Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14.5 ounce can of canned tomatoes, liquid included
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 pounds total

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 30 seconds. Stir in the can of tomatoes and crush them with the back of a wooden spoon.

Add the pineapple juice, honey, vinegar, molasses, ginger, and salt, stir together, and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally, continuing to break up the tomatoes, until the sauce has thickened a bit, about 20 minutes.

Put the chicken in the lined pan and pour the sauce on top.

Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broil and cook another two minutes. I cooked this in the toaster oven, so it was already close to the top burners and didn’t really need extra broiling.

Plate the chicken and spoon the extra sauce over it. Enjoy!

Oven-Barbecued Chicken Breasts

Adapted from Great Taste ~ Low Fat Chicken.

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14.5 ounce can of canned tomatoes, liquid included
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 1 1/2 pounds total

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil until hot but not smoking. Add the garlic and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 30 seconds. Stir in the can of tomatoes and crush them with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the pineapple juice, honey, vinegar, molasses, ginger, and salt, stir together, and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally, continuing to break up the tomatoes, until the sauce has thickened a bit, about 20 minutes.

Put the chicken in the lined pan and pour the sauce on top. Bake until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broil and cook another two minutes.

Plate the chicken and spoon the extra sauce over it.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves, or your favorite flavor

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.

Starts off crumbly, but comes together after a few minutes.

Pat the batter into a rectangle roughly 1/2″ thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.

15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Measure out rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll them into balls.

Place the balls about 1 1/2″ apart on the sheets, then make firm dents into each ball with your thumb or finger.

Bake until lightly golden, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and increase the oven to 325 degrees. Fill each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon preserves.

Bake another 10 minutes until the jam has begun to melt and spread. Allow to cool on the sheet before eating, as hot jelly burns!

Buttery and delicious!

Rosie’s Butter Cookies

From Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter Fresh Cream Sugar-Packed No-Holds-Barred Baking Book.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves, or your favorite flavor

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl several times. Pat the batter into a rectangle roughly 1/2″ thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 3 hours.

15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Measure out rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and roll them into balls. Place the balls about 1 1/2″ apart on the sheets, then make firm dents into each ball with your thumb or finger. Bake until lightly golden, 25-30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and increase the oven to 325 degrees. Fill each cookie with 1/2 teaspoon preserves. Bake another 10 minutes until the jam has begun to melt and spread. Allow to cool completely on the sheet before eating.

Terrifying name, eh? These are mini Yorkshire puddings, which is not something I’d had before, but is similar to a popover, and not like pudding. British people call a baffling number of things “pudding.”

This is a pretty easy dinner, and a good way to use up leftovers if you ever try making prime rib (which also turns out to be super easy). They grow super tall in the oven, but deflate a fair amount if not eaten pretty fast.

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 4 ounces cooked roast beef, thinly sliced (may use leftover prime rib or from deli)
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish
• 1 cup canned au jus gravy, heated

Whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, and salt together in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth and glistening. It took me ages to get mine smooth – this could be one recipe where sifting the flour saves you a lot of effort later. Set the mixture aside to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll with foil and set aside. Pour 1/2 tablespoon oil into each cup of a muffin pan and put in the oven to heat while the batter rests. Warm the prepared au jus.

After 20 minutes, briefly whisk the batter. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and put it on the lined jelly roll sheet. Quickly fill each cup 3/4 full with the prepared batter. It should sizzle and cook some. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of roast beef and 1 teaspoon of horseradish into each cup. For personal preference reasons, I used a bit more beef and less horseradish, but do what you like.

Return the muffin pan, on the jelly roll pan, to the oven. Bake until puffy and golden, about 12 minutes. I probably cooked mine more like 16 until they looked set.

Remove the puddings from the muffin pan and drain any excess grease with paper towels. Serve immediately with the warm au jus.

These were good, if only to try something new. It’s also fun to see how huge they get! Be sure to put your muffin tin on the other pan, as otherwise grease will end up overflowing onto the floor of your oven, which is awful every time you cook ever again after.

