Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

In the baking world, I love to put together cookies. All kinds of cookies, but I think my favorite are chocolate chip cookies. Growing up, my grandma had the best chocolate chip cookies and always had them in the cookie jar in the pantry when we would come to visit. As such, they are my go to when I am baking and have been for as long as I can remember. Here’s my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe if you’re feeling chocolate chip cookies too. (Hint: The browned butter makes the cookie. If you haven’t tried that yet, you need to. Maybe right after you bake up these chocolate and peanut butter ones) 

However, I felt the need to mix it up recently. I mean, I wasn’t going to stray too far from the tried and true, but these “safer at home” times are the best for experimenting in the kitchen, right? So I got to thinking. If you dig in my cupboards, you’ll find all sorts of seemingly random ingredients from past “inspired” recipes. I looked around and found peanut butter chips with cocoa powder right next to them.

Let’s be honest, name a more iconic pair than peanut butter and chocolate. It had been on my radar anyway because I put together these no bake pretzel peanut butter chocolate bars from Josh and Ang a few weeks ago. Then it hit me: I’ll make a sort of cookie version of that. So here it is: a combination of slightly salty in the peanuts and sweet from the chocolate and the chips. A cookie that almost has a brownie-like richness but still goes well dunked in a glass of ice cold milk. Yum! I hope you’ll give them a try! 

Fun Fact:

I was just getting started with these cookies as my husband pulled into the driveway after our weekly grocery trip. I opened the cupboard to grab my brown sugar and…alas! We were out, something that never happens at this house. A quick Google search later, and I learned that you can make your own brown sugar using a little molasses, so that’s how these are put together. Cool, right? Therefore, you have options in the sugar arena for these cookies: Go as written or skip the molasses and do ½ cup white and 1 cup brown. It’s up to you! 

Your Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of butter, softened
  • 1 ½ cups white sugar 
  • 1 ½ tablespoons molasses
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla 
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ cup of the following: dry roasted peanuts (I used salted), peanut butter chips, and dark chocolate chips (These are our go to dark chocolate chips. We LOVE them, even for a sweet treat after dinner)

Your steps:

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and molasses until smooth and fully combined. It might take some time with the molasses. Add vanilla and eggs, stirring until well mixed. In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Incorporate into the wet sugar mixture. Fold in peanuts, dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For best results, allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (man, I struggle with that step. Let’s be honest, I generally bake the first batch warm, and then I put the dough in the fridge for a better second batch). Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet by the tablespoon and bake for 8-11 minutes. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet 2 minutes or so before placing on a cooling rack. 

I believe these cookies get better over a few days. I liked them the first day. I loved them three days later, dunked in my milk. I love a good brownie and I feel like they are reminiscent of that. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did! They will definitely be in our rotation of cookies as years go by! 

  • No brown sugar? No problem!
  • Cream it all together.
  • Don’t forget the chips and peanuts.
  • Ready for a mug of milk!

Looking for some other sweet treats? Check out my baking page here!

Print Recipe

Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Peanut butter and chocolate, the greatest combination, come together in these delightful cookies!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time8 minutes
Chill Time30 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, chocolate chip, Cookies, peanut butter

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of butter softened
  • 1 ½ cups white sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons molasses
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter chips
  • 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and molasses until smooth and fully combined.
  • Add vanilla and eggs, stirring until well mixed.
  • In a separate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
  • Incorporate into the wet sugar mixture.
  • Fold in peanuts, dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
  • For best results, allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
  • Drop onto an ungreased cookie sheet by the tablespoon and bake for 8-11 minutes.
  • Allow to cool on the cookie sheet 2 minutes or so before placing on a cooling rack.

JessLeave a comment

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Let me begin with the browned butter. If you’ve never experienced cookie with browned butter, you are missing out. I first learned about it from The Pioneer Woman. Once I tried it, I was hooked. I am excited to introduce you to it in these: Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.

In times of uncertainty, you should do what you know. Although I like to be healthy, I know baking cookies. For as long as I can remember, my grandma always had a cookie jar full of chocolate chip cookies in the pantry every time my sister and I would visit. Nine times out of ten, she also left some of the raw cookie dough in the fridge for us to snack on. Thank you grandma for such a lasting memory.

