Everything Cookies from the Pioneer Woman are Delicious! They are a GREAT BREAKFAST COOKIE!

I  was channel surfing,  saw these drop cookies being made with dried cherries,  dried apricots, and pecans, then could not resist looking up the recipe!  So after tuning onto Ree Drummond's  portion of "foodtv" I gave them a try and we all loved them.  Crisp on the outside and chewy within.  Yum!  Six dozen cookies disappeared in no time.

One of the things I love about these is they might just as well be called breakfast cookies with the variety of good for you ingredients packed into them.  In fact I have enjoyed them very much with my cup of coffee first thing in the A.M.   Oh yes, I did a bit of adapting....

Ingredients for Everything Cookies:

3 sticks room temperature butter (1 1/2 cups)  I USED HALF BUTTER HALF COCONUT OIL.
2 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla
4 large whole eggs 
4 heaping cups flour  MINE WERE MORE WELL ROUNDED.
4 t. baking soda
1 t. kosher salt
3 C. granola  I USED SWISS GRANOLA WITH HAZELNUTS FROM SAM'S CLUB.
1 heaping cup oats  I USED OLD FASHIONED.
1 1/2  C. rough chop dried apricots
1 C. rough chop dried sour cherries (You can use sweet if you prefer.)
1 C. rough chop pecans
1/2 C. golden raisins  I USED DARK RAISINS BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT I HAD ON HAND.

Optional:  Sugar for dipping cookie scoop into between dips of the dough.  This keeps the dough from sticking in the scoop and lends a further crisping to the finished cookie.

Cream the butter/and or coconut oil and sugars.  Add the vanilla and eggs,  Next the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Add the granola and oats.  Mix well and stir in the fruit and nuts.

Refrigerate the dough 2 hours until firm, I often leave it overnight in a big plastic sack.  Ree Drummond does NOT do this but I like a taller cookie and it is much easier for me to make uniform sizes with a stiffer batter but it is not mandatory.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare the pans with parchment paper or silpat mats.

Using a cookie scoop or two spoons drop onto the prepared pans leaving 2" between the cookies.  Bake for 12-14 minutes until firm.  I BAKED 13 MINUTES.  Cool a few minutes in the pans before removing to finish cooling.  This recipe yielded me 6 dozen cookies.  As Ree Drummond says, " Eat , and feel "unguilty" because there's no chocolate in this cookie."  I love it!

I packed into large plastic zipper bags and plastic bins with tight fitting lids.

Cranberry Orange Muffins with Apple and Pecans

My system requires fruit and it is my belief that if you are going to consume carbohydrates it is best dome in the morning!  My husband is not a muffin fan so since our children have been grown I have seldom made them.  It occurs to me we both get very bored repeating the same breakfast so for my part I am going to try muffins for a while.  We will see if he joins me.

This recipe made 9 Texas size muffins and can be more easily consumed than two dozen or more in a recipe.  My inspiration is the Lazarus cookbook fro their restaurant published in December of 1990.   I have adapted in in several ways to my taste and preferences.  They are delicious!  Where have these been all my life?  Breakfast was good today!

Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Muffins with Apple and Pecans:

1 extra large egg
1/2 C. sour cream
1/2 C. buttermilk
1/3 C. vegetable oil
3/4 C. sugar
1 C. rough chop pecans
1 peeled and grated fresh apple
1 whole fresh orange washed and cut into 1/8ths then chopped in the food processor
1 C. dried cranberries (or grind fresh)
2 1/4 C. all purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
2 t. Vietnamese cinnamon (or other cinnamon on hand)
1 pinch salt
1/2 t. orange flavoring
1/2 t. vanilla bean paste (or 1 t. vanilla)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place rack so tops of muffins are in alignment with the center of the oven.  Lightly butter 9 Texas size muffin cups or 12 large muffin cups.

Beat together the egg, sour cream, buttermilk, oil, and sugar.  Stir in the flavorings.  Fold in the fruits.

Combine in a separate bowl first the walnuts, then flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon stirring well to combine.  This will help keep the nuts from falling to the bottom.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients stirring just enough to combine.  Do not over mix.

Divide  the batter into the muffin cups evenly and bake for about 25 minutes,  A tooth pick inserted into the center of a large muffin should be clean when removed, 

Cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pans.  Serve with warm butter or make Orange Honey Butter for a special treat!

