White Chocolate and Butterscotch Chip Cookies

These cookies are soft, chewy, and delicious. They're a bit unique where they incorporate both white chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Also, the almond extract is key in these cookies —it makes them extra tasty.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 butter (softened)

1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (I used 1/2 cup melted butter instead of vegetable oil)

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

3 cup AP flour

1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugars, butter, and oil. Add in the eggs and beat until fluffy (the mixture will become a pale colour). Add in all of the dry ingredients: salt, baking soda, baking powder, and AP flour, as well as the vanilla and almond extract. Beat for a couple of minutes until a soft dough has formed. Stir in the white chocolate and butterscotch chips. 

Roll dough into balls and place one inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until they begin to turn a very light golden brown. 

Wasn't that super easy? Enjoy! :)

Chocolate Fudge

I'm home for the week and my brothers absolutely love sweets. I tried to keep things simple so that I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I could just enjoy being home. 

This fudge is super easy and definitely satisfies a sweet tooth. Because I was in a "Christmas" mood, I topped half of the batch of fudge with chopped up peppermint patties (~ four patties coarsely chopped).

Here's what you'll need:

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (300 ml)

2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

1 cup milk chocolate chips 

1/4 cup butter 

1 tsp of vanilla

4 peppermint patties (coarsely chopped)

First of all, you should line a 8 x 8" pan with aluminum foil. Lightly grease the foil. 

Now, in a medium saucepan, combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, and butter. Cook over low heat until the mixture is melted and well combined. Be sure to stir constantly so that the mixture does not burn. 

Remove from heat and add in vanilla. 

Pour the mixture into your prepared pan. Smooth the top of your fudge and tap the pan on the counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles. Add coarsely chopped peppermint patties or any toppings that you desire on top of fudge, gently pressing them down. 

Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Once the fudge is hard and set, remove the foil from the pan and cut the fudge into pieces. Continue to store the fudge in the refrigerator. 

Brown Sugar Shortbreads

This year I'm trying to get in the holiday spirit early and take full advantage of Christmas. It's the first time in 8 years that I'm going to be around to enjoy it!

This morning I felt like baking something "Christmas-y". Dan suggested Shortbread cookies, so I searched for a good recipe and settled on this super easy one from Midnight Baker. There were only THREE ingredients —all of which I had on hand.

What you'll need:
1 cup of salted butter, softened
1/2 golden brown sugar
2 1/4 cups AP flour

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

To soften the butter, pop it in the microwave for 35 seconds, then beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl for ~3 minutes until it looks creamy. Gradually mix in the flour. I did this by adding 1/2 cup at a time and beating on low after each addition. After all of the flour was added, I continued to beat the mixture for 5 minutes until a soft ball of dough had formed.

Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper and roll into a 11 x 8 inch rectangle. The dough should be about 1/3" thick. Cut the dough into 1 x 2" pieces and prick each piece 2-3 times with a fork. Place the parchment paper onto a baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the bottoms begin to get lightly brown. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack until completely cool. Enjoy :)

Raw Almond Butter

There is one thing that I love more than peanut butter and it is almond butter. Unfortunately, it's super expensive. I paid nearly 10 dollars for a tiny jar over the weekend!! I decided that it was time to start making my own, so I went out to the store and bought 4 cups of almonds (only 8 dollars).

What you'll need:

2 cups of almonds (or as many as you like)

Gradually add almonds to a food processor or blender. Process for 8-12 minutes, scrapping down the sides as you go. At first, the almonds will be a powder-like texture, but over time, they will turn into a smooth butter-like texture. Be patient. If you need to, add a little bit of oil to loosen the almonds up. I've also read a few blogs that suggest various add ins, such as honey, sea salt, cocoa powder, vanilla, etc. 

