Remember when I said that you can get super-cheap wine at Trader Joe's? Well, you knew that. And while Mr. Charles Shaw's private reserve might not be the most impressive of table wines, add a little sugar and spice, and it magically transforms into the most delicious of boozy treats with a gross-sounding name!
So, it's actually MULLED wine, but it's pronounced like Mold. Mulled just means spiced, so all you have to do is dump a bottle of cheap wine in a big pot, put it on medium or med-low (not too hot - you just want to simmer, NO bubbling at all) put in a few teaspoons of brown sugar (I like 3, you might like more or less) and a few pinches of mulling spices.* I recommend red wine, obvs. Then just simmer on the stove for about twenty minutes, and serve warm in mugs! Delightful!
*I awesomely found tinned Mulling Spices at the freakin' drugsto for only 99 cents on sale! Deals! But if you don't have tinned spices, just assemble some cinnamon sticks (2ish), some cardamom seeds, maybe some dried or fresh orange peel (make sure you wash it if it's fresh!!!), some cloves, and perhaps a vanilla bean even. Hell yeah!
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sugar. Show all posts
28 December 2009
09 November 2009
The Best Cookies Ever
Get ready for the best, most deliciously easy cookie recipe this side of your mother.
If you are fancy and have a food processor, you are golden. If you are like the rest of us and never thought you needed a food processor until now, it's okay...the machine isn't actually necessary to cookie success. It is also made almost entirely out of cheap crap, though I am kinda fancy, and I have a few fancy ingredients that I like in my cookies....if you have the opportunity to splurge a bit, I would definitely encourage it.
Gear: Standard big mixing bowl and baking sheet. Food processor if you have one, and a measuring cup or two would be really handy at this point.
Ingreeds:
~1.5 c flour
~1/2 c white sugar
~1/2 c well-packed brown sugar (just smash it down until you can't fit any more in the cup measure)
~1 egg
~vanilla/almond extract.
~salt (approx 1/4 tsp)
~baking SODA (orange box this time - approx 1/2 tsp) ***It is utterly essential that you don't forget this step, as the soda is what causes the chemical reaction that makes the cookies rise and expand as they cook. If you miss this step, you will end up with little hard crunchy balls of crap-cookie. Don't do it!***
~1/2 cup (1 whole stick) of futter. (*if using a food processor: cut chilled butter into approx 8 pieces. Otherwise, soften the butter to a partial-melty state)
~chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, or whatever you like in your cookies!!!
Directs:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In big bowl (or in food processor) Combine sugars, egg, butter, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Blend thoroughly until it is lovely and creamy in texture. ** I usually use almond extract for these cookies, because i just LOVE the taste of almond. It is almost twice as expensive as vanilla extract, so it's kind of a luxury, but imitation vanillas and almonds are available in your supermarket, too. Whatever you want, really, but I say almond extract is the secret ingredient that no one will realize is making their cookies so delicious!**
3. Add flour to creamy mixture, and blend again until it is a homogeneous mixture that is smooth, yet thick and doughy. It will become difficult to stir with a spoon, but I believe in you. Persevere!
4. Add your goodies. My other secret ingredient at this point is sweetened, shredded coconut. Now, you might be thinking, "eeew, no! Coconut? You must be coco-NUTS!" but hear me out: you can hardly taste the coconuttiness, but what it DOES do is impart a long-lasting chewy moistness to your cookies, that will make them delectable for weeks to come. I'd say about 1/2 cup of coconut, and probably another 1/3 or so chips of whatever flavor....you can estimate though, go ahead and add more if you want them.
To BAAAAKE:
~arrange dough in balls approx 1" thick (I use a reg'ler old spoon to measure even blobs. They don't really have to be "balls" either - just roundish blobs. Make sure they have at least 1.5 inches between balls, so they have space to flatten out.
~put them in the oven for 12 minutes.
~Done. delicious. your whole house smells good and you are a hero to all your friends. Congratulations.
