Sourdough Croissants

Plain, Chocolate Au Pains, Ham & Cheese, Chicken Alfredo… all of these delicious Croissants begin with one dough, and when it is mastered, the combinations are unstoppable!

 

This year, I decided to challenge myself to get our of my comfort zone of the traditional foods I make all the time and begin to learn more advanced techniques and technical recipes that I hadn’t previously made!

I proceeded to get a cookbook focusing specifically on French Patisserie and the first thing I tried was Eclairs (or Choux Pastry) which I truly surprised myself at how well they turned out (recipe to come!). Once accomplishing that recipe, I chose to move on to something a little more trying, Croissants, with their beautiful lamination, and if that wasn’t enough, I chose to up the ante by making them with natural leavening from the get-go instead of commercial yeast. After much reading and researching, I found THIS recipe, but being as the technique differed slightly from what my cookbook called for, I followed the steps for hers my first time through, but found that I prefer the directions from my cookbook better, so I will be imparting my take on the technique used in The Art of French Pastry by Jacquy Pfeiffer.

This recipe is a 1-2 days process, so you will want to plan that into your timing appropriately, and although it is important to get the lamination done correctly, in my most recent bakes, I have messed it up a little and they still taste amazing, just lack slightly in the layers, so don’t beat yourself up! Practice is key, and the more you make them, the more naturally it will just flow.

 

Sourdough Croissants (makes 10)

• 2/3 Cup or 200g Sweet Sourdough Starter, stirred down
• 1 3/4 Cup + 1 Tbsp or 200g AP Flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp or 38g Sugar
• 1 1/3 Tbsp or 15g Butter
• 1/4Cup – 1 Tsp or 45g Milk
• 1 Egg or 30g
• 1 Tsp or 7g Sea salt
• 12 1/3 Tbsp or 150g Butter
• Egg Wash (1 Egg + 2 Tbsp milk)

 

Bring all ingredients to room temperature.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the starter, flour, sugar, 15g butter, milk and egg. Mix until only just combined, then rest for 20 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, sprinkle sea salt over the top and knead for about 1 minute, just enough to have everything incorporated and the dough not to be lumpy.

Rest for 3-4 hours, until your dough is about double in size.

Shape dough into a 1-in disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. Mark an 8″x6″ rectangle on a piece of paper, then use it to shape the 150g of butter into an 8″x6″  rectangle between two pieces or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 45 minutes.

When both the dough and butter are chilled (but not hard), bring them out of the refrigerator. Dust the countertop with flour and roll the dough out to a 16″x8″ rectangle. Place the butter on one half of the dough and cover with the other half of the dough, sealing the edges so that the butter is completely encased by the dough.

Roll out dough from one end to the other gently, being careful to apply even pressure so as to keep the butter even within the dough and prevent it from popping out. Be sure to keep the surface you are rolling it out on well-floured, so that the dough does not stick. When you have rolled the dough out to a length of about 20 inches, fold one third of the dough over the center, dust off any excess flour and fold the other end of the dough over the center, so as to resemble a letter. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This is the first fold, and there will be a total of 3.

After 30 minutes, remove from refrigerator, roll out dough until it is about 20″ inches long and repeat letter fold again. Wrap and return to refrigerator for 30 minutes. Repeat roll & fold one more time, and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove from the refrigerator and allow to warm slightly, about 30 minutes. Roll out dough to a rectangle, about 20″x7″, or slightly larger. Allow dough to rest for a few minutes to prevent shrinking when cutting. After rest, roll gently 1-2 more times, then cut croissants.

For Croissants, mark every 3-1/2 inches on ones side, and do the same on the opposite side, but start in from the end at about 1 1/4in. This will give you 9 whole triangles and 2 half triangles, which will connect in the middle to form the 10th one.

Make a 3/4 in cut in the middle of the wide end of the triangle. Fold out the bottom ends before rolling up tightly. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between each one. Brush with egg wash.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise at room temperature until they are risen and pillowy (if you bump it with your finger, a slight indentation will remain)

Prove overnight in the refrigerator, remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature. While they are coming to room temperature, preheat oven to 375°. Brush gently with egg wash a second time and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden-dark brown on top.

