Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Dog Treats

He is always there. Waiting patiently. Dancing between us in the kitchen.

Eyes big, eagerly waiting for something – ANYTHING – to drop.

We tell him to move…scoot…watch out….get…move….MOOOOVE! It doesn’t faze him.

He lies down and creates a road block between the stove and the fridge.

We trip over him; he doesn’t care. I accidentally spill flour on him; he doesn’t flinch.

Eyes big. Intense focus. He stays vigilant just waiting for something – ANYTHING – to drop.

His sheer determination and patience should be commended; a lesson for us all to learn.

Good things come to those who wait.

His name is Turtle. He’s our biggest fan.

Today is his day. Today we bake just for him.

Homemade Peanut Butter & Banana Dog Treats
{adapted from recipe by Adrianna on A Cozy Kitchen}

• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 3 tablespoons creamy (natural) peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
• 1/4 cup rolled oats

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the banana, peanut butter and egg; mix until completely combined.

3. In a medium bowl, add the flour and rolled oats; mix. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine until the dough comes together.

4. Transfer the dough to a piece of heavily floured wax paper. {Note: The dough will be REALLY sticky so flouring the heck out of everything (wax paper, rolling pin and cookie cutter) is important.}

5. Roll the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and cut out the cookies using a cookie cutter of choice; re-roll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Transfer the cookies to a parchment lined cookie sheet. These cookies won’t spread so placing them close together (not touching) is okay. If you don’t want to roll the dough out, alternatively, you can scoop teaspoon of dough onto a baking sheet, flattening cookies with the ball of your palm.

6. Bake the cookies for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. {Note: Your level of dough thickness will determine your baking time. My cookies were slightly thinner so I baked for roughly 20 minutes.}

7. Allow the cookies to come to room temperature on a cooling rack. Cookies will be good for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

Until we bake for best buds again,

a+h

Advertisements

Ginger Cookies

Some days are icy… cold… frigid…heavy…you feel it in your bones.

We had a couple of those days recently.

On those kind of days I find comfort in all things quiet and cozy… a good book, a hot cup of blooming tea and a sweet and spicy treat. These ginger cookies seem to do the trick.

I found the recipe in one of my new favorite cookbooks. I made them wearing furry socks. It was peaceful.

Today I wanted to pass the goodness on to you.

They’re wholesome and yummy, so when it’s one of those days, try these… have a few.

I bet they’ll make you warmly smile.

———

Ginger Cookies (adapted from Super Natural Every Day)
{makes about 48 tiny cookies}

• ½ cup large-grain raw sugar
• 6 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao)
• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ Tablespoons ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• ¼ cup unsulphured blackstrap molasses
• 2/3 cup fine-grain natural sugar
• 2 Tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
• 1 large egg, well beaten
• 1 cup plump dried apricots, finely chopped

1.     Put the large grain sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.

2.     Chop the chocolate into 1/8 inch pieces, more like shavings, really. (I just roughly chopped chocolate chips that I had on hand. Although they were not quite shavings, they worked just fine)

3.     In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt.

4.     Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Stir in the molasses, fine-grain sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot at this point. If it is hot to the touch, let it cool a bit, then whisk in the egg.

5.     Pour this mixture over the flour mixture and add the apricots. Stir until barely combined.

6.     Stir in the chocolate, then chill for about 30 minutes, just long enough to let the dough firm up a bit.

7.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

8.     Scoop out the dough in exact, level tablespoons. Then tear those pieces of dough in two and roll each piece into a ball.

9.     Roll each dough bowl in the large-grain sugar (in your small bowl) to heavily coat the outside with sugar.

10. Place the cookies a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

11. Bake the cookies, two sheets at a time for 7 to 10 minutes until cookies puff up, darken a bit, are fragrant and crack. If you’re not sure, peek at the bottom of one of them; the bottom should be deeply golden.

Until we stay cozy again,
a + h

Double Chocolate Cake with Macerated Strawberries

We have a new obsession.

Meet our pretty new mixer.

Isn’t she grand?

We threw out a subtle wish for a Kitchenaid Mixer here on this very blog last month and guess what? She arrived on Christmas.  Blogging is powerful.  I wish next for world peace and diamonds.  Fingers crossed.

Moving on…

Let me just tell you.  This thing does it all.  Sausage stuffing, ground beef grinding, fruit juicing, pasta making, I mean, if only it folded clothes (maybe there IS an attachment for that? Stand by…).  But above all, we finally have a proper place (with horsepower!) to mix up some of our favorite, decadent treats.

