Bake Your Best Shot

Posted on by Selena Robins

Take a break from life, the bombardment of 24/7 news and bake a batch or two of Chocolate Chip Bourbon Cookies.

Yes, you read that right. A shot of Bourbon in your cookies is not only out-of-this-world-delicious, but it’s hard to be stressed and sad when you’re eating these cookies.

WARNING: These cookies are addictively moreish.

Put them in a tin and give them as a gift. These cookies freeze well.




Bourbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. hot water

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 1/2 TBSP Bourbon

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups milk chocolate chips (you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips if you’d like, your choice)

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350F

2.      Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water, set aside.

3.      In a large bowl, add softened butter, white sugar, brown sugar and maple syrup, and Bourbon and cream everything together until mixture is smooth.

Smooth and creamy texture that looks like caramel.

4.      Beat in the eggs, ONE at a time, mix well.

5.      Add the dissolved baking soda and the salt to the batter and mix in well.

6.      In a separate bowl, add: flour and chocolate chips, and mix to evenly distribute the chocolate chips.

7.      Add flour bowl to the wet mixture, and mix all together, but don’t mix for too long or too strong, just enough to incorporate your creamy mixture with the flour and chocolate chips.

Don’t mix too much, just enough to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.

8.      Set aside for about 1/2 hour (or you can put in fridge for 10 minutes).

9.      Using a tablespoon drop cookies (and flatten just a little bit) onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

10.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are nicely browned.

11.  Leave on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.

Cold Weather Comfort Soup

Posted on by Selena Robins

1

 

Show your crock-pot and family some love and whip up a batch of hearty, healthy,  soup, guaranteed to warm you up for lunch or dinner.

 

Yellow Split-Pea Soup

 

SOUP

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups yellow split peas (uncooked)
  • 8 cups broth (your choice, vegetable or chicken broth)
  • 2 cubes bouillon (vegetable or chicken)
  • 2 sweet potatoes (chopped in cubes)
  • 2 ribs celery (chopped)
  • 2 carrots (sliced)
  • 1 small Vidalia onion (diced)
  • 1 leek (sliced thinly)
  • 2 cloves garlic (roasted or you can throw it in raw, minced)
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 tsp. sage
  • 1 tsp. dry mustard
  • 3 bay leaves
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Directions:

Rinse the peas in cold water, until the water is clear, then add them into your crock-pot, and add the bouillon cube, broth, and stir it, breaking up the bouillon cube.

Add; potato, celery, carrots, onion, leek, and garlic, and stir.

Sprinkle in; cumin, mustard, thyme, sage, and stir everything together, then add the bay leaves.

Cover and cook on low for 4 – 4 1/2 hours (until the yellow peas are soft)

Once it is finished cooking, remove the bay leaves, then sprinkle in salt and black pepper to taste, and stir well, adjusting seasoning to your liking.

Serve with crusty bread.

Alternative Serving Suggestions:

Using an emulsifier or food processor whiz the soup it so it is more of a creamy consistency and top with croutons.
2

 

 

 

A threesome guaranteed to please.

Posted on by Selena Robins

When life hands you lemons, simply add rosemary and olive oil—best threesome you’ll experience for the taste buds. For an extra kick and spice things up in the kitchen even more, chili peppers joins the threesome.

 

1

 

Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Loaf

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup un-bleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, beaten
2 TBSP fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup boiling water
1 lemon, (grate it to get the rinds, and squeeze for the lemon juice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 to 2 tsp. cayenne or chili peppers (this is optional, if you like some spice with the sweet)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 F

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, or if you don’t want to use parchment paper, lightly grease the pan

Pour the boiling water in a bowl then add the lemon rind, and let sit until the water is cool.

When the water is cool, add the beaten egg, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon extract and olive oil, and mix well.

In a separate bowl, add: flour, baking soda, salt (and if you’re using any chili peppers this is where you would add them in), and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and blend well.

Pour into loaf pan and bake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center.

This loaf is delicious with or without a glaze. If you want to kick up the sweetness a notch, then while your loaf is baking, mix together 2 cups of icing (confectioners’) sugar and 1/3 cup of lemon juice, until smooth.

When loaf is baked, let sit for five minutes, then drizzle with the lemon glaze.

 

2

Chocolate Heaven in a Cupcake

Posted on by Selena Robins

Get your Irish on to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (or any day) with these rich, divine, chocolaty, sweet, spicy, salty and Guinnessy cupcakes.

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes

 

cupcakes

 

Cupcake Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups Guinness (any beer will do, but Guinness is highly recommended)
  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp. ground ginger
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnaom
  • 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 6 slices of bacon

 

Directions for Cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 325F

Line muffin tin regular-size cupcake liners (recipe makes 24 cupcakes).