Allow to cool slightly before serving.

 

The dough can be frozen immediately after shaping for up to one month, simply defrost on a sheet pan, then follow the steps as if making them fresh.

Baked rolls can also be frozen for 1 month as well. Defrost on a baking sheet as well, then bake for 1 minute at 450°F to crisp again.

 

I know this recipe can be daunting, but these beautiful buttery rolls are just soooo good, and I love experimenting with flavors and add-ins. I hope you enjoy them, and if you have any questions or comments, please let me know!!

Thank you so much for stopping by!!!! Every one of you make my day every single time, and I hope you stop by again soon!

<3/Jenn

 

 

 

 

Sweet Sourdough Starter

You may have noticed a few of the sweet yeasted bread recipes I have posted called for a “Sweet Sourdough Starter,” and how foolishly I did not post the recipe for this before!!

In my initial endeavor at making a Sourdough Croissant, the only recipe I came across (you can find it HERE) gave instructions for a Sweet Sourdough Starter, but the instructions for me just didn’t click… so I went a step further, to the original site she listed, which you can find HERE for answers!

Upon reading the site and her directions again, I decided to go with a pared down version of the Sweet Sourdough Starter. As I considered how I would share this with you all, the question in my mind was “Why?” With commercial yeast, you use one type of yeast for all kinds of dough, savoury and sweet! Why make a second starter and give yourself the hassle of another starter to feed and upkeep?

I now can give you two very good reasons to create a Sweet Sourdough Starter!

1. Taste

When I make something like Cinnamon Rolls, Babka, or even Croissants, I want to use my Sourdough Starter because the health benefits and nutrition you gain in using wild yeast vs. commercial yeast is just incomparable. However, after I allow my Sourdough Croissants or Cinnamon Rolls to prove overnight or 2 nights, I really don’t want a strong sour flavor, and using a Sweet Sourdough Starter gives a hint of tang but nothing undesirable that takes away from enjoying them.

2. Strength

When dealing with an enriched dough, your starter needs to be a strong, mature starter with enough muscle to power the rise in spite of the milk, butter, etc that is weighing it down!. This Sweet Sourdough Starter is just what the doctor prescribed. Since getting to a point of being a strong, established starter, I have been storing the starter that I have not needed to use, covered in the refrigerator, and my Sweet Starter has pushed its way out of a sealed jar, in the refrigerator! It has proved to have the strength needed to give the rise I desire to my enriched breads, and I believe you will be satisfied with it as well!

This Sweet Starter requires an already established Sourdough Starter to grow off of and it is quite a solid starter, with just a small amount of hydration. I have successfully increased the hydration with no harmful affects, and I am sure you can experiment with it to obtain the desired affect!

 

Sweet Sourdough Starter

Starting Ingredients

• 50g Sourdough Starter
• 40g Flour
• 10g Sugar
• 16g Water

 

Feeding Ingredients

• 50g Sourdough Starter
• 40g Flour
• 10g Sugar
• 16g Water

 

Treat as a regular Starter, with discard or feeding double, if you are building up the volume. To eliminate waste, store discard in refrigerator in a closed container, and pull out amount needed when beginning to prepare for a recipe.

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below!!

Thank you as always for stopping by!! I hope you come again soon!

<3/Jenn

Chocolate Chip Greek Yogurt Scones

Goodness gracious, I have been slacking, haven’t I?!? I have been itching to get these shared with you all, but life has just been getting in the way!!  My birthday was last week, *YAY* so we celebrated that, then our little boy was sick and had momma up late, so that has kept me busy!

However, today I was not going to let ANYTHING get in the way of me and you, and here I am! =) I shared these scones on Instagram (@impassionedkitchen) about a week ago, and we LOVED them. These are literally the healthiest scone I think I could ever have that also is pretty good! These have only 2 tablespoons of butter in the entire recipe, so there is still some flakiness, while also deliciously moist due to the greek yogurt, the best of both worlds!

You can find the original recipe over at Amy’s Healthy Baking!

 

Chocolate Chip Greek Yogurt Scones

• 1 1/2 Cup AP Flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Tbsp Butter, chilled and cubed
• 1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
• 3 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 3 Tbsp Mini Chocolate Chips, divided
• Milk

 

 

Preheat oven to 425°, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until the size of a dime. Stir in the yogurt, syrup, milk, and vanilla. Fold in 2 Tbsp chocolate chips.