**Tip: for soft cookies, allow them to cool on a hard surface, like your (clean) kitchen counter, or on some papertowels or newsprint to soak up the grease. If you want them crunchy, put them on a drying rack.
Go forth, be fruitful and cookie-fy!
If you are fancy and have a food processor, you are golden. If you are like the rest of us and never thought you needed a food processor until now, it's okay...the machine isn't actually necessary to cookie success. It is also made almost entirely out of cheap crap, though I am kinda fancy, and I have a few fancy ingredients that I like in my cookies....if you have the opportunity to splurge a bit, I would definitely encourage it.
Gear: Standard big mixing bowl and baking sheet. Food processor if you have one, and a measuring cup or two would be really handy at this point.
Ingreeds:
~1.5 c flour
~1/2 c white sugar
~1/2 c well-packed brown sugar (just smash it down until you can't fit any more in the cup measure)
~1 egg
~vanilla/almond extract.
~salt (approx 1/4 tsp)
~baking SODA (orange box this time - approx 1/2 tsp) ***It is utterly essential that you don't forget this step, as the soda is what causes the chemical reaction that makes the cookies rise and expand as they cook. If you miss this step, you will end up with little hard crunchy balls of crap-cookie. Don't do it!***
~1/2 cup (1 whole stick) of futter. (*if using a food processor: cut chilled butter into approx 8 pieces. Otherwise, soften the butter to a partial-melty state)
~chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, or whatever you like in your cookies!!!
Directs:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In big bowl (or in food processor) Combine sugars, egg, butter, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Blend thoroughly until it is lovely and creamy in texture. ** I usually use almond extract for these cookies, because i just LOVE the taste of almond. It is almost twice as expensive as vanilla extract, so it's kind of a luxury, but imitation vanillas and almonds are available in your supermarket, too. Whatever you want, really, but I say almond extract is the secret ingredient that no one will realize is making their cookies so delicious!**
3. Add flour to creamy mixture, and blend again until it is a homogeneous mixture that is smooth, yet thick and doughy. It will become difficult to stir with a spoon, but I believe in you. Persevere!
4. Add your goodies. My other secret ingredient at this point is sweetened, shredded coconut. Now, you might be thinking, "eeew, no! Coconut? You must be coco-NUTS!" but hear me out: you can hardly taste the coconuttiness, but what it DOES do is impart a long-lasting chewy moistness to your cookies, that will make them delectable for weeks to come. I'd say about 1/2 cup of coconut, and probably another 1/3 or so chips of whatever flavor....you can estimate though, go ahead and add more if you want them.
To BAAAAKE:
~arrange dough in balls approx 1" thick (I use a reg'ler old spoon to measure even blobs. They don't really have to be "balls" either - just roundish blobs. Make sure they have at least 1.5 inches between balls, so they have space to flatten out.
~put them in the oven for 12 minutes.
~Done. delicious. your whole house smells good and you are a hero to all your friends. Congratulations.
**Tip: for soft cookies, allow them to cool on a hard surface, like your (clean) kitchen counter, or on some papertowels or newsprint to soak up the grease. If you want them crunchy, put them on a drying rack.
Go forth, be fruitful and cookie-fy!
05 November 2009
Better and way easier than pie.
So, you're sifting through the cupboards looking for something decent to eat, and you notice those three apples, the last of the bag, that have been sitting, shriveling on your counter for a couple of weeks now. They are ugly, maybe a bit soft, but by no means rotting. Instead of feeling guilty about all the produce you're wasting (think of the children in Ethiopia! What is wrong with you!!??!?) you can make a glorious treat that is good for dessert or brekky! (I love it when something can either be dessert or brekky. I think this is what they mean by "breakfast of champions." YESSSS.)
This is a really easy recipe that requires no actual measuring, and can be easily adapted depending on how much fruit you have. Oh yeah, and you don't have to use apples, either...
Okaayy sooo....
