Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

The holidays are here! I’m not going to pretend that this year is totally merry and bright, because a few weeks ago I lost my mom. She was everything to me, and to our family. And she was a huge supporter of my tiny unknown food blog.

My mom was everything Christmas represented, she was warm, loving, and generous. And one of our favorite things to do together was bake Christmas cookies. And so while this may be a difficult season for me, and perhaps for you too - I’m finding great comfort in the seemingly small traditions I did with my mom this time of year.

So regardless if you are dreading this season, or absolutely loving it - you can enjoy these delicious chewy chocolatey crinkle cookies! These were one of my mom’s favorite Christmas cookies, and they make a large amount so this is great to bring to any gathering. Or if you just need some cookie self-care, you can enjoy them at home all to yourself.

“Tidings of Comfort and Joy
to You & Yours this Holiday Season ”

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

½  cup vegetable oil 

¾ cup - 1 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder (depending on how much chocolatey you like it) 

2 cups of sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla 

4 eggs 

2 cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

½ teaspoon salt 

¾ cup powdered sugar 

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.

In large bowl, mix oil, chocolate, granulated sugar and vanilla. Stir in eggs, one at a time. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover; refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls into powdered sugar; roll around to coat and shape into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until edges are set. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Bon Appetite!

Recipe by: Betty Crocker

“In Loving Memory of My Sweet Mother Judy ”

Apple Cinnamon Galette

It’s Fall and you know what that means! SWEATER WEATHER! I’m living in LA, so that’s not always true, it’s more, short-sleeved weather and sometimes a light jacket….but if I stand in the refrigerated section of the grocery store I totally get all the Fall vibes!

Fall is my favorite season for many reasons, but one of them is because it’s apple season! Growing up it was a Fall ritual to go to the apple orchard with my family. We sampled all the new apples, ate an excessive amount of warm apple donuts, and had apple cider chugging competitions. We were THAT family.

Friendsgiving MVP

This is the perfect dessert to impress your friends without trying too hard.

In my family, literally everything is a competition - and baking for the holidays is no exception. If you’re looking for a dessert to make everyone envious of your amazing baking skills, then say hello to the recipe everyone will ask you to bring every year!

This Apple Cinnamon Galette not only sounds fancy, it looks fancy too. (Pronounced: Ga-Let)

And fancy is clearly what we’re going for here people! This galette has all the goodness of apple pie, without the complicated, assembly required. It’s rustic, which is a charming way of saying - imperfect. So take a deep breath, and embrace the fact that your crust may be a little wonky, but that only adds to the charm!

I created this recipe using apples and citrus, one of my favorite combos! The zesty tang of the orange and lemon pair perfectly with the cinnamon and nutmeg. This cozy dessert is simple but memorable, and that’s how I like life to be!

Let me know how you like this recipe and tag the pics of your super fancy galette with #Joyofmylifeblog. Enjoy this recipe and go get that Best Baker title at this years holiday feast!

Bon Appetite!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS | the crust

Life hack for busy people | If you don’t have time to make the crust from scratch, you can buy a pre-made dough at the grocery store and just add the filling!

1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Stick + 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces

1/3 Cup Ice Water

1 Egg, Lightly Beaten (To Brush On The Edges Of The Crust)

INGREDIENTS | the filling

4 Granny Smith Apples

1 Teaspoon Orange Zest

1 Teaspoon Lemon Zest

1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Tablespoon Fresh Orange Juice

1 1/2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon Nutmeg

4 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar (plus 1 Tablespoon to sprinkle on top before baking)

1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, Cut Into Small Pieces (To put on the gallete right before baking)

DIRECTIONS | the crust

Preheat oven to 400.

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter and process for about 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture and process until the dough begins to come together, about 10 seconds. Transfer the dough to a work surface, ball it up and pat into a disk. Wrap your cute little dough disk in plastic and refrigerate until chilled. (You can also roll out the pastry and use it right away.)

If you don’t have a food processor you can do this by hand using a fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix.

While the dough takes a chill in the fridge - make the filling!

DIRECTIONS | the filling

Peel, halve and core the apples and slice them about a 1/4 inch thick. Set aside the larger center slices and coarsely chop the end slices and any broken ones; about half of the slices should be chopped. Add your apples to a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, and lemon zest. Mix well and set aside while you roll out the dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about a 12 inch circle and transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet. Add your apple mixture to the center and arrange in a fancy pattern - or just dump it and call it rustic….trust me no one will know the difference! Be sure to leave about an inch of dough around the border to be folded.

Fold the dough edges up and over the apples to create a 1-inch border, and brush the edges with the beaten egg. Add the small pieces of butter randomly on the apples, and sprinkle the entire gallete generously with sugar (1-2 tablespoons)

Bake 50 minutes, until the pastry is browned and crisp and all of the apples are tender. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the galette cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, goes great with vanilla ice cream!

Bon Appetite!

Recipe by @Joyofmylife

Balsamic + Honey Glazed Brussel Sprouts

Brussels sprouts. The little bulbs that look like tiny heads of lettuce. In recent years they’ve become super popular on food blogs, Instagram, and menus all over the US. It wasn’t until a couple years ago I tried them for the first time. And LOVED them. But I’ve had some I didn’t love, which made me realize they need to be prepared well to really appreciate them. And that is exactly what this recipe does.

Funny thing, when I got married to Vinnie (almost 9 years ago!) I had never tasted a Brussels sprout. The funny part about it? I used Brussel sprouts as decoration on tables at our reception! They looked beautiful in little rustic tins I had found at Target. They also cost us significantly less than floral arrangements for each table. Fast forward and here I am a lover of sprouts and sharing recipes about them.

This recipe is divine, the balsamic glaze brings a lovely sweetness to the Brussels sprouts, and the nuts and bacon give it that salty crunch. It’s seriously one of those dishes that you just can’t stop eating. But lucky for you, it’s okay because it’s vegetables!! I made these for Vinnie and I think he liked them more than the main course! So high five for myself, and for Vinnie for eating his veggies like a champ.

IF THE PRODUCE DEPARTMENT HAD A TRAVEL SIZE SECTION - THAT’S WHERE BRUSSELS SPROUTS WOULD LIVE

LITTLE BABIES

My favorite part about this recipe is that you can make the balsamic-honey glaze in advance and it keeps indefinitely in the fridge! So you can make a large amount and store it for future use. The glaze would go well with other vegetables and even most proteins too. Also, if you don’t want to add the bacon you can keep these vegetarian and just skip the bacon. Hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Bon Appetit!

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise

15 cloves garlic, peeled

¼ cup olive oil

Kosher salt + freshly ground pepper

¼ Honey-Balsamic Glaze (recipe to follow)

4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

½ cup chopped toasted walnuts (or almonds)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 450.

In a bowl, toss together the Brussels sprouts, garlic, olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Dump onto a large baking sheet, spreading them around so everything is in one layer. Roast until the undersides get browned and crisp. About 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss to release the undersides and return to the oven to finish roasting, until some of the sprouts are charred and the garlic cloves are tender, about 10 minutes longer.

Transfer to a platter and season to taste with some more salt and pepper. Drizzle with the balsamic glaze, then scatter the bacon and walnuts.

BALSAMIC-HONEY GLAZE DIRECTIONS

1 cup balsamic vinegar

½ cup honey

In the smallest sauce pan you have, combine the vinegar and honey and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the glaze reduces by half and is thick and small and bubbles form on the entire surface of the liquid, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. This will keep indefinitely in the fridge in an airtight container; warm slightly before using.

Recipe From: Chrissy Teigen Cookbook Cravings