Stuffed Baby Yorkies

From AllRecipes.

• 5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 4 ounces cooked roast beef, thinly sliced (may use leftover prime rib or from deli)
• 1/4 cup prepared horseradish
• 1 cup canned au jus gravy, heated

Sift flour, then whisk together with eggs, milk, and salt together in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth and glistening. Set the mixture aside to rest for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll with foil and set aside. Pour 1/2 tablespoon oil into each cup of a muffin pan and put in the oven to heat while the batter rests. Warm the prepared au jus.

After 20 minutes, briefly whisk the batter. Remove the muffin pan from the oven and put it on the lined jelly roll sheet. Quickly fill each cup 3/4 full with the prepared batter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of roast beef and 1 teaspoon of horseradish into each cup.

Return the muffin pan, on the jelly roll pan, to the oven. Bake until puffy and golden, about 12 minutes. Remove the puddings from the muffin pan and drain any excess grease with paper towels. Serve immediately with the warm au jus.

Ingredients:

Pastry Cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium orange
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup pastry cream
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserves (I used jelly, as my mom won’t eat things with seeds)

Several hours, or a day or two, before you want to make the cake, prepare the pastry cream. In a small saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3/4 cup milk over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves and milk begins to simmer.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar with the egg yolks in a medium bowl.

Add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and the cornstarch and whisk thoroughly. When the milk on the stove has reached a simmer, pour it into the milk mixture in the bowl in a slow, thin stream, whisking the mixture in the bowl constantly while you do so. You only want to add the hot milk a bit at a time so it doesn’t cook the egg yolks in the bowl.

When all the hot milk has been added to the bowl and whisked in, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens. You should be aiming for roughly the consistency of pudding. When thickened, whisk in the vanilla and then strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.

Oops, into the clean bowl but forgot to go through the sieve. Oh well…

Cover, pressing the saran wrap right down onto the surface of the cream so that it doesn’t develop a skin from contact with air. Place in the refrigerator and chill until completely cooled.

When the pastry cream has cooled, you can begin the cake. Grease and then line with parchment a 9″ cake pan with 3″ sides. If you don’t have a 3″ tall cake pan, you can get them for pretty cheap on Amazon, or use a springform pan, which should have tall sides. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place the rack in the oven in the lower third of the oven.

Melt the butter, then set aside to cool. Zest and juice the orange (you’ll need 1/3 cup of juice), then set both aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high for several minutes until doubled in size. Add the orange juice and zest and beat in on low speed until combined.

Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with halves of the melted butter, beating and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan. Spoon the pastry cream in a circle over the batter, leaving a full inch between the pastry cream and the sides of the pan. Gently spread the preserves over the cream.

I didn’t actually measure the jelly, just used as much as it took to cover the pastry cream.

Spread the remaining batter evenly in the pan, working gently to avoid smearing the cream and preserves about.

Bake 50-65 minutes, until the center looks firm and doesn’t squish to the touch. I think I left mine in over 65, as the center still jiggled a bit at that point.

When the middle finally stopped wobbling all over the place when I shook the pan.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan, which probably takes another hour. Turn out onto a plate and serve.

Tiny bit of…subsidence. Cake probably could have used another few minutes in the oven, I guess.

As I said, really good, plus you feel like an adult for having dessert that’s not frosted or chocolate.

Gâteau Basque Cake

From Not So Humble Pie.

Pastry Cream:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 medium orange
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup pastry cream
• 1/4 cup raspberry preserves

Several hours before you want to make the cake, prepare the pastry cream. In a small saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3/4 cup milk over medium heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar dissolves and milk begins to simmer.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar with the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and the cornstarch and whisk thoroughly.