Turn dough out onto the parchment lined cookie sheet and form into a 3/4-in thick circle. Brush the top of the dough with a little extra milk. Press the last 1 Tbsp of chocolate chips into the top and cut into 8 equal pieces.

Bake at 425° for 17-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on tray before removing to a wire rack or serving warm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sourdough Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Hello Dear Ones! I hope you all had a fantastic week! Ours was a bit busy, our oldest little man turned 4 on Tuesday, but he chose to wait to celebrate until Friday so that his cousins could join us! It was so incredibly sweet of him to choose to wait but it made for a busy week!

I love making special days even more special, and birthdays are no joke! I love cinnamon rolls, both the making, and especially the eating :), and in my learning of sourdough, I chose to make these ones with natural leavening. I had never made these before with sourdough starter, and the birthday cake filling was my first try, as an altogether different recipe I had tried in the past just had not stuck out to me!

I have to tell you that for being a first try, these cinnamon rolls struck gold! My husband does regularly give compliments when he likes the food that I make, but these cinnamon rolls were “Unbelievable” and he literally could not stop eating them. For a man that does not always care for sweet things, I believe that was the highest compliment I could ever receive!

These are a full day process, I have to warn you, as with all sourdough.However I have found the sourdough process to be so entirely relaxing instead of burdensome! The process of working with the natural flow of things, and allowing it to do its work, as opposed to having to stick to a strict 1 hour schedule is just awesome, and I can almost guarantee that you will fall in love too!

I have chosen to give you the recipe first, and if you would like to see pictures of each step, you will find them after the recipe. I personally many times will only need the recipe, and I hope to make your visit more enjoyable by setting it up this way!

Sourdough Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

For the Dough (original recipe found here):

• 3/4 Cup Sweet Sourdough Starter, stirred down
• 1/2 Cup Milk
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 3 Cups AP Flour
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp Salt

For the Filling:

• 1/3-1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 recipe Birthday Cake Crumble
• Sprinkles

For the Frosting (original recipe here):

• 1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter, melted
• 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 2-3 Tbsp Milk

 

For the Dough:

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, butter, and honey and heat until just melted. Remove from heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sourdough starter, egg, vanilla, and milk/butter/honey mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined, as well.

Switch to the dough hook and knead on low for 6-8 minutes until dough is smooth.

Shape dough in a ball and place in a bowl with room to rise. Cover with a towel and let rise for about 6 hours, with a few stretch & folds as it is rising.

After 6 hours, and the dough has visiby risen (if there is no rising after 3-4 hours, boil some water in a pot and place the covered bowl as well as the pot of water in an unheated oven, and it will aid in rising),gently  roll out the dough into a large rectangle, approx 20 inches wide, and as long as it will go!

For the Filling:

Spread the softened butter over the dough in a very thin layer. Sprinkle brown sugar, then cinnamon over top of the butter. Finally, sprinkle the Birthday Cake Crumble generously over top of the sugar and cinnamon, along with additional sprinkles, if desired.

Roll up tightly into a log, started at the 20 inch long side. Cut 1/2 inch off of the ends, then cut into 12 – 1 1/2 in long pieces.

Line a 13×9 inch cake pan with parchment paper and place rolls in pan with equal distances between each one.

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until they are doubled in volume.*

When rolls have reached appropriate size bake **at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

For the Frosting:

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Frost rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy!

 

*It took overnight for my rolls to reach baking size.

**At this point, rolls may be covered and refrigerated to be baked later, and they may go straight from the refrigerator to the oven with no adverse affects.

The morning sun is a killer!!

 

1. Combine milk, butter, and honey in a saucepan on the stove and heat just until melted together. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter, egg, and vanilla, then add in the milk mixture and mix until just combined. Whisk together flour, cinnamon, and salt in a mixing bowl and add to the sourdough mixture all at once, mixing only until just combined.

2. Switch attachment to dough hook and knead on low for 6-8 minutes, until dough is smooth. Shape into a ball and place in a medium bowl. Cover and allow to rise 6+ hours, stretching & folding a few times in between.

