it so much, I just have to share it with all of you...

Feel free to use bacon instead of sausage. If you use bacon, I would recommend crushing the bacon into bits after it cooks and setting it aside. Cook the veggies in a little bit of the bacon oil and then throw the bacon bits in the pan right before turning the heat off. You can also use or add garlic and onions here, some carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, and extra greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard, what have you).

If you have a cast iron skillet, this is something that would totally cook great in it. I would have used mine, but I only have one and I want to keep it vegetarian for now.

Skillet Broccoli Breakfast (Makes 2-3 servings)

olive oil

1 breakfast sausage patty
3 mini bell peppers, chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
salt
pepper
paprika
small handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
green onions, minced
eggs

Heat some olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet. Don't use too much because the sausage is already full of fat! Place the sausage patty in the pan and break it into little pieces with your spatula. Once it starts turning brown, add the bell peppers and cook for about a minute. Toss the broccoli in and cook until it turns an even darker shade of green and is slightly soft. Generously season with salt, pepper, and some paprika. Throw in the cherry tomatoes and half of the green onions. Stir for about a minute. Add the rest of the green onions and stir.

Crack eggs over the vegetables. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the eggs then cover the skillet. Let the eggs cook to the consistency of your liking. Turn the heat off and serve right away.

Start your day right by filling your belly with healthy veggies!

Homemade Mayonnaise, Coleslaw, and Hotdog Buns

Last Friday, I was busy... the awesome kind of busy where I filled my day with activities that I enjoyed doing. A good workout (a short bike ride, a short run, weights, and yoga) in the morning; farmers market shopping; and running errands.

At our local food hub, I signed up to get farm fresh eggs. Basically, customers start by buying a plastic egg container (say goodbye to egg cartons!) and paying a $5 deposit to get fresh eggs every week. The best part is getting to choose my own eggs... 

This is so dorky but I absolutely enjoyed choosing the prettiest looking eggs.

When I got home, I still had an entire afternoon to waste... What's a girl to do?

1. Bake scones...

2. Plan for a hotdog dinner extravaganza! Seriously if you decide to eat hotdogs, do it the right way. Meaning... Make your own coleslaw with homemade mayo (it's so easy) and make your own hotdog buns (it's so worth your while).

While you're at this, make spiral hotdogs. Why not? They're fun! Here's the video that inspired the spiral hotdogs...

Without any further ado, here we go:

Homemade Mayonnaise
Adapted from a combination of Julia Childs (Mastering the Art of French Cooking) and Mollie Katzen's (Moosewood Cookbook) Mayonnaise recipes

1 egg (please use a farm fresh egg and let the egg sit at room temperature)

2 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
3/4 cup olive oil

Place egg, lemon juice, salt, dry mustard, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a blender. Blend for a few seconds until everything is well combined.

Turn the blender back on and slowly pour in the rest of the olive oil. Blend for a couple of seconds until the olive oil is well incorporated and the emulsion thickens.

Scrape the mayonnaise into a container with a tight seal and refrigerate.

This is the mayonnaise that will turn your life around. If you love mayo, the homemade version is so much better... It tastes better and is way better for you. Just look at the ingredient list for homemade mayo, nothing gross in there. Best part is, you already have everything you need on hand! So make it, there's no reason not to. Now you can enjoy mayo slathered sandwiches, guilt free.

Homemade Coleslaw

4 cups cabbage (about 1/4 of one head of cabbage), chopped and sliced into thin strips
1 large carrot, cut in thin strips
1 small Walla Walla onion, sliced thinly
1/2 cup sweetened, dried cranberries
1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise (recipe above)
1/3 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
generous dash of lemon pepper (or black pepper)

In a large bowl, toss all the dry ingredients together with clean hands: cabbage, carrot, onion, and dried cranberries.

Add mayonnaise, pour in orange juice and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and mix everything well with a large spoon.

Let the coleslaw sit in the refrigerator for at least two hours to allow flavors to soak in. Give it a good stir right before serving.

I love coleslaw but have never made it myself before. Every time I get the chance to eat them at barbecues, I know they're from the bag and it always kinda grosses me out but I eat it anyway.

After making my own coleslaw with homemade mayo, I was sold. There’s nothing fancy schmancy about my recipe, but the combination of fresh mayo, orange juice, and rice vinegar was so good. It was the right blend of sweet and tart with a nice mildness from the mayonnaise. This coleslaw is the perfect summer side dish to cool you down… Light, fresh, and delicious. I promise it will make you happy. So, so, so happy!

