Easy Spritz Cookies

Cream in a mixer:

1 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

Add and beat in:

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

Combine together and then add:

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Dough should be sticky. Load up the cookie press with dough. Press out cookies onto ungreased bare cookie sheet (I know, I know, I am a firm believer in the *gospel* of parchment paper, but unless you want to sharpen up on your sailor language, please just press them out on a bare pan--it hurts, I know, but it is by far easier than trying to press them out on to the parchment. Trust me!!). Bake for 6-8 minutes, depending on how dense the cookies are (solid shapes, closer to 8 and delicate thin wreaths, more like 6-7). Bake in a 375 degree oven. Do not brown. 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

These are pretty good. I am not a super big chocolate fan, but these are pretty darn good.

1 c. flour

1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter (or salted butter and omit the above salt)

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. mini chocolate chips

For rolling:

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 c. powdered sugar

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside. Beat butter and sugars on medium  until fluffy (about 2 minutes). Beat in egg and vanilla. Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients; then mix in chips.  Cover dough and refrigerate 2 hours (up to 3 days). Always chill the dough. Remove from fridge and let sit 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2 tablespoon-sized balls and roll lightly in sugar; roll generously in powdered sugar. Place 3 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake 11-12 minutes. If they don't spread by 9 minutes, remove from oven and bang on the counter and return to the oven. Cool cookies 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack. This makes about 3 dozen.

 

Lace Cookies

These are simple and delicate cookies that taste a lot like brittle or candy! Yum! They happen to be gluten-free, too, in case that is important.

1/2 cup (1 cube) unsalted butter (or salted butter and omit the 1/8 tsp. salt below)

2/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup almond flour (you can buy this pre-ground or grind up almonds in small batches in a blender)

1/8 tsp. salt (omit if using salted butter)

1 Tbsp. corn syrup

1 tsp. vanilla

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted, add brown sugar, almond flour, salt and corn syrup. Whisk until all ingredients are dissolved and completely combined--about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir to combine. Let mixture cool 5-10 minutes--you can preheat the oven to 350 degrees while you wait for it to cool. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheets THREE inches apart by scant teaspoonfuls. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes (6 minutes may make chewy cookies while closer to 8 minutes makes them more crispy--ovens vary). Cookies should be golden on the edges. Cool 5 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Can be made into sandwich cookies with chocolate or Nutella. Store up to a week in airtight container at room temperature.

 

Two Ingredient Biscuits

 This might actually be "four" ingredient biscuits, depending on if you keep self-rising flour on hand. I don't. So what you can do is add 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/4 tsp. salt to EACH cup of all-purpose flour to make your own "self-rising flour".

2 cups self-rising flour (OR 2 cups all-purpose flour with 3 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

Mix both ingredients together (mix dry ingredients together first if not using store bought self-rising flour) and knead 10 times, using extra flour if needed. Roll with rolling pin onto floured surface to 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, avoiding twisting, just cut straight down. (Twisting sometimes doesn't allow the biscuits to rise as easily, kind of "pinching off" the sides of the biscuit with the cutter.) Roll scraps and repeat until dough is used up or too small to make another biscuit.

Bake in 400 degree oven on ungreased baking sheet--I always use parchment paper--for 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Serve warm with butter, jam, honey or your favorite stuff. Can also be served at room temperature, but I really like 'em warm! 

Makes 12-14 biscuits.

Tuscan Soup (Zuppa Tuscana)

My mom told me she had dinner with my brother and sister-in-law and said I really needed to get that recipe! So I asked for it! Yum, yum!

1 lb. Italian sausage (the kind like ground hamburger, not the links, hot or mild)
8 bacon slices

1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp. flour

32 oz. chicken stock
4 potatoes, peeled and diced to 1/4 inch

1 cup heavy cream
1/2 bunch kale, ripped into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes (optional)


Brown the Italian sausage in a large soup pot or indoor Dutch oven (also called a French Casserole). Drain. Fry bacon in the same pot and remove, reserving 1-1 1/2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings. Dice the bacon. Add onion to the bacon drippings and cook about 5 minutes and add the garlic the last minute. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and garlic and stir. Add the chicken stock, stirring while pouring. Add potatoes and gently boil for 15 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Add cooked sausage, most of the bacon pieces, cream and the kale. Cook 5-10 minutes until the kale is wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Add red pepper flakes if using. Top with bacon to serve.




thechunckychef.com

Big Chocolate Chip Cookies

Okay, I think I finally found my favorite totally "normal" chocolate chip cookie recipe! I made these and took them to work during the pandemic (individually packaged with gloves and a mask on, of course) and people REALLY liked them. They are about 4 inches across and the perfect texture--a bit crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Original recipe came from tastesbetterfromscratch.com ("Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies")

Mix in a bowl and set aside:
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Cream together:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

Add to creamed mixture and mix:
2 eggs, room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Gradually mix the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Stir in 2 cups of chocolate chips.
Scoop dough onto parchment paper lined baking sheets with a 1/4 cup measuring cup. I floured the inside of the cup after each portion to help the dough plop out easier. Try to have the dough keep the shape of the cup so they bake uniform if you care about that.  Bake at 375* for 12 minutes (that's my oven, yours may take a little more time). Let cool on the baking sheet for at least 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Makes right around 24-26 cookies.