And P.S. … We still cannot believe that our old yard sale Sunbeam Mixmaster kept up with us this far without bursting into flames.  We really worked her.  It was intense. May she land in a laid back home…

OK, on to the good stuff…

What are we baking for you first you ask?  Why it’s our Double Chocolate Cake with Macerated Strawberries, friends.  How does that sound?  It’s the perfect treat for a lazy evening or a cozy date night with your favorite partner in crime.

The world needs more cake.

Let’s let loose on our Double Chocolate Cake with Macerated Strawberries shall we?

Ingredients:

• (12) Tablespoons of unsalted butter (approx. 1 and 1/2 sticks)
• (1) and (1/4) cups of sugar
• (2/3) cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• (1/3) teaspoon salt
• (1) teaspoon of vanilla extract
• (2) large eggs
• (2/3) cup of all-purpose flour
• (1/4) teaspoon of baking powder
• (1/2) cup of mini chocolate chips

Toppings:

• (1) bar of dark chocolate
• (12) strawberries sliced and macerated in sugar, Kahlua, tangerine juice and honey

1.  Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

2.  Cream your butter in the mixer with your sugar, cocoa powder and salt on speed two.

3.  Next, mix in eggs and vanilla. Continue to mix on speed two until blended thoroughly.

4.  Now add your flour, baking powder and chocolate chips.  Lower your mixer speed to one.

5.  Pour your blended mixture into a 9″ round pie pan and bake for approx. 35 minutes.

6.  After removing your cake from the oven, immediately add your chocolate bar pieces on top to melt.  Once melted, spread to create a rich chocolate layer.

7.  Plate up with your strawberries, grab yourself a big glass of milk and enjoy!

Until mix, bake and melt again,

A + H

Pumpkin Creme Brulee {Baking And Desserts}

Ah, Halloween. The memories.  Harrison remembers trick or treating as a T-Rex, a Ninja Turtle, a dog, whatever his little heart desired.  Me, I was a hobo, a hobo, a hobo… now that I think about it my parents really liked dressing me up like a little homeless man. 

Then, there was that one Halloween where I forgot to buy candy and the trick or treaters actually beat their tiny fists on my door yelling “we know you’re in there!”. Frightening.  Oh and the many times Harrison answered the door with a “What up” to the six-foot tall “kids” holding pillow cases in their white t-shirts.

You know.  We really haven’t had the best luck with Halloween.  So this year, we decided to hole up and make our own treats instead. Porch lights off.

So in the spirit of the best part of Halloween, pumpkins, we’re letting loose on some pumpkin creme brulees to say Happy Halloween.

Ingredients:

• (1) quart of organic heavy cream
• (3/4) cup of coarse or raw sugar  +  2 teaspoons of additional sugar to finish for each creme brulee
• (2) whole vanilla beans, halved with pulp extracted
• (1) cup of organic pumpkin puree
• (8) free range organic egg yolks
• (1) teaspoon of loosely packed ground cinnamon
• (3/4) teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Directions:
1.    Never worked with vanilla bean before?  Here’s a crash course in prep…

Split each bean with your knife down the center.

Then use your knife to scrape out the pulp.

2. Combine your heavy cream, vanilla (bean casing and pulp) and pumpkin in a double bottom sauce pot.  Using a double bottom sauce pot helps conduct heat better.

Add both the vanilla bean casing and the pulp for real hints of vanilla.

3. Add your cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a rolling simmer.

4.  Meanwhile, combine your egg yolks and (3/4 cup) sugar in a large bowl and whisk thoroughly.  Make sure you select a bowl that leaves room to add your cream mixture once ready.

5.  Back over at the stove… once your cream comes to a simmer, pour it into your egg  yolk mixture in your large bowl to create your custard.

Pour from the stove to your large bowl.

6.  Next pull out a large (sweet tea) pitcher and a small mesh strainer.  Set your strainer overtop your pitcher and strain your custard mixture into your pitcher. Discard your vanilla beans.

Your vanilla bean casings are reserved. We like to gently press ours in the strainer to get every last bit of flavor in our custard

7.  Arrange your ramekins in a large cake or roasting pan.  Pour enough hot water into your pan to reach halfway up the side of your ramekins to create a water bath (approx. 1 inch of water)

Baking the custards in a water bath keeps the air in the oven moist, and prevents the crème brûlées from cracking.

8.  Place your pan in your oven and bake at 325 degrees and bake until the creme brulees are set in the center but not stiff (approx. 35 – 45 minutes).  The custard should “shimmy” a bit when you shake the pan.  It will firm up more as it cools.