3. When dough has risen considerably, transfer to a well floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle, approximately 20 inches wide, and as long as it will go. Spread with softened butter in a thin layer, then sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, Birthday Cake Crumble, and sprinkles, in that order.

4. Roll tightly into a log, beginning and ending at the 20-inch ends. Cut 1/2 inch off the ends, then cut into 12- 1 1/2 inch pieces with dental floss. Line a 13×9 cake pan with parchment paper and place pieces in it, at equal distances from each other.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until they are almost the size they will be when they are baked. At this point, if you do not want them to be baked, they can go into the refrigerator, covered, and then straight from the refrigerator to the preheated oven.

Otherwise, you may bake them immediately in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

6. While the rolls are baking, combine all of the ingredients together and mix until smooth.Frost rolls when they are still warm!

Enjoy!!

Birthday Cake Crumble

Buttery Funfetti crumbles to accent or add-in or enjoy all by themselves! You pick 🙂

I think you will agree with me that that picture is literally just a great big old picture of happiness! I mean, who can hate sprinkles? Such a simple happy food that makes the world a better place, and when we celebrate birthdays here, you better believe we sprinkle ALL the things!

For my youngest’s birthday last month, I made some Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls, because Cinnamon Rolls are life for special occasions! Anyways, they were all right…. but I wasn’t truly happy with them because the only recipe that had cake crumbles that weren’t a boxed mix just didn’t meet what I had in mind, so for this birthday I was on a mission to create the perfect Birthday Cake Crumbles for the perfect Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls. I do believe, my dear friends, that I have found it! Now I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, because I won’t make these rolls until tomorrow, but even if they flop… these crumbles are stinking good, and I will definitely be using them again!!

The original recipe comes from The Suburban Soapbox, and is pretty popular. The recipe calls for grapeseed oil, however, and although grapeseed oil is good, I personally had none, so I substituted with butter and well, I think I may eat the whole tray before they get used tomorrow!

Begin by preheating your oven to 300°F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

Then,  you will quite simply combine all of the dry ingredients together, including the sprinkles and mix well, so that everything is well combined, and the brown sugar is all broken up and well distributed.

Next, you will add in the butter and vanilla and mix on low just until it all comes together in small clumps and there is no loose flour on the bottom.

Lastly, you will dump it all out on the prepared baking sheet, and gently spread out in a flat layer.

Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool completely.

My end result looks a little funky because I checked on them before they were done and thought they needed broken apart , so that gave them a little bit of a pink hue. They still taste fantastic, and will work great for what I want, but to prevent that from happening, do do what I did. Allow them cook, then cool and after a few minutes, you can separate them/chop them, do what you need to do!

If you make these scrumtious things, I would LOVE to see!! Tag me on Instagram #impassionedkitchen   ❤

 

Funfetti Cake Crumbles

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 3 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 4 Tbsp Sprinkles
• 1/2 Cup Butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 300°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all of the dry ingredients and mix well on low.

Add butter and vanilla and mix on low until dough is in small crumbles and there is no loose flour on bottom of bowl.

Gently spread out in a flat layer on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Allow to cool completely, then use as needed or enjoy as a treat themselves.

 

I can’t wait to make these again, they turned out so buttery and delicious, I cannot wait for you to try them!

Thank you for stopping by! I enjoyed having you, and I hope you enjoyed your visit and will come again soon!

<3/Jenn

 

Overnight Sourdough Waffles

Allowing the sourdough to do all of the work overnight, these are an easy, healthy breakfast for all ages to enjoy!

Hi there! Happy Monday! This morning definitely felt like a Monday for this momma! I try to kick myself outta bed a little early, before everyone else, but this morning I definitely DID NOT want to! Needless to say, it was a slow moving morning and I was so incredibly thankful I had set these waffles up last night, because I literally just had to throw in a couple eggs, baking soda and my add-ins, andthey were ready to go!

Before you get ready to make these, you definitely need a sourdough starter because that it what makes these so easy! If you haven’t started one yet, you can check out my Journal of a Sourdough Starter for all the details on getting that started. If you’re all ready, let’s just get to the recipe!