These two cookies from the same batch look so different. I baked one before the other so maybe sitting out for 12 minutes made it more crinkly. Pretty cool, though!

Frozen Pop Treats (Popsicles--which I think is a brand name)

I probably have at least 50 popsicles in my freezer RIGHT NOW, and all but 5 of them were made last year--it's a deep freeze, so stuff lasts quite a while. I started making them about 4 years ago and was really excited about it! I got a new mold from Williams Sonoma (I don't generally shop there but was in TX with my sis and found the mold on sale). If I could blend it and freeze it, it became a popsicle! Ingredients ranged from spinach to left over Oreo cake at work. Options were endless! I like this kind of mold since you can make many pops and not have to eat them before making the next batch, but you can use whatever kind of mold. With this kind, you will need to get some sticks. I bought special food ones but you can use the craft kind, too. The food ones I have found to be little smoother, but I haven't ever gotten a splinter in my mouth!

The last thing I really "need" is to be making more popsicles, but I admit, I can't help the ideas flowing to my mind about popsicle recipes, and what if I don't have one left of *the* popsicle I'm craving right now? I don't know about you, but I eat my favorites first. Even though 50 or so remain, I have already eaten far more of my favorites throughout the last many months. I even had a "popsicle party" about 4 years ago because I had made easily over 150 of them and needed help eating them! (I know that because the first pack of sticks I went though had 150 in it and I opened another package of sticks and used them too!)

Here are a few of my favorite recipes. The directions for all of them (unless otherwise mentioned) is blend all ingredients, pour in mold, add sticks and freeze for at least 8 hours. (I could make 16 in a 24 hour period!)

Reese's PB Cup Pop

6 peanut butter cups (I use the ones in the orange wrappers, but if you use smaller, individually wrapped ones, just increase the amount)

1 jar of marshmallow creme

2 heaping Tbsp. malted milk

Milk (about a cup to a cup and a half; I don't measure)

(optional) Mini PB cups (the ones that are about 1/2 inch across) you can also use crushed big ones, added to the top of the mold after the liquid is poured in and before you add the sticks. Makes a nice little snack at the bottom of the pop! Just don't add TOO many as the stick will be less secure in the pop if you do.

Circus Animal Cookie Pop

1 1/2 cups circus animal 

Milk to cover by about an inch or more

1 jar marshmallow creme

Banana Malt Pop

1 1/2-2 very ripe bananas

5 spoons of vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. malted milk powder

1/2 jar marshmallow creme

1/4 cup milk

Smoothie Pop

3/4 c. blueberries (or any berries!)

3/4 cup strawberries

1/2 cup yogurt (any flavor)

1/4 cup honey

pineapple, V8 smoothie, or other juice to cover ingredients

Fruit Cream Pop

1-2 cups fruit (I have used strawberries, blueberries, or bananas, both separate or combined with multiple fruits. Half a can of frozen concentrate orange juice can be used to make orange creamsicles, but I use 4-6 oz. of vanilla protein milk instead of the juice for those.)

1 jar marshmallow creme

V8 smoothie juice or other juice

Pudding Pie Pop

1/2 cup vanilla protein milk (I buy Shamrock Rockin' Protein Builder)

1/2 cup cold water or milk

1/3 cup vanilla pudding mix (powdered instant, or a box, I guess. Mine is special because I can use water to make mine)

6 graham crackers (I blend mine first to make crumbs)

1 jar marshmallow creme

Healthier Pop

3/4 cup blueberries

3/4 cup strawberries (you can use any berries, frozen or fresh)

1 handful of spinach

V8 smoothie juice (or other 100% juice) 

Ovaltine Whopper Malt Pop

1 cup powdered Ovaltine

1/2 cup malted milk

1/2 cup Whoppers (chocolate balls with malt on the inside)

A few extra small Whoppers to put in the top of the mold after the liquid is poured (makes an extra treat at the end of the pop; they may need to be cut in half to fit in the mold if they are too big)

Final Pop Note:

The nice thing about these frozen pop treats is that you can combine all kinds of things to make them. The first time I made them 4 years ago I made the mistake of not writing any recipes down. It would be like, "Hey, that one was great! I wonder what was in it so I can make more..." This time, I took notes. I suggest you do the same and find what you like and write it down. Find more combinations you like and write them down too! Good luck!!