Chicken Curry in a Hurry

I think this is one of the recipes that people have requested from me the very most. It is so easy and delicious, especially your second time :). You don't have to use a rotisserie chicken, it just makes things faster. It says on the car that "I sometimes substitute coconut milk" for the heavy cream . . . but I ALWAYS do. 

I have added asparagus, mini sweet peppers, broccoli, carrots, even potatoes to this curry--it's a no fail!  And, as always, you can substitute kefir for the plain yogurt.

Bex Deluxe Triple C's (Chocolate Chip Cookies)

I've always disliked how inundated January is with weight-loss tips and must-have exercise equipment and fitness routines and recommended healthy snacks foods. I subscribe to mostly food/cooking magazines, and the hypocrisy of January's low-fat chickpea salads with lighter dressing is made all the more nefarious by the spate of December's best Christmas cookies EVER recipes, in close-up, full-color photos that essentially force me to don aprons daily and buy butter in bulk. Those marketeers have got my number.

But there's one cookie that I make year-round, never mind the delectable December duress. A cookie I have, in all the modesty I can muster, perfected. I've picked up a few tips here and there: Heather (who can go from zero to cookies in ten minutes) first introduced me to more-brown-than-white-sugar, Morgan and Carson shared an article with invaluable cookie-baking tips, and I picked up on Adriane and Tom's tendency to refer to this great American tradition as "CCC's." These things combined, with my own quest for the perfect see-see-see, have aided in the composition (and completion) of my masterpiece.

Here are the tips that make any CCC recipe even better:

• Double the recipe. If you're going to take the time for homemade, go ahead and make a lot, because chocolate chip cookie dough freezes beautifully, and it's great to have on hand for unexpected company or a last-minute dessert. (I freeze a dozen dough-cookies per quart-sized Ziploc and feel the security that only chocolate prepearedness can bring).
  
  

• Chill the dough--it keeps it from spreading too thin when it bakes, and is part of what makes the cookie crackle beautifully.
• Lower the temperature and lengthen the time in the oven, for a softer, more chewy-gooey cookie. A good rule of thumb is to add two minutes for every 25 degrees lower.
• Always use room temperature butter, and even room temperature eggs (if you remember to set them out in advance). They'll blend better and maximize the amount of air you can whip into the dough, which makes the cookie less dense and more moist.
• Bake on aluminum, or something shiny--dark pans almost always burn the bottom of your cookies.
• I change the sugar ratio (which is usually equal parts white and brown sugar) to one part white, two parts brown--makes it a little richer. Mmmmm.
• I always add whole wheat flour, which gives the cookie some texture and substance, using the ratio one part whole wheat to two parts white (in this recipe, the whole wheat flour is slightly greater than that). Plus, (hello!) healthy!
• Add more chocolate. Duh. To quote my chocolate-worshiping father-in-law, "I want a cookie with just enough dough to hold the chocolate together." Amen.

I was going to take a picture of myself eating a Bex Deluxe cookie, but candid eating photos never look good (I'm one step behind this Facebooking generation that has somehow mastered the art of photographing oneself flatteringly), so this low-light picture will have to suffice. I added the Lego R2-D2 as a point of reference. You're welcome.

Shout out to Shanna M. for this beautiful photo!!!

PS- If you are in the mood for my other favorite CCC, try Mrs Field's recipe.

Super Soft Sugar Cookies

I just made these for the umpteenth time for Valentine's Day.  I took some plates around to my friends that I visit-teach, and made a huge batch for my kids' Valentine parties at school.  A double batch makes SEVEN DOZEN.  They go so quickly because I always forget how addictive they are: one bite and suddenly there's a pile of crumbs on my shirt and in my hair and a half dozen are missing . . .

Double batch: time to bring out the Bosch

Roll into balls just smaller than a golf ball--20 on each cookie sheet!

I think the pictures speak for themselves.  This is my go-to recipe when I need to take cookies to one of my kids' classes at school . . . or on holidays . . . or when I am craving something delectably sweet . . .

I got these pie/cupcake carriers at Wal-Mart and I LOVE them.
I use three blocks to hold up the second "tier" inside--perfect for
a second grader to carry into school.  Here is a similar product:
Cupcake / Pastry carrier

Sweet Mollie loves to help "clean up"

Sweet Calvin loves to help "clean up" . . . 

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

This dessert is everything a brownie should be: moist, dense, rich, chocolatey . . . then multiply your dessert enjoyment by 10 when you add chunks of Reese's peanut butter cups.

This recipe card was one of the first ones I ever made, and what was I thinking with that font?  

Old card--do not use this one.
Scroll down to bottom for new card.

I found the recipe for Peanut Butter cup brownies in Wondertime magazine about five or six years ago (alas, Wondertime is no more).  They looked so good . . . but the first time I made them, they were far too sweet.  So, I reduced the sugar by half a cup, and eventually by 3/4 cup.  Then I added two more peanut butter cups to the recipe.  And a bit more salt.

Now they are perfect.

I actually only had 8 cups this time, but it's better
with ten.  Or even twelve.  Is there any kitchen
chore more delightful than shucking PB cups?

Cut each cup into fourths.  (A few times I have used a package of
bite-size Reese's instead and the brownies have been delightful)

Use real butter to grease the pan---no substitutions.

This is how it looks before you put it in the oven . . . 

This is how it looks before you put it in YOUR MOUTH

Mmmmmmm . . . brownies.  With Reese's . . . 

Strawberry Shortcake

This recipe has been in my cards-to-do list for a long time.  It is a Martha Stewart recipe and so scrumptious.  I made shortcake last weekend (in a fit of defying the two feet of snow in my yard) and remembered why I love it so much--the cake is crumbly and biscuit-like, and complemented perfectly by the sweet strawberries and soft cream.

