salt – Oven Love

Curried Winter Soup with Carrot, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

Natalie — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 21:39:33 +0000

Oh hey, 2014!

How’s week one of the new year going for everyone? We are in hibernation mode here in Ohio, which has given me lots of time to reflect on what to do with my time in the next 12 months (or rather the next 5 months, since new babies have a way of shifting your priorities).

To help me get my head on straight, I have been going through Lara Casey‘s Make It Happen series; it’s a goal-setting series that I absolutely recommend. Especially if you’re like me, AKA you have a huge desire to get your act together for the new year but have no idea where to start. I’ve got a lot of ideas swimming around in this head and Make It Happen has helped me to organize it all. So, yay, new year! And hooray for a new recipe today! Finally got off my duff and picked up my camera.

This soup was inspired by a lovely lunch I had with my friend Jillian (see how awesome she is below) at Wheat Penny here in Dayton. We sampled a little cup of their curried carrot soup to start our meal; it was grand. I love that curry powder gives such a distinct, comforting taste but doesn’t make things too spicy. For my at-home version, I used all the orange veggies we had on hand- carrots, butternut squash and sweet potato. Pumpkin would also work well; you can use what you have in any combination.

This soup works for a whole variety of diets and is almost impossible to mess up. It would be great with some crumbled bacon on top, or even some homemade croutons. You could kick up the spice by adding some thai red curry paste, too.

And beyond tasting good, this soup has great nutritional benefits:

Healthy, filling fats
Cold/Flu-fighting onions, garlic and turmeric
Orange veggies filled with Vitamin A to boost the immune system
Bone broth; rich in gelatin, vitamins and minerals and anti-inflammatory

A special thanks to my sweet friends Jillian and Megan for making this post happen- they came over to my house today and did all my dishes PLUS cleaned my fridge! It was amazing, and it motivated me to pull out the camera and get this post up. A clean kitchen = no excuses for this lady. Thanks, girls- you are such a blessing to me! I am ready to re-pay you in soup.

5.0 from 3 reviews

Curried Winter Soup with Carrot, Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Soup, Main Dish, Appetizer

Serves: 8

Ingredients

a few tablespoons quality fat (grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard, tallow)
2 medium onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced (optional)
2 teaspoons sea salt
½-1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon turmeric (optional)
6-8 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large butternut squash; peeled, seeded and chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped (you can substitute more carrots or squash if you’re on GAPS or avoiding starches)
4-6 cups of bone broth (enough to cover the veggies in the pot)
plain whole milk yogurt, for serving (optional, you can substitute full-fat coconut milk if you’re dairy-free)

Instructions

In a large stockpot or dutch oven, melt down the fat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until they begin to soften. Add the spices and let cook a few more minutes.
Add the carrots, squash and sweet potato to the pot, followed by the bone broth. Add enough broth to cover all of the vegetables. Bring it all to a boil.
Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes. When the veggies are soft, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth.
Serve warm with a generous drizzle of yogurt.

Strawberry and Peach Cinnamon Bread (Guest Post)

Natalie — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 05:33:35 +0000

Happy Tuesday! The moving truck is in our driveway today and things are gettin’ real. While I’m busy carrying heavy objects (more likely children than boxes), please enjoy this guest post from Janssen of Everyday Reading. Janssen is a fellow contributor at MPMK and part of a very talented family of bloggers (you can find her sisters here and here). She writes about books, family, recipes, DIY.. she’s a regular renaissance woman. Thanks for visiting, Janssen!

One of my favorite things is a recipe that takes a food on its last leg and turns it into something amazing and delicious.

You know how banana bread rescues bananas from the trash can? This bread does the same for strawberries and peaches. The softer and riper they are, the better.

It’s great for a breakfast or snack, but my favorite is with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. But then, ANYTHING with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream is likely to be my favorite.

