Cookie Factory!

Have been holed up now for almost 48 hours, baking, baking and more baking! I love it. It is raining, which makes it even better (although sometimes harder for baking, in terms of rising in the oven and moisture content, this year it seems ok)

I have made:

Italian Tri Color cookies (recipe here)

Biscotti: Chocolate-Almond, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip, Lemon Sugar. Lemon-Ginger (a new variety this year, as I had some candied ginger--it is soooo good!), White-Chocolate-Pecan, and Vanilla Bean

My biscotti recipe is very simple, you can vary the flavor any way you like. Use pistachios instead of almonds...leave out the chocolate...use butterscotch chips, dried fruit, whatever. They all come out great. I use margarine because it yields a longer-lasting product which tastes fresher longer. You can use butter, but the flavor is only good for a day or two after baking.

Biscotti

1/3 cup margarine, softened

2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsps vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

1 1 /2 cups almonds

1 cup chocolate chips

Beat first 7 ingredients. Mix in then nuts and chips after the dough forms. It will be sticky. Wrap in wax paper sprayed lightly with Pam and chill for 2 hours. Preheat oven to 375. Form dough into logs (this recipe should yield 2 logs). Make them long and skinny..no bigger than 3 inches across, and 1 inch thick. Bake for 20 mins on lightly greased pans. Dough should look browned around the edges. take out and cool slightly in the pan. Now slice each loaf on the diagonal, about 1 inch thick. Now lay them back down on the pan, and bake another 10 minutes, until dry-looking and slightly browned around the edges. Cook on racks and top with your choice of powdered sugar icing, melted chocolate, whatever. These keep about 1 week in an airtight container in a dry place. Great for gifting. Great for dunking in morning coffee too! Save the end pieces for yourself (I do!)

Make it a Great Day!

Ann

HomeMade Granola

I am sure I have mentioned somewhere that I am lazy. I hate going out "last minute" to get ingredients if I can avoid it. This has led to some cooking disasters (no, olive oil can NOT be substituted for vegetable oil in a cake mix) but some good "aha" moments (melted butter instead of said vegetable oil makes a decadent cake mix cake).

This granola recipe was the result of whatever I happened to have in the pantry today.

I have been toying with the idea of home-made granola for a few reasons: I have a canister of Quick-Cook Rolled Oats that I never use (I tried, but I hate hot slimy oatmeal, sorry), and I don't like the fat/sugar content of most packaged granola. All of the granola recipes I looked at called for oats, but specified "not the quick-cook" ...I kind of wondered why*...and 3 tablespoons to 1 cup (!!!!) of canola oil... I went for the lesser amount. (*I used "quick cook" and it was fine) Also I am trying to cool it with my sugar consumption (more on my sugar detox here), so I used Splenda and some honey to sweeten it up a little.

granola before putting in the oven to bake

here it is after taking out of oven and mixing in cranberries...yummy!

Here is the result and it is very tasty. You can change it up almost anyway you like, using Agave syrup, brown sugar, honey, or even maple syrup for the sweetener instead of the Splenda would probably work great.

Ann's Pantry Sugar-Free Granola Recipe:

3 cups rolled oats*

3/4 cup nuts (whatever you have; I used cashews)

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 packets of Splenda

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup dried fruits..I used dried cranberries 'cause that's what I had (optional)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven. Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with Pam. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except dried fruit; use your hands its easier.

Spread onto the sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, then toss it so the mixture browns evenly. Bake another 10-15 minutes, or until it is golden. Break up large clumps of granola while the mixture is still warm. Cool completely. Now add the fruit. (You will notice that the granola may still be sticky when it is removed from the oven but it will become crisp and dry as it cools.)  Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. It will keep for about 2 weeks.

Makes about 5 cups.

Baking on a Rainy Day

Raining again in SoCal! Great excuse to bake.

I had 5 zuchinnis sitting on my kitchen counter. I bought a whole bagful at the flea market last week for a buck. I had already made 2 dishes with them this week, so I had to think of something different. Viola! Zucchini Bread! (I tried to hide the fact it had zucchini in it from the kids, but they figured it out. They gobbled it up anyway.) There is definitely something soothing about eating a half loaf of cake and being able to justify it by saying: it had 2 servings of vegetables in it!

Ann’s Zucchini Bread
¾ cup oil (I used light olive oil)
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp each: baking soda, powder
½ tsp tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 cups sifted flour
1tsp each vanilla and almond extract
½ cup chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, or any combo thereof

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans. Beat eggs with sugar, extracts, oil, spices, then add zucchini and mix. In separate bowl, mix together: flour, baking powder and soda, salt. Now combine them. Add the fruit and/or chocolate chips and mix. Pour into the 2 pans and bake 30-40 minutes until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick come out with a few crumbs: Do not overbake. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a platter-or a rack if using glaze.

Cream cheese glaze
4 oz softened cream cheese (10 seconds in a microwave will soften it)
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk or cream
Whisk together, then add 1 cup sifted powdered sugar. Whisk to remove any lumps. Pour over warm cake to glaze.

I'll be linking up to Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special...check that out for tons of great ideas!