Marvelous Cookies

From Food 52, a wonderful cookie full of granola, nuts, pretzels and chocolate chips. Recipe made 36 cookies. You could vary any of the nuts, etc. 

• 1 ¹/₂ cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¹/₂ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 ³/₄ sticks (7 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• ¹/₂ cup light brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup granola (or other cereal)
• 1/2 cup crushed salted pretzel pieces (or other salty snack food)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped chocolate candies, or a small bar of good dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
• ¹/₂ cup chopped pecans or other nuts, optional
• (If you don’t use nuts, you may want to add more cereal, snacks or chocolate to compensate.)
• You may want to add a little cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, or whatever you fancy. We didn’t because we wanted the taste of the granola to come through.

Directions

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.
2. In another bowl, beat butter and sugars at medium-low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute longer. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Add egg and vanilla and beat on medium-low until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl again.
3.  Add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add granola, pretzels, chocolate and nuts, and mix until well incorporated, ensuring that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.  Refrigerate dough overnight or until cold.
4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 
5. Scoop dough into balls, each about 1 1/2 tablespoons, then roll between palms into balls. Place cookies on prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 1/2 inches apart, 8-12 per sheet. Freeze at least 20 minutes, or refrigerate at least one hour before baking. (They will still spread a lot.) Note**I refrigerated the dough overnight and did not freeze the cookies.
6. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are deep golden brown, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Let cool completely before gently moving cookies to wire rack. They will be fragile, especially on the edges.

Corn Fritters

From The NY Times, a very simple and delicious recipe. I added some diced jalapeño and cilantro. I am excited to make fritters out of all of the summer produce! 

• 
  2 large eggs
• ⅔ cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen and thawed (about 1 pound)
• ¼ cup chopped scallion greens
• 1 cup sharp Cheddar, shredded
•  Vegetable oil, coconut oil or shortening, for frying

 

PREPARATION

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, garlic powder, black pepper and ground cayenne. Whisk in the flour and baking powder until just combined. Stir in the corn, scallions and Cheddar.
2. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-low and add enough oil to generously coat the bottom of the skillet.
3. Once the oil is shimmering hot, add a heaping tablespoon of the batter to the skillet. Use the back of the spoon to flatten it into a round patty. Repeat to fry 3 to 4 fritters at once. Fry on each side until golden, about 2 minutes, then cook for an additional 2 minutes. Add more oil as needed.
4. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Repeat until all fritters are fried. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Blondies

From Giada. Very easy and fast recipe to make. I used some peanut butter chips (and chocolate chips) because I had them. I also used crunchy peanut butter from the health food store. I think I may pulse the oatmeal a few times in my processor the next time I make it. These are delicious and go a long way-I usually cut this size pan into 32 pieces.

 

Nonstick cooking spray or butter for the dish

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 

1 cup packed light brown sugar 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1 cup creamy peanut butter 

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 

2 large eggs 

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon kosher salt 

2 cups rolled oats 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat using a handheld (or KitchenAid) mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter, vanilla extract and eggs and beat again until fully combined. Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until the mixture is just fully mixed. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish and bake until just set, 30 to 35 minutes. Do not over bake. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.