I LOVE this cookie!! I make a lot of cookies and this one is by far one of the best. This recipe is taken from "Giada's Family Dinners" by Giada De Laurentiis. I used 3 SKOR bars, they weighed just slightly over 4 ounces. The hazelnuts were simple to toast and husk. (Below the cookie recipe is instructions on how to toast and husk hazelnuts.)
Makes 4 dozen
1/2 cup old-fashioned (not instant) oats
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces English toffee candy (such as Heath or Skor bar), finely chopped
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked, and chopped (see below)
1 (12-ounce) bag semisweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line 2 large, heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Finely chop the oats in a food processor. Transfer the oats to a medium bowl. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the toffee pieces, hazelnuts, and chocolate chips.
4. Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets by rounded tablespoonsful, spacing them 1 inch apart (do not flatten the dough). Bake until the cookies are golden (they will flatten slightly), about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)
How to toast nuts and skin hazelnuts
1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Place shelled nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, pine nuts, and hazelnuts, on a heavy baking sheet or in a pie tin. Toast the nuts in the oven until they are fragrant and golden brown on the outside and pale golden throughout the inside, stirring occasionally and watching closely to ensure they brown evenly and don't blacken, about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the size of the nut. Alternatively, preheat a small, heavy skillet over medium- low heat. Place the nuts in the hot skillet and stir them until they become fragrant and golden brown on the outside and pale golden throughout the inside, about 5 minutes.
2. To remove the dark brown skins on the hazelnuts, rub a small handful of cooled toasted hazelnuts at a time briskly between your palms, allowing the skins to fall from your hands and onto a work surface. Don't worry if a few specks of skin remain on the hazelnuts.
I like this fun way of serving lasagna. My kids loved having their own individual rolls of goodness. This recipe was taken from "Giada's Family Dinners" by Giada De Laurentis. The recipe calls for 3 ounces of thinly sliced prosciutto. I always order from my deli in grams, so I converted from ounces to grams and it works out to 85 grams. The recipe asks to be sure to squeeze the spinach totally dry in order to avoid a watery dish. The " Quick Marinara Sauce" recipe is also on this blog.
Sauce
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Lasagna
1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 dried lasagna noodles
Butter, for baking dish
2 cups "Quick Marinara Sauce"
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
To make the sauce:
1. Melt the butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, whisking continuously. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the cream sauce.
To make the lasagna:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, egg, the 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and the pepper until blended.
2. Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.
3. Preheat the oven to 450F. Butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spread the cream sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish.
4. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread about 3 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Roll the noodles up and arrange the rolls, seam sides down and not touching one another, atop the cream sauce. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the lasagna rooms, then sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake until the rolls are heated through and sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top is golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat until hot. Transfer the sauce to a sauce boat and serve alongside.
Makes: 6 Main-course servings
I love the way my house smells when I make marinara sauce, especially when basil is added. I have taken this recipe from "Giada's Family Dinners" by Giada De Laurentis. I used my food processor to chop everything up, it makes this recipe super fast and easy to make.
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups)
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes in juice
1 bunch of fresh basil, stemmed
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. In a blender, purée the tomatoes with their juice and the basil until almost smooth. Set the tomato purée aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until very tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in the tomato purée, oregano, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and continue simmering until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. ( The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. If storing for future use, cool, then cover and refrigerate. Reward over medium heat before using.)
This coleslaw is so crunchy and good! Perfect for a summer picnic! This recipe is taken from The Best of Bridge "The Best of the Best and More". I use Ichiban original noodles.
Salad Ingredients
1/2 cabbage, chopped
5 green onions
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted (or sesame seeds)
3 oz. pkg Japanese noodle soup mix, (save seasoning package for dressing)
Dressing
1/4 cup rice (or white) vinegar
1/4 cup salad oil
Seasoning package from noodles
1. Combine all salad ingredients except noodles. Before serving, crush noodles, combine with salad ingredients and toss with dressing. Serves 6. If there's any left over -save it! Kids love it the next day!
I took this recipe from Twitter. @CookiesRecipes (www.bestcookierecipe.net) I have a scale so I weighed the 4 ounces of the instant vanilla pudding mix and it works out to be 3/4 cup. With my first batch of cookies I rolled exactly a 1" ball and slightly flattened them. I cooked them for 8 minutes. The cookies came out too small and the bottoms were really brown. In the next batch, I made the cookies larger by 1/2" and I really flattened them with my hand and they turned out way better. I'm not sure if they taste like the Subway version. (I may have to get some taste testers) I'd make these again regardless if they taste the same or not....these cookies are really good.
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine flour and baking soda and set aside.
3. Blend together butter, sugars and pudding mix until smooth and creamy.
4. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture.
5. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts.
6. Roll mixture into 1" balls and flatten slightly.
7. Place balls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
Another one of my my favorite muffins! This recipe was taken from "The Complete Light Kitchen" by Rose Reisman. If you are using frozen blueberries, remember not to thaw them before adding to the batter.
1 1/2 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 vegetable oil
1 large egg
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil.
2. Beat the bananas, oil, egg, sugar, vanilla and yogurt in a large bowl until well mixed.
3. Combine both flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl, mixing well. Stir into the liquid ingredients until just mixed. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the middle of the oven, until the tops are firm to the touch and a tester inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Turn out and serve immediately.
Make Ahead: Bake a day in advance or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
I love the flavor in these muffins! This recipe is from "The Complete Light Kitchen" by Rose Reisman. I cooked my muffins 3 minutes longer then the 15 minutes suggested as mine where still soft in the middle. They did not burn and they were not dry. I used skim milk and 1% plain yogurt.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp molasses
1 large egg
1 medium ripe banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/3 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup wheat bran
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch salt
1/3 cup raisins
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil.
2. Combine the oil, molasses, egg, sugar, banana, vanilla, yogurt and milk in a large bowl and mix until well blended.
3. Combine the bran, both flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and raisins in another bowl and mix well. Add to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Spoon into the prepared muffin cups and bake in the center of the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the tops are firm to the touch. Turn out and serve immediately or serve at room temperature.
Make Ahead: Bake a day in advance, wrap well and store at room temperature or freeze for up to 2 weeks.
