Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

A friend of mine told me about these vegan cookie dough truffles. I looked up the recipe from Chef Chloe, a vegan blogger and they looked fabulous. But I’m far from vegan so I made these with regular chocolate chips, butter and rice flour. Why rice flour? I found it added a nutty, earthy flavor that I didn’t get with all-purpose flour. Plus this is now a gluten free recipe.

This is perfect dessert for any get together and especially for holiday dinners. There no cooking involved and you can serve them right from the freezer. One of the great things about this recipe is because its egg free, you can eat all the dough you want without feeling guilty.  Be honest how many times have you made a batch of cookie dough and only half of the dough ever made it to the oven. Yeah I know we've all done it. If you've done that then this recipe is perfect for you. 

Here is the link to the original recipe, and below is my version. Once you’ve had one, you won’t be able to stop popping them. http://chefchloe.com/sweets/vegan-cookie-dough-truffles.html

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles 

½ c room temp unsalted butter

¾ c packed light brown sugar

¼ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2 tbsp. water

1 ¼ c rice flour
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

1/3 c semisweet mini chocolate chips

12 oz. semisweet chocolate 

In your stand mixer, combine the butter, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and water until combined.  Slowly add flour a 1/3 at a time to prevent it from going everywhere. Mix until incorporated. Remove bowl from the mixer and fold in the mini chocolate chips. Cover dough and refrigerate for 1 hour**.

Get 2 cookie sheets and line them with parchment paper. Take a small spoonful of chilled dough and roll into 1-inch balls with the palms of your hands. Place the balls onto the baking sheets. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Place the remaining 12 oz. chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for approximately 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds.  Let the chocolate cool to room temperature. Remove one tray of cookie dough balls from the freezer. Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and remove using two forks. Place the coated balls back onto the baking sheet and transfer to the refrigerator. Repeat with the second tray of cookie dough balls. Chill until the chocolate is set, about 20 minutes. Either store in refrigerator until serving or gather and place in a freezer safe container. Place in the freezer and keep for a dessert any night of the week.

**A fun alternative for this recipe is put it on a stick like a cake pop. If you do this, place the stick in the ball before refrigerating and then follow the rest of the recipe. You won’t need the forks when dipping in the chocolate because you will have the stick to work with.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce in under 15 minutes

It just wouldn't be thanks giving without cranberry sauce, especially to put on my Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. But for some reason, many people still buy the canned stuff. Fresh cranberry sauce is so easy to make its crazy. Best part, you can either make it ahead, freeze it until Thanksgiving, or if you make it fresh and freeze the leftovers. It’s a win-win recipe. Best part it takes only takes 15 minutes to make and 30 minutes to cool. Done and done. It takes longer than that to find it in the grocery store.

One of the nice things about this recipe is that it’s very customize-able to your family’s pallet. In this version I've use honey, orange juice and crystallized ginger. But I have made it in the past with a sweet white wine and apples, which is also delicious.  By using fresh cranberries, the sauce still gets a jelly like consistency because when  the cranberries pop open during cooking, they release pectin, which is a natural way to make jelly or jams. 

Once you try this recipe, you'll never go back.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

 

2 oranges Juiced and zest

1/2 cup honey

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. salt

2 or 3 pieces of whole crystallized ginger, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries or roughly 4 cups if you pick your own

In a sauce pot, combine the juice and zest from the orange, honey, cinnamon stick, salt and ginger and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the mixture is simmering, add in the cranberries and bring it to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, cover with a tight fitting lid and lower heat to a simmer. Stirring the mixture occasionally. You’ll  start to hear the cranberries begin popping. Cook for about 15 minutes or until you think all the berries have popped open. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick, and stir the mixture. Taste; if it is too tart, you can add in some more honey (or sugar) 1 Tbsp. at a time. You can serve this dish warm, at room temp, or refrigerate and serve cold. It’s delicious anyway you serve it.

Freezing - If you’re making ahead of time, you can either keep in the fridge or freeze. If you are going to freeze, place in a freezer safe container, place plastic wrap on the sauce then place the lid on to prevent freezer burn. This mixture will expand so be sure to leave enough head room about 1/2 inch. Or you can freeze using the ice cube method. But be sure to remove from the Ice cube trays when frozen and place in a labeled freezer bag with all the air squeezed out to prevent freezer burn. The cranberry sauce will remain slightly soft even when frozen. This is because of the pectin. It’s normal, you didn't do anything wrong. 