The original recipe is from Smart Nutrition, and her post has all kinds of extra info if you would like to check it out, but if you’re like me, you just want to get to making and save that for later :).

Horrible lighting!! (I will update with better pics!)

To start out, mix together the melted butter and milk. Add the milk to the sourdough starter, and to that add the flour, honey and salt. Mix everything together until it is well combined, then cover with a lid or plastic wrap and let sit overnight. You will want to make sure there is lots of extra room in your bowl, mine doubled as it sat! 🙂

The next morning, add in your eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and any extras like cinnamon or chocolate chips! Stir until well combined and cook in your heated waffle iron as directed by the manufacturer!

 

If you make these, I would love to hear about them or see them by tagging me on Instagram #impassionedkitchen.

 

Overnight Sourdough Waffles (Yield: 9-10 Square waffles, may vary based on waffle maker)

• 1/2 Cup Butter
• 1 Cup Milk
• 1 Cup Sourdough Starter, stirred down
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 Tsp Cinnamon (optional)
• 1/4 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips (optional)

 

Melt butter and add milk in to warm it up. In a medium bowl with room for batter to double in size, add milk/butter, salt, honey and flour to sourdough starter and mix until well combined. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

Preheat waffle iron.

Add eggs, baking soda, cinnamon and chocolate chips to batter and mix well.

Cook on heated waffle iron according to manufactures directions.

Enjoy!

I am honestly not quite accustomed to the sourdough taste in waffles myself, but it is growing on me! I may toss in a little extra honey next time, but my children loved these as is, and I will definitely be making them again soon!

Thank you so much for stopping by, the amount of views I have received today has surpassed every other day since I began this blog and I am truly humbled and in awe that so many would be interested in the things I have made. You make this little momma feel very special and I appreciate each and every one of you!

<3/Jenn

Sourdough Pizza Crust

This crust is the perfect balance of light and soft without being too much and a perfectly crisp bottom crust!

I must confess something to you. I think I may have a slight obsession with sourdough! I love knowing that anything that I make with it, so long as it has the proper fermentation period is packing is health benefits even if it is PIZZA! Like, seriously, you can’t go wrong! Also, being able to plan ahead, let this stuff take its time while I do all the mom stuff, then put in the refrigerator and come back to beautiful dough? It’s definitely a no-brainer, I am in love.

This crust is definitely a plan-ahead meal. You will need to begin at least one day in advance, but don’t worry, if you make it and the day doesn’t go as planned, the dough is good in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (72hrs), so you can move pizza night to the next day, and the crust is already ready, and the dough is going to be even better :).

You will see in my pictures below that I used my cast iron skillet upside down! I have never ever made it like this before, and I don’t think I will ever go back! The crust was just perfect, I think I just need one that’s a little bigger (*hint, hint hubby LOL*)!

If you haven’t made a sourdough starter yet, you can check out my Journal of a Sourdough Starter and make your own, it is seriously so easy! If you have one, you will have wanted to have fed it within the last 12 hours to ensure it is active.

You will also need a kitchen scale. If you do not own one, don’t worry yourself tooooo much about it, I baked for years without one, and I have translated the metric measurements to volume for you. However if you find that you love working with bread and home baking,  I do highly recommend a scale, because volume measurements are not always accurate, depending on how settled your ingredients are. I used to think of them as a pain, but I have come to love mine. It has become indispensable,  and it equals a few less dishes by measuring everything into one or two bowls! I have THIS scale, and I have found it to be pretty good. It does not measure smaller than whole grams, but at this point in my kitchen, this gets the job done!

This dough recipe is taken from jernejkitchen.com.

You are going to start out by mixing together the flour, water and oil until they are thoroughly combined, then cover the bowl with a cloth and let it set for 30 minutes.

When the 30 minutes has passed, add in the active sourdough starter and salt and knead for 15 minutes on the lowest speed on your mixer. (You can also knead by hand if you like, as well!)

When dough is done being kneaded, form into a ball and place in a bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature for 5 hours. After 5 hours has passed, divide dough equally (250g each, if you have a scale), then place in a dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

When it is time to make your pizza, preheat your oven as hot as it will go (I only heated mine to 500°F because I was using cast iron and the brand I have is not recommended to go higher. I did not sacrifice taste, but my crust edge was not very brown!)