It takes a more time to make individual shortcakes, but I think it's a little more special.

  This photo above I made one big shortcake in my deep-dish pizza stone, which is 10" in diameter.  I baked it for about 30 minutes and it turned out perfectly.

You might also like my heritage shortcake recipe from my husband's maternal grandmother.

Conference Crepes!

I make crepes three times a year: Christmas morning (continuing my dad's family tradition: he used to make them for our family of eight kids growing up--he was in the kitchen all Christmas morning), and during the April and October General Conference sessions.  I have been making these crepes long enough that it is time for me to retire the old recipe card.

Old recipe card / scroll down for new one

This is a pretty rich crepe batter. As far as my kids are concerned, crepes is the most special food I can possibly make, which is why I save them for special occasions.  They look forward to any time they get to indulge in this delicious French pastry.

My kids, April 2015 on Easter morning.  Mollie set up all her
Littlest Pet Shops, Calvin played with cars and trucks, and
Truman and Brigham organized Brigham's Harry Potter cards
while we listened to and watched the amazing conference addresses.

My favorite crepes from the April 2015 General Conference.
It was hard to choose favorites talks from this conference, but I
really loved "We'll Ascend Together" by Linda K. Burton, and

Flakiest Pie Crust

Homemade apple pie is my very favorite food in the world.

This is more fragile than Never-Fail Pie Crust (which I recommend if you are a beginner--it's the recipe I used all through my college years).  The finished product here is so beautiful, flaky, and delicious I can hardly stand to write about it.

The key to any good pastry is to handle the dough as little as possible.  You want gluten (stringy strands of protein) in your breads, which is why you knead bread dough so much.  But since you want a flaky, airy pie crust  (not rubbery or tough) you don't want gluten to form.  That's why you use ice water, and why a food processor can do the job better than a pastry cutter--you won't be handling the dough as much, therefore it won't warm up, therefore little gluten will form.

I got this recipe from Every Day FOOD magazine (that Reader's Digest-sized Martha Stewart cooking mag) and it was photographed and explained so well that I was sold before I even took a bite.  So I tried to be as good about taking pictures for you.

After the dough comes together, form a ball, wrap in plastic,
then flatten into a 1-inch disk and chill for at least one hour

This is my best pie-crust tip ever: before you roll out the chilled
dough, indent the edges with your knuckles--it makes it so cracks
don't form and you end up with one big, round, pretty pie crust

See?

Another tip: carefully roll the dough around your rolling pin,
then unroll it over your pie dish--it makes transferring the
dough from counter top to pie pan a cinch.

I didn't take pictures of the actual apples.  I used my peeler/corer/slicer to prepare about nine apples.  Most were Pink Ladies, but I think there was a Braeburn and a Fuji in there as well. (People always say to use Granny Smith apples for pie--but they are not my favorite.  Pink Ladies are delicious and crisp, and won't go soggy like a Red Delicious . . . I almost always use three different kinds of apples).  I sprinkle about 2/3 cup of cinnamon sugar over the sliced apples (2 tsp cinnamon to 1 cup of sugar) and coat the apples evenly, then let them sit while I roll out the dough.  You can use a little bit of lemon juice to keep the apples from browning, but I never do. 

I bought this pie top cutter in an Amish village in Missouri--you can
get all kinds of designs online . . . just google "pie top cutter."
It's fun to make a pie that looks so perfect--but it is also a PAIN
to carefully cut out the shapes and remove the stencil.  Fortunately,
this one turned out without cracking the crust. 

Especially for the top, I recommend rolling
up the dough and then transferring.

You don't have to add the "cut-outs"--it looks pretty just like this.

I add the apples because my kids love eating them off the top after
it has baked (some people have a harder time waiting, obviously)

Before I put the dough-apples on top, I brush the whole crust with ice water, using a pastry brush.  It helps the apples stick.  I didn't use an egg wash on this particular pie--just the water.  Then I very lightly sprinkled cinnamon-sugar over the top before placing the pie in the oven.  Here are some tips for the tops of your pies:

My husband was strictly a chocolate dessert kind of guy before he met me.  I love chocolate, too, but nothing really beats a made-from-scratch pie.  He recently told me, in a reluctant-but-satisfied tone of voice, "I hate to admit it, Bec, but I think I like your apple pie just as much as chocolate cream pie."

I have arrived.

(Also, I wish I had the apron that happy housewife is wearing).

Never-Fail Pie Crust

This is not the crust I use anymore (check out my Flakiest Pie Crust recipe), but it was my go-to recipe for years. It's a beginner's crust, and perfect for helping you feel confident about baking pie. It's not a fragile dough and can be re-rolled. With any pie crust or pastry, though, you want to handle the dough as little as possible to prevent the formation of gluten, long strands of protein that are desirable in breads and other "kneaded" foods, but which make your pie crust heavy, tough, and not flaky.

Buttermilk Baking Powder Biscuits

These biscuits are part of my husband's favorite breakfast (along with sausage and eggs). I always make them on Father's Day, Allen's birthday, and whenever I am about to make a large purchase.

I joke, I kid.

I replace the "buttermilk" (milk+vinegar) with kefir (Click here for my What is Kefir? post) for pretty much any recipe on this site that calls for buttermilk, because I always have kefir, and it tastes just as good and costs next to nothing when you brew it yourself.

These are extra yummy and flaky when I bake them in my deep-dish pizza stone.

Sourdough version:

I just make the biscuit dough like normal, then mix in my sourdough discard (it was a whole cup for the ones below--it adds a great sourdough flavor, but they still rise as fluffy as ever because I don't omit the baking powder.