Chewy Skor Toffee Bits Cookies

When I first moved away from home I was sad to leave my mom and sister, but was more excited then anything else about being on my own. That was nearly 8 years ago (seriously?). Now I’m half a planet away from my family, and I wish more then anything I could have spent mother's day with my mom. We skyped a bit after she had her mother's day brunch (including blueberry stuffed French toast and mimosas...jealous). At any rate, I’ll be home soon enough (sometime next month), and we can celebrate mother’s day and her birthday (June 1) together then. 

Back in December, my awesome mother sent me a Christmas happy package along with a few gifts from my sister. Knowing that I can't find many ingredients in our normal grocery (especially for baking), my mom sent me a giant bag of chocolate chips, and my sister threw in a bag of Skor toffee bits. Did I mention how much I love my family? The chocolate chips have been long gone, mainly because we couldn't get enough of my favorite chocolate chip cookies, but the toffee bits were still hanging out in the cupboard. I'm starting the process of cleaning out the cabinets, since we're returning back to the states somewhat soon, so expect to see more baked goods as I need to rid myself of this year's collection of baking ingredients. This was my first cleaning out the pantry recipe.

A quick google search led me to these amazing cookies. Think: browned butter (aka heaven), toffee, caramel-y goodness. They are awesome, and deserve your immediate attention. I really should have halved the recipe, because I'm worried about getting ill over them. I just ate two for breakfast with a banana. That's healthy, right?

Looks healthy to me!

Chewy Skor Toffee Bits Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

1 10 oz. package Skor English toffee bits

Directions

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. 

In a metal skillet, brown 6 tablespoons butter. It should be dark golden brown, foamy, and have a distinct nutty smell. If you're nervous, this site is helpful. When browned, remove from heat and place in a large heat proof bowl. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When melted, beat in granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs and blend thoroughly. Gradually add flour mixture and beat well. Stir in the toffee bits.

Place cookie dough in the fridge to firm up a bit, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, you can preheat your oven to 350F. 

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. I think parchment is vital in this instance, as even on the parchment the cookies wanted to stick slightly. Blame the toffee.

Bake 9-11 minutes of until lightly browned. They will look WAY underdone, but trust that they will finish cooking on their own. Cool on the pan for about 3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Source: adapted from Food.com

Peanut Soba Noodle Bowls

In the past month, I think we've had about three days off, so I've had little motivation to cook. We're tired! Plus, what I have cooked hasn't been blog worthy. That is, up until now. 

I first fell in love with soba noodles with this soup, and have been itching to try them in different recipes ever since (I think I just love buckwheat, because I've also found I love buckwheat tea). I thought a peanut sauce sounded perfect, plus, I've never made one myself. I found this recipe on Eat Live Run, and made my own adjustments that I felt were necessary. First, I added garlic to the peanut sauce, and also decided to garnish the noodles with green onions in addition to the cilantro. So delicious, and good for you. The more colorful the plate, the better it is for you! The peanut sauce yields a lot, so feel free to half the sauce recipe. I made the full amount, so I think maybe I'll use it for a salad, or another batch of soba.

Peanut Soba Noodle Bowls

Ingredients

Peanut Sauce:

1/2 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari, whichever you have on hand works

1/3 cup warm water

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 knob fresh ginger, chopped or grated (about 2 tablespoons)

1 clove garlic

Noodles:

8 ounces soba noodles

4 small bok choys, rinsed

2 bell peppers (she used 2 red, I used 1 red and 1 yellow, as that's what was cheapest)

16 ounces firm cubed tofu*

1 tablespoon canola oil

Green onion and freshly chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

Make the peanut sauce by combining all ingredients in a blender or food processor, blending until smooth. If a thinner sauce is desired, add more warm water.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and heat up the oil. Once the skillet is very hot, add the tofu, and sear for about 8-10 minutes. Don't stir, but toss with the pan instead.

In a large bowl, add the tofu slices to the bell peppers. Bring a large pot of water to boil, and quickly blanch the bok choy for about 30 seconds. Remove, and carefully squeeze away extra water (I used paper towels). Coarsely chop, and add the the bell pepper mixture.

Using the same pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook according to the package directions. When ready, rinse under cold water and add to the bowl of veggies, and combine.

Divide noodles amongst four bowls, and add about a tablespoon of peanut sauce to each bowl. Top each bowl with fresh minced cilantro and green onions.

*Tofu. It's not my favorite, though I do like it fried and crunchy. I could live with or without it in this recipe, so feel free to leave it out if tofu isn't your thing. That being said, Chris thought there could've been more tofu!

Recipe Source: adapted from Eat Live Run

My First Yeast Bread

A few days ago I made my first real yeast bread, and quite frankly, I'm surprised I pulled it off in the easy bake! It was dense and chewy on the inside, and crispy crusty on the outside...perfect for paninis. Speaking of paninis, I totally miss my panini maker/griddler (aka..my most prized and cherished possession other then my flute). I seriously used that thing at least three times a week. I don't really consider myself a materialistic person, but man do I miss my stuff. My panini maker/griddler is on loan to my sister, with the understanding that it must be returned immediately upon my arrival in the states. I'm not even sure she's using it (for shame!). I also miss my beautiful ceramic muffin pan, and I'm pretty stoked about using my new vintage sifter my mom and I found in an antique store during my visit a few months back. Anyways, back to the bread...