Thawing- You can just take out and thaw on the counter until you are ready to serve, or in the refrigerator if you prefer it cold. If you want to serve it warm, place in a sauce pot, add 1/4 cup orange juice bring to a simmer. Stir together and serve warm. 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pecans and Cranberries

Picture from ceramiccanvas.com  

Thanksgiving is almost here and that means lots and lots of delicious food, but that also means lots of time cooking that food. So why not cook as much head of time as you can.  Throughout the week I’ll be posting delicious awesome tasting make ahead food. Spend less time in the kitchen on Thanksgiving Day and more time with your family, because that is really what this holiday is really about. First on the list, Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pecans and Cranberries.

My sister last year made these awesome sweet potato gnocchi, so I have put my own spin on it. They freeze really well. The sauce is the only thing that you need to make the day of and this is an awesome alternative to your typical sweet potato casserole.  The sweetness from the dried cranberries and the crunch from the toasted pecans, make this dish an unexpected hit.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Pecans and Cranberries

2 lbs. red-skinned sweet potatoes

1 12-ounce container fresh ricotta cheese

1 c grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg (1/2 if using dried nutmeg)

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you may need it all)

Brown Butter Sage Sauce

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. cinnamon

6 tablespoons chopped fresh sage plus whole leaves for garnish

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c dried cranberries

1/4 c toasted chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wash the sweet potatoes, cut them in half lengthwise and roast in the oven until the sweet potatoes can be pierced easily with a fork. Remove from the oven and cool,

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, get a fine mesh sieve, place it over a bowl, and put the container of ricotta cheese to drain. Once the sweet potatoes have cooled scrape the flesh out and place in a bowl. Add in the drained ricotta, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Mash together, using a fork, to blend. Mix in the flour 1/2 a cup at a time until a soft dough forms. If your dough is too sticky after you've added the 1 1/2 cups, you can additional flour a 1/4 cup at a time.

Place the dough on your floured work surface. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Take 1 piece and roll out into a long snake about an inch or so in diameter.  Cut into 1 inch piece. Each snake should give you about 20 or so pieces. Repeat with remaining 5 pieces of dough.  When done, gently place the back of the fork on each piece of gnocchi to give the classic indent.  At this point, put them on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once completely frozen gather them up and put in a Ziploc bag. Make sure you get all the air out before you freeze.

When ready to use, bring a large pot of water to boil. Graciously salt the water. Working in batches, boil the gnocchi until al dente, approximately 5-6 minutes. Drain, but do not rinse and place on a lined baking sheet loosely cover with foil so they stay warm while you cook the remaining gnocchi.

Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the sage and brown sugar. Continue to cook, stirring the butter occasionally until the foam subsides and it begins to brown.  Shut the heat off and whisk in the cinnamon, salt and pepper. Toss in the gnocchi, cranberries, pecans, and serve.

How to get the smell out the fridge and freezer?

After a power outage of more than 2-3 days, you basically have to toss everything that you've been stock piling all season long. The rotting food can leave an odor in the fridge and freezer, which is not only unappetizing, but the smell can seep into new food that you purchase and ice that you make.

How do you get rid of this. First, when you empty out the fridge and freezer, you warm a bleach and soap solution.I use 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water, and 2 hefty squirts of dish soap. Using a scouring sponge I scrub every surface, removing drawers and scrubbing underneath them. Then I use a Q-tip to get the corners and edges, to make sure mold doesn't grow there in the future.  This is good and its disinfected, but now you have a bleachy smell, which is not very appetizing to me.

Traditionally, people use baking soda to remove smells, however I have found that if you leave it in the box it doesn't work very well and you need to replace it frequently to actually get it to absorb strong odors. I prefer to use Activated Carbon/ Charcoal. What is activated charcoal? Wikipedia defines it as a form of carbon processed to be riddled with small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for absorption or chemical reactions. Basically, its a very porous form of carbon that is perfect for absorption.  Its used in water filters. People also take carbon tablets for holistic treatments for nausea, gas, poisoning, etc. Its also used in fish tanks to keep the water from smelling.