Working one section at a time, roll into a ball. Then, on a a gently floured surface,  gently stretch to desired size, transfer to parchment paper lined cookie sheet, pizza stone or cast iron pan (if using cast iron, preheat with oven). Finish pizza dough with desired toppings and bake 5-8 minutes.

 

Sourdough Pizza Crust (Yield:4 – 12″ pizzas)

• 3 1/2 Cups (500g) AP Flour
• 1 1/4 Cups (300g) Water
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 3/4 Cup (200g) Sourdough Starter (If measuring by cups, stir down beforehand)
• 2 Tsp (10g) Sea Salt

 

Day One

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, water, and oil and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover bowl with a towel and let sit for 30 minutes.

Add in starter and salt and knead with the dough hook on the lowest number speed (not stir) for 15 minutes (or alternatively knead by hand for approx 15 minutes). Form into a ball and place in large bowl. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature for 5 hours.

Divide dough equally into four parts (250g each) and shape into a ball. Place on a tray or in container, cover and chill in refrigerator for 12-72 hours.

Day Two

Preheat oven to its hottest temperature.

Working one piece of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, stretch dough into a pizza shape.

Transfer to a parchment-paper lined tray, pizza stone or cast iron pan (if using cast iron, preheat with oven), finish with favorite toppings and bake 5-8 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Finding the perfect pizza dough has been an adventure for our family! We have a favorite quick dough if you are in a hurry. You can check that out HERE, but so long as I can, I believe this is going to be our go-to crust recipe from now on. It received several stamps of approval from my dear hubby, and pizza is always a winner with little ones. I hope that it may perhaps become a favorite of yours as well!

Thank you so much for stopping by! You seriously make my day, and I am thrilled to share what I love with you! I hope you enjoyed your visit and come again soon!

<3/Jenn

 

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Anyone else ready for the weekend, or is it just me?? This week has truly not been a bad one, it’s been pretty dang busy, but not bad…. I am just so. tired….  I may have messed up my sleep schedule the other day because I timed my bread rising badly…. so I went to bed at midnight, woke up at 1 a.m., then 5 a.m., then up at 6 a.m. Yes, I know I’m crazy… I feel bad for my poor hubby! Anyways, enough about me!

Valentine’s Day was just the other day, and I have been piling on the sweet treats the lst few days leading up, so I really wanted to avoid MORE sugary things, but I am in the mood for Chocolate Chip Cookies. When you are in the mood for chocolate chip cookies, and you have chocolate chips, nothing else makes more sense than to make some chocolate chip cookies, so I did!

Now, these cookies are literally amazing, and they turn out delicious every single time. I don’t change a single thing from the original recipe, except that mine are all butter, because butter is healthier than margarine and cutting it in half, but that is all. Are you ready for this phenomenal recipe??

The original recipe is The Original Toll House Cookie recipe, and if you are interested in reading a bit about the history of the name and how the recipe came to be, I came across an interesting article HERE!

Now on to the cookies

 

You want to begin by preheating your oven to 375°F, and lining cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Next, put the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars only until just combined. add the egg and vanilla and beat again just until combined. Finally, add all of the flour mixture all at once and mix once more just until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until centers are set and edges are golden brown.

Cool for 2 minutes on cookie sheet, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

 

 

Small Batch Chocolate Chips (Yield: 2-2 1/2 dozen)

• 1 Cup + 2 Tbsp AP FLour
• 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick), softened
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

 

Preheat oven to 375°F, and line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt;set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars just until combined. Add egg and vanilla and mix just until combined. Finally, add flour mixture all at once and mix once more just until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheet(s).

Bake for 9-11 minutes until centers are set and edges are golden brown.

Let cool on pan for 2 minute, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope the rest of your week goes well, and you come again soon!

<3/Jenn

 

 

Molten Lava Cake for Two

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day, loves! I really truly love to celebrate the love of my life, but getting to go on a date when you have littles is sometimes difficult, so I decided to make a special dinner for us when the kiddos went to bed on Valentine’s Day.