Ingredients for Orange Honey Butter:

1 C. soft butter
2 T, honey
2 T, grated fresh orange zest

Whip the butter and honey until light and fluffy.  Fold in the orange zest.  Serve on muffins toast, or biscuits. 

Asparagus and Zucchini Omelet

Grilled green onion, zucchini, and asparagus omelet.

I eat a lot of eggs when dieting.  I love vegetables in omelets.  My usual shitake mushrooms and green onions but I tried this as like it just as well!

Toss the vegetables in olive oil and season.

Actually I fixed this from left over grilled green onions, zucchini, and asparagus while at Chris' house over the weekend.  It was delicious.

Ingredients for Asparagus and Zucchini Omelet:

3 eggs
2 T. olive oil
salt
pepper
zucchini, 1 small washed and quartered long ways
4-6 Oz. fresh asparagus stems broken and washed
3-4 green onions, washed and roots removed
Cooking spray
1 T. butter

Toss vegetables with oil, salt, and pepper to taste.  Grill vegetables in hot grill pan or skillet.  Remove from pan and cut into chunks and set aside.  Beat eggs well.  Heat a non stick pan coated with cooking spray over medium low heat.

Lovely chunky omelet!

Add the vegetables to the pan pushing them to the center.  Pour the eggs in a circle around the vegetables first before emptying into the center of the pan.  Move the eggs around until just before they are set.  Add the butter and continue to finish eggs to desired firmness. is reached  Yield one large serving or two if you are adding toast and other breakfast items.

Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti, the BEST Biscotti I have ever tasted or made!

I am totally thrilled with this Biscotti recipe.  Many times I have made Biscotti the Italian dipping cookie.  It is delicious dunked in coffee, milk, and tea.  But this  recipe from "Martha Stewart's Cookies" is just the best ever.  The deep chocolate with the slightly salty pistachios, oh my goodness.

Lovely large Chocolate Biscotti studded with chocolate chips and pistachios cooling.

This is very easy to make, the dough is very easy to work with and form, and it was easy to slice using a good sharp serrated knife.  After cooling 5 minutes after the first baking they are sliced and returned to a cooler oven for 8 minutes.  The recipe is slightly adapted.  The recipe yields about a dozen large Biscotti.

Ingredients for Chocolate Pistachio Biscotti:

2 C. flour
1/2 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
6 T. soft butter
1 C. sugar
2 large eggs
1 C. shelled pistachios (I used salted, 4 1/2 oz.)
1/2 C. semisweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with either parchment or a sil-pat baking mat and set it aside.

Stir the flour, cocoa, baking soda , and salt together and set aside.  Using the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.   Add the eggs and beat at low speed until combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix to form a stiff dough.  Add in the pistachios and the chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

My log was probably larger than directed.

Turn the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and form a 12" x 4" log down the center of the pan.
Bake about 25 minutes until slightly firm.  Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

I think this looks like a big chocolate alligator!

Lift or slide the baked cookie onto a cutting board and use a sharp serrated knife to slice into 1" wide pieces.

Ready to go into the oven for the second baking.

Arrange cut side down onto baking sheet and bake about 8 minutes more to crisp a bit.  The Biscotti should still remain slightly soft in the middle.   Transfer to a rack and cool completely.  Cookies can be stored at room temperature in a sealed container for up to one week.  LIKE THEY ARE GOING TO LAST THAT LONG?  Not likely.

Frying Yeast Donuts at Home

Last week I mixed up Grandma's Yeast Donuts and they have happily sat sealed in a plastic bowl in my refrigerator until today.  I have not been inclined to finish them what with unexpected as well as expected guests and lots of family activities!  Here is the link to my recipe:      thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2014/06/grandmas-yeast-donuts.html

Today after a nap I got the bowl of dough and left it to sit about an hour to come to room temperature.  Next half of the dough was easily rolled to about 1/4" and cut into the traditional donut shape.   Then I rolled the second half and placed the shaped dough onto a well buttered cookie sheet and covered with a clean tea towel.

They were doubled in size in 45-55 minutes and ready for the fry!  The lower portion of my cast iron dutch oven seemed a good vessel in which to fry so I poured grape seed oil to a depth of 3" and lit the flame.  (I just like grape seed oil but any good oil is fine.)

