How to Make Simple Cupcake Baking Cups at Home

I was recently baking cupcakes late one evening and realized I had run out of baking cups.  With the batter already made and the oven pre-heated, it didn't make sense to run out to the store; so I improvised with what I had, parchment paper. I was pretty happy with the way my home-made wrappers turned out so I figured I'd share for the next time you're in a bind. (Sorry for the horrible iPhone pictures)

I brought these into work the next day, and I think the hand made wrappers made them seem a bit fancier than your typical store bought cupcake baking cups.

Easy Homemade Granola Recipe

Granola & greek yogurt is one of my favorite breakfasts so I've been working on perfecting my homemade granola recipe.  It's surprisingly easy to make, and I love that I can customize it with whatever nuts, dried fruit, or spices are available.

Here is the basic recipe I used most recently:

Ingredients:

8 cups rolled oats

1 ½ cups flax seeds

1 cup ground flax seeds

1 ½ cups coconut

2 cup almonds (or other nuts), chopped

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ cup brown sugar

¼ cup maple syrup

3/4  cup honey

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the oats, nuts, cocunut and seeds in a big bowl.

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, cinnamon, salt and vanilla and bring to a boil. Then pour over the dry ingredients, and mixing to coat the oats

Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through. If you want to add raisins or dried cranberries, stir them in after the granola has cooled.

Store the granola in airtight container.

Quick and Tasty Asian Summer Slaw

During the week, I'm a huge fan of one-dish dinners.  In the summer, this means a lot of chopped salads.  I'm in love with peanut sauce, so  when I saw this recipe that combines peanut sauce and fresh veggies,  I knew it would be perfect.

By replacing the home-made dressing with a similar Trader Joe's version that I had in the fridge, and making a few adjustments I was able to whip this up in 15 minutes without a major trip to the grocery store.

Here is the adapted recipe that I used:

Asian Slaw with Spicy Peanut Dressing

1-2 cups shredded cabbage

2 cups chopped spinach

1 cups shredded carrots (I bought the pre-shredded version because I don't have a food processor)

1 red pepper, thinly sliced into bite size pieces

1 cup edamame (I quickly boiled the frozen Trader Joe's version)

1 cucumber, thinly sliced into bite size pieces

2 medium scallions, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cooked chicken breast (A great way to use leftovers, mine was teriyaki)

Red pepper flakes and salt (to taste)

Dressing:  I used Trader Joe's Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette but if you want to make your own,  this recipe is also delicious.

Directions:  Add everything to a bowl and toss.   This is the type of salad/slaw that gets better when everything soaks in the dressing so don't hesitate to toss ahead of time.  

Enjoy!

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Baking: Magic in the Middle Cookies

Yeah,  I know this is "Style-Edition" - but it's not just about fashion.   It's about injecting a little style into your life.  And in my life,  style and baking often have equal importance.

I had bookmarked these cookies a while back, because the chocolate and peanut butter combo is pretty unbeatable, and I loved the idea of surprise in the middle of an otherwise standard cookie.

They weren't quite as chocolatey as I expected, (I might try and adjust the recipe a bit next time that I try them) but we (and friends) still finished the batch in over the weekend.

Here is the recipe: 

Magic in the Middle Cookies

Cookies:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg 
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peanut Butter Filling:
2/3 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Directions
  
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat together the sugar, butter, and peanut butter until fluffy.  Stir in the egg and vanilla.  Slowly blend in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth.

In a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar and peanut butter until completely combined.  

Roll the peanut butter mixture into small round balls about the size of a grape.  Scoop about a tablespoon of the chocolate batter  (I used my handy mini ice-cream scoop) and flatten it out in your hand.  Place the peanut butter ball in the middle of the chocolate, roll the chocolate around the peanut butter, and press the edges together to cover the peanut butter center. 

Roll the cookie in your hands into a smooth ball.  (I was worried that some edges might have thicker chocolate than others but since you flatten them,  it all seemed to even out nicely - see the picture below)

Roll the cookie balls in sugar and place on the cookie sheet.  Use the bottom of a glass to flatten the cookies a bit.  (This step made them into perfectly even and circular cookies which made me pretty happy.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until they begin to crack on top. 

Enjoy!

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Green Chips

In the past couple of months I have discovered an awesome snack that is too good not to share.  It started with Brussels Sprout chips.  My parents had some at an SF restaurant, Marlowe, and liked them so much that my dad came home the next day and figured out how to make them.  

They look something like this:

They are DELICIOUS and extremely easy to make.  Not only that, but you can make basically the same thing with other dark green leafy veggies like spinach, kale and chard.  

There are a bunch of recipes out there. But, it is stupid simple:

1-  Peal off the leaves of the brussels sprouts, getting rid of the core (obviously you don't need this step for spinach or kale)

2- Sprinkle with a bit of oil, sea salt and pepper (+any other spices)

3- Spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 for 10ish minutes (until they're a bit brown on the edges and look crunchy)

I love to sprinkle them with crushed red pepper for a little spice and I've also added garlic powder or a little bit of lemon.

Seriously, try them!

Martha has a recipe for the kale version here.