Raised Apple Cider Doughnuts

½ cup warm water
2¼  tsp yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg, room temp
1  tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cardamom
½ tsp ginger
¼ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp cloves
3 cups apple cider (reduced to 1 cup)
4 Tbsp butter, softened
vegetable oil

1. Combine water and yeast and ½ cup flour in a bowl of mixer, mix until combined. Let proof for 10-15 minutes.

2. Add egg and spices to the proofed sponge and mix until incorporated. Add reduced apple cider, butter, and 2 cups of flour. Once incorporated, add one cup flour and mix until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl (add more flour if needed). Knead (mix) for 4-5 minutes. Set aside and let rise until doubled.

3. Put dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to ½-inch thickness. Cut out doughnuts. Set on a baking sheet and let rise for 20-30 minutes.

4. Pour 2-3 inches of oil in a cast iron skillet, deep fryer, or electric fryer. Heat to 350º. Carefully drop doughnuts into your fryer. Let them cook for about 30 seconds on each side, or until they are golden brown. 

5. Dust doughnuts in cinnamon sugar and enjoy!  

Healthy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

Just the taste of fall you need and kids love ‘em!

3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

4 Tbsp milk

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dash of cloves

Dash of ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour, wheat or white will do

1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 oz. chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 

2. Mix the wet ingredients together. Then add sugar, salt, and spices. 

3. Mix in dry ingredients. 

4. Scoop dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Using a cookie scoop is preferred. However, if you want the cookies to look more flat, flatten them before baking as they will keep their shape very well while baking.

5. Bake for 10 minutes, then let set for 5 more.  

Enjoy! You can freeze these as well with excellent results. 

Naan

I learned how to make this recipe from an Indian friend of mine and it is amazingly easy and very delicious.

1 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 Tb vegetable oil in a bowl to moisten fingers when forming bread

1. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar together.
2. Whisk milk and egg together.
3. Slowly add milk/egg mixture to dry ingredients to form a dough.  It should not be too sticky.  If so, add more flour.
4. From dough into golf size pieces.
5. Roll out dough balls thinly and cook over skillet on the stove.  Flipping after about 2 minutes.
6. Brush butter over the top, if desired, and serve.

Granola Bars

tastier and more filling than anything you'll buy at the store

3 cups oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup crushed almonds
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine all of the wet ingredients into a bowl.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet one at a time. Mix.
2. Press into a cookie sheet (the granola may not cover the whole cookie sheet. I usually shape it into a rectangle a bit bigger than a 9x13 pan).
3. Bake at 325 degrees F for 15-20 minutes til golden brown.  Take out and cool for 10 minutes.
4. Cut into bars, then bake an additional 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

recipe from a friend of Kel's

Buttermilk Biscuits

Warm, light, flaky, biscuits = pure satisfaction. And they are so simple to make.

5 cups all purpose flour, plus more for working, as needed
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 cup very cold butter, cut into cubes
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3 Tbsp melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in upper third. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Add cold butter cubes to the flour mixture and coat well. Working quickly, rub the butter between your fingertips until roughly half is coarsely blended and half remains in larger flat pieces (3/4 inch size)

3. make a well in the center of flour-butter mixture and add buttermilk all at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon, just until mixture begins to come together into a sticky dough. (the dough will not form a ball at this stage and will, in fact, look unpromising).

4. Immediately turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead briskly 8 to 10 times, just until a cohesive ball of dough forms. With your palms, gently flatten dough into an even thickness and rounded rectangle; then roll out to a 3/4-inch thickness, working from the center of the dough outward with a floured rolling pin. (Flour rolling pin as needed, but avoid flouring top of dough).

5. Using a dinner fork, pierce dough completely through at 1/2-inch intervals (flour fork if needed).
Using a 3-inch biscuit cutter*, stamp out rounds as close together as possible, taking care not to twist the cutter. Place rounds end to end on a parchment-lined backing sheet. Place dough pieced that remain after cutting on sheet too. Bake biscuits until crusty and rich golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove biscuits from over and bush with melted butter. Serve hot. Store in airtight contain for 3 to 5 days.

