There was a fantastic variety of dishes at this month's Recipe Club and Potluck. We enjoyed savory goodies, comforting soup, and plenty of sweet treats! See all of the recipes below, and don't forget that registration for March programs opens on Thursday, February 20 @ 9:00 am! We hope to see you at next month's Recipe Club on Friday, March 7 @ 1:00 pm.
Happy cooking!
Three Ingredient Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats (can sub gluten free oats, quinoa flakes or buckwheat flakes, do not use quick oats)
- 3 large overripe bananas, mashed (I subbed unsweetened applesauce)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (Can sub for any nut or seed butter)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips of choice (Optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix very well, until fully combined. If using chocolate chips, stir them in with a spatula.
- Lightly wet your hands and form 8 balls with the cookies. Place each ball on the lined mat, and press each ball into a cookie shape. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges.
- Remove from the oven. Allow cooling on the mat for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes:
- Cookies should be kept refrigerated and will keep for 5 days. They are freezer-friendly, for up to two months.
- Recipe Tips and Variations:
- Add more oats. Depending on the size of the bananas, the batter may be too thin, making it hard to scoop and shape. If this happens, add a few tablespoons of oats and mix until you have a cookie dough-like consistency.
- Don't overbake. They'll continue to cook briefly after pulling them out of the oven, so remove them as soon as the edges turn golden brown and lift from the baking sheet.
- Make thicker cookies. If you like your oatmeal cookies on the thicker, chewier side, chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking.
- Adjust the taste. Give the dough a taste, and add maple syrup or honey if needed. After all, there's no flour or eggs
- Not a fan of mashed bananas? Can substitute both unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin. With pumpkin, add a little maple syrup to make up for the sweetness. For applesauce, add an extra 1⁄4 cup of rolled oats to make up for the extra moisture, so it's basically edible oatmeal cookie dough.
Spicy Indian Soup
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 1/2 cups brown or green lentils
- 8 cups water
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely sliced
- 2 celery sticks, finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions - Pour the oil into a large soup pot. Add the onions, garlic, and lentils (the soup brought to Recipe Club also had 2-3 cups of kale leaves added here). Sauté gently over low heat for about three minutes. Stir continually, and watch that the vegetables don't stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Pour the water into the mixture, stir, and raise the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a boil and add the carrots and celery. Boil for about 20 minutes and then lower the heat to low-medium.
- Add the coriander, cumin, curry, paprika, lemon juice, lemon peel, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cover the pot. Let the soup simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Check the seasonings (the version brought to Recipe Club had about three times the spices but skipped the coriander), and serve hot.
English Tea Sandwiches: Cucumber Dill
Ingredients
- ½ cucumber, large
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- lemon zest
- 1 pinch salt
- dill, chopped
- 6 slices potato bread
Directions
- Chop dill. Combine with softened cream cheese, lemon zest and a pinch of salt.
- Cut paper thin slices of cucumber.
- Spread cream cheese mixture onto white bread and add cucumbers slices. Cut off crusts, then cut rectangles.
This recipe is from Preppy Kitchen. Find other tea sandwich recipes, such as egg sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, and cranberry chicken sandwiches here!
Orange Cranberry Soda Bread with White Chocolate Chunks
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest, plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks
Directions
- Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with kitchen parchment. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, stir together the cranberries and orange juice. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1 minute, stirring once halfway through. Stir again, then set aside until cooled to room temperature. In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the orange zest and buttermilk.
- In a large bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda, and salt. Add the cooled cranberries and the white chocolate; toss until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Make a well in the middle of the mixture and pour in the buttermilk. Using a silicone spatula, fold the buttermilk into the flour mixture until a rough, shaggy dough forms; it's fine if the dough still shows some dry, floury patches.
- Lightly flour the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Using your hands and a metal bench scraper, gently and lightly fold the dough a few times just until cohesive; do not knead it. Shape the dough into a ball and, using the bench scraper to loosen it from the counter, transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Lightly dust the top with flour. Using a serrated knife, score an X into the top of the dough, cutting about 3/4 inch deep.
- Bake until the bread is deep golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes; if turned upside down and tapped on the bottom, the loaf should sound hollow. Cool for about 10 minutes on the baking sheet on a wire rack, then transfer the loaf to the rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Note: Don't chop the white chocolate into tiny bits. Keep the pieces chunky-roughly 1/2 inch— otherwise they will simply disappear into the crumb. Also, don't knead the dough as if it was a yeasted dough. Handle it gently, as if making biscuits or scones. A light, gentle touch helps ensure a tender crumb.
Chocolate Cobbler
Ingredients
- Cobbler batter
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
- 1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- Topping
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, for garnish
- vanilla ice cream, for serving
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. To make the batter, place the butter in an eight-inch square baking dish and place it in the oven while it preheats. When the butter has melted, remove the dish from the oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Stir together the sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder/ Add the milk and vanilla and stir until smooth.
- Pour the batter mixture over the melted butter in the baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar-cocoa on top. Gently pour the boiling water over the top, place in the oven, and bake until the cobbler is hot and gooey, about 30 minutes.
- Garnish the cobbler with the chopped walnuts and serve right away, with vanilla ice cream.
This recipe is from Good Lookin' Cookin' by Dolly Parton. Place a hold on the book to see the full recipe and details!
Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- 1½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Directions
- For the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with butter or baking spray and line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper. (I highly recommend using cake strips for a more even bake.)
- Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture and whisk together until well combined. Pour in the boiling water and whisk until well combined. (The batter will be runny.) - Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes. Carefully invert the cake layers onto the wire rack, remove the parchment paper, and let cool completely.
- For the Chocolate Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and salt and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape the bowl down.
- While mixing on low speed, gradually add in the powdered sugar alternating with a little bit of milk on occasion up to 4 tablespoons. Once the sugar is added, beat in the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium-low speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
- Assembly: Place a cooled cake layer on a cake stand. Top with 1 cup of frosting and spread it out the edges in an even layer. Place the remaining cake layer on top and spread the rest of the frosting all over the outside of the cake. You can reserve some of the frosting to pipe decorations if desired.
This recipe is from Preppy Kitchen. Find the full recipe and details here!