Two cups of almonds makes approximately one mason jar of almond butter. Enjoy!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

After supper, Dan and I were craving something sweet and our left-over Halloween candy wasn't quite "hitting the spot", so I decided to whip up a batch of peanut butter cookies. I hadn't tried this recipe before, but I was very pleased with it. I adapted it from Everyday Home Cook. We only had natural peanut butter and I added in some milk chocolate chips :)


What you'll need:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup crunchy natural peanut butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 brown sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter, then add the two sugars and beat until fluffy. Add the egg, milk, vanilla, and mix together until the mixture is nice and smooth. Now, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix until everything is well blended. If you're using chocolate chips or any other add in, stir them in now. I did half of my cookies with chocolate chips and half without. Other great add-ins would be reese pieces candy or chopped reese pieces cups. Yum.

Form dough into ~1-inch balls, roll in white sugar, and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. The cookies may not look done, but they are; this is how you make sure they stay soft and chewy. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

Whole Wheat Bread

Here's a good recipe for an easy and delicious whole wheat bread (adapted slightly from The Frugal Girl).

What you'll need:

2 1/3 cup warm water
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp butter, melted
9 tsp yeast
2 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

Combine 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a mixer. Add the warm water, honey, and melted butter. Mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined, then beat on medium speed for 3-5 minutes.

Add in the remaining whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Mix on medium speed until a soft ball is formed.

Knead the dough on a flour surface for 5 minutes or until smooth. Add flour as kneaded (i.e., if the dough is really stick, add a little bit of extra flour to your countertop and work it into the dough).

Put the dough in a oiled bowl, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes. I placed my bowl on top of the stove. I find it's always pretty warm there.

Now, the dough should have doubled in size. Punch down the dough. Divide in half. Roll into two thick rectangles, then starting at the short end, roll up the dough and place each roll into a 9 x 5 inch greased bread pan.

Cover the two loaves with a wet tea towel and let rise for another 30 minutes (or until doubled) in a warm place.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Once the two loaves are finished rising, bake for approximately 30 minutes. A trick to knowing when you're bread is done is to tap on it. If it sounds hollow, then it's ready to come out of the oven. Let cool on a wire rack before serving —that is, if you can wait. I couldn't. I had two thick slices —one with butter and the other with almond butter.

ps. I LOVE the smell of fresh bread. LOVE it.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Soup

This afternoon, I tried a soup recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod: Roasted sweet potato and butternut squash. I adapted it slightly by doubling the recipe, adding extra spices including red pepper flakes, and topped it off with goat's cheese. Sooo good. I just finished eating two helpings of it. Dan was a big fan as well.

Here's what you'll need:

2 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and chopped
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
~1 tbsp + more for drizzling olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread the chopped butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Drizzle with olive oil and toss around to make sure all of the vegetables are coated. Let roast for 45-60 minutes, stirring every once in a while (every 10-15 minutes). Once the vegetables are roasted, remove from oven and set aside for a few minutes.

In a large stovetop pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, followed by the onion and garlic. Cook under tender, then add the roasted vegetables. Stir and let cook for 5 minutes. Add in the vegetable broth, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and pepper (I didn't use any salt). Let simmer for 20 minutes.

To puree the soup, use a hand held blender or transfer the soup to a bender in batches.

Return soup to stovetop pot and let simmer until you're ready to serve it. Add in red pepper flakes at this point. I find that the longer you let the soup simmer, the better the flavour.

Top the soup with a spoonful of goat's cheese. It melts right in and tastes oh so yummy! I also made homemade bread to go with it.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

It's HALLOWEEN. Candy, chocolate, costumes, cute kids trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and of course, roasted pumpkin seeds.

I love roasted pumpkin seeds.

There are a number of way to roast them, but here's what I did.

What you'll need:

1 cup of pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used a little bit more because I love vinegar)
1 tsp minced or powdered garlic
1 tsp minced or dried rosemary
1 tsp minced or dried thyme
1 tsp salt

Rinse pumpkin seeds and let them dry out for an hour or so. Then mix the seeds in a bowl with all of the ingredients.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread seeds on the parchment paper and bake for 20-30 minutes or until they are a light gold colour. Make sure you shake or toss around the seeds every 5 or so minutes.

I also followed the same instructions as above, but used olive oil, 1 tbsp of brown sugar, 1.5 tsp of cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey. If you prefer sweet to salty, these are the pumpkin seeds that you should bake :)