Dinner was steak and shrimp with duchess potatoes *holy YUM*. Let me tell you, we were so sad when it was all gone! To top it all off, I decided to make lava cakes for dessert. I kid you not, I didn’t even look at the recipe until that afternoon, so thankfully I had all of the ingredients!

The recipes I looked at all yielded 4 or 6, but I truly didn’t want that many, so I decided to just cut it in half and it turned out PERFECT. I wish I would have made 4, but my waistline is thankful that I didn’t!

These are so so so simple and easy! I literally mixed them up in a little bowl before I even made dinner, prepped my little baking dishes and just slipped them in when we were ready for dessert, because they have got to be eaten warm, any other way is just inconceivable :).

These are improvised from The Domestic Rebel.

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Liberally grease 2 custard cups or ramekins (make sure they are oven safe).

Melt together the chocolate and butter, and whisk until smooth and shiny.

Add in the confectioner’s sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla.

Last of all, add the flour and smidgen of salt and stir until a thick batter forms.

Divide the batter equally between your two dishes, and bake for 13-15 minutes, until the edges are firm and top is set.

Let cakes cool for a minute, then loosen with a knife run around the edges, then flip onto plates and serve with ice cream and toppings, if desired.

Serve immediately.

Molten Lava Cakes for Two

• 2 Oz. Semisweet Chocolate
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 3 Tbsp Flour
• Smidgen (less than a pinch) of Salt

 

Preheat oven to 425°F, and grease 2 oven safe 6 oz. dishes liberally.

Melt butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and whisk until smooth and shiny.

Add sugar, egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until combined.

Add flour and salt and stir until a thick batter forms.

Divide batter between prepared dishes. Bake for 13-15 Minutes, until edges are firm and top is set.

Serve warm with ice cream and desired toppings.

Enjoy!

These were so so so good, I wish I had one right now… in fact I might just make more tomight :). I hope you enjoy them as much as we did, and perhaps stop back again for another visit soon!!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Fluffy, slightly sweet, and packing a protein punch, these pancakes are sure to please everyone!

Greek yogurt is my bff…. well maybe not quite, but almost! Seriously, though, as a mom, greek yogurt is my secret weapon to sneak some protein into almost everything. Pnacakes, waffles, muffins, macaroni and cheese, you name it, I probably made it with greek yogurt!

When greek yogurt started to be a big thing, I was just starting out as a mom and learning more in the kitchen and I made greek yogurt pancakes for my baby boy(now almost 4), but they were heavy and well, not pancake-like. These pancakes are anything but! Light and fluffy, you sincerely cannot even tell that there is greek yogurt in these bad boys, and my boys gobble them up!

My favorite additions are mini chocolate chips or cinnamon & vanilla, but for birthdays and holidays, we get some sprinkles in there too!

The original recipe comes from Creme de la Crumb.

Preheat pan or griddle to medium-low or 325°F.

In a medium bowl, you will whisk together all of the wet ingredients, and in a smaller bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined (mixture will be lumpy).

Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, stir in any add-ins you would like.

Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot pan or griddle and allow to cook until edges look “dry” and centers are bubbly. Flip pancakes and cook for another minute or two, until center bounces back if you lightly tap it.

Transfer pancakes to tray or rack and repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with syrup, jam or glaze.

 

 

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

• 1 1/2 Cups AP Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder
• 2 Tbsp Sugar
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 3/4 Cup Greek Yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• 3/4 Cup Milk

 

Preheat pan or griddle to medium-low or 325°F.

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, whisk eggs, then whisk in vanilla and greek yogurt, then finally whisk in milk. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined, mixture may be lumpy.

Stir in any add-in you would like (fruit, chocolate chips, etc.)

Pour onto pan or griddle with 1/4 cup measure and cook until edges begin to dry and centers are bubbly. Flip pancakes and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Remove from pan and repeat with remaining batter.

Enjoy with syrup, jam or glaze (recipe below)

 

Powdered Sugar Glaze

• 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 Tsp Milk
• Food Coloring

In a cup or small bowl, mix together all ingredients until smooth and drizzle over pancakes or anything else you wuld like to add a little sweetness to!

Enjoy!

 

I have not used any other pancake recipe since finding these and I hope they become a family favorite for you as well!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed your stay and visit again soon!

<3/Jenn