Plum-and-Blackberry Cornmeal-Almond Crumb Bars [RECIPE]

December 26, 2019 by 1 Comment

Plum-and-Blackberry Cornmeal-Almond Crumb Bars

These bar cookies are bursting with fruity flavor! (Photo by Lennart Weibull)

We are big fans of using seasonal produce in everything we cook, especially in desserts that call for of lots of succulent fruit. This recipe for plum-and-blackberry cornmeal-almond crumb bars comes from Martha Stewart’s latest cookbook, Cookie Perfection, and eating it is like sinking your teeth into the best parts of summer. To get the right texture for these bad boys, make sure to pick your plums with care. You don’t want ones that are too juicy, so look for those with a low moisture content (such as yellow-fleshed Italian prune plums), and combine them with another stone fruit or berries—like these plump, sweet blackberries. Taste-test your blackberries though. If they’re tart, temper them with an equal amount of blueberries.  —J&H
Read more of this post

Filed under Books, Food Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Big Almond-Orange Ginger Cookie [RECIPE]

December 25, 2019 by 1 Comment

Big Almond-Orange Ginger Cookie

Sometimes all it takes to put a smile on my face is one great big cookie. (Photo by Lennart Weibull)

One of the first things most of us are taught as children is how to share. But who wants to share a delicious cookie? Unless, of course, that cookie is as big as your face! This recipe for a big almond-orange ginger cookie comes from Martha Stewart’s latest cookbook, Cookie Perfection, and it is one for the record books. It pairs big citrusy flavor with a yummy streusel topping in one over-the-top bar cookie that feeds up to ten people. Have fun serving this one at your next family get-together!  —J&H
Read more of this post

Filed under Books, Food Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

New York Nuts

November 10, 2011 by Leave a comment

New York Nuts

No matter where you are in New York City, you're destined to encounter the street vendors selling fresh roasted nuts. Now enjoy these addictive snacks no matter where you live and recreate your New York City memories.

One of our fondest memories about New York City is the plethora of fabulous food options available at any given moment. The first time we visited NYC as a couple, we discovered restaurants like Eli Zabar’s E.A.T. on Madison Avenue with its overstuffed sandwiches and fresh salads, Pizza Italia in the financial district with their enormous thin-crust pies that we had to fold in half to eat, and the Oxford Café in midtown on Lexington Avenue with its cheerful staff, fresh-squeezed orange juice and melt-in-your-mouth breakfast sandwiches. As you can imagine, for the foodies that we are, New York is heaven on earth. But no matter where we were in my favorite metropolis, it was the street vendors with their huge pretzels, juicy hot dogs and fresh roasted nuts that beckoned to us most. Whether we were standing in line at the TKTS booth in Duffy Square waiting to buy discounted Broadway tickets for shows like Thoroughly Modern Millie and Cabaret, surfacing outside Grand Central Station, walking through Central Park, or exiting the Met, the scent of street food wafting up to us drew us like bears to honey. No matter how much we ate, we could never get enough of those amazing nuts. Now we recreate the experience at home with this quick and amazing recipe that lends a sweet heat to our favorite nuts.

COOK: 10 minutes + 5 minutes cooling time

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups roasted peanuts, cashews or almonds
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large stainless-steel skillet, combine nuts, sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until water evaporates and sugar crystallizes around nuts, about 5 minutes.
  2. In a small bowl, combine coriander, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne, and salt. Stir into nuts and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sugar begins to melt and caramelize, 1-2 minutes.
  3. Remove to a parchment-lined baking sheet and pour remaining caramel over nuts. Cool to room temperature before serving, about 5 minutes.

TIPS: The caramel coating will congeal on the parchment and may resemble peanut brittle. Simply lift cooled nuts off paper and crumble apart. Store remaining nuts in a resealable plastic bag for up to a week.

YIELDS: 1 pint

© 2011 Jadeworks Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Filed under Food Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Simple Granola

August 8, 2011 by Leave a comment

Simple Granola

Perfect as a stand-alone cereal, our Simple Granola is also great as a topping for your favorite snack or dessert.

This basic granola recipe is lightly sweetened with honey and contains heart-healthy oats, almonds and flax seed. Our recipe makes just enough cereal to pour on top of ice cream, yogurt, or our Banana Crunch Muffins.

PREP: 5 minutes
COOK: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup flax seed or wheat germ
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Mix oats, coconut, almonds, flax seed, oil and honey in a bowl. Pour mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Allow to granola to cool. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

YIELDS: 1½ cups

© 2011 Jadeworks Entertainment

Filed under Food Tagged with , , , , , , ,