It took a little time to preheat the oil but then it did do a beautiful job.  The frying went very quickly at 350 degrees F.  Perhaps taking a minute and a half at the most per side.

Then they were a beautifully puffed golden brown.  As they finished I placed them on a second cookie sheet with a cooking rack placed inside to rest.

While warm using powdered sugar and a sieve they were generously sprinkled with powdered sugar then turned and sprinkled again to perfection!

Yield one dozen large, delicious, warm old fashioned yeast donuts.

Grandma's Yeast Donuts

Yes....I have been missing for a while!  I have traveled a bit and done some fun things!  I was lucky enough to see my grandsons graduate from nursery school and visit my Mother and son.  It was a lot of fun but I am paying now as my knees feel like buckets of bolts!! Looking forward to my shots in a couple of weeks and I will be 35 again for a while.  Chuckle.

My daughter-in-law Julie gave me this recipe of her late grandmother's.  I have intended to make it for sometime now and have just hunted the recipe for the "how to" of it.  I am going to call Brian and have him stop for some good oil for the frying of these but for now I will get it started and leave overnight as the recipe indicates.  I like that a lot!  I am giving this recipe exactly as it was given to me.

Ingredients for Yeast Donuts:

1 pkg. active dry yeast (I am using a scant tablespoon of instant yeast)
1/4 C. warm water
3/4 C. scalded milk
1 stick butter
1/4 C. sugar
1 t. salt
2 beaten eggs
4 C. sifted all purpose flour

In a big bowl combine the yeast and the water to soften.  Let sit about 5 minutes.  In a separate bowl combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt.  Cool to lukewarm before adding to the yeast.  Add the beaten eggs and milk mixture to the yeast and mix well.  Add half the flour and beat until smooth.  Add the remaining flour and mix well.  Grease a large bowl well with oil and turn the dough into it making sure the dough is entirely coated. 

Chill several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  Take out a good hour before handling.  Turn out onto a floured surface and divide in half.  Roll half of the dough 1/4" thick.  Cut out and place on a well greased cookie sheet and leave to rise 35-45 minutes or until doubles in size.  Fry in deep hot fat turning once.  Drain on paper towels and roll in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar while warm.  Best served warm. 

Now the dough has been made and is safely tucked and covered in a very generously buttered bowl in the refrigerator.  I will fry them up sometime over the weekend.  I will post the results.   (Probably with sticky fingers.)

Egg Salad for One, My Breakfast of Champions!

I sit to post this I and I must confide that I am just plain pooped! Working on clearing out the family room, then Mother's Day, along with the fact the shots for my knees are wearing out two months into having gotten them has left me in a heap.  That calls for me to fix one of my favorite "alone" breakfasts as Brian has long since eaten and left for work.  I resort to finding one lone hard cooked egg with glee and make a bit of egg salad to plaster onto a slice of toasted grain bread.  Delicious.

Ingredients for Egg Salad for One:

1 peeled and chopped hard cooked egg
1 heaping teaspoon (or more if you like) mayo or salad dressing
1 healthy squirt of mustard
1 sprinkle of kosher salt
1 sprinkle of freshly ground black pepper
1 slice of toasted grain bread

Chop the egg and add everything except the toasted bread and stir well.

Spread on toasted grain bread and enjoy!

Megan's Steel Cut Oatmeal

This recipe is adapted from orangette.blogspot.com a site I have enjoyed for some time.  Until today I had never tried steel cut oats but in my endeavor to improve out diets it was time!  They are good!  I especially like the nutty flavor from toasting the oats before cooking.  I served with fresh blueberries and maple syrup.  Delicious!

Ingredients for Steel Cut Oatmeal:

1 T. butter
1 C. organic steel cut oats
3 1/4 C. filtered water
1 C. whole milk
1 T. natural cane sugar
1/2 t. kosher salt
maple syrup and blueberries or whatever you enjoy

Using a cast iron or other heavy skillet melt the butter.  Add the oats and stir toasting until fragment and lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Take a heavy bottomed 2 1/2-3 quart saucepan and add the water, milk, sugar, and salt.  Being to a simmer watching closely as this can quickly boil over.