Strawberry and Peach Cinnamon Bread

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

60 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Makes 1 loaf or 3 mini-loaves or 1 dozen muffins

Author: Janssen Bradshaw

Recipe type: Bread, Baked Goods

Serves: 8-12

Ingredients

1½ cups flour
1 cup sugar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
⅓ cup plain yogurt
⅓ cup oil
1 cup chopped and mashed strawberries and peaches (whatever ratio you have is fine – I usually pulse mine in the blender a couple of times to chop them).

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk together dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.
Pour into greased pan (fill each pan or muffin tin about ⅔ full).
Bake for 1 hour if doing a full loaf, 40 minutes for mini-loaves, and 30 minutes for muffins (or until a toothpick comes out cleanly).

Creole Rice Skillet with Andouille Sausage

Natalie — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:19:26 +0000

I heart quick dinners. Don’t we all?

Some nights there just isn’t time to mess around with the oven and the pots and the pans and the measuring cups and the nonsense.

Some nights I just pull out the cast iron and see what happens.

The night I made this skillet, I was lucky enough to have some cooked rice, some beans and some Aidell’s Cajun-Style Andouille Sausage* hanging around. So creole/cajun/jambalaya-style skillet it was. It came together lightening fast since the rice and sausage were already cooked, but it wouldn’t take more than 20 minutes to get that taken care of, so still a quick dish in my book.

This one was a winner for the adults in our household, but it was a bit spicy for the kids. If you want to make a kid-friendly version, I would go easy on the spices and use a milder variety of sausage. Still a yummy combo, I’m sure.

If you’re not really into the cajun/creole thing, maybe try Italian sausage and cannelini beans or really anything else from the pantry or fridge that sounds good to you. That’s the best part about skillet dinners- you can just throw more stuff in until it looks like a meal. (Spoken like a true food professional, amiright?)

*P.S. This post is not sponsored by Aidell’s, I just like them! They are the best option at my local grocery store for natural link sausages.

2.5 from 2 reviews

Creole Rice Skillet with Andouille Sausage

The prep time includes cooking the rice and sausage.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Main Dish

Serves: 4

Ingredients

1-2 tablespoons grass-fed butter or lard
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cups cooked rice, any variety
4 andouille sausage links, cooked and chopped
1½ cups or 1 drained and rinsed can of red kidney beans
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika (I use smoked paprika but any kind will do)
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper (or both)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme

Instructions

In a cast iron skillet, heat the butter or lard over medium heat. Saute the onion and bell pepper until they begin to soften.
Add the rice, sausage and red beans. Stir and let cook until warmed through.
Add the spices and stir until completely coated. Serve warm in the skillet.

Rosemary Roasted Fingerlings and Brussel Sprouts

Natalie — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:40:08 +0000

This new blog feels like a giant, open room that I can’t wait to furnish. I am excited to fill this blog with new, fresh recipes.. maybe some old favorites, too.. I am loving it!

This recipe is a little bit old and a little bit new. I’ve always (I mean, since I’ve been a grown adult and learned how to roast vegetables) loved brussel sprouts and potatoes, but adding in fresh herbs takes it up a notch in sophistication. Luckily, it doesn’t increase the work much. What is it about fresh herbs that seems so fancy?

I’m planning on fashioning a special herb garden for myself this season- I’ll keep you updated on how that goes (or if it goes at all- I’m notorious for not keeping up with plants). My little man is eager to help me- maybe he’ll be the key to keeping things green this year. (Lord knows he loves a watering can.)

Sometimes the easiest recipes are the most satisfying. (Thank goodness!!) What are your favorite ways to use fresh herbs?

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

Ingredients

1 small bag brussel sprouts, rinsed and halved
1 small bag fingerling potatoes, rinsed and halved (or quartered)
melted butter or olive oil to coat
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
In a 9x13inch baking dish, combine brussel sprouts, potatoes and butter or olive oil and toss to coat.
In a small bowl, combine the salt, rosemary, thyme and pepper and crush together with your fingers. Sprinkle over the vegetables and toss again.
Roast for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender and the brussel sprouts are starting to caramelize and turn brown.
Let cool a bit and serve along side your favorite main dish.

