Cowboy Cookies

So last night I had a dilemma, I really wanted to bake something for dessert but I could not decide no matter how hard I tried, I looked through all the cookbooks and probably wasted most of my time for baking. Finally I settled on some comfort cookies, Cowboy Cookies.

These cookies are quite similar to chocolate chip cookies, except they are a little healthier

First measure out the oats into a medium sized bowl

Next measure out the flour

Now measure the baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon

In a mixer, mix together the butter and the sugars

Get the chocolate chips

Add the chocolate chips to the cookie dough

Voila, these cookies may not be the most visually appealing, but they are certainly one of the biggest hits! This makes 24 very large cookies, or a bunch of smaller cookies. Keep in mind, if you make them smaller, do not cook them for as long.

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2/3 sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped
• 
  
• In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, blend the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry mixture into the butter mixture one half at a time. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts (if using). Refrigerate the dough for 1 to 2 hours. Heat oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil, then grease the foil. Using a cookie scoop, or ice cream scoop, shape the dough into balls and place them on the sheet about 2 inches apart. Use your fingers to flatten each ball to 1/3 inch thick. Bake 13 to 14 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Family Fun

How to Make a Pizza

This is a simple way to make your pizzas so it isn't too time consuming, but keep in mind, good food doesn't come without time. First, you must make the pizza dough (you can find the recipe here).

After you let the pizza dough rise for 1 to 2 hours, you can preheat the oven to 500 degrees with the pizza stone (if you don't have one, see here). The oven should remain at 500 degrees for at heat 45 minutes before you put the first pizza in, or your pizza will not cook evenly, or "correctly".

Next it is time for you to roll out the pizza dough. You should roll it out to about 15 inches, but you can do it more if your pizza stone is big enough to hold it. You do not want the dough to be paper thin because it will just break, you want it to be about a 1/4 of an inch thick, maybe a little thinner. It is really your choice, the question is how much pizza dough you like per bite.

Next, get some parchment and put it on a pizza peel (see here) or a flat wooden cutting board. Emphasis on the word flat! It must be flat so you can easily slide it into the oven. Anyway, put parchment on a cutting board and add some cornmeal (this is not essential, but to get a good texture, it is very helpful). Now it is time to put the pizza onto the pizza peel. If you put the rolling pin onto the dough and wrap the dough around the rolling pin and lift it onto the pizza peel, it will be easy to move the dough from where you rolled it out to the pizza peel.

Now it is time to top it. This is where the creativity part comes in. You can really take it anywhere from here. From potato pizza to arugula pesto to your old fashioned favorite, cheese. Put the sauce on, whether it be garlic oil, creme fraiche, or tomato sauce.

Topping time! Some of my favorites are:

• grilled bell peppers
• grilled onions
• caramelized onions
• mama lil peppers
• pepperoncini
• olives
• salami
• chorizo
• italian sausage
• potatoes
• pancetta
• herbs (basil, oregano, thyme)

And I could go on forever to be completely honest, but why would I do that when the best part of making homemade pizza is coming up with new things to try! Last but not lease you need cheese. This is a preference, but you can use any of the below, or all of the below!

• Parmesan
• Pecorino-Romano
• Mozzarella
• Gruyere (Potato Pizza)

Now it is time to cook it. I usually go about 10 minutes or anything around that time, it really depends on how you like it and how your oven cooks. I just watch it, but it will almost always be more than 5 minutes so that is a safe time for you to leave the kitchen. To put the pizza in, slide the pizza on the parchment and let it cook until it looks done (the cheese is bubbly and the crust slightly brown). Pull it out WITHOUT burning yourself and let it sit for at least 2 minutes. It is finally time to indulge! Enjoy!

Chocolate Molten Cakes

These are everything that the restaurants claim. They are super simple, despite what it may seem. I would like to apologize for the bad quality of these pictures, but I was having a last minute craving so what could I do? I just decided to make them after it was dark outside. I apologize, but hopefully the recipe will make up for it!

First, butter or use canola oil spray to coat the ramekins. Then coat them in flour.

Second, crack the eggs, and the egg yolks.

Beat until pale yellow and foamy, I recommend a mixer for this or you will have very tired arms.

Next, measure the chocolate.

Get one stick of butter and melt the chocolate.

I recommend cutting up the butter because it will melt faster and more evenly.

Now you have smooth chocolate.

Add the chocolate and FLOUR, to the egg mixture. Do not forget the flour.

Make sure to incorporate it very quickly, or you will end up with cooked eggs. Once some of the chocolate is incorporated, the ratio of egg to chocolate should be enough so that the eggs do not cook.

Divide it evenly among the four floured ramekins. Now it is time to cook them.

When they are done, they are slightly cakey, but you don't want them to cook all the way through, or you will lose the whole point of "molten" chocolate cakes.

Voila! Chocolate molten cake!

If you decide to turn it out onto a plate, I may suggest cooking it a little more so that the side hold together. Or you can just have a messy cake. I like lots of pudding goodness. You just made a chocolate molten cake! Congrats.

1.        1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter
2. 1. 6 ounces semisweet/bittersweet chocolate
   2. 2 eggs
   3. 2 egg yolks
   4. 1/4 cup sugar
   5. Pinch of salt
   6. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
   1. Preheat the oven to 450°. Butter and lightly flour four 6-ounce ramekins. Tap out the excess flour. Set the ramekins on a baking sheet.
   2. In a double boiler, over simmering water, melt the butter with the chocolate. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt at high speed until thickened and pale.
   3. Whisk the chocolate until smooth. Quickly fold it into the egg mixture along with the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 minutes, or until the sides of the cakes are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

   MAKE AHEAD- The batter can be refrigerated for several hours; bring to room temperature before baking.

