Baking Our Way To The Quarantine 15

Our sweet Mom is the baking queen (just wait until you see her Christmas cookies). The combination of her baking and being bored at home means she is baking all of our favorite things and sending them to our house so she doesn’t eat them :). I’m sharing some of our family favorites we are baking (but her especially) and hope it helps you get creative when you’re trying to kill some time around the house.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (about 40) unwrapped
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 egg
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1. Blend sugars and margarine, add egg, peanut butter, vanilla, salt and baking soda.
2. Gradually add flour, dough will be fairly stiff.
3. Roll dough into about 40 balls, using teaspoon to size of a large walnut.
4. Place dough balls into muffin tins, gently press peanut butter cup into each.
5. Bake in 375 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from muffin tins.

Jamaretti Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup almond paste
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup jam (blackberry, raspberry, or apricot)
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4 tsp whole milk

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a food processor, pulse almond paste and granulated sugar until smooth. Add butter and eggs to sugar mixture and blend until smooth. Add flour mixture and pulse until dough forms. Divie into 4 equal pieces, wrap in plastic, and chill 30 minutes. (At this point, dough can be frozen up to 1 week; just thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using.)
2. Preheat oven to 350. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a 10-inch log. Transfer logs to 2 parchment-lined baking sheets and flatten to about 2 inches across. Bak until just dry, 12 to 15 minutes.
3. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, make a trench down the center of each log. Spread 2 tablespoons of jam into each trench. Return to oven and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes more. Transfer sheets to wire racks and let cool completely.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over logs. Let glad harden, about 20 minutes. With a serrated knife, but logs on the diagonal into 1-inch slices. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days).

Recipe Credit: Martha Stewart

Peanut Blossoms

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 10-ounce Hershey kisses

Directions

1. Cream sugars, butter and peanut butter.
2. Beat in eggs, milk, and vanilla.
3. Sift together flour soda, and salt; stir into egg mixture.
4. Shape into balls; roll in additional granulated sugar.
5. Place on uncreased cookie sheet; bake in 375 oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
6. Immediately press a Hershey kiss into each. Makes 7 dozen.

Nordy Bars

A recipe for the famous Nordy bars served in the Nordstrom Cafe back in the 80s. A family favorite!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 package butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 package chocolate chips
• 2 cups miniature marshmellows
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add butterscotch chips and brown sugar; stir until melted.
3. Remove pan from heat and stir in eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix thoroughly.
4. Stir in vanilla and set aside to cool.
5. When cool, stir in chocolate chips, marshmallows and chopped nuts. Spread in greased 9 x 13 pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let cool thoroughly before cutting into squares.

Cheaters No Kneed Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt (any % fat will do, but I use full fat)

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, salt, and yogurt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Alternately, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a wet towel or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 2 hours or until it doubles size.
2. 2. If time allows, punch the down, cover the bowl, and transfer the bowl of dough to the fridge and let sit overnight. This will help develop a stronger “sourdough” flavor. 
3. 3. Generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl. It should be loose and sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place in a parchment lined 4 quart or larger dutch oven. Allow to rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. 
4. Preheat to 475 degrees F.  Bake, covered for 20-25 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the hot lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, golden brown, about 20-30 minutes more. Remove from the oven. Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Don’t slice into the bread right out of the oven, the bread continues to cook as it cools. Enjoy! 
5. Notes: Because the bottom of my bread burnt (but the rest of it was baked perfectly), I looked up some articles on why and likely its because my oven rack was too close to the bottom heat source (but I have to do that to fit my dutch oven in). So if others have more room, move up the rack or try using a pizza stone to create a barrier between your Dutch oven and the heating element. It could be that by oven baking rack was  Also, I used fresh yeast instead of instant because that is literally all we could find at the store after several attempts to find it. I used two 0.6 oz fresh yeast in this recipe based on the recommendation of this article: https://www.thespruceeats.com/yeast-conversions-1328759. It worked great!

Recipe Credit Half Baked Harvest

Pumpkin Nut Muffins

Our whole family looks forward to my Mom making a giant batch of these every Fall.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 4 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups oil
• 1 large can pumpkin (29 oz)
• 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp each baking soda, ground allspice, ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Slightly beat eggs. Add sugar, oil, and pumpkin and mix thoroughly.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, soda, allspice and cinnamon.
3. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir until blended. Grease muffins cups and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes until muffins bring back slightly when touched.

Flourless Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
• 1 medium-size ripe banana
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup carrots (about 2 large), peeled and grated
• 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and grated
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and prepare a muffin pan by spraying 9 cavities with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Add all ingredients except for carrots, apple, raisins, and walnuts (if using) to a high-speed blender and blend on high until oats are broken down and batter is smooth and creamy. Fold in carrots, apple, raisins, and walnuts and mix by hand.
3. Pour batter into prepared muffin pan, filling each cavity until it is about ¾ full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the tops of your muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pan for ~10 minutes before removing. Store in an air-tight container for up to a week.

Recipe Credit: Running with Spoons

---

Believe it or not, this doesn’t even show half the goodies she has been leaving on our doorstep. Banana bread, lemon loaf, soups, enchiladas – the list goes on. I wish I would have taken pictures of them all. We are spoiled!

Let us know if you try any of these! Hope you are all staying safe and well!