Turn stove top element on medium heat, and add beer and butter in a saucepan and whisk together until the butter is all melted.

Once butter is melted, remove from heat.

In a bowl, add: sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift the cocoa and add sugar, cinnamon and ginger to the cocoa, then slowly whisk the cocoa/sugar mixture into the beer mixture in the saucepan, and keep whisking. (The mixture will look lumpy, and that’s okay).

In another bowl, sift flour and baking soda together and then add it to the saucepan mixture.

Mix it all together, until the mixture looks like an even chocolaty color.

Fill the cupcake liners (about three-quarters full with batter).

Bake for 27 – 30 minutes (until the center of cupcake comes out dry when tested with a toothpick).

While cupcakes are baking, cook 6 slices of bacon until crispy, then blot with paper towel, let cool and then crumble and set aside.

Once cupcakes are baked, let them cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream Ingredients:

  • 1 cup un-salted butter, softened
  • 3 tsp. vanilla
  • 4 cups icing (confectionery) sugar
  • 6 TBSP cream
  • pinch of salt

Directions for Buttercream Icing:

Beat the butter until it’s light and creamy, you want a smooth, creamy consistency, then add the icing sugar, until it is all incorporated.

Add the cream and a pinch of salt, incorporate the cream into the mixture.

Add the vanilla then keep mixing until icing is fluffy and thoroughly combined.

Pipe each cupcake with icing, and sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.

 

 

st-patricks-day-2130423_960_720

 

 

Happy Pavlova Holidays

Posted on by Selena Robins

1

When it comes to celebrating there is nothing more relaxing than filling your home with the magical aroma’s wafting in from your kitchen.

Christmas and holidays celebrations this time of the year are all about being thankful, and what better way to give thanks to the ones you love—gifting them with something that will send their taste buds into giddy-land.

Raspberry Cream Pavlova

 

IMG_1584.jpg

 

You can make this ahead of time, as the meringue layer can be made several days ahead. Keep it tightly wrapped in saran or in an airtight container until you’re ready to assemble and serve.

Ingredients:

6 egg whites
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. corn flour
1/2 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Filling:

8 oz. whipping cream
1 lb. fresh raspberries (or any other kind of berry)
1 TBSP confectionery sugar (icing sugar)

Directions:

Heat oven to 300F

Cut out two circles (the size of a small dinner plate) of parchment paper, and put on baking sheet.

Whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer (or hand mixer) until they form stiff peaks. Slowly whisk in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, and then add cream of tarter, until the meringue looks glossy.

Whisk in the vinegar, corn flour and vanilla.

Spread the meringue evenly onto the parchment paper circles and bake for one hour.

Turn off heat and allow to cool completely inside the oven.

Once the meringue is completely cool, place berries in a bowl and mix them with the icing sugar.

Whip up your whipping cream in a separate bowl.

Fold half the raspberries into the whipped cream and spread this mixture over one of the meringue circles.

Place second meringue circle on top and decorate with the remaining raspberries.

Let stand for one hour before serving.

 

INSTA

Bake someone happy.

Posted on by Selena Robins

It’s that time of the year when baking for others is not only about gifting something sweet, but it has major therapeutic benefits for the baker.

 

1

 

No matter what level of cook or baker one is, a simple recipe for cookies is an excellent way to express your creativity, and  a great way to relieve stress.

 

2

 

Here’s a delicious, moreish recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, guaranteed to fill your home with a warm, comforting aroma.

 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

cookies-2

Ingredients:

1 cup un-salted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chunks -or- chocolate chips; semi-sweet -or- milk chocolate (your choice)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or use a non-stick baking sheet).
  3. You’ll need two bowls; large one for dry and and smaller one for wet ingredients.
  4. In the large bowl, sift together; flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
  5. In the smaller bowl, cream together the butter, brown and white sugars, and stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy, then stir in the vanilla, and slowly add the beaten eggs and blend well together.
  6. Stir the dry ingredients in the creamy mixture until just blended (do not over mix).
  7. Mix in the quick oats and chocolate chips.
  8. Stir enough (not too much stirring) to get everything evenly distributed.
  9. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheet.
  10. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes.
  11. Cool cookies on the baking sheet for five minutes, then transfer onto a cookie wire rack to cool completely….but, it’s always nice to pinch a warm cookie before they are completely cooled.

These cookies make a great contribution for a cookie exchange.

cookies

 

* * *

For more recipes (over 100 family dishes), PLUS, two stories (children’s book, and a comedy short story for adults) download a sample or purchase WISHES. STITCHES & DISHES: Bundle of Family Fun.

Available on AMAZON

 

final-bundle-cover