Roasted Tomato Flatbread

This flat bread is like a pizza, without tomato sauce! But I guess that is the definition of flat bread... Oh well you get what I am saying. This pizza has roasted tomatoes from my blog, basil, and French feta cheese! The basil is added on after the pizza is cooked, so it is not wilted.

Spread the tomatoes on the pizza dough. Then proceed to pour the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Next add the olives and the french feta cheese.

Put it in the oven on the pizza stone for about 10 minutes, or until the crust is puffed up and slightly brown, depending on crispy you want it.

Make sure you put it on the pizza stone with parchment under it (makes clean up 10 times easier!).

Now grab about 5 medium sized basil leaves, these are to chop up and put on the top.

Chop them up into thin strips, and sprinkle them over the top when the pizza comes out!

And pull it out when it is done.

Sprinkle the basil over the top of the flat bread, slice, and you have roasted tomato flat bread! The quantities of ingredients for this recipe really differ depending on how many toppings you like on your pizza.

1 batch Pizza Dough

Roasted Tomatoes

French Feta Cheese

5 leaves of basil

Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 500 F with the pizza stone in the oven. Roll out your pizza dough into a circle, about a foot in diameter. Move onto a cutting board or pizza peel with parchment paper. Brush the dough with olive oil so the flat bread is coated. Sprinkle the tomatoes over the dough, leaving about half an inch in between the tomatoes and the edge of the dough. Now sprinkle the french feta cheese over the top of the pizza.

Put into the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, checking on it constantly. Take out when it is slightly brown and the cheese may be a little brown. The best way to tell if it is done is the crust, which should be a little brown, or a lot depending on how you like it. Let in cool for a couple minutes, then cut and enjoy!

Olive Bread

So some people say they make bread and it doesn't have that nice crust you see from bakeries and it really just doesn't taste the same. This olive bread is exactly like what you would buy from the store. And may I add, it is to die for.

This bread is pretty easy and not time consuming. Another plus, it doesn't really include kneading.

Add your flour, your salt, and your yeast. I used 1/3 whole wheat bread flour.

Next, chop up the olives, about 1 1/2 cups, but if you don't have that many, it isn't the end of the world, it just depends how many olives you want in your bread!

Next, I added Rosemary, as a personal preference. It adds a more gourmet taste to it, and makes it smell wonderful when you are baking it!

Next add in the water and stir it all together until well incorporated and no dry bits are visible. I enjoy doing this with a wooden spoon, do not ask why.

This is the most painful part by a long shot! Now you cover it and let it sit for 14-18 hours. Turn it out onto a floured surface, emphasis on the floured. This dough is very sticky compared to say, pizza dough. It will stick to everything without flour, I guarantee it! Knead it until it is covered with flour, but should be the same consistency. Now flour a proofing bowl (can be found here), or if you don't have one, a tea towel. 

Now cover it with a damp towel. It needs a towel so it doesn't lose all of its moisture. Now let it sit for another 1-2 hours, until it has risen some more. During this time, the oven should be preheating with a Le Creuset (can be found here) for 45 minutes. Beware, if the top of your Le Creuset (the handle) is not meant to go into the oven a high temperatures. To fix that problem I would suggest taking off the top handle which should easily unscrew. Next, when it is time to be baked, pick up the towel with the dough on it and roll the dough into the pot.

Bake the bread for 30 minutes with the lid on.This is 30 minutes into the baking time. Now take off the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes. 

This is when it is done, you can certainly cook it a little longer, but I don't enjoy a super crispy crust. Now flip it out onto a wooden cutting board. I may have lied earlier, when I said the hardest part was waiting for it to rise. Now you have to wait for at least an hour so that the inside can form bubbles. Trust me, it tastes so much better if you wait. The, after a 20 hour process...

Voila! You have homemade Olive Bread.

• 3 Cups Bread Flour
• 1 1/2 Cup Kalamata Olives, pitted, drained, roughly chopped
• 3/4 Teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 Cups cool water
• 1+ teaspoon salt

Drain the olives and pat them dry. Roughly chop and make sure that all the olives actually don’t have pits.

 Mix yeast, salt, and flour together in a large bowl and then toss in the chopped olives.Add water and mix everything together using your hands or a large spoon. Cover this and let it sit at room temperature for 14-18 hours.

Take a large tea towel and sprinkle it liberally with flour and corn meal. If you don’t have corn meal you can just use flour, but corn meal adds a great texture to it. Scrape dough (you’ll need to scrape it) out onto a floured surface and just fold it a few times, liberally flouring both sides if it is sticking. Eventually you want to form a ball or loaf with it. 

Turn this onto floured towel with the seam side down on the towel. Cover with the towel and let the loaf ferment and proof for another two hours. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. 

Let a cast iron pot heat in the oven for at least 45 minutes so it is as hot as can be. Once the pot is blazing hot, pick up the towel with the dough on it and roll the dough into the pot so the seam side is up again! Put the lid on the pot and cook it for 30 minutes. Then take off the lid (be really careful of escaping steam). Cook it for another 15-20 minutes or so until the crust is a dark, walnut brown. 

Let it cool on a wire rack for an hour before slicing it. 

Easy Pizza Sauce

This is super easy pizza sauce from a can, but you have the ability to spice it up a little more.

Photo Credit to Allrecipes

You need one can  of tomato sauce, and one can of tomato paste.

You also need some spices depending on what you enjoy.

I generally use garlic powder, basil, oregano, and anything else that you are craving. If you have pizza seasoning, you can also put a generous amount of that into the sauce instead of all of the above. This recipe is easily fit to your needs, and takes about 2 minutes to make.

Enjoy!