When the milk on the stove has reached a simmer, pour it into the milk mixture in the bowl in a slow, thin stream, whisking the mixture in the bowl constantly while you do so. When all the hot milk has been added to the bowl and whisked in, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Continue cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the vanilla and then strain through a fine sieve into a clean bowl. Cover, pressing the saran wrap right down onto the surface of the cream. Refrigerate until completely cooled.

When the pastry cream has cooled, you can begin the cake. Grease and then line with parchment a 9″ cake pan with 3″ sides. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place the rack in the oven in the lower third of the oven.

Melt the butter, then set aside to cool. Zest and juice the orange (you’ll need 1/3 cup of juice), then set both aside. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on high for several minutes until doubled in size. Add the orange juice and zest and beat in on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with halves of the melted butter, beating and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared cake pan. Spoon the pastry cream in a circle over the batter, leaving a full inch between the pastry cream and the sides of the pan. Gently spread the preserves over the cream. Spread the remaining batter evenly in the pan, covering the cream and preserves gently to avoid smearing them.

Bake 50-65 minutes, until the center looks firm and doesn’t squish to the touch. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Turn out onto a plate and serve.

Sweet Vanilla Yeast Dough:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups all purpose flour

Filling and Topping:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/ 2 to 3/4 cup caramel bits (King Arthur has some, which worked well, or I guess you could chop up the caramel cubes you can get at the supermarket)
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter Vanilla glaze:

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for five minutes. While you wait, lightly grease a bundt pan and set aside. Add the remaining dough ingredients and knead together until smooth.

Cover and allow to rise for an hour, then gently knock down the dough. Divide into four portions, then roll each quarter into a rope and divide into ten pieces. It may not seem like much dough when you start, but it works out.

Roll each of the 40 pieces into a ball, then press a small dent into one and add several chocolate chips and caramel pieces (3-6 total). Fold the dough over the chips and roll to seal.

Place each of the filled balls into the bundt pan, so that a roughly even amount are on each side. Stir together the 1/4 cup melted butter and vanilla, then pour over the dough pieces.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the outside. I think mine took towards the longer end of that time.

Taking up a lot more space now!

Turn out, still hot, onto a serving dish.

Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the glaze by whisking together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour over the top of the bread and serve.

There were very few pieces left of this by the time lunch was over!

Quite delicious! But then, I’m a sucker for just about anything with a sugar, chocolate, caramel combo!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on the giveaway post by Sunday, if you haven’t, to win a King Arthur Flour Cookbook! I’ll be submitting this post to yeastspotting.

Chocolate Caramel Stuffed Monkey Bread

From King Arthur Flour.

Sweet Vanilla Yeast Dough:

• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups all purpose flour

Filling and Topping:

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/ 2 to 3/4 cup caramel bits
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Butter Vanilla glaze:

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream

Combine the milk, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let sit for five minutes. While you wait, lightly grease a bundt pan and set aside. Add the remaining dough ingredients and knead together until smooth. Cover and allow to rise for an hour.

Gently knock down the dough. Divide into four portions, then roll each quarter into a rope and divide into ten pieces. Roll each of the 40 pieces into a ball, then press a small dent into one and add several chocolate chips and caramel pieces. Fold the dough over the chips and roll to seal.

Place each of the filled balls into the greased bundt pan, filling evenly. Stir together the 1/4 cup melted butter and vanilla, then pour over the dough pieces.

Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.

Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the glaze by whisking together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour over the top of the bread and serve.

At the start of the month my mother and I went to Vermont to King Arthur’s  shop in Vermont. I’d been emailing with one of their employees, Allison, about arranging this giveaway, and she met us to take us on a tour.

We started off at the store, which had been significantly expanded since I was there last year. You can now see right into the baking areas, which is pretty cool.

The new space has the full rainbow of sugar, every possible extract and flavoring, an impressive variety of chocolate chips and chunks, and then every weird cooking nick-nack you could ever want, up to and including a stamp to put lines on a kaiser roll.

We bought some pans, some chocolate, some cheese powder I’m super excited about, and a few other odds and ends, and were done with the store (for then).