Homemade Honey Ketchup

Natalie — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:42:00 +0000

You guys. I have actually processed and put up almost all of the tomatoes that came out of the garden this year. This is MAJOR. I typically get so overwhelmed with the produce that some of it (okay, a lot of it) goes to the chickens. But this year, I’ve been on the top of my game with a new tomato recipe for each giant basket that ends up on the counter. We’ve done tomato puree, roasted tomato sauce/soup and this homemade honey ketchup so far.

I was a little weirded out by homemade ketchup before (why give up my Heinz?), but the last mountain of tomatoes had me thinking otherwise. I think I was most afraid that I wouldn’t like the consistency or it wouldn’t taste enough like ketchup and all the work would be for nothing.

Wrong-o.

Homemade ketchup is so worth it.

My favorite part was using honey in the recipe instead of white sugar. I was the little girl at McDonalds who dipped her McNuggets into ketchup AND honey. What better way to satisfy my tendencies than to just add honey into the mix in the first place? Stroke of genius, I tell ya.

And who knew that the spices are what make ketchup taste like ketchup? I had no idea that cloves, cinnamon and celery seed were behind that classic ketchup taste. Kudos to you, “spices.” You never get enough recognition on those food labels.

This recipe is ready for canning or freezing, whatever you fancy. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of tomatoes to make a small amount of ketchup, so this recipe is best left for those of us who are searching for ways to use up our garden excess. If you’re looking for a less labor/time intensive homemade ketchup recipe, check out Joy the Baker’s Homemade Curry Ketchup.

(Recipe adapted from Canning.)

5.0 from 2 reviews

Homemade Honey Ketchup

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

4 hours

Total time

4 hours 30 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Condiment

Ingredients

8 lbs. tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup honey
1 cup white vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
1½ teaspoons whole cloves
1 teaspoon celery seeds
1 tablespoon sea salt

Instructions

Wash tomatoes. Remove stem ends and cores. Cut tomatoes into quarters. Transfer to a large colander in the sink; drain. In a 8-10 quart non-reactive pot, combine tomatoes, onion and cayenne pepper. Bring to boiling, stirring often; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring often.
Press tomato mixture into a food mill. Discard seeds and skins. (If you don’t have a food mill, I would think you could blend or process the tomatoes and strain them, but I haven’t tested this method.) Return tomato mixture to the same pot. Add honey. Use a ruler (or wooden spoon and rubber band) to mark the depth of the mixture. Make a note of the depth- you will want to reduce it by at least half, if not more. Bring to boiling, stirring until the honey dissolves; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 hours or until mixture is reduced by half.
In a small non-reactive saucepan, combine vinegar, cinnamon, cloves and celery seeds. Bring a a boil, then remove from heat. Strain vinegar mixture into the tomato mixture, discarding the spices. Add the salt. Simmer, uncovered, until the ketchup is at your desired consistency- anywhere from 30 more minutes to 3 more hours.
TO CAN: Ladle hot ketchup into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars (pints work, too). Leave ½-inch headspace. Wipe jar rims and adjust lids. Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. Remove jars from canner, cool on wire racks. Makes 4 half-pints or 2 pints.
TO FREEZE: Place pot in a sink filled with ice water, stir mixture to cool. Ladle ketchup into half-pint freezer containers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal and label. Freeze for up to 10 months.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Natalie — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:12:00 +0000

I love posts that have the labels “chocolate” and “vegetables” together. Sometimes it seems my main goal in life is figuring out how to fit chocolate into every meal.

Still working on it.

Chocolate-covered broccoli probably wouldn’t go over well with my crew. Or would it..

Back to reality!