Where can you get it? I actually go to my local pet store and buy it right in the fish section. its sold in pellets and powder. I prefer the pellets. I use a pie tin and pour a layer of the charcoal in. just enough to cover the bottom and put one in the fridge and one in the freezer. The pet store sells it loose and in mesh bags. I prefer the loos, but you can try either one.

You can buy it other places, online and in natural food stores (ie-whole foods), but I find it so expensive at those places and you are not ingesting it so the activated carbon at the pet store works for me. You can find it for under $10. Activated charcoal works great on a regular basis too, just make sure to put it high enough up that your kids don't try to eat it.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/activated-carbon#ixzz2BjvSAcSv

Brownie Ice Cream Pizza

 After Hurricane Sandy, I know many of us are just trying to put the pieces back together. Everyone is trying to get back to normal, which is why I waited a little while to post. I hope speedy recovery to everyone who was affected by the storm.

So here is a dish that takes only a few minutes to make and brings smiles to everyone's faces. One of my friends described it as a Disney dessert. I made it after Halloween was cancelled because i cannot be trusted with all that candy. This dish is perfect for kids,parties, pizza, parties, or an excuse to break into your kids trick goodie bags. Get them involved and have them pick out the flavors they want on the pizza.

I was walking in the grocery store and saw a brownie pizza in the freezer section for $20. Seriously. I made two for around $7. This can be made with any combination of candies, any flavor of ice cream, and you can add or subtract any ingredients to suit your families tastes. Since I was making two anyway, I made 2 different kinds. One with all nut candies Snickers, peanut M&M, Twix, and one with out any nut products Junior Mints, Crunch Bars, and plain M&Ms. My cousin has a nut allergy so i try to make a nut free version of things for him, but my husband is a slight nut-ohalic  so i put nuts in for him. make the nut free one completely first. Then make the one with nuts to avoid any cross contamination.

 Brownie Ice Cream Pizza 
1 box brownie mix. (Family Size if you want more crust)
1/2 c oil
1/4 c water
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped walnuts (opitional)
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
1/2 c milk
1/2 c rainbow sprinkles
assorted candy ( 3-4 fun size of 3 or 4 different candies)
Chocolate syrup

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease the sides and bottom of 2 cake pans*. Mix together the brownie mix, oil, eggs vanilla, and chopped walnuts. Divide in half between the two cake pans. It is going to be a thin layer of brownie, this is what you want. It will only take 15-20 minutes to cook because it's so thin. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

While this is cooling, in a stand mixer, whisk together the 1/2 gallon of ice cream** with the 1/2 cup of milk. Whisk until it has the consistency of a butter cream frosting. it will be fluffy and form little peaks when you pick it up with a spoon. use a rubber spatula and divide the ice cream among the 2 completely cooled brownies. Spread the ice cream and pour sprinkles on top. Next spread the rest of the candy on top, chopping any bars (snickers, twix, etc.) up into bite size chunks. Drizzle the top with chocolate syrup. Cover the top with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Be sure to freeze completely flat. if you don'e everything will drift to one side and you'll ahve a very lopsided pizza. When your ready to serve, remove from the freezer 5 minutes before so that the brownie has a few minutes to thaw out so you can cut through it.

*i use spring form pans so that its easier to serve when frozen, but if you don't have a spring form pan, cover the bottom and sides of your cake pan with parchment paper.

**take your ice cream out of the freezer 5 minutes before you want to whisk it so that is softens slightly but isn't melting. This will make sure you don't break your stand mixer by trying to whisk hard ice cream.

Prep for a power outage: Tips on how to save your perishables

So since many areas are looking like they are going to lose power for several days, here is a tip to save the food in your fridge and freezer as long as possible. Fill Ziploc bags with water and place in any empty spots through out your freezer. Use different size bags and squeeze the air out so that you maximum the space in your freezer. Be sure to only fill the bags 3/4 of the way or the bag may split as the water expands during freezing.