*In absence of a biscuit cutter I use a wide-mouth canning jar ring.

TIPS
• To help the biscuits rise to their fullest potential, take care not to twist the cutter (thus pinching the edged together) when cutting out the rounds of dough. When you look at them, you can see the layers that will result in flakiness.
• Don't be afraid of brown biscuits. That crusty exterior provided contrast to the tender, light interior.
• To reheat biscuits, toast in a toaster over or on a cooling rack on a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes.

Very slightly adapted from Martha Stewart Living.

Belgian Waffles: Gaufre de Liège Style

This is a recipe for the delicious yeast-risen, donut-like waffles they sell from food trucks in Belgium.

3 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit
2 eggs, at room temp
1 pkg yeast (~ 1 heaping Tablespoon)
3/4 cup water, warm
2 tsp. vanilla
225 grams (8 oz) pearl sugar (carried by some stores and can be found online)

1. Mix flour, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.  Make a well in the middle.
2. Melt the butter. Beat the eggs well, then add the melted (and cooled a bit) butter and the yeast. Mix well.  Add the water and vanilla and mix again. Let that sit (1-3 minutes) to make sure the yeast is foaming.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the well of the dry ingredients and mix.  Knead for about 10 minutes.  The dough will be a bit sticky.
4. Place the dough in a warm place and allow it to rise 15-30 minutes.
5. Five to ten minutes before baking add the pearl sugar.
6. Shape the dough into a squarish circle (ha!) and flatten with hands, then place the dough in a HOT waffle iron.  Let bake and eat immediately as this is key to the deliciousness.

adapted from a recipe found here.

Bagels

This recipe is adapted from the King Arthur recipe. Making bagels is more involved than making a loaf of bread but pretty fun if you have the time and the bagels are awesome.

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar + more for the water bath
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour


1. Combine the ingredients and knead vigorously, by hand for 10 to 15 minutes, or by serious electric mixer on medium-low speed for about 10 minutes. High-protein bread flour takes a bit more effort and time to develop the gluten. The dough will be quite stiff; if you're using an electric mixer it will thwap the sides of the bowl, and hold its shape (without spreading at all) when you stop the mixer. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rise till noticeably puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

2. Transfer the dough to a work surface and divide it into ~10 pieces. Working with one piece at a time, shape it into a smooth, round ball. Use your thumb and index finger to poke a hole through the center of each ball, then slowly stretch the hole, rotating the bagel while stretching, until it's a good 2 inches in diameter.  Place each bagel on a parchment-lined baking sheet (cornmeal works too but is more of a mess), and repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover the bagels with plastic wrap, and let them rise for 30 minutes or more until they puff to the size of a nice bagel.

3. While the dough is resting, prepare the water bath by heating 2 - 3 quarts of water, and 3 Tbps brown sugar to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. Preheat oven to 425°F.

4. Transfer the bagels, four at a time if possible, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gently simmering boil, if necessary. Cook the bagels for 1 minute, flip them over, and cook 1 minute more. Using a skimmer or slotted spoon, remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. If you'd like to dip the bagels in sesame seeds, etc. do that here. Repeat with the remaining bagels.

5. Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're as deep brown as you like. Remove the bagels from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Makes ~10 bagels.

Oatmeal Muffins

These 12 muffins will be gone in a flash!

1 1/4 cups oats
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 c oil and 1/4 c apple sauce)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cup wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup frozen berries

1. Mix oats and milk and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. Mix egg, oil, sugar.
3. Mix flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine oat mixture with oil mixture.  Add chocolate chips.
4. Combine wet with dry ingredients.
5. Fold in berries.
6. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes in a greased (or lined with paper) muffin pan.  Check with a toothpick and add 5 minutes if not done.