Stir in the toasted oats.  Adjust the heat to a slow simmer and partially cover the saucepan.  Cook stirring occasionally to keep from clumping for 25-30 minutes.  The cereal will still be a bit loose.  Not to worry!  It will continue to thicken.  Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to rest for a few minutes with the lid still partially covering.  Then serve hot with fruit, maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey.   Yield 4 servings.

WARNING;  While this was tasty it did NOT agree with me and have been up all night!  Feeding the rest of the package to the critters and wishing them well!  If you make this try a partial serving the first time out to be sure your system will handle it gracefully.  Just a word to the wise.....diane

"Bonnie's Favorite" Cherry "Coffee Cake"

This was so nice with a cup of hot coffee!

This is another one of those recipes I keep in my "JUST GOTTA TRY" file!  It is adapted from one given on theiowahousewife.blogspot.com that I have been going to try for quite a while now!  Bonnie is a sister-in-law and shared her recipe.  It can be made as any flavor of coffee cake you would like simply by varying the fruit pie filling used.



I can tell you true it smells just wonderful as it is baking just now.  It makes a big 9" x 13" coffee cake and since we only have 5 for dinner tonight there will be plenty to share and enjoy with coffee next week.

This will be great to serve with coffee next week!

Ingredients for Bonnie's Favorite Coffee Cake:

1 C. soft butter + 1 T. for frosting
1 3/4 C. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2  t. salt
3 C. flour
4 large eggs
1 t. vanilla + 1/2 t. for frosting
1,  21 ounce can of peach, apple, or cherry pie filling (Or 2 Cups home canned pie filling, do NOT double the filling amount it gets too doughy!)
1-2 t. lemon juice
dash fresh grated nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1 C. powdered sugar for frosting
2 T. cream or evaporated milk for frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9" x 13' baking dish and set it aside.

Cream the butter with the sugar using the electric mixer.  Add the eggs, one at a time beating after each addition.  Add the vanilla.

Measure the flour, baking powder and salt together and whisk to combine.  Add to the batter and beat until just combined.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into the buttered baking dish.  Mix lemon juice and fruit filling then spread it over the batter.  Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Drop the remaining batter by teaspoon full dollops atop the fruit.  Do NOT spread!  Bake 45 minutes and remove from the oven to cool.

When cool make the frosting by combining 1 T. soft butter, 1/2 t. vanilla, 1 C. powdered sugar, and 2 T. cream or evaporated milk.  Stir until smooth and creamy adding additional cream 1 drop at a time to thin if needed.  Place a sandwich bag over a drinking glass folding the top back over the rim of the glass to support the bag.  Spoon in the frosting.  Clip a corner and pipe the frosting across the cake.  If preferred you may instead dust the coffee cake with powdered sugar.

This works end of day or beginning!

Yield 12 servings.

Breakfast salads feel tropical plus it's raining like the tropics here, in Indiana? What's that about?

Both yesterday and today I have enjoyed nectarines, watermelon, and blueberries.

There is no doubt we are having a rainy summer thus far.  We have showers almost daily and it reminds me of Florida weather as the sun has shown its self a bit for short periods too.  It is of course preferable to a drought!  I am not a big hot weather fan so this is not so bad. 

So my breakfast salads seem tropical to me and I imagine monkeys playing in the big trees outside my windows instead of squirrels!  Of course Molly is hot on their trails and I often wonder in horror the damage to her nose should she grab onto one! 

Today I want to add that I had skipped my bowls of fruit for a few days in favor of toast and I certainly could tell a difference.  Just did not feel as good.  Actually my skin started itching again.  I am uncertain is this is a direct result or not.  More observation is needed.

The blueberries are the stars of this dish!

The watermelons as not as sweet as I would like and I am a little worried about that.  I have planned a watermelon sculpture of a shark this Saturday and will not be happy if the watermelon is not sweet! The nectarines are good if they sit out and ripen and the blueberries are wonderfully fat, juicy, and sweet!!

Just another lovely morning of Fresh Fruit .....I am actually stating to like breakfast.

Golden Pineapple, Apricots, and Strawberries.

I have never particularly liked breakfast.  Never been a fan of cereal.  Only began liking eggs after becoming an adult and then mostly for brunch, you know a bit later in the morning.  But I must admit I am startling to love my fruit for breakfast!

