faves for cooking (recipes)

Whole Wheat Bread (no oil and only 5 ingredients)

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I really wanted a whole wheat bread recipe that didn’t have any oil in it and that just had the basic food storage ingredients in it, so a few months ago, I went searching and I came across this recipe, I tried it and I LOVE it. I modified it a little bit to my liking but the recipe was just what I was looking for. I have made this bread well over oh I don’t know maybe 30-40 times (a lot) and I love it. It’s easy, basic, healthy, clean, a great way to use your food storage, and so delicious. Try it and let me know what you think.

Whole Wheat Bread (no oil and only 5 ingredients)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast (I always use the SAF brand it's my favorite)
  • 2 C. warm water
  • 1/3 C. honey (you can substitute white sugar if you don't have honey, but honey is better for you and my preference for this recipe)
  • 3-4 C. whole wheat flour (I always use white wheat for this recipe)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Instructions

  • Combine yeast, water and honey in the bowl of a mixer (I use my Bosch but you can use any mixer and if you don't have one you can make it by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon) and let sit for 5 minutes or until frothy and bubbly. Add 2 cups of flour and salt. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the side of the bowl, be careful not to add too much flour. Knead for 4 minutes on low and be careful to only knead for 4 minutes, if you knead it to long the dough will get tough, but it needs a little kneading to get the gluten working. Divide dough into two portions or just one depending on how large your loaf pans are, shape dough into a loaf and put into a greased loaf pan. cover with a light cloth and Let rise until double.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately take out of pans and let cool on a cooling rack butter tops of loaves if desired.
  • *I have a large family so I always triple this recipe and it makes 5 large loaves for our family.
http://debsfaves.com/whole-wheat-bread-no-oil-and-only-5-ingredients/

*recipe source originally came from www.eatcakefordinner.net I did make a few changes to that recipe

Butterfinger Cookies (with the new Butterfinger Baking Bits)

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My Husband Joe is a huge Butterfinger fan so when I saw these Butterfinger Baking Bits at the store and he’d been complaining that all I ever make are chocolate chip cookies (see I told you I make them a lot) I decided I better get these and try them out. They were a winner and He LOVED them along with the kids and even me (although chocolate chip cookies are still my fave).

Here’s how you make them… Just use my Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from THIS POST and omit the chocolate chips and add a bag of the Butterfinger Baking Bits and wa-la you will have yourself a delicious Butterfinger cookie, and the Butterfinger lovers at your house will be singing your praises. (You take the credit, don’t tell them you found the recipe on my blog, it will be our little secret:).

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Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I know I posted a chocolate chip cookie recipe not too long ago but who can ever have too many chocolate chip cookie recipes, really, (and in all honesty this one is my favorite now). I will forever and always love chocolate chip cookies, maybe because my mom made them for me when I was little girl and I would come home from school and smell fresh baked bread or fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and no matter how my day had gone that day it got a whole lot better coming home to the smell of fresh home baked goodness so I love them forever and always. I came across this amazing recipe and I am in LOVE with it, honestly I found it a couple months back (from one of my favorite cooking blogs www.melskitchencafe.com) and seriously I bet I have made them over 30 times and that is not an exaggeration. I know kind of bad hugh?? at least there are ten of us living in this house so I don’t eat them all by myself, unless it’s been a really long day and then I hide in my pantry, lock myself in,  and eat as many as I want and I don’t share if I don’t want to (really they are that good). I don’t know what makes the difference but this recipe uses baking soda and baking powder and there are 2 tsp’s of vanilla in it, plus I use my Himalayan pink salt in this recipe and the whole thing just about spells divine. Okay enough talking here’s the recipe so you can start baking.

Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks of butter softened at room temperature (this is important the butter needs to be soft, believe me I've tried doing it without). The cookies will turn out better if you use room temp. butter.
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla (I love the Kirkland (Costco) brand of vanilla, it is so so good but you can use whatever kind you like).
  • 3 cups of flour (I really like the organic unbleached un-enriched white flour, it's more healthy and it tastes better in my opinion). Costco sells a brand that I posted about, search flour on my site if you want a picture, and Wal-mart sells a brand that is unbleached but enriched (it's a Montana brand). But any white flour is fine.
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (I use the Himalayan pink salt, try it, it is so good)
  • 2 cups of chocolate chips (I love using 1 cup of bitter sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips and 1 cup of the Kirkland brand of semi-sweet chocolate chips or Nestle chocolate chunks).
  • *I added my 2 bits about brands or kinds of things I like but you can use whatever you like these are just my suggestions after trying out the recipe lots of times.

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla, beat for about 1-2 minutes until the batter is creamy and light in color. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and chocolate chips. Mix until combined. I mix until it is barley combined you don't want to over mix the cookies at this point, I think it helps keep them soft and chewy when you don't over mix them.
  • shape cookies into 2 inch balls or use a cookie scoop, I posted about my cookie scoop you can see the link in this post. Drop onto cookie sheet (I always use parchment paper) but you can just put them straight on a cookie sheet too.
  • Bake for 8-9 minutes until the edges are just set and the middles are still light and fluffy. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for a couple minutes before removing to a cooling rack, to cool completely.
http://debsfaves.com/soft-baked-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Here is the link to the cookie scoop post I did about the cookie scoop I use when I make cookies. And sorry, I for some reason don’t have a picture of the cookies after we baked them… I guess we eat them so fast every time that I never get a picture. I’ll try and get one next time I make them.

*These cookies freeze great for school lunches or for a fast pull out treat when you need to take a treat to a party or get together. I love freezing them and having them ready to go for whatever, whenever I need. A couple weeks ago one my daughter’s friends had, had a bad day at school and she wanted to take her some treats so we pulled these out of the freezer and put them on a plate in less than 2 minutes flat. And if I send the kids with a treat in their lunch, we just pull one of these babies out of the freezer and we are in business, another reason why I love them.