Why bother? A full freezer can stay full for 2-3 days, and a half full freezer will only stay for one. by packing your freezer and not opening it, you can save a lot of your food. If you have a freezer drawer, this will also help to keep your refrigerator cooler.  The  following link gives detailed instructions about how to prep yourself, before, during and after you lose power. I used this sight in preparation for Hurricane Irene and was able to save most of my food. http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/poweroutage.html

Hopefully this will all blow over and not cause the wide spread devastation that is being predicted, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen, so be prepared.

The following is from the National Center for Home Food Preservation

When the power goes out, unplug the freezer and refrigerator, as well as other appliances, to protect them from electricity surges when power returns. Make sure everyone in your household knows not to open the refrigerator or freezer doors; keeping the doors closed will keep the food cold for a longer period of time. Wrap the refrigerator/freezer in blankets, making sure they don’t touch the compressor, to create extra insulation. If it seems that the power will be off for more than 2 to 4 hours, re-pack refrigerated items into coolers with plenty of ice.

Items in the freezer potentially can stay frozen for 2 to 4 days, depending on the size of the freezer, how full it is, and how well insulated it is. A full freezer that had been operating at 0°F will keep foods frozen for about 48 hours if the doors remain closed; a half-full one can only be expected to keep food frozen for a maximum of 24 hours. For extended power outages use blocks of dry ice in the freezer. A fifty pound block of dry ice will keep the contents of a full 18 cubic foot freezer frozen for 2 days. Remember to wear gloves or use tongs when handling dry ice.

When the power does return, check the internal temperatures of all of your perishable foods with a calibrated food thermometer. Discard any perishable food that has been above 40°F for more than 2 hours.

Preparing and planning for severe weather can help you to save the foods that are in your refrigerator and freezer and ensure that they are safe for consumption.

http://nchfp.uga.edu/tips/summer/power_outages.html 

Pumpkin Apple Soup

I love the vegetables of autumn. The squashes and pumpkins are so full of flavor and they are so hearty and delicious on their own, but are also so customizable to various soups, stews, breads and more. Apples are also a weakness of mine, and you cannot beat fresh apples this time of year. So this soup utilizes both fresh apples and pumpkin. It’s the perfect autumn dish, rich and velvety without any cream or dairy so it is the perfect soup to freeze. This soup is a fall staple in my house and I hope it becomes one in yours.

Pumpkins are everywhere right now, and for those of you brave enough to roast your own pumpkin and puree it, now is the perfect time to make this velvety rich soup. But I have made this recipe many times using a large can of pumpkin puree. It is important to be sure that you get pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. The pie mix has a bunch of spices already blended in it and you don’t want that in the soup. 

I made this soup with vegetable stock, so it’s actually vegan and gluten free, However I have made it with turkey stock at thanksgiving. I’ve made it with beef stock to make it a meaty version of a vegetable soup for the meat and potato man in my house. It’s a flexible soup so you can use any stock you have in your house, just be sure to use low sodium. I also use stock not broth. Broth is a watered down version of stock and I don’t use it very much when cooking. If you prefer broth, by all means use it but you may need to bump up some of spices to enhance the flavor.

 

Pumpkin Apple Soup

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 large green apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1 large carrot, peeled, halved and sliced

1/4 c dry red wine

1 29 oz. can pure pumpkin puree

4 cups vegetable stock

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. cumin

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. lemon pepper

1 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 Tbsp. fresh grated nutmeg (2 tsp. if using ground nutmeg)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

In a heavy bottomed stock pot, heat the olive oil. Once it’s shimmering add in the onions, once starting to turn golden brown add in the apples and carrots. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally Next pour in the wine and scrape up any bits at the bottom of the pot. Cook for a minute and then pour in the pumpkin puree, vegetable stock and water. Whisk to well combine. this will take a minute so be patient  Now come the spices, add in the cumin, salt, lemon pepper, black pepper, bay leaf, ground ginger, and nutmeg.  Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Taste to adjust seasoning.  Garnish with dried cranberries.  

To Freeze: Allow to cool completely. Put in a freezer proof container or Ziploc bag. You can either add the garnish before you freeze or after you reheat it. Either way is ok. This soup is thick so it will take a little long to freeze than a broth-ier soup, its ok this is normal.