Toasted Pumpkin/Squash Seeds

'Tis the season! This works for any kind of squash seeds so keep and toast them whenever you use squash.This is Janice's recipe used at the Annual Johnson Pumpkin Carving Contest. You will only wish you had more seeds.

2 cups pumpkin or squash seeds, leaving some stringy pumpkin guts (don’t wash or rinse)
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil OR melted butter
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)

Mix everything in a bowl, spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 1+ hour, scraping up and shifting seeds around every 15 minutes until toasty.

Snappy Apple Dip

I got this recipe from a pal here in Reno. It's staggeringly simple - ready in a snap - and nothing short of delicious.

8 oz. cream cheese (or neufchatel)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chocolate toffee bits (as in Heath), found in the chocolate chips isle

Blend cream cheese and brown sugar together until well combined. Stir in toffee bits. Serve with fresh apple slices.

In a pinch you can use mini chocolate chips in place of the toffee.

Homemade Applesauce

perfect snack during the apple-rich fall

1 lb. apples (diced small for easy mashing)
1.5 Tb. sugar
a dash of cinnamon
1/4 cup water

Stir ingredients together and microwave, covered, for 8 minutes (if apples are mushy) or 10 minutes (if apples are firm). Remove from microwave and mash.

Carrot Butter

this is a recipe i sort of finagled from Sage's Cafe. it's delicious. spread it on a sandwich or toast, or serve with chips, etc.

4-5 medium carrots, peeled
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt

1. chop the carrots into quarter-inch cubes. place in a pot with plenty of water and boil for 25 minutes. drain.
2. process all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. keep refrigerated in an air tight container.

Spicing up your tuna

We eat a lot of tuna in this house (either it's good protein or incredibly easy...wait, it's both!). Here is a spin on the classic mix.

1 can tuna
4 Tbsp mayo
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp sweet relish
a pinch of garlic powder
1/4 tsp curry powder

Serve on sandwiches, crackers, or with pilaf. Very simple.

Muffins

these muffins are easy and very tasty. you can use fresh, dried, or frozen fruit (don't thaw frozen fruit) and nuts if you'd like.

1 ¾ cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt

½ cup butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup milk, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg, room temp
1 ¼ cup fruit

1. Heat oven to 400°. Grease muffin tin.
2. Mix dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk wet ingredients and sugar in another bowl.
4. Fold wet ingredients then fruit into dry ingredients.
5. Scoop ¼ cup into muffin tins, sprinkle tops with granulated sugar.
6. Bake 15 – 17 minutes.

Dang Good Hummus

2 cans (15.5 oz) cans garbanzo beans (S&W are best)
1/3 cup garbanzo juice (drain the rest)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 2 Tbsp tahini OR 1-2 tsp sesame seeds
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 - 2 tsp cumin
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)

To be mixed in (optional):
3 - 4 roma tomatoes – chopped
1 jar artichoke hearts – chopped
1 can (2.25 oz) chopped olives

1. Blend garbanzo beans, garbanzo juice, lemon juice, olive oil, sesame seeds, salt, cumin, and garlic together in a blender until smooth – don’t over blend.
2. Transfer hummus to a bowl and mix in tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives.
3. Serve with toasted pita (triangles for a party) or corn chips.

Granola

8 cups regular rolled oats
1 ½ cups brown sugar
8 oz. coconut flakes (unsweetened is best)
1 ½ cups nuts or seeds
½ vegetable oil
¾ cup honey
2 tsp vanilla

1. Heat oven to 325°. Stir oats, sugar, coconut and nuts/seeds together.
2. In a small pan over medium heat, heat the oil, honey and vanilla stirring until bubbling.
3. Thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients. Grease 2 10” x 15” rimmed baking sheets, divide granola between the pans, spreading evenly.
4. Bake uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes or until lightly browned, turning two or three times with a spatula.
5. Remove pans from oven, stir a few more times and let cool. Remove with a spatula. Store in airtight container.

recipe from Kel - by way of Carolyn Brooks, by way of Jill Spencer