I made this cake last night because

a) we had nothing sweet in the house to consume (????)

b) we have a fridge bursting with garden produce

c) I need chocolate to survive.

I really want to say this cake is healthy, but it would be more accurate to say it is healthier than most cakes. It has lots of ingredients I deem healthy (zucchini, olive oil, greek yogurt, whole wheat flour), but also a few of the usual suspects like sugar and chocolate chips and butter (which I actually think is not so bad if you get it from a good source- we need good fats, people!). If you are feeling like a super-healthy person, I’m sure you could sub out the sugar for another sweetener and switch out anything else you don’t like, but it will probably taste less like cake and more like a chocolate-flavored brick. But, by all means- eat, drink and make chocolate bricks if that’s your thing.

I’m going to be real and tell you the reason I didn’t photograph the full cake is because I cut two giant slices for the hubs and I to eat not more than 10 minutes after it was out of the oven. Hot chocolate cake with smooth chocolate ganache running down the sides is like a big chocolate party in your mouth. For research purposes only (ahem), I tried it at room temperature today- it was still tasty, but I could tell it was losing a little moisture (due to all that healthiness inside). This can surely be remedied with another batch of ganache. Or some ice cream. Or a giant glass of cold, cold milk.

Raise a glass of raw milk and get your forks. Here’s to your health!

(Recipe adapted from Buttered Up.)

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup olive oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup yogurt (I use greek)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1¼ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons espresso powder (optional)
2 cups shredded zucchini
½ cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cake pan (I used a 10-inch round springform pan because there’s a lot of batter) with butter and flour or baking spray.
Cream the butter, oil, sugars, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder and salt together until well-combined. Beat the eggs in one at a time. Add half of the flour, stir; add the yogurt, stir; and add the rest of the flour, cocoa powder and espresso powder (if using) and stir again. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 35-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Meanwhile, place the chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the heavy cream, sugar and water until warm (not boiling) and pour it over the chocolate. Stir to combine. Let sit until thickened.
When you’re ready to serve, you can pour the chocolate sauce over the whole cake or on individual sliced. You can serve hot or at room temperature, but it is best enjoyed in the first day or two of baking.

Chelsea’s Lemon Souffle Pancakes

Natalie — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Today, you get to meet Chelsea from Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence. She is a 20-something, self-taught cook just like me and I know you’ll enjoy her recipe. I can’t wait to whip up a plate of these myself. Thanks for sharing, Chelsea!

Hello Oven Lovers! I’m Chelsea, the girl behind the blog Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence. I’m so excited to be guest posting for Natalie on one of my favorite blogs- Oven Love!

Seeing as how there are always so many amazing breakfast and brunch recipes on Oven Love, I thought what better recipe to guest post about than just that! After a great debate, I decided on these lemon soufflé pancakes. Just the idea of a soufflé pancake was enough to entice me, but with the addition of lemons I was sold! These fluffy soufflé pancakes are just bursting with lemon flavor. Drizzle with some agave nectar and a sprinkle of powdered sugar and its breakfast time! If you don’t have agave nectar, you can use regular syrup, but I find that the agave’s natural sweetness enhances the lemon flavor without overpowering.

4.5 from 2 reviews

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

40 mins

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
¾ cup milk
¼ cup butter, melted
3 egg whites
Agave nectar and powdered sugar to garnish

Instructions

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, lemon peel, and salt.
Make a well in the center of flour mixture and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk, milk, and the ¼ cup melted butter.
Add egg yolk mixture all at once to flour mixture.
Stir just until moistened.
In a medium mixing bowl beat egg whites with an electric mixer on medium speed until stiff peaks form (tips will stand straight up).
Gently fold egg whites into batter.
Do not overmix.
Pour ¼ cup of the batter onto a hot lightly greased griddle.
Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each side until pancakes are golden brown.
Serve with agave nectar and powdered sugar.

