Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

If you like peanut butter cookies, then you have to try this recipe!  Super simple and super tasty!! I made these the other night for our dinner guests and almost as soon as I brought the pan out, it was emptied--they are THAT GOOD!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. butter (one stick), softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. M&M's (or chocolate chips or whatever you want with your PB cookie!)

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 20 minutes

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well, until a smooth but thick dough forms.  (If your dough is crumbly, go ahead and add a bit more peanut butter.) Gently stir in your M&M's or other add-in.  Place dough into an ungreased 9x13" pan.  You'll need to use your hand to press the dough down and spread it evenly throughout the pan.

Go ahead and bake it. The longer it bakes, the crispier the bar will be, but that also means it will be more crumbly.  I found that 20 minutes exactly was perfect for a nice cookie texture that wasn't falling apart when it cooled.

Allow the bars to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing into squares.  Serve when they have cooled almost completely so that they won't fall apart in your hand. (Or else risk it and eat it with a fork--it tastes just as good! ;))

Bagels

Last week I made bagels for the first time in my life.  I can't believe I waited so long to make them--they were so easy (as most bread things are) and tasted far superior to the ones you buy! That particular day I was in the mood for cinnamon sugar bagels, so that's what we had.  But I am anxious to try making all kinds of varieties--plain, poppy seed, sesame seed, onion, cheese...the list goes on!  Do yourself a favor and make these bagels.  You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T yeast
3 T sugar
1 T salt
4 1/2 c. flour
Any toppings that you intend to use, such as cinnamon or sesame seeds, etc.

Add'l Ingredients:

At least 8 cups of water for boiling the bagels before baking
1 egg white + 1 T water, mixed to together, for an egg wash so you can then add whatever toppings you like.

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 35 minutes

In a glass measuring cup, combine the yeast, sugar, and water together and stir. Allow the mixture to stand for 3 minutes.

In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the flour and salt, mixing well.  Once the yeast has been activated, go ahead and add it to the bowl.  Mix until combined, then knead for 5 minutes.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow the dough to rise until doubled.

Punch down the dough.  If you are making cinnamon bagels, I added about 2 T of cinnamon to my dough and kneaded it in by hand at this point.

Divide the dough into 8 or 10 balls and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. (I always gently cover any bread dough that I work with, with a layer of plastic wrap to help retain the moisture. Don't press it down on top of the dough though--you don't want it to stick!)

After 5 minutes, it's time to shape the bagels.  Have a little flour nearby in case you need it. Using your thumbs, poke a hole in the center of the dough ball and stretch the ball into a bagel shape. Be fairly liberal in your stretching (not to the point that you tear the dough, of course), as the bagel will continue to rise and potentially close the center hole as it expands.  Try to make at least a 1 1/2" hole.  Place shaped bagels onto a baking sheet to rest (covered) for 10 minutes.

At this point you will want to have your large pot of water boiling--it's time to give your bagels a quick bath! They'll need to cook for about 45 seconds total and you will want to turn them halfway through that time period.  I used a pair of tongs to turn the bagels mid-boil, as well as to remove them from the water.  You'll also want to be prepared for when the bagels come out of the water. I set a couple of drying racks on 2 extra cookie sheets--that way the water (and eventual egg wash) could drip and drain as necessary.  Before baking, I transferred them to my favorite cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Now that your bagels have been boiled, it's time to use that egg wash.  Brush a generous coating of egg wash on top of each bagel and then sprinkle on whatever topping you are wanting to use.  This is when I added cinnamon sugar to the tops of my bagels.

Finally, it's time to bake the bagels.  As mentioned earlier, I used parchment paper to avoid any unnecessary drama of bagels sticking to my cookie sheets.  It worked wonderfully.  Halfway through the baking time, go ahead and rotate the bagels on the tray. Don't flip them over (unless you want all your toppings on the baking sheet instead of the bagels), simply lift and turn them a bit to ensure they aren't sticking to the pan and to allow the bottoms of the bagels a better opportunity to evenly bake.

Eventually they will be ready and your family will descend on the bagels like they've never eaten anything quite like them before. They were absolutely delicious, although if you can at all hold off on eating them until they are comfortably warm rather than burn-your-mouth-hot, you'll probably enjoy them even more! ;) Happy baking and even happier eating!

Chicken Salad

Today I wanted to make some chicken salad to put into the whole wheat flatbread I made the other day. Talk about a delicious combo! Chicken salad is so easy to make and it's nice to make as much as you want or need.  And you can add a variety of tasty things to it to suit your desires. This particular time I added celery and onion for crunch, a chopped up apple for a taste of sweet, and added a few peanuts for extra crunch and flavor just prior to serving. But you can change it up by including a different variety of apple or grapes, cashews or almonds, or go for the nothing-added version if that's what you prefer.  Have fun playing around with this recipe--you just can't go wrong!

