Peanut Butter Cups

 I've been on this gluten-free kick for a while and although I don't mind it, I sometimes find it hard to resist baked goods, which usually include a plethora of gluten! As a result, I decided to bake a sweet treat sans gluten: Peanut butter cups! I adapted the recipe slightly from: The Sweetest Kitchen. For the filling, I used a mixture of natural peanut butter and almond butter; however, if you like the sweetness of Reese's Pieces, then I recommend using regular peanut butter, such as Kraft. I also used 3 tbsp sugar and 3 tbsp of powdered sugar for the filling, but I read somewhere that if you like the grainy texture of Reese's Pieces, then you should use 6 tbsp brown sugar and no powdered sugar.


Here's what you'll need for the chocolate:

9 squares of Baker's semisweet chocolate (or 9 oz of any chocolate)
2 large tbsp of peanut butter
pinch of salt

Here's what you'll need for the filling:
1 cup of peanut butter
6 tbsp light brown sugar or powdered sugar
2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs, optional
pinch of salt


In a microwaveable-safe bowl, melt chocolate, 2 large tbsp of peanut butter, and a pinch of salt (about 2.5 minutes, but stop to stir in between).

Place ~2 tsp of melted chocolate in each muffin liner. Using the back of a spoon, spread the chocolate along the bottom and 1/4 of the way up the muffin liner. Place in the freezer or fridge for ~15 minutes or until the chocolate is firm.

While the chocolate is firming up, you can prepare the filling by stirring together the peanut butter, sugar, graham cracker crumbs (again, these are optional), and salt. Once, the chocolate is firm, you can place a large tbsp of the filling in each muffin liner and press it down gently. Place in the freezer or fridge for another 15 minutes.

Now, the final stage. Top each liner with 2 tsp of melted chocolate (or may have to re-heat the bowl of chocolate in the microwave). Spread carefully until you can see none of the filling.

Put the peanut butter cups in the fridge for an hour before eating. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Normally, I make these cookies with dried cranberries, but I thought dried blueberries would be a nice touch for Spring :)


Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 cup AP flour
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or grease it).

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, brown sugar, and white sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in colour. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low speed until well-combined.


Finally, stir in the white chocolate chips and dried blueberries. Wasn't that easy?!

Now, form balls of dough (~ 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp) and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until they are barely golden brown. As with my other chocolate chip cookie recipe on here, although the cookies may not look done, trust me, they are. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wired rack.

Enjoy!

Blood Orange, Kale, and Pecan Quinoa

I got this recipe from Edible Perspective and I've make it twice in the last week. I've been on a bit of a kale kick lately; it's a superfood —high in fiber, iron, Vitamin K (which protects against various cancers), Vitamin A (good for vision and skin), Vitamin C, and it also has more calcium per calorie than milk!!

Also, this recipe calls for blood oranges, but you can substitute with any form of orange or grapefruit. There is nothing really special about the taste of blood oranges —they just look pretty :)

Here's what you'll need for the salad:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups of chopped kale
4-5 blood oranges
1 cup chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Here's what you'll need for the dressing:
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp champagne vinegar (rice vinegar also works)
2 tbsp freshly squeezed blood orange juice
3 tsp maple syrup or honey

Place olive oil and dry quinoa in a medium pot over medium head and stir for 5 minutes or until the quinoa starts to turn golden brown. Then add the water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Now, stir a couple of times, reduce the heat to low and cover for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 5-10 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, place the ingredients for the dressing into a jar and shake for 30 seconds. Alternatively, you could whisk these ingredients together. Either way works just fine. I simply find jars less messy and more easy.

Also, while the quinoa is cooking, slice the kale into thin ribbons and peel the blood oranges and slice into small pieces. Combine the kale, blood oranges, chickpeas, cooled quinoa, and dressing in a large bowl, tossing everything together.

Top with toasted pecans (simply toast pecans in the oven for a few minutes).

Mac 'n' Cheese

Dan's a HUGE fan of mac n cheese. Although I usually make the the Crack 'n' Cheese recipe from Amazing Ribs, I find that the béchamel sauce requires a lot of work, so I decided to make my own recipe today by meshing together pieces of various recipes that I found online. It turned out to be just as tasty as the Crack 'n' Cheese recipe and half the work!

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 of a 500 g package of macaroni or any other pasta noodle
1 onion
1/2 red pepper
2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup AP flour
1 tsp onion salt
3 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
pepper to taste
4 1/2 cups shredded old cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cup soft breadcrumbs
1/4 butter, melted


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook your pasta as instructed.

While your pasta is cooking, heat a small pan with a little bit of olive oil and sauté chopped onion and red pepper on medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until they are soft. Also, at any point, you can combine the milk, flour, onion salt, garlic powder, pepper, and 2 tsp of paprika into a jar; shake vigorously for 1 minute (use those muscles!).

Combine drained pasta noodles, milk mixture, and 3 1/2 cups of shredded cheese into a large bowl. Stir until combined, then pour into a 9 x 13" casserole dish.

In a small bowl, stir the soft bread crumbs (I simply made crumbs with 4 slices of whole wheat bread, minus the crust), 1 cup cheddar cheese, and 1 tsp paprika. Using your hands, distribute mixture evenly over the mac 'n' cheese. Pour melted butter on top (this functions to make the bread crumbs and cheese crispy).

Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is brown.

Enjoy :)

Waffles

We had a fun but late night last night celebrating a friend's birthday —some good thai food, and lots of wine and laughs. But, this morning we woke up pretty hungry and in the mood for... WAFFLES!


Here's what you'll need:

2 eggs
2 cup AP or whole wheat flour (or a mixture of both)
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla


Preheat the waffle iron.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy, then beat in the rest of the ingredients until well combined.

Spray the waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray before pouring the batter onto the waffle iron. Cook until the waffles are golden brown.

We topped our waffles with strawberries and banana slices, mini peanut butter chips, butter, and maple syrup. Delish! I also think a scoop of almond butter would be good on top of waffles as well :)

Oatmeal Molasses Brown Bread

I'm not sure if there's anything better than the smell of homemade bread. Mmmm.

While Dan drove down to "Two if by Sea Cafe" to get us a couple americanos, I whipped up some oatmeal molasses brown brown dough.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup warm water 

1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tsp sugar 

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 cup hot water
3 1/2 cups AP flour


In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar (make sure your water isn't too hot or you'll kill the yeast and your bread won't rise —been there, done that!). Set aside for five minutes or until the yeast gets foamy, then stir it together.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the rolled oats, molasses, salt, butter, and hot water. Add in the yeast mixture and mix on low speed until combined. Now, add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have added all 3 1/2 cups. The dough should be firm, but not dry or too sticky.

On a well floured surface, knead the dough for about five minutes.

Shape the dough into a loaf and place in a well greased bread pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 75 minutes.

In a preheated oven (350 degrees F), bake the bread for 25-30 minutes. Let the bread cool in the pan for a few minutes, then place it on a wire rack.

Enjoy! :) We like to toast our bread and then eat it with butter and molasses. YUM.