Because of this, I have always associated chocolate chip cookies with love and comfort. Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie?  I know I do.  And over the years, I have learned they become  even better if it has more brown sugar than white and bonus points for browned butter. Here’s my official all time favorite chocolate chip cookie. 

Your Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts

Your steps to Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one stick of butter in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, allowing the butter to melt. Continue to stir until butter just browns, approximately 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Cream remaining stick of butter with sugars. Scrap browned butter into a bowl, getting all the browned bits (YUM!). Mix well. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix. Combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir into wet ingredients, until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, allowing the dough to firm up a bit. Drop cookies by the tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-12 minutes until the edges are crisp. And boom, the perfect chocolate chip cookies.

Browned butter. Something you didn’t know you needed in your life.
Mix it up.
Let it chill.
Little cookies so you feel better when you have three!
Ready for a tall glass of milk!

One batch of cookies not enough? Check out my baking page here!

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Key to a great chocolate chip cookie? More brown sugar than white and the extra effort of creating browned butter. Yum!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 29

Ingredients
  

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter softened
  • 1 cup brown sugar packed
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 1/4 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place one stick of butter in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat, allowing butter to melt.
  • Continue to stir until butter just browns, approximately 7 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  • Cream remaining stick of butter with sugars.
  • Scrap browned butter into bowl, getting all the browned bits. Mix well.
  • Add eggs and vanilla. Mix.
  • Combine flour, salt, and baking soda.
  • Stir into wet ingredients, until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
  • Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, allowing the dough to firm up a bit.
  • Drop cookies by the tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
  • Bake 9-12 minutes, until the edges are crisp. And boom, the perfect chocolate chip cookies.
Keyword browned butter, chocolate chip, chocolate chip cookies, Cookies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Jess1 Comment

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet

I don’t know about you, but I adore quinoa. I feel like it’s the grown up version of rice, maybe? It cooks quicker, is chock full of nutrients, and is such a blank canvas for your food artistry. Mix in some freshly cooked vegetables, seasoned, cooked chicken and you have this quick and easy dinner: Chicken and Quinoa Skillet. 

This isn’t a meal that my family necessarily meal plans. It’s a “Hey look! I have chicken and quinoa and all the veggies that go in that skillet! Let’s make that tonight for a quick meal!” kind of meal. Okay, I declared this a quick meal so let’s stop with the talking and get to the cooking!

Your INgredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and uncooked
  • 2 cups water (or chicken stock)
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bit size pieces
  • ½ teaspoon each of pepper, salt onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika, mixed together
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 4 cups chopped broccoli (about 1 head, if you include the stem)
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used my frozen roasted cherry tomatoes from the summer–recipe to come soon!)
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • pinch of red pepper flakes and additional salt and pepper, to taste

Your Steps:

Add quinoa and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until all the water has absorbed. Fluff with a fork when finished and allow to rest. 

Meanwhile, season chicken with half of the seasoning mixture. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a larger skillet. Once hot, add chicken. Cook for 8-12 minutes, until just cooked through. Avoid over stirring to allow the chicken to crisp up just a little. Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds before stirring in remaining ingredients (broccoli, tomatoes, corn, pepper flakes, and remaining seasoning mixture). Cook until broccoli is hot throughout, approximately 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in quinoa. Add additional salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Enjoy!

Seasons in a bowl make me happy.
Cut and season the chicken!
1 cup chopped tomatoes, frozen or fresh diced.
Cook the fresh vegetables and chicken on medium-high heat….
…mix in the quinoa and dinner is served!

I love it because its simple and full of flavor and color. Bonus: We don’t typically meal plan this one. It just comes together as “often in our house” pantry items. Don’t dig chicken? You can totally substitute in a different protein. Yum! 

Looking for a different dinner idea? Check out my cooking page here!