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or whatever chicken you have on hand)
Mayonnaise
Celery, chopped (optional)
Onions, chopped (optional, or may use onion powder in place of fresh)
Apple, chopped (or grapes, or whatever fruit you wish)
Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
Nuts--any variety. **Note that you do not want to add the nuts to the chicken salad mixture unless you don't plan on having leftovers. The nuts have a tendency to get soft if they sit in the mixture for any length of time. It doesn't change the flavor, but I prefer them crunchy.

Start out by cooking your chicken. I usually boil a large pot of the boneless skinless variety on the stove.

Once the chicken is cooked through, you'll want to shred it. Up until recently, I used the 2-fork shredding method. Then my friend told me about this brilliant idea: place the cooked chicken (or any kind of boneless meat you may be working with for a particular recipe) in your stand mixer bowl and use the cookie paddle attachment to shred the chicken.  It works PERFECTLY and you don't have to wait for the chicken to cool down a bit before you can work with it!

Once the chicken is shredded, you can go ahead and start adding whatever you want to it. I tossed in my veggies and fruit first.

Next, add the mayo and whatever spices you are using.

Finally, serve it up on your favorite bread (or serve without bread!). Go ahead and add some lettuce or spinach if you want to sneak in some extra veggies.

Whole Wheat Flatbread

The other day I was out of bread and tortillas and needed to come up with something fast, as lunchtime was not far off and I had 4 hungry kids who were expecting a meal.  I decided to try my hand at flatbread and I was thrilled with the ease and speed at which these could be prepared, not to mention how great they taste great, too!

Ingredients:

3 c. whole wheat flour (I used freshly milled hard red wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 T olive oil
1 c. hot water (add more if your dough is dry)

If you have a stand mixer, these things are incredibly quick to mix up.  Place all your dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and give it a quick whirl to combine the ingredients.  Next, add the olive oil and hot water and mix it on low until a smooth dough forms.

Once you have a nice dough, divide it into 12 pieces (fewer if you want larger flatbread). Shape the pieces into balls and set them on a lightly floured surface. Cover them with plastic wrap so they don't dry out before you can get to them.

Working one at a time, place a dough ball onto a lightly floured surface or a pastry mat (I got mine through Amazon).  Flatten the ball with your hand, and then proceed to roll out to whatever size and thickness you want. I rolled mine out to tortilla thickness.  Keep in mind, this recipe has baking powder in it, which will allow the dough to rise a bit when it is cooked.

You'll be cooking these on a skillet, so make sure you have a skillet or griddle set to medium or medium-low heat and that it is nice and warm before you put your first flatbread on it.  Cook the flatbread for about 20-30 seconds per side. You want it to get slightly browned, but not too dark.

This recipe makes about a dozen flatbread rounds. Store in a plastic Ziploc-type bag to retain freshness. They will stay nice and soft for at least a week if stored this way. Serve with your favorite sandwich fillings--peanut butter, egg salad, chicken salad, or even as a breakfast dish, filling it with scrambled eggs and cheese, etc.   Note: to make tortillas, follow this same recipe, but omit the baking powder.

Creamy Coleslaw

I'm particular when it comes to coleslaw. Too vinegary and I don't care for it.  Too much of a mayonnaise taste and I will avoid it. Too sweet or not sweet enough and it won't do. This, however, is a recipe I enjoy. For me, it's just the right amount of all of the above and it's easy enough to change up the flavors in a way that you like. (For instance, if you like a sweet coleslaw, add extra sugar. Like it tangy? Add extra vinegar or lemon juice, try your favorite flavor vinegar such as apple cider vinegar in place of plain white vinegar, etc.)

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage, sliced/chopped (or buy the pre-shredded cabbage in a bag)
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 small onion, finely chopped (omit and/or use onion powder if you don't care for fresh onion)
1/4 c. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. buttermilk (regular milk also works fine)
3 T. vinegar (your choice; I often switch up white and apple cider)
5 T. lemon juice
garlic powder to your liking
salt and pepper to taste

Go ahead and chop and combine your veggies in a large bowl (or pour bag of coleslaw mix into the bowl).  Rather than grating my carrot, I use my veggie peeler and peel off slices that way, then cut them into shorter pieces. I'm sure this job would be even easier if you had a food processor, of course!

Next, in a large measuring cup, combine the remaining ingredients, being sure to whisk well until the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth.

Finally, pour the coleslaw dressing over the top of the cabbage mixture and stir well.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours for best-tasting results. The dressing will thicken up a bit in the fridge. Every so often I'd suggest stirring the bowl of coleslaw so that dressing really soaks in instead of sinking to the bottom.  Perfect to serve as a side dish or as a topping to BBQ pulled pork sandwiches!