Ready to set.

9.  Once you remove from the oven, remove your ramekins from the water bath and let cool for approx. 15 minutes and then refrigerate uncovered until you’re ready to serve.

10.  Pull out of the fridge approx. 15 – 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve.  Then, you need to pull out your ultra-cool torch for some serious carmelizing.  Sprinkle (1) teaspoon of your reserved sugar overtop your custard and gently shake to evenly distribute.

Shake it to cover the entire top of your custard.

11. Pull the trigger and toast that sugar until it’s a pretty caramel color.  We like to then add another teaspoon of sugar and repeat the process to create a perfectly crisp top.

Turtle is unfazed by the flames. Too busy guarding the window against those darn trick or treaters.

(Don’t have a torch? First, add one to your Christmas list.  Second, turn on your oven’s broiler and broil for 1 -2 minutes to carmelize the top)

12.  Once you’re done playing with fire, grab your spoon, gently break through the top and savor the sweet pumpkin taste.

yuuuummm.... pumpkin.

Until we play with fire again,

A + H

Warm Cheddar And Chive Scones {Sunday Brunch}

So we’re really into scones right now.  You might remember last week we shared a sweet apple and cinnamon recipe, so this Sunday we thought we would flip the switch and prepare a savory treat.  Combining our beloved Cabot cheese with fresh chives from our cute little patio garden, we have for you today a “can’t-stop-eating” brunch treat

Cup of coffee. Warm cheddar scone. Happy Sunday.

Let’s let loose on some Warm Cheddar & Chive Scones shall we?

Ingredients for your dough:

• (1) cup of heavy cream
• (2) and (1/2) cups of all-purpose flour
• (6) tablespoons of sugar
• (1) and (1/2) tablespoons of baking powder
• (1/2) teaspoon of Kosher salt
• (1) and (1/2) sticks of unsalted butter

1.  Pre-heat your oven on 350 degrees (conventional) /  or 325 degrees it you have a convection oven.

2.  In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients from above.

3.  Cut your sticks of butter into squares and add to your dry mixture.

Just pretend you didn't see all this butter. We're baking. It's allowed.

4.  Get your hands into it and combine the butter with your dry mixture.  You want to create a mealy texture (similar to biscuit dough).

You want your mixture to be pretty granular. Mixing by hand helps you gauge it.

5.  Next, create a well in the center of your mixture.

6. In your fancy well, add your deliciously rich heavy cream.  Set aside and move on to prep your garnish below.

Fill that "well" friends.

 
Ingredients for your “goodness” – your cheddar/chives garnish

• (1) and (1/2) tablespoons of fresh parsley
• (1) and (1/3) cups of grated Cabot Smooth Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• (2) and (1/2) tablespoons of fresh chives
• (1/2) teaspoons of black pepper
• (1/2) teaspoons of ground paprika

7.  In a medium bowl, combine your cheese, parsley, chives, pepper and paprika by hand.

Cheese. Chives. Paprika. So savory and good.

8.  Then, add your ”goodness” mixture to your dough mixture, placing your cheddar goodness around your cream-filled well. Confused? See picture.

Ingredients ready for mixing. Counter floured for rolling.

9. Next, put those hands to work again and start folding all of the ingredients together.  You want to create a good, pliable dough that’s somewhat tacky.

10.  Set your bowl o’ dough aside and next clear off a little counter space or pull out a large cutting board and coat freely with flour.

11.  Remove your yummy dough from the bowl and place it on your floured surface.

12.  Sprinkle the top of your dough with flour to create a good surface for your rolling-pin.

13.  Begin rolling out your dough until you achieve a (1/2) inch thickness.

You are looking to roll your dough until it is approx. 1/2 inch thick.

14.  Now, cut your dough into your preferred size and shape. 

Feel free to let loose with different scone shapes. We did half in rounds, half in triangles.

15.  Arrange your scones on an ungreased baking pan and cook on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees in the oven after the first 10 minutes to help them cook evenly.
(For better color, egg wash the top of each scone)

Look who's ready to be baked. This recipe yields approx. 15 sinfully delicious scones.

16.  Pull them out, take a deep inhale, plate up and enjoy!

Enjoy, but watch out for stalkers.

Until we bake again,

A + H

Psst… some of you have asked how you can get regular blog updates.  Scroll down to the bottom to find “Easy Email Subscription” (or click on the “follow” button at the bottom of your screen) and enter your email address.  Then, login to your email account, find the email from WordPress, and click on the emailed link to confirm your subscription.  Easy as that! 