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet. A "full of veggie meal" for a quick, clean, and full of flavor meal for any day of the week! Done in under 30 minutes! Win!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup quinoa rinsed and uncooked
  • 2 cups water or chicken stock
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bit size pieces
  • ½ teaspoon each of pepper salt onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika, mixed together
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 4 cups chopped broccoli about 1 head, if you include the stem
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • pinch of red pepper flakes and additional salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Add quinoa and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until all the water has absorbed. Fluff with a fork when finished and allow to rest.
  • Meanwhile, season chicken with half of the seasoning mixture.
  • Heat oil over medium-high heat in a larger skillet. Once hot, add chicken.
  • Cook for 8-12 minutes, until just cooked through. Avoid over stirring to allow the chicken to crisp up just a little.
  • Add minced garlic and cook 30 seconds before stirring in remaining ingredients (broccoli, tomatoes, corn, pepper flakes, and remaining seasoning mixture). Cook until broccoli is hot throughout, approximately 5-8 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and stir in quinoa. Add additional salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Sourdough Bagels

Do you love bagels in the morning? Or perhaps you have excess sourdough starter, and my goodness, you aren’t about to waste it? Well, then it seems sourdough bagels are a recipe begging to be made!

In the months prior to turning 33, I made a list of 33 things to do while I was 33. They ranged from bake a fruit tart, compete in an obstacle run, visit three new state parks, all the way to take a to class at the local farm to table foundation. Oddly enough, this little list changed my life forever. I chose two different classes: Baking Bread with Sourdough Starter (having no idea what sourdough really was) and a Restorative Yoga Class (totally outside of my comfort zone). The Restorative Yoga Class led me to the instructor who exactly one year later led me through a training to become a barre instructor, which I now do on the side. And the Baking Bread with Sourdough Starter class? Well, my family hasn’t eaten store bought bread since I started baking 2 years ago. 

Fast forward a few months after the class

The scene: My husband making his usual breakfast of an egg and bagel sandwich. Consequently, this got him husband thinking. He off-handedly said, “I wonder if you could make sourdough bagels…” A Google search later, and I had a recipe I was ready to follow, which I found at EveryDayFull (Click here for the link). 

I promise making sourdough bagels is so much easier than it seems. You just need a little time and be willing to spend it in the best room in the house, the kitchen. My bread baking schedule usually has me feeding my starter and prepping my loaves to ferment over the weekend. Because of this, it is also a perfect time to make bagels since your starter will be nice and healthy. There will also likely be a lot of it; a perfect time to use up two cups of starter! Remember, if you don’t have two cups of starter to part with, just pull it from the refrigerator a few days early and double it each day. You’ll have enough before you know it! (Thank goodness for exponential growth-I am a math teacher in my other life 🙂 ) 

Enough small talk. Let’s get to creating sourdough bagels! 

Your ingredients for sourdough bagels

  • 2 cups healthy sourdough starter
  • 1 ¼ to 1 ½  cups water
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 5 ½  cups flour (I like to do a combination of white and wheat; most recently, 3 cups white and 2 ½ cups) 
  • 1 T kosher salt
  • 1 T of baking soda (to be used when you boil the bagels)

Additionally, you will also need a wash to brush the bagels with prior to baking. You have lots of options: 

  • 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water, beaten (This is the best choice, but I don’t love how much egg is “wasted” when you get done so I often choose one of the other options)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of milk 
  • 1-2 tablespoons of butter 

Your steps To Sourdough Bagels

  • In a stand mixer, combine the starter, flour, water, salt and olive oil. I start with 1 ¼ cup of water, and then judge if I need the other ¼  cup when I get to the next step. Mix for 30 seconds or so. Then allow to rest for 10-15 min.
  • Turn on the mixer again and mix on low for 4 minutes. You have to watch this and take care of your mixer. The dough is thick and will cause your mixer to struggle. Just watch it. If it doesn’t seem to be combining well, you can slowly add another ¼ cup of water. 
  • Turn your dough into a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rest for 4-5 hours. I have let it rest as long as 6 hours without issue in the winter. However, my house is cooler, so just play with it. That’s the joy of sourdough, the time has some flexibility.

resting time

  • Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into anywhere from 12-18 pieces, depending on the size of bagel you enjoy. Roll these pieces into balls, flatten, and use your thumb and forefinger to create a hole in your bagel, about 1 ½ – 2 inches diameter. Set these on parchment paper, cover with a towel, and allow to rest an additional hour.
  • Meanwhile, bring a large kettle of water 1/2 full to boil. Once it reaches boiling, add the baking soda. Do this SLOWLY. It can boil over and make a big mess. Believe me, the glass on my oven has forever stains to prove it. Also grease two large cookie sheets so they are ready for you!
  • Drop each bagel into the boiling water for 1 min, flipping halfway through. You can put 4-7 in the kettle at a time. Then place them on the greased cookie sheets.