Homemade Whole Wheat Hot Dog Buns

Adapted from Jennifer Reese's Hot Dog Buns, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

1 cup milk (whole milk)
2 tbsp softened unsalted butter
1 large egg
2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat bread flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tbsp yeast (active dry)
olive oil (for greasing)

In a medium size bowl, mix the milk, butter, and egg together using a hand held electric mixer on low until everything is just combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, salt, and yeast.

Slowly pour in the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Mix with a thin, rubber spatula until you can't mix anymore. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball. Tip the dough off the bowl onto a clean surface and knead for about 8 minutes. Press the dough flat and fold, repeat this process several times. Form the dough into a ball once again. Pour a bit of olive oil on your palm and spread it around the dough and the insides of the bowl. This helps the dough pull away from the bowl easier after it rises. Carefully place the dough back into the bowl and let rise in a warm place for about 70 minutes, just a little over an hour.

After it has risen, carefully tip the dough onto the counter and gently punch it down to deflate. Divide the dough into 10 pieces. Roll the pieces to form a ball and shape into small logs. Place the logs on a greased baking pan or use parchment paper. Let rise for 35-40 minutes.

Move oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. When the logs and your oven are ready, move the baking pan into the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the hot dog buns turn into a nice, golden brown color.

Best when used right away. You can store leftover buns in an airtight bag in the refrigerator.

These hot dog buns are denser but surprisingly soft. Sweet and grainy with a definite full flavor compared to store-bought ones. Trust me, these buns will turn you into a hot dog bun snob.

Another great thing about this hot dog bun recipe is that it can totally be a dinner roll or a breakfast bread. Just shape them into balls instead of logs. For dinner the next night, I placed some cheese slices on top of sliced buns, heated it in the oven and served leftover meatloaf on top. For breakfast the next day, I sliced the leftover buns in half, popped it in the toaster and spread some butter and honey on top. It was perfect with my breakfast eggs.

Enjoy your hot dog dinner outside with a nice, cold drink!

Beet Sandwiches

I had a great summer week! In spite of the speeding ticket, yelling, and this crazy, hot weather, I enjoyed it immensely. Monday and Tuesday were work days, but they went fast and the rest of the week was pure summer bliss. Fourth of July hang time with good friends, yoga, bike rides, gym, Costco/Best Buy/Target date trips with DFJ, lots of cooking and baking (yes, we are crazy for turning the oven on in this 3-digit weather), getting blog posts ready for this week, helping my friend, Heidi, move rocks, putting together a thousand piece puzzle, reading, and at the same time doing nothing! Summer, I love you! ß Hmmm… lots of commas there.

Anyway, DFJ felt like baking these superb cookies this afternoon and our apartment felt like a sauna. I’m not complaining, I had my fair share of cookies today.

To offset the rich, chocolatey-sugary babies, we enjoyed some beet sandwiches for appetizers.

 
Meg, thank you so much for choosing a very interesting recipe for The Food Matters Project this week. Even though our oven had been on for quite a while today, it was worth it to turn it up another notch to bake the beets and make these beautiful sandwiches.

I fell in love with these beet sandwiches. They are delicious and too gorgeous for words. My pictures and presentation don’t even do them any justice. So please hop on over to the FMP website to see what other members did and drool over their pictures. For the original Mark Bittman recipe, visit Meg’s lovely website, My Wholefood Romance.    

First, let’s talk about the filling. Here’s what I had in mine:

3 cups spinach
1 cup roasted and salted pistachios, shelled (I would have shelled more but my thumbs gave up)
4 ounces goat cheese
6 tbsp olive oil
 
Just throw everything in the blender and voila, you get a delicious and versatile filling. The combination of everything was so good! If you're not a big fan of spinach, no worries, the pistachio and good cheese flavors are so distinct, you won't even know there's a ton of Popeye's leaves in there. This filling would be so perfect as a dip for raw vegetables or crackers, bruschetta topping, spread for deli sandwiches, and even as a pizza sauce! I have a huge bowl left and can’t wait to use it for any of these other purposes.

As for the beets, I simply sliced them thin, tossed them with a bit of olive oil and salt, and roasted them in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes. My beets didn’t turn out like crispy chips, but they were still great with the filling. Beets can be eaten raw or cooked. I love its distinct flavor… when eaten raw, it is slightly sweet, refreshing, and lends a bitter aftertaste; when eaten cooked, it is delicious and lends a full taste of earthy sweetness.

Take these beets to a summer party and I guarantee that these will win the best hors d’oeuvres award!  

Have a great week everyone! Stay hydrated and don’t forget to put that sunscreen on. And… eat lots of vegetables (i.e. beets and spinach) it’s good for our skin!