We would absolutely love it if you subscribed! So much so that we’re taking recipe requests from all of our subscribers.  Let us know what YOU want to make.

Warm Cinnamon Apple Scones {Sunday Brunch}

Hi friends. We hope you’re loving fall as much as we are.  There is just something about the crisp cool air, the rich colored leaves, the re-emergence of pumpkins, Indian corn and warm cider that just makes us want to snuggle up and bake, bake, bake. 

Last week my adorable mom flew into town while Harrison was away to keep me company and to have her own New England fall foliage experience.  More on that later but one of the perfectly Vermont adventures we had was heading over to the charming Shelburne Orchards for apple picking and well, all things apple. (Thanks to Susan for the recommendation!)  That day trip just so happened to inspire today’s cozy Sunday brunch treat. 

Soft. Warm. Airy.

Let’s let loose on some Warm Cinnamon Apple Scones shall we?

Ingredients for your dough:

• (1) cup of heavy cream
• (2) and (1/2) cups of all-purpose flour
• (6) tablespoons of sugar
• (1) and (1/2) tablespoons of baking powder
• (1/2) teaspoon of Kosher salt
• (1) and (1/2) sticks of unsalted butter

1.  Pre-heat your oven on 350 degrees (conventional) /  or 325 degrees if you have a convection oven.

2.  In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients from above. 

3.  Cut your sticks of butter into squares and add to your dry mixture. 

somehow butter just makes life better.

4.  Get your hands into it and combine the butter with your dry mixture.  You want to create a mealy texture (similar to biscuit dough). 

You want your mixture to be pretty granular. Mixing by hand helps you gauge it.

5.  Next, create a well in the center of your mixture. 

6. In your fancy well, add your deliciously rich heavy cream.  Set aside and move on to prep your garnish below.

Fill that "well" friends.

Ingredients for your “goodness” – your apple garnish

• (1) and (3/4) cups of freshly picked apples … or store-bought…finely diced
• (1) tablespoon of lemon zest
• (1) tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• (1) teaspoon of ground allspice
• (1/2) cup of brown sugar

7.  Get your “knife-skills-on” by finely dicing your fresh apples.  As you dice, drop the apples in a cold water bath (with a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice… from your “zested” lemon) to quickly soak little by little.  Once done dicing, drain your apples.

Peel your apples first, then quarter removing core, stem and seeds.

Finely diced and quickly soaked. The lemon juice keeps the apples from browning.

8.  In a medium bowl, combine your drained apples with your lemon zest, cinnamon, allspice and brown sugar.

Yes. It smells as good as it looks.

9.  Combine all the ingredients by hand in your bowl.  Then, add your “goodness” mixture to your dough mixture, placing your apple goodness around your cream-filled well. Confused? See picture.

Apple meet flour. Cinnamon meet heavy cream. Ready to mix together!

10. Next, put those hands to work again and start folding all of the ingredients together.  You want to create a good, pliable dough that’s somewhat tacky.

Yep, we like using our hands. Best tool we have.

11.  Set your bowl o’ dough aside and next clear off a little counter space or pull out a large cutting board and coat freely with flour.

12.  Remove your yummy dough from the bowl and place it on your floured surface.

13.  Sprinkle the top of your dough with flour to create a good surface for your rolling-pin.

Adding a little flour helps to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling-pin.

14.  Begin rolling out your dough until you achieve a (1/2) inch thickness.

We finally got a rolling-pin! Thanks Pops!

15.  Now, cut your dough into your preferred size and shape.  We used the bottom of a small rocks glass to create biscuit-like rounds.

After you cut out your scones and remove, mold your remaining dough sections together. Roll and repeat.

16.  Arrange your scones on an ungreased baking pan and cook on 350 degrees for 20 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees in the oven after the first 10 minutes to help them cook evenly.

This recipe yields approx. 15 scones. This can vary based on size.

17.  Pull them out, savor a big whiff and enjoy! 

Pair with cider and the crisp outdoors.

Until we bake again,

A + H

Psst… some of you have asked how you can get regular blog updates.  Scroll down to the bottom to find “Easy Email Subscription” (or click on the “follow” button at the bottom of your screen) and enter your email address.  Then, login to your email account, find the email from WordPress, and click on the emailed link to confirm your subscription.  Easy as that! 

We would absolutely love it if you subscribed! So much so that we’re taking recipe requests from all of our subscribers.  Let us know what YOU want to make.