Baking Time

  • Use a brush to put the egg wash on each bagel (this gets them nice and shiny!), and put toppings on if interested! Our favorites are dried minced onion, cheddar cheese, and sesame seeds.
  • Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Then you must enjoy one straight out of the oven. It’s required. They are THAT good.

What are your favorite toppings? How do you eat your bagels? Are they just a breakfast food or an all day kind of thing? Me, I like the cinnamon and sugar ones for a mid morning snack 🙂

  • All the ingredients, ready to be be mixed for 30 seconds.
  • After mixing 30 seconds, your dough should look something like this.
  • Fully mixed and allowed to rise for 4-5 hours.
  • Cut the dough on a floured surface. 12-16 pieces.
  • Make a disc, and then a hole in the center.
  • Let’s rise one more time!
  • Boil for 1 min, turning halfway through.
  • Toppings: Minced onion and freshly grated cheddar cheese.
  • Butter wash, cheese and onion.
  • And what about some cinnamon sugar? Yum!
  • Freshly baked bagels

Don’t have a sourdough starter, but you want to create one? Check out King Arthur Flour’s directions here.

Once you have created a starter, I bet you’ll be baking bread. You’ll also have to maintain the starter. I have a set of videos on how to do that! Just click here!

JessLeave a comment

Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

At our house, we get very few days where both my husband and I are not working, getting to enjoy a true “weekend.” He’s a property manager of a state park which means his busy time is the opposite of my teacher schedule’s busy time. When we do get those special days that we are both home, breakfast can be a production. He’s in charge of the eggs (for all of the cooking I love to do, he still makes the best eggs…scrambled, omelette, you name it, he can do it). As for me, I love to put together some sort of baked good, warming the house with the oven and making the house smell just delightful.

This past weekend, I was inspired by all the muffins I saw on social media. What resulted was this clean, healthy apple and oatmeal muffin. Texture in the oatmeal and apple and just the right amount of cinnamon. My family approved and ate them all week. I loved them for a mid morning snack while I have been checking up on my students virtually. If you have a busy lifestyle, mix up a double batch and throw them in the freezer. 

Note that I have been into using maple syrup for my sweetener because we have it on hand and it’s a fun way for me to challenge myself to make the swap for refined sugar. If you don’t have access to maple syrup there are a few options here: 

  • Use honey instead 
  • Use regular sugar (or maybe brown for a hint of molasses?) and leave out the flax to compensate for dry ingredient addition. 

Okay, enough talk. Let’s get baking so you and your family can enjoy these muffins too!

Your ingredients (for approximately 18 regular sized muffins):

  • 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon 
  • ½ teaspoon salt 
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right)
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¾ cup maple syrup 
  • ⅓ cup oil of your choice (vegetable, olive, coconut)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 apple, peeled and diced (about 1 cup) 
  • ½ cup chopped nuts (optional-if you dig additional texture)

Your Steps to Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven. In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg. Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples. Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes. Enjoy right out of the oven with just a hint of butter, because if you ask me, there isn’t much better than a baked good straight out of the oven with a very small tab of butter. Yum!

  • Getting mixed..
  • …and a little more
  • Diced apples
  • Ready for the pan
  • Now for the oven..
  • …Ready for my belly!
Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

Looking for more baking recipes? Check out my baking page here!

Apple and Oatmeal Muffins

Light and full of good for you ingredients, these muffins will hit the spot and be on the table in 30 minutes.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
  • 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed If you don’t have this, you can leave it out, but I would replace with flour to keep the consistency right
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1 apple peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
  • ½ cup chopped nuts optional-if you dig additional texture

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees and move a rack to the center of the oven.
  • In a large bowl, combine oatmeal, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg.
  • In a separate bowl, mix milk, maple syrup, oil, egg.
  • Mix into the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Fold in apples and nuts.
  • Pour into greased or line muffin tins approximately ¾ of the way full. Bake for 16-22 minutes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Homemade Peanut Butter

Do you ever think to yourself, “I know I could easily buy this for much cheaper, BUT can I make it from scratch? I mean, just because I can?” I function in that world quite often; It has rubbed off on my children. Case in point, last night. I rarely eat the Oreos my husband buys, but last night, I thought, “Oooo…a crumbled Oreo on ice cream sounds so good.”