Today's fare is topped of course with fresh ripe strawberries and I have a golden pineapple so sweet it puts sugar to shame.  I do have the last of my fresh apricots and this is such a lovely combination.  I think I might love breakfast.

Funniest thing....and I am uncertain as to what, how, or why....but my skin has improved.  Drastically!
Doris, my neighbor next door repeated told me I looked so good when last I saw her as we stood chatting across the yard as only good neighbors do...and we are the best of neighbors.  Of course I had not a drop of makeup on and was in my usual stay at home state!  (Yes, I change into street cloths to leave the house, run a brush through my hair and gussy up just a bit to leave our property.)

Not to change the subject but do you know Brian says women actually go out in public in their pajamas these days??  I can't imagine.  Can you?

Yum, Another Breakfast Salad! Considering it is even delightful.

Fresh Apricots, Banana, and two types of Melon. 

I am finding "Breakfast Salads" just delightful.  Each morning I consider the possibilities as I enjoy my strong, hot, and black Colombian coffee.   This starts routinely at about 5:30 AM.  Brian is clunking around as he pushes the coffee pot button and fumbles for a "cookie" for Molly, who needless to say is right on him wagging her whole rear section with anticipation.......

We long ago gave up setting the coffee pot as the power seems to blink off around here so often it just insights agitation and what the heck!  I make up the pot and he generally pushes the button.  If the power was off no matter.  I drink two extra big steaming mugs and Brian finishes the pot by taking any remaining in the pot in a stainless cup along to drink as he travels to his shop.

So as I am curled up with my coffee watching the news and Brian has his breakfast I sort in my mind the possible combinations available to me!  A quite pleasurable task.  Consider the lack of muss and fuss and the delightfully endless possibilities.  Add to that the ample amount of fruit I have frozen and canned to what I keep around fresh and it is practically the Garden of Eden of breakfast fare.

Plus......it feels so good to have had it for breakfast.  My goal is 3 cups.  I stay full and happy until early afternoon.  Why didn't I think of this sooner?

Savory Pie, with Ham, Mushrooms, Cheese, & Onions

This is a VERY forgiving recipe and I have used whatever was on hand many times in it's making.  A special thank you goes out to Nonie Daniels who shared this recipe with me years ago.

It always feels so good to make something delicious from on hand supplies.  Since we are "in to" fresh fruits and vegetables this savory Quiche seemed a good direction to head.  My dear "cousin" Joyce brought me fresh country eggs this week and there is still a bit of ham from the weekend.  It sure sounded like a plan to me yesterday at about 5 PM. when I hadn't a clue what to start for dinner.

Earlier in the week I headed to Sam's Club for produce and really felt good about the decision when I was able to purchase beautiful produce with sell by dates 2 and 2 1/2 weeks from now.  So I pulled a large onion from the big bag of Vidalias, about a third of the 2 pound package of fresh mushrooms to flavor the pie.

Ingredients for Savory Pie or Cheese & Mushroom Quiche with Ham:

9" pie shell, unbaked
1 1/2 C. shredded cheese, Swiss Gruyere is optimal but I also use a mix of whatever I have with equal success, today I used cheddar and mozzarella.
1 chopped onion
1/4-1/3 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
2 T. butter
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 C. diced cooked ham, bacon, or sausage (optional)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 C. milk
3 T. flour
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. Coleman's dry mustard
sprinkling of paprika

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and place the pastry in the pie shell and set aside. 

Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter over medium high heat then season lightly with salt and pepper.  Spread the grated cheese over the bottom of the pie crust and top the cheese with the mushroom and onion mixture.  Sprinkle the ham evenly over the vegetables.

Using a medium size bowl beat the eggs and milk together.  Add the flour, salt, and mustard and whisk briskly until smooth.  Pour the custard mixture over the pie ingredients.  Sprinkle with paprika.

For the sake of saving on clean up I do the assembly and baking with the pie plate centered on a larger baking sheet.  Bake for 50-60 minutes until browned and firm in the center.  Remove from the oven and let sit 10-15 minutes before slicing.  Yield 6 servings.

Note:  I served with a generous portion of fresh made Cole slaw on the side.    thehiddenpantry.blogspot.com/2011/02/creamy-potato-salad-and-cream-cole-slaw.html
This link will take you to the slaw recipe.