Chocolate Beet Cake

Natalie — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Recently, I’ve been getting into baking full-size cakes. It seems like there are never enough occasions that call for a big, beautiful cake. After having my cupcake business in Ohio, I am much more inclined to bake cakes than cupcakes now (like the rainbow cake and the strawberry cake).

Since I was experimenting with beets last week (see my sweet beet pancakes), I wanted to try out Joy the Baker‘s beet cake recipe that I’d been eyeing for a while. The recipe is similar to a basic chocolate cake with the addition of grated beets into the batter and the frosting- not too much extra effort to try something new and different.

As the beets were in the oven, I was getting a little nervous- my house was smelling like roasted dirt. But apparently, that’s normal when you’re dealing with beets. Smells were deceiving in this case- the cake certainly does not taste like dirt. Each chocolate-filled bite is strangely light and dense at the same time. You’ll have to bake it to see what I mean.

I served this cake to guests and didn’t reveal the secret ingredient until after. Everyone seemed pleasantly surprised.. or maybe just relieved that it wasn’t something worse than beets.

Chocolate Beet Cake

Prep time

1 hour 30 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

2 hours 15 mins

http://joythebaker.com/2012/01/chocolate-beet-cake-with-beet-cream-cheese-frosting/

Author: Joy the Baker

Serves: 10

Ingredients

For the Cake: 2 medium beets, unpeeled but trimmed of their greens
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
6 ounces (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pans
1 cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ cups buttermilk
For the Frosting: 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, softened
4 to 5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons finely grated beets, mashed with a fork
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or scrapings of one vanilla bean pod
1-2 teaspoons milk, depending on desired consistency
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of salt

Instructions

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Thoroughly wash beets under running water, and trim their leaves, leaving about ½ inch of stem. Place clean beets in a piece of foil. Drizzle with just a bit of vegetable oil. Seal up foil. Place on a baking sheet in the oven. Roast until beets are tender when pierced with a knife, about 1 hour.
Remove the beets from the oven. Open the foil and allow beets to cool completely. Beets will be easy to peel (just using a paring knife) once completely cooled.
Using a box grater, grate the peeled beets on the finest grating plane. Measure ¾ cup of grated beets for the cake and 2 tablespoons for the frosting. Set aside.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Use butter to grease two 8 or 9-inch round baking pans. Trace a piece of parchment paper so it is the same size as the bottom of the cake pan. Cut it out and place inside the cake pan. Butter the parchment paper. Add a dusting of flour to coat the pan. Set pans aside while you prepare the cake.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, for one minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Once eggs are incorporated, beat in beets and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture. Beating on low speed , slowly add the buttermilk. Once just incorporated, add the other half of the dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed until milk and dry ingredients are just incorporated. Try not to overmix the batter. Bowl can be removed from the mixer and mixture folded with a spatula to finish incorporating ingredients. Cake batter will be on the thick side… not pourable.
Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes (for a 9-inch pan) or 30-32 minutes (for an 8-inch pan). Cake is done when a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cakes from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting and assembling the cake.
To make the Frosting: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese for 30 seconds, until pliable and smooth. Add the butter and beat for another 30 seconds, until well combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Beat in the beets. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, lemon juice, and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth and silky. Refrigerate the frosting for 30 minutes before frosting the cooled cakes.
To assemble the cake, place one layer of cake on a cake stand or cake plate. Top with a generous amount of pink frosting. Spread evenly. Place the other cake on top of the frosting. Top with frosting. Work frosting onto the sides of the cake. You will have extra frosting left over. Refrigerate for an hour before serving (it will make the cake easier to slice). Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.

Coconut Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Natalie — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:15:00 +0000

Lesson learned so far in life with two babies: sometimes you will just need to make cookies.

In some ways, parenting two has been easier than I thought. I bounced back from the birth easier, I am actually able to get us all out of the house in a decent amount of time, I can manage them both by myself. Some days I think I’m doing pretty great at this mom thing. Other days, when one is screaming, then the other is screaming, then they’re both screaming.. well, cookies happen.