Stuff you will need:
~A baking dish. Something in the vicinity of an 8x8 or 9x9, and bigger if you have more fruit, of course. Or like a glass or ceramic pyrex would work, anything that is kinda big-ish and also not too deep - only a couple of inches really.
~ FRUIT! Any kind will do, but stuff that works best is: Peaches, Apples, Blackberries, Blueberries, Nectarines, Strawberries, even rhubarb if you are feeling adventurous - basically you can make this with any berries or butt-shaped fruits, fresh or frozen.
~ Sugar!!! You need the white kind AND the brown kind for this. But brown sugar is delicious, so you should already have some in your cupboard in case you need to make fake maple syrup for your pancakes or something (we'll get to that another time.)
~ Flour - you don't need too much of this
~ OATS! I know you have some of these that have been lying around on the top shelf forever because one roommate bought some thinking she'd be healthy and then wound up only cooking the oatmeal once because oatmeal is actually pretty gross. SO, oats. But if you don't have them, you should just get some from the bulk foods aisle - they're really cheap, and after you make this once, you will want to make it again and again.
~ FAT: Margarine or butter**, at room temp. If you've just grabbed it out of the fridge, you can nuke it for a few seconds, but not to melt - just to soften
~ A little bit of oil or some more futter.
The Alchemy:
1. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees.
2. Grease that pan with a little oil or futter! A light layer will do.
3. Get fruity. Apples you will want to peel, and large fruits need to be cut into dainty bite-sized chunks. Frozen berries ought to be run under the hot faucet in the collander at this point, to thaw them. For the purposes of this recipe, I'm going to assume you have about three to four large handfuls of fruit (using both hands - like, four cups-ish). You can also mix whatever you want - blackberries and blueberries are a nice combo, strawberries probably need to be mixed with something else for proper texture, and dark berries mixed with peach looks hideous, but is delicious.
4. Okay, now, in a large bowl, toss your fruit with about a 1/4 cup of flour (a few shakes from the bag or small handfuls (one handed), and about 1/3 cup of sugar. You may need to adjust this depending on how much fruit you have and how sweet it is, it's okay, just shake in a little more. Once you mix the fruit with the dry ingredients, the fruit should all be lightly coated with flour and sugar. If not, you might need a little bit more. If you put in too much, just let the excess shake down to the bottom of the bowl and toss it.
5. At this point, it is also nice to add some extra fancy-ness to your fruit. Toss in a bit of vanilla flavouring or cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever you fancy.
Now that your fruit is ready, it's time for the best part - the topping!
1. First, you need is a soft stick of futter. Throw this in a bowl, and cover it with equal parts flour and oats, something like 1/2 cup each, but keep them out because you may need to add more.
2. Also add about a 1/3 cup of brown sugar.
3. Now, get in there with your two hands (after you wash them!!! Jesus Cripes, there's a pandemic!) and squish the dry stuff into the butter until it is a homogeneous mixture. It should be fairly crumbly and clumpy, in pieces no larger than a dice. If it isn't crumbly enough, just add another shake of oats and flour, and keep on squishin.
Okay, now it's time to cook that shit!
First, throw the fruit mixture into the greasy pan, and you know, even it out.
Then, crumble the crumbly stuff over the top until it is a nice, thin layer of crumbly-ness covering the fruit, about 1-2cm thick.
Then, throw it in the middle rack of your oven, and let it bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. You'll know it's done when you peek in the oven and there's little bubbles of fruity goodness penetrating the crusty top layer.
Let it cool before you dig in, because this bitch will burn your tongue! Them fruits is hot.
Anyway, enjoy! Impress your friends! They won't believe you made it from scratch, you fancy cook, you!
*From here on out, I will be referring to this oh-so-essential ingredient as "futter," as I like to use fake butter. But butter and marge are interchangeable for our purposes.
This is a really easy recipe that requires no actual measuring, and can be easily adapted depending on how much fruit you have. Oh yeah, and you don't have to use apples, either...