This side was obviously facing the back of the easy bake...can you tell?

Other side...major difference.

As you can see, it's not going to win an award anytime soon for the world's prettiest loaf, but I'm very proud of what I made. I'm not providing a recipe just yet, as I would like to make it in a real oven instead of the easy bake before providing my two cents. Mostly, I just wanted to document this, so I can look back and see where I started, and I think this bread is an excellent place for me to begin. I was telling my mom the other day that I want to be able to make all of my bread from scratch. It's cheaper, tastes better, and as I'm already beginning to see, very rewarding.

By the way, mom, if you're reading this, can we make jam this summer? No girl should have to go back to graduate school without homemade jam she made with her mom. xoxo

I wish I had an actual recipe for something I've made recently, but to be honest, I sadly haven't made anything worth documenting. I can't wait to be back cooking in America, where I can actually find ingredients, and not bake in my easy bake.

Hopefully I'll have something worth posting in the next few days, even though we're super busy. Le sigh.

Fried Egg and Frisée Salad Sandwich

I have been one busy bee. In the past two weeks, we've had one day off of work. Thankfully that day was Chris' birthday. It was a relaxing day, including pizza at our favorite pizza place and a homemade cheesecake (beaming with pride here...I totally rigged it in the easy bake and it was awesome). 

I actually feel pretty bad for Chris. Wanna know why? He and Eloy are off sweating away at soccer in yucky Beijing air, while I'm at home eating this sandwich. It's really not fair at all, because he would go apey over this sandwich. I'm a terrible person aren't I? Maybe if he's sweet, I'll make him one when he gets home. Heck, I may make another one for me too when he gets home!

This is a grown up's eggy sandwich (Yes, "eggy". Just be happy I didn't call the fried egg a "dunkie middle"). It has some wonderful flavors going on, largely from the delicious Salade Lyonnaise. Add a perfectly fried egg and blue cheese? Pure bliss. It is messy and awesome, and I urge you to make it immediately. 

Oh baby.

Fried Egg and Frisée Salad Sandwich

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients

Two rolls, or sliced french bread

1 1/2 cups frisée (French curly endive), torn into bite sized pieces

1 bacon slice, preferably thick sliced (needs some fat on it!)

1 tablespoon minced shallot or onion

1 teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/8-1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, depending on preference

1-2 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 large eggs

Freshly ground salt and pepper

Directions

Place bread in the oven to toast.

Place frisée in a medium bowl. Cut bacon into 1/4 inch wide lardons. In a small heavy skillet, cook bacon over medium heat, or until crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel, reserving bacon fat in the pan (my bacon wasn't too fatty so I added a touch of oil). Add shallot to bacon fat and cook for one minute, stirring. Add red wine vinegar, and let it hiss and bubble for about 20-30 seconds, then remove from heat and whisk in the Dijon. Immediately pour hot dressing over frisée, and toss with drained lardons, salt, and pepper.

Remove bread from the oven, and divide the salad between each bottom bun/slice. It will seem like a lot, but you want it, believe me. Top each salad pile with blue cheese.

Reheat skillet over medium-high heat. Crack open the egg into the pan, reduce heat to medium, and cover with a lid. Check on the egg after a minute or two. The white should be cooked, but the yellow still runny. Do not overcook. If you do, make another egg. Deb suggests flipping the egg over and letting it cook for another 20-30 seconds to help reduce the mess, but I didn't do this. I liked the mess.

Remove the egg from the pan, and place it on top of the salad. 

FYI, the salad by itself is pretty awesome, if you have any leftovers. 

Recipe Source: adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Cinnamon Toast Scones

Remember when I made my first scone? As predicted, I am now hooked. They're incredibly easy to make, and yield wonderful results. These scones were no exception, as they're like eating glorified cinnamon toast. They are soft, slightly sweet, and with a little melted butter in the middle, mind blowing.

In my effort to make more bread, I'll be submitting this to BYOB (Bake Your Own Bread), in the breads without yeast category. I recently toyed around with a yeast bread, and though it was good, it wasn't baked evenly at all. Yup, the easy bake just doesn't cut it. I'm not giving up, though! More to come on that front!

In the mean time, I'll "settle" (hah!) for one of these scones and a cup of tea.

Cinnamon Toast Scones

Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 cup milk or heavy cream

For Cinnamon Sugar Topping:

1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream

1/8 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat, and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Quickly cut in butter using your hands or a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles course meal. Some larger lumps are okay. Pour milk over the ingredients and stir until a soft dough begins to form. Do not over mix.

Transfer dough to a floured surface and gently knead dough by hand until a smooth ball forms. Shape and pat dough into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut the scones into triangles or use a biscuit cutter.

Place scones onto prepared baking sheet. To prepare the topping combine cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush scones with milk, then top with the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until scones are light brown. Serve immediately.