A mile down the road, we went to their Bakers’ Catalogue Fulfillment Center, where the non-shop stuff happens.

Allison and I — I buy only the most ridiculous of shirts at craft fairs.

Our first stop there was the test kitchen! They use all tools that people probably have at home, they just have lots of them, much better organized than in most homes. Most importantly, we got a sample of something they had been testing the day before, chocolate graham cracker ice cream sandwiches with Biscoff ice cream.

Then we were down the hall to their contact center, where they have master bakers you can call or email if you’re having trouble with a recipe or something came out wrong and you want some tips to make it better next time. They also answer calls about questions or problems with products. They’ve got one of everything that they sell on their wall so that if you call about a specific product, they can be looking at the same thing when they answer your questions about it. Good planning!

We went down to the shipping area, where all the online and catalogue orders are picked, packed, and shipped. They’re apparently pretty environmentally friendly, and recycle a lot of their shipping materials, which made my mom happy. Behind that was the area where their (tons of) mixes are put together and packed.

After that we talked a bit about what it means to be an employee owned company (which KAF is), and then the tour was done, but mom and I weren’t. We went back to the store and grabbed a few extra things, then stopped at their cafe and got a bunch more things. They have the best Napoleons, good breads (if you don’t want to make your own) and a bunch of other tasty stuff, so… if you’re ever near Vermont, head on over!

And that was it! I’d already liked King Arthur’s products, they seem to actually care about the environment (the renovation/addition to their store had that in mind), and they were nice to my mom and I, so I’m happy to recommend their products! Their website as well! The recipe section has tons of good ideas, and their blog shows how to make them with at least as many pictures as I ever take.

Alright! If you’ve made it this far, you deserve a chance at the giveaway! Just leave a comment with one kind of baked good you’d like to bake if you win the book, and make sure that either you leave your email address in the comment or are signed in to WordPress or some other account so I can contact you! Comment by next Sunday (May 20th) so I can announce the winner next Monday! Come back this Wednesday and the recipes will be back, including the best thing I’ve made yet from the King Arthur Flour website.

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup Andes baking bits, or crushed up regular Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13″ pan and set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Set aside.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a pot on the stove over low heat. Stir continuously until melted, then beat into the egg mixture.

Stir in the flour.

Fold the Andes bits into the batter and spread into the prepared pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I apparently was too eager to scarf this to take pictures.

This is all I’ve got to show you!

These smell good, and taste fabulous. They’re chocolatey and really minty, and just generally delightful. I will be making them again!

Andes Brownies

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup Andes baking bits, or crushed up regular Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13″ pan and set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar, and vanilla together. Set aside.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a pot on the stove over low heat. Stir continuously until melted, then beat into the egg mixture.

Stir in the flour, then fold the Andes bits into the batter and spread into the prepared pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 5 bacon strips
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced (I used red, because it was there)
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 can water (empty tomato can)
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 26 ounce jar prepared pasta sauce
• 1 16 ounce package elbow macaroni (or something else reasonably small)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Cut the bacon into small pieces. If you have kitchen shears, it’s easy to just cut the bacon into bits over a pan on the stove. Add the beef and onion and cook until the beef is browned. Drain as much grease as possible, then transfer to a 6 quart slow cooker.

Add the pepper, diced tomato, water, garlic, and pasta sauce, and stir in.

Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4. Stir in the raw pasta and cook on high for 30 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.

Serve sprinkled with cheese.

Sure, I stand in front of doors with my food all the time, that’s normal.

Not too many steps and not much hands-on time for a pretty hearty meal!

Crock Pot Chop Suey

From A Year Of Slow Cooking.

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 5 bacon strips
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 can water (empty tomato can)
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 26 ounce jar prepared pasta sauce
• 1 16 ounce package elbow macaroni (or other small pasta)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Cut the bacon into small pieces into a pan on the stove. Add the beef and onion and cook until the beef is browned. Drain as much grease as possible, then transfer to a 6 quart slow cooker.

