These cookies were crazy good! Thin with crispy toffee-like edges, some caramelized marshmallow and a soft, chewy, chocolatey center, and crunchy bites of Kit Kat and walnuts throughout. They'd be so perfect for ice cream sandwiches, if that's your kind of thing! Or if you're just looking to make some cookies that stand out amongst others, these are a great way to go!
I was singing along loudly with the Bouncing Souls' "Lean on Sheena" whilst making these this afternoon. -jen
S'MORES LACEY COOKIES Time: 10 min. per batch, about 50 minutes total Difficulty: Easy Makes: 48 cookies
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 cups old fashioned (rolled) oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3 oz king size Kit Kat (or 2 regular sized ones), chopped into 1/2" pieces
1.5 cups mini marshmallows (not big ones!)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together. Then add eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla extract. Beat together.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add to the wet mix while mixing at a medium speed. When the flour is combined, add the oats, coconut, and walnuts until combined. Then mix in by hand with a wooden spoon the Kit Kat pieces and the marshmallows. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
Scoop 1.5 tablespoon balls of dough and place 6 to parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 3" apart. Cookies will spread out thin so you want to give them plenty of space. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, until golden and edges are just starting to brown. Remove and allow to cool on a baking rack. Remember to put the dough back in the refrigerator in between baking.
I had this craving for banana granola the other day and wasn't even sure if such a thing existed! Well it does now! Came out real tasty, not super sweet (we don't dig super sweet granola). So much cheaper to make your own than to buy it, even when you can get it in the bulk bins, it's not this cheap. I got all the oats, nuts, seeds and pumpkin chips out of the bulk bins at my local store and spent about $5 for the whole thing - it filled 3.5 quart-sized Mason jars. Bueno!
The thing I like about making your own granola is that you can put whatever you want in it, really. Whatever nuts you like. Whatever seeds you like. It's a good way to experiment with stuff you haven't tried before. Coconut, puffed rice, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, etc.
We've used the Bouncing Souls a few times with our recipes, but I've been listening to a lot of their later albums the last few days and it's just what's in my head. So I'm using them again. "Gasoline". -jen
Place banana chips in a quart size Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to smack the bag and break them up a little.
In a large bowl, combine oats, broken banana chips, coconut, almonds, cashews, pecans, pepitas, flax seed, salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine bananas, brown sugar, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla and sesame oil. Using a stick blender, puree mixture. (If you don't have a stick blender, you can use a food processor, a stand mixer or a hand mixer.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until completely coated. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread half of the oat mix onto each pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring the granola every 10 minutes. Granola should be golden brown. Keep an eye on it, it can start burning quickly towards the end.
Let granola cool and store in an airtight container.
Uses: mix with yogurt, eat with milk or almond milk like cereal, put in cookies, stir into your waffle or pancake batter, sprinkle on ice cream.
We're always trying to make the perfect macaroni and cheese. This one comes pretty close for our likings. I think it's the shallots that do the trick.
I have no connection for this recipe and this song. But I'm a huge Kinks fan... I wore out my parents' Kinks vinyl more than they did, and I loved this song when the Kinks did it. But then, one of my favourite bands did a cover, and it was awesome! Close to the original, just a little bit of their own flare. I always hope that tomorrow, I'll find better things... and if not, I'll just listen to some Bouncing Souls and eat some mac and cheese
Drew... this recipe was made with you in mind, bro. -jen
MACARONI AND CHEESE
3 tablespoons salt
3 cups dried macaroni
1 egg, slightly beaten
5 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2-1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard
2-3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Srirachi hot sauce
1 pound cheese, shredded (we used 1/2 pound sharp cheddar, 1/4 pound champagne aged cheddar and 1/4 pound mozzarella for a little stringiness)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Fill a large stock pot 3/4 way full of water. Add 3 tablespoons salt and bring to boil. Add macaroni and cook 9-12 minutes, until al dente. Drain and set aside.
For a creamier, saucier macaroni, preheat your oven's broiler (this only takes about 5 minutes so you could do it later). For a thicker, more custard-like macaroni and cheese, preheat oven to 350 F.
Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to generously grease a large baking dish.
In a small bowl, lightly beat egg and set aside.
In a large pot (I just use the same one I cooked the macaroni in), melt remaining 4 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, stirring frequently until shallots are tender and translucent. Sprinkle flour into pot and stir, cooking another 3-4 minutes.
Turn up heat to medium-high and while whisking, pour in milk and vigorously whisk to avoid any flour lumps. Add mustard, Worcestershire, and Srirachi. Stir continuously until sauce begins to thicken (if it starts boiling, lower heat to medium.)
Temper egg by adding a little of the sauce into the bowl of egg, whisking to combine. Then add all of the egg back into the sauce. Set aside about 1 cup of the cheese for later. With the remaining cheese, add a handful at a time to the sauce, waiting to add the next handful until the first one has completely melted. Once all the cheese is incorporated, remove from heat and taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. (Some cheeses are saltier than others, so always taste your sauce first!)
Pour the drained macaroni into the sauce and stir until combined. Pour macaroni into the prepared baking dish.
For a creamy, saucy macaroni, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and place under broiler until cheese is golden brown... only takes a few minutes.
For a thicker, custard-like macaroni, place in oven for 30 minutes, adding the remaining cheese to the top for the last 10-15 minutes of baking.
