Vanilla Almond Granola

When we lived in New Zealand about seven years ago, my parents were very (understandably) particular about my brother, sister, and I having a balanced breakfast. Each morning we would come into the dining room and my mom would have three bowls waiting on the counter, ready for us to eat.

It was the rule that we had to have yogurt, fruit, and either homemade granola or weet-bix. None of us kids really liked this breakfast all that much, and there are a few reasons why.

1. The yogurt was fine, but the fruit had some problems. New Zealand has a lot of great fruit—we had grapes, strawberries, and apples aplenty—but there are a lot of weird fruits too. Take tamarillos, or tree tomatoes, for instance...what kind of kid wants tree tomatoes in their lovely yogurt breakfast?! Or what about persimmons—my unrefined taste buds really did not appreciate those.

2. The grain. We were eating granola until something else came along...weet-bix, a.k.a. pieces of chopped up cardboard that are pressed back together into little bars and eaten for breakfast. Or at least that's what they look and taste like—they literally have no flavor! Of course what they lack in flavor they made up for in nutrition as they are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and a bunch of other stuff that 10-year old Maddie did not care about. Luckily, I could eat the yogurt and fruit separately from the weet-bix so that they were not contaminated. I still do not know why I chose weet-bix over granola—what was I thinking?!

Seven years later, the rule of yogurt/fruit/grain is not in place, but choose it anyways. I love my morning yogurt and granola (with fruit if I can get it!), but I suspect that my appreciation for granola is largely because weet-bix was so lacking in every aspect that everything else seemed great. But really. A bowl of yogurt and granola is so tasty, yet I can eat it for breakfast every morning without feeling guilty at all—especially since I know exactly what's in my granola. No strange chemicals here! Plus, it's super simple to make and smells beyond amazing, like a bakery blew up in my house.

Vanilla Almond Granola

Notes:
*If you chop up whole almonds, do not put the dust from the chopping into the granola, or it will be more dry. The dust from chopping the almonds can be added to smoothies for more nutrition.

Recipe from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/06/17/vanilla-almond-granola/

Decadent Chocolate-Mint Cookie Sandwiches

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Okay, who am I kidding, I totally forgot that it was St. Patrick's Day today. The only green that I have on is my teeny-tiny hair rubber band. Hey—it counts!

However, I do have some delicious green cookies for you in celebration of the day. Previously I only thought of these as Christmas cookies because they're so decadent, but now I've realized that St. Patrick's Day is the PERFECT excuse to make them. So now, I get twice the fun out of these cookies because I can make them for either Christmas or St. Patrick's Day—observe:

Creme de menthe or mint + green food coloring = St. Patrick's Day
Peppermint + red food coloring + edges rolled in crushed candy cane = Christmas

You're probably wondering why I'm so crazy about these cookies; well, let me tell you, decadent isn't even a strong enough word to describe these little morsels of delight. It's cupcake-meets-ice cream sandwich-meets-cookie! The frosting of a cupcake, the coldness and sandwichyness of an ice cream sandwich, and the crumbliness and substantialness of a cookie (two, actually). These cookies combine fudgy chocolate and sugary frosting. It's delicious! It's addicting! I'm obsessed! Someone take them away before I eat them all!

You can tell I've eaten way too many cookies.

We've had this recipe for yeeeaaarrrs...once upon a time, a long, long time ago, someone (probably my mom) ripped this recipe out of Midwest Living—but it's often the oldest recipes that are the best: through the years, this recipe has persisted as a favorite of mine and my sister's, which is why I called in her help to make these the other week. I'm not going to lie, they take a lot of work! But I promise, they are so worth it.

Trust me, these will be enough to satisfy any craving for chocolate. Just promise me one thing, okay? Eat them cold (or, at least one). I know, it's really hard to resist stuffing them all into your face as soon as you finish assembling them (I speak from experience), but being cold intensifies the fudginess and brings out the mint flavor—they become similar to ice cream sandwiches.

Make these ASAP, and enjoy!

Decadent Chocolate-Mint Cookie Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened or unsweetened Dutch processed)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour

Chocolate Glaze:

1/3 cup whipping cream
6 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Creme de Menthe Filling:

1/3 cup butter, softened
3 Tbs. green creme de menthe or creme de menthe syrup*
4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Chocolate Cookies:

1. Beat butter using an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
4. Beat in as much flour as possible, then use a wooden spatula to stir in the rest of the flour by hand (this may not be necessary if you are using a stand mixer).
5. Cover dough and chill until easy to handle, 2 to 24 hours.
6. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Roll dough into 3/4 to 1 1/2 inch balls and place balls 2 to 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake cookies for 6 to 10 minutes (depending on size of cookies—less time for smaller cookies). Remove from oven when edges are set; the middles may be slightly underdone, but will set while cooling. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
7. While cooling, make the Chocolate Glaze and the Creme de Menthe Filling.

Creme de Menthe Filling:

1. Combine butter and creme de menthe with an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating on medium speed until smooth.
3. If filling is not spreading consistency, add more creme de menthe, a little bit at a time. If filling is too loose, add more powdered sugar, a little at a time.

Chocolate Glaze:

1. In a small pot, stir whipping cream and chocolate over low heat until chocolate melts.
2. Remove from heat and let cool for about 20 minutes or until it thickens slightly.

Assembly:

1. For half of the cookies, frost the tops of them with the Chocolate Glaze. Do this spreading the Glaze on with an offset spatula or by dipping the tops of the cookies into the Glaze (you may have to reheat the Glaze a little to do this). Set cookies aside on wire rack, top sides up, until tops are set, about 30 minutes.
2. For the remaining cookies, use an offset spatula or a pastry bag to generously spread the bottoms of the cookies with the Creme de Menthe Filling.
3. For each cookie with filling, gently press a glazed cookie on top so that the filling is between the two cookies and the glaze is on the very top of the sandwich.
4. Place cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Serve cookies cold. Store leftover cookies in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.

*Notes:
For the frosting, you can replace creme de menthe with: 3 Tbs. milk + 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla + 1/2 tsp. mint or peppermint extract + 2-3 drops green or pink food coloring.
To make: Combine butter, peppermint or mint extract, food coloring and milk. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Add more milk to get to spreading consistency, and taste a little of the filling to make sure the mint/peppermint flavor is strong enough.

Recipe from: http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/cookies/ultimate-chocolate-mint-cookie-sandwiches/

Brown Butter Glazed Apple Cinnamon Baked Donuts

I must say, these little beauties were so good that I made them twice in the same week.

Not surprising, considering the recipe is from Joy the Baker—she has the best baked donut recipes (just take her Brown Butter Baked Doughnuts for instance—yum!).

The flavors of these donuts are enticingly reminiscent of fall:

Shredded apple is the biggest autumn indicator—it takes me back to picking apples in the orchards of Michigan, then eating warm donuts alongside some fresh apple cider. *sigh*

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger complement the apples perfectly, and make the donuts smell twice as good when baking.

Brown butter glaze is nutty and aromatic, with a warm, comforting flavor. You can never go wrong slathering donuts in a glaze starring this!

These donuts are best served fresh—they're so wonderfully moist, thanks to the shredded apple and the buttermilk.

Apple Cinnamon Baked Donuts with Brown Butter Glaze
Makes: 8-9 donuts

Recipe from: http://joythebaker.com/2013/10/apple-cinnamon-baked-doughnuts-with-brown-butter-glaze/