Add the pepper, diced tomato, water, garlic, and pasta sauce, and stir in. Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or high for 4.

Stir in the raw pasta and cook on high for 30 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Serve sprinkled with cheese, if desired.

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups Oreo Double Stuff fillings, most of a package

It may seem kind of wasteful to just use the Oreo filling, but if you save the cookies you can crush them up later for pie crusts!

Beautiful!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13″ pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat a further 30 seconds.

Add the flour and cocoa and mix until smooth. It will seem at first like there’s no way it will come together with so little moisture, but it actually works pretty fast.

With the mixer on low, add the chocolate chips.

Add the Oreo filling and stir very briefly, just until it’s stirred in, but while big chunks still remain.

Spread into the prepared pan. Again, it may seem like it’s not going to work, this time because it seems like there’s not enough dough to cover, but if you use the flat bottom of a glass or small dish, you can evenly spread the dough out and completely cover the bottom of the dish.

Bake until set, 18-20 minutes.

Cool 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge and turn out onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife, then let cool further.

This was, not surprisingly, popular with the floor hockey kids. And my mom, and me, and everyone else who has tried it!

Ready to go play!

Double Stuff Oreo Chocolate Chip Shortbread

From Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups Oreo Double Stuff fillings

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9X13″ pan.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat a further 30 seconds. Add the flour and cocoa and mix until smooth.

With the mixer on low, add the chocolate chips. Add the Oreo filling and stir very briefly, just until it’s stirred in, but while big chunks still remain.

Spread evenly into the prepared pan and bake until set, 18-20 minutes.

Let cool 15 minutes, then run a butter knife around the edge and turn out onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces with a sharp knife, then let cool further.

Ingredients:

• 1 leek, white and light-green parts only
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
• 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Halve the leek lengthwise and rinse the dirt out from between all the layers. Pat it dry and slice thinly.

Once again, thanks for the chopping skills Mom.

Put the chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove and bring to a simmer.

In a dutch oven cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned but not crispy, about 5 minutes.

Add the leeks and cook, continuing to stir, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Smells good already!

Increase the head to medium high and add the rice (yes, without any liquid), and cook, still stirring, until translucent around the edges, about a minute.

Add the wine and cook, still stirring, until evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add one cup of the simmering broth (or one ladle-full, if that’s an easier way for you to transfer the hot broth) to the rice and reduce the heat under the rice to medium low. Cook, stirring continuously, until the broth is all absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat, gradually adding the broth cup by cup, until the rice is al dente, and the risotto is creamy. This may or may not require all the broth, I did end up using all of mine.

Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. 1/4 cup doesn’t seem like much, but it adds a noticeable flavor. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.

With the addition of the cheese, this becomes a little bit gooey, and from pretty much the start it’s a lot bit tasty. I had heard risotto was kind of a pain, but as long as you have someone in the kitchen to talk to you, or a laptop to internet with with one hand as you stir with the other, you’ll be able to make it, not problem!

Leek and Bacon Risotto

Adapted from Martha Stewart Recipes.

• 1 leek, white and light-green parts only
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 slices bacon, cut crosswise into strips
• 1 1/4 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for serving
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Halve the leeks lengthwise and rinse the dirt out from between all the layers. Pat it dry and slice thinly.Put the chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove and bring to a simmer.

In a dutch oven cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring, until lightly browned but not crispy, about 5 minutes. Add the leeks and cook, continuing to stir, until softened, about 2 minutes.

Increase the head to medium high and add the rice and cook, still stirring, until translucent around the edges, about a minute. Add the wine and cook, still stirring, until evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add one cup of the simmering broth to the rice and reduce the heat under the rice to medium low. Cook, stirring continuously, until the broth is all absorbed, about 2 minutes. Repeat, gradually adding the broth cup by cup, until the rice is al dente, and the risotto is creamy.

Take off the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve with additional Parmesan, if desired.