Freshly Picked Field Trip! {Blueberry Muffins}

We were walking home from The Skinny Pancake the other week and stopped in our tracks when we saw our neighbors/friends/Vermont day trip guides Jen and Ian unloading “big ‘ole bags” of fresh blueberries from their car.  Harrison’s eyes popped out like Wile E. Coyote.  “Where’d you get those?!”

Come to find out “a friend of a friend who lives near Calais” (which we have learned is how a lot of stories here begin) “knows this house that has beautiful rows and rows of blueberry bushes open for picking for donations.” Sold.

The next day we packed up in their Subaru (the unofficial vehicle of Vermont) and headed down the gorgeously green winding back roads to the site of our future bed and breakfast…. OK, OK, not really.  Dare to dream though, right?

You should see the house. We didn't take a picture because it felt a bit stalker-esqe.

 

Beautiful rows and rows of blueberries. A lovely place for a lunch break indeed.

 

 

Go for the bright blueberries. Don't get distracted and start picking the pink ones like "someone" did.

 

 

Now those are some good looking blueberries.

 

 

Jackpot! $2 a pint. We picked 3.

And what to do with all of these vibrant freshly picked blueberries?  Breakfast muffins of course!  Here’s our latest blueberry muffin recipe.  Keep it on hand in case you wind up with cool neighbors like us who kindly take you blueberry picking.

Let’s let loose on some blueberry muffins with crumbles, shall we?

Muffin Ingredients – we’ll start with the dry
– (2) and (1/4) cup of organic all-purpose flour
– (1) and (1/4) cup of natural sugar
– (1/4) teaspoon of Kosher salt
– (2) teaspoons of baking powder

Muffin Ingredients – now on to the wet
– (2/3) cup of vegetable oil
– (3/4) cup of organic milk
– (2) large eggs (we recommend cage free)
– (2) cups of vibrant freshly picked blueberries (or store-bought…)

1. Combine all of your dry ingredients (sift if you like to get fancy) in a large bowl and make a well in the center of the dry mixture ready for your wet ingredients.

2. Combine your wet ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.

Ready. Set. Bake!

3.  Add your wet mixture into the well you created in your dry ingredients and mix together.

4.  Add your vibrant freshly picked blueberries (or store-bought…) into your mixture last and fold in lightly.
      ***Remember! Lumps are good so don’t go crazy perfectionist on us and over mix.

5. Grease your cute muffin pan (ours is a large, 12 count pan). 

6.  Fill each “hole” (3/4) of the way.

Ingredients for your scrumptious crumble topping:

– (1/2) cup of natural sugar
– (1/3) cup of flour
– (1/4) cup of unsalted butter

7.  Mix your crumble topping mixture in a medium bowl until it looks like fish fine gravel.

I'm learning baking includes a lot of textures.

8. Sprinkle your crumble mixture evenly over your muffin batter in the “holes”.

With and without our crumbles.

9. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out smooth and clean.

10. Done. Delish. Devour!

{Insert glamour shot here.} 
Rookie mistake. We started digging into the muffins and *gasp* forgot the final shot.
But don’t you worry, in its place we’re including a shot of another dish we whipped together with a little blueberry twist… more on this one soon!

MMMM... we love inspired treats.

Neat side note:  Our lovely neighbor Jen just opened her own online shop on one our favorite websites, etsy.com.  I’m going to swing by for some pretty notecards.  We would love it if you did too.

Baking Out – Bread And Cookies, Check!

Well folks.  Today marks the end of H dog’s last day in Intro to Baking.  We came. I ate.  He conquered.  It’s been 3 weeks of carb nirvana. 

I have learned terms like ‘proof the dough’, ‘amylase‘ and that ‘retard‘ is a verb. I have also watched new “must have” baking gadgets enter our jam-packed kitchen cupboards on the reg. 

I have mistakenly categorized beginning bread batches as “Pizza Hut dough-like.”   

I have eaten challah bread, brioche bread, yeast dough bread, french bread, whole wheat bread, cracked whole wheat bread, whole wheat bread topped with oats, white bread, cinnamon raisin bread.  I have consumed ungodly amounts of cinnamon sugar cookies, chocolate health bar and almond cookies, pumpkin and black walnut cookies, oatmeal and golden raisin cookies – and new-found favorite – ginger and molasses cookies.  I usually taste test them all for breakfast. 

Each new sample better than the last and each taste followed with a thumbs up and, “now that’s a good (insert latest baked good name here).”

In the end, I’m here to tell you, the boy can now bake like nobody’s business.  Can’t wait to see what the next 3 weeks will bring.

Until we bake again,

A & H