These cookies have been on my list to try for a long time. They didn’t turn out quite like Joy’s, but I like the changes I made and they sure are addicting. I love the addition of coconut to a basic chocolate chip cookie, but the browned butter and coconut oil mixture takes this one over the top. My cookies didn’t spread much, so I like to think of them as little nuggets of deliciousness (see recipe below for my thoughts on that).

So the next time you’re having one of those days with all the screaming, make these cookies after things quiet down. They’ll help you forget all about it.

Coconut Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time

45 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

adapted for Joy The Baker- http://joythebaker.com/2011/04/brown-butter-toasted-coconut-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 24

Ingredients

¼ cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 stick unsalted butter
4 oz coconut oil
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. On one baking sheet, spread out shredded coconut. Toast coconut for 4-6 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Sweetened coconut will brown faster, so watch it carefully. Remove from the oven, place in a small bowl and let cool.
Melt butter and coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam and crackle. That’s a great sign. That means that the water is evaporating from the butter. Once the crackling subsides, keep an eye on the butter. The butter solids will begin to brown. You’ll smell the butter as it browns. Once well browned, immediately remove the butter from the flame and place in a small bowl. Removing the butter from the pan will ensure that it doesn’t continue to cook and burn in the hot pan. Allow the butter to cool for a few moments.
**Joy suggests using ¾ cup of the melted butter mixture- I got closer to 1 cup but used the ¾ cup and my dough was a little drier than I’d like, so I would suggest trying the full amount. I think this is why the cookies didn’t spread much.**
In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, measure granulated and brown sugar. Add the brown butter mixture and beat together, on medium speed, for about 2 minutes. The sugar may still look grainy. That’s ok.
Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. The mixture should become silky smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat.
With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Beat until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips. Dough will be thick.
Cookies can be baked immediately, or the dough can be left in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
Spoon balls by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown but still slightly soft in the center. Remove from the oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Salted Peppermint Rice Krispie Treats

Natalie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:41:00 +0000

I really wasn’t planning on sharing more sweets with you, but occasions to bake keep coming up out of nowhere! I made these last night for some friends, and then whipped up another quick batch for the hubs to take to work today. This recipe took me less than 15 minutes to pull together- talk about a Christmas miracle! I have no energy left these days (this baby is coming in a month.. woah) to slave away in the kitchen making complicated treats (even though I wish I had the time to!), especially with all of the other holiday hulabaloo going on.

I think you’ll really like these. They have just enough peppermint- certainly not the overwhelming minty-ness that you get from some Christmas desserts. The chocolate drizzle and sea salt add the salty/sweet component, and you’ve got the classic crunchy/chewy thing going on with the Rice Krispies and marshmallow combo.

If you have the ingredients on hand (or even if you don’t- you’ll probably be out shopping soon anyways), I am certain you have the time to throw these together. Yum, yum, yum!

Salted Peppermint Rice Krispie Treats

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 20

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter or ghee
4 cups peppermint marshmallows **There are a few ways to do this. You can make them homemade, you can buy store-bought (Jet-Puffed has a peppermint variety during the holidays), or you can use regular marshmallows with a dash of peppermint extract and a drop or two of red food coloring (optional).**
5 cups Rice Krispie cereal
2 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate
3-5 peppermint candies, crushed
¼-1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

To prepare, butter a 9×13 baking dish.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the marshmallows and reduce heat to low. Stir until the marshmallows are melted completely and remove from heat. Add the Rice Krispies and stir until well-coated. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan and press down with a spatula or buttered fingers.
Next, heat the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Transfer into a pastry or Ziplock bag and cut the corner. Drizzle the chocolate evenly over the Rice Krispie mixture (you can also use a spoon to do this, but it will be a bit messier). Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candies and sea salt evenly over the chocolate and let rest until the chocolate is set. Cut into squares and serve.