Okaayy sooo....
Stuff you will need:
~A baking dish. Something in the vicinity of an 8x8 or 9x9, and bigger if you have more fruit, of course. Or like a glass or ceramic pyrex would work, anything that is kinda big-ish and also not too deep - only a couple of inches really.
~ FRUIT! Any kind will do, but stuff that works best is: Peaches, Apples, Blackberries, Blueberries, Nectarines, Strawberries, even rhubarb if you are feeling adventurous - basically you can make this with any berries or butt-shaped fruits, fresh or frozen.
~ Sugar!!! You need the white kind AND the brown kind for this. But brown sugar is delicious, so you should already have some in your cupboard in case you need to make fake maple syrup for your pancakes or something (we'll get to that another time.)
~ Flour - you don't need too much of this
~ OATS! I know you have some of these that have been lying around on the top shelf forever because one roommate bought some thinking she'd be healthy and then wound up only cooking the oatmeal once because oatmeal is actually pretty gross. SO, oats. But if you don't have them, you should just get some from the bulk foods aisle - they're really cheap, and after you make this once, you will want to make it again and again.
~ FAT: Margarine or butter**, at room temp. If you've just grabbed it out of the fridge, you can nuke it for a few seconds, but not to melt - just to soften
~ A little bit of oil or some more futter.
The Alchemy:
1. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees.
2. Grease that pan with a little oil or futter! A light layer will do.
3. Get fruity. Apples you will want to peel, and large fruits need to be cut into dainty bite-sized chunks. Frozen berries ought to be run under the hot faucet in the collander at this point, to thaw them. For the purposes of this recipe, I'm going to assume you have about three to four large handfuls of fruit (using both hands - like, four cups-ish). You can also mix whatever you want - blackberries and blueberries are a nice combo, strawberries probably need to be mixed with something else for proper texture, and dark berries mixed with peach looks hideous, but is delicious.
4. Okay, now, in a large bowl, toss your fruit with about a 1/4 cup of flour (a few shakes from the bag or small handfuls (one handed), and about 1/3 cup of sugar. You may need to adjust this depending on how much fruit you have and how sweet it is, it's okay, just shake in a little more. Once you mix the fruit with the dry ingredients, the fruit should all be lightly coated with flour and sugar. If not, you might need a little bit more. If you put in too much, just let the excess shake down to the bottom of the bowl and toss it.
5. At this point, it is also nice to add some extra fancy-ness to your fruit. Toss in a bit of vanilla flavouring or cinnamon or nutmeg or whatever you fancy.
Now that your fruit is ready, it's time for the best part - the topping!
1. First, you need is a soft stick of futter. Throw this in a bowl, and cover it with equal parts flour and oats, something like 1/2 cup each, but keep them out because you may need to add more.
2. Also add about a 1/3 cup of brown sugar.
3. Now, get in there with your two hands (after you wash them!!! Jesus Cripes, there's a pandemic!) and squish the dry stuff into the butter until it is a homogeneous mixture. It should be fairly crumbly and clumpy, in pieces no larger than a dice. If it isn't crumbly enough, just add another shake of oats and flour, and keep on squishin.
Okay, now it's time to cook that shit!
First, throw the fruit mixture into the greasy pan, and you know, even it out.
Then, crumble the crumbly stuff over the top until it is a nice, thin layer of crumbly-ness covering the fruit, about 1-2cm thick.
Then, throw it in the middle rack of your oven, and let it bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes. You'll know it's done when you peek in the oven and there's little bubbles of fruity goodness penetrating the crusty top layer.
Let it cool before you dig in, because this bitch will burn your tongue! Them fruits is hot.
Anyway, enjoy! Impress your friends! They won't believe you made it from scratch, you fancy cook, you!
*From here on out, I will be referring to this oh-so-essential ingredient as "futter," as I like to use fake butter. But butter and marge are interchangeable for our purposes.
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