I went to grab an Oreo, and of course my husband and children had JUST finished them hours ago. When I pointed out to my family that of course I decided I wanted one right after they finished them, my 5-year-old daughter quickly responded, “Maybe you can find a recipe to make them homemade?!” I have apparently created monsters (Or not, because how cool is it that both of my children get excited about making things from scratch?! #momwin)

The “what can I make from scratch” itch has been stronger since we started being “safer at home.” My kids’ go to lunch is peanut butter and jelly on a tortilla shell. I like it on sourdough. Because we have a substantial garden and I love canning, we also have enough homemade jelly and jam to feed a small army.

So let’s see, I have a fresh loaf of sourdough bread. I have homegrown and canned black raspberry jam open in the fridge. Wouldn’t it be awesome if I made homemade peanut butter so the whole sandwich was produced by me? (This is another passion of mine…having the whole meal be from scratch and the protein harvested by my husband through hunting. So fun!). I gave it a try and the results were delicious. When my 10-year-old son (the go-to taste tester) gave it a try, he just closed his eyes and smiled. He makes it special.

This process was so much easier than I expected and your kids will be tickled pink to know they took peanuts from the pantry and made peanut butter from them! Give it a try!

Your ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil (or other oil, I went olive)
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey (to taste)

(Feel free to double or triple this recipe. I wanted to start small in case we didn’t love it. It was such an easy process that making it in small, fresh batches is a great idea too!)

Your Steps to Homemade Peanut Butter

Place the peanuts in a small food processor and pulse on high. This will take a few minutes. Be patient. As I watched the peanut go from whole to chopped to a large sand texture, I thought there was no way they were going to turn to butter. Keep going.

Once you have obtained a very fine sand texture, drizzle oil into the mixture, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, blending it in as you go. Again, be patient and suddenly you’ll think, “Holy cow! I made peanut butter!” The initial plan was not to put honey in mine, but I gave it a try and thought it would be good to have it be a touch sweeter. I added 1/2 teaspoon, blended it in, and then gave it to my son. He gave it two thumbs up so I stopped there. If you have a sweeter tooth than we do, you may want to add a little more.

What I love about this peanut butter is that you can control the consistency. I like a little texture so I opt for crunchy on my PB and Js. While I didn’t get crunchy per say, I did have texture which was good. I haven’t tried it yet, but you could totally mix in some additional chopped peanuts for true crunchy peanut butter. I hope you enjoy it as much we did at our house. Although I have a hard time sharing…I mean, they get all the Oreos right?

Let me know what you think! —Jess

PS…Ready for a game changer? Put a thin layer of homemade peanut butter on BOTH sides of the bread then put the jelly/jam on one side. My PB and J game has been forever changed because of this small hint!

Get ready for magic, right before your eyes.
After a few minutes of blending.
My mealtime goals: Everything from scratch.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

I do love my little food processor for creating small batches. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better, right?

Looking for homemade jam or jelly to pair with your peanut butter? Check out my canning and preserving page to get a recipe! Click the button below! Or click any of the pictures below for the direct link!

Canning

Homemade Peanut Butter

From scratch food is almost always better, but sometimes it isn't easy. Not the case with this homemade peanut butter! You are truly five minutes away!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil or other oil, I went olive
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon honey to taste
  • dash of salt optional

Instructions
 

  • Place the peanuts in a small food processor and pulse on high. This will take a few minutes. Be patient.
  • Once you have obtained a very fine sand texture, drizzle oil into the mixture, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, blending it in as you go.
  • Drizzle in honey and sprinkle in salt. Blend once more.
Keyword peanut butter, peanuts, sandwiches
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

So Simple Tomato Soup

I’ve always enjoyed a grilled cheese and some tomato soup. It wasn’t on my top list of favorites, but it definitely provides a source of comfort. Then I started baking sourdough bread and let me tell you, homemade sourdough quite possibly makes the best grilled cheese you’ll ever have. It’s been my “easy lunch” on the weekend countless times because it makes me so happy. Wait, you don’t bake sourdough…yet? What are you waiting for? Check it out here!

Okay, I digress. Sourdough grilled cheese is incredible, but tomato soup makes it so much better. And alas, we don’t generally have it on hand anymore since I make my own soups from scratch (I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to soup…it’s a bit of an obsession). But recently it was chilly out and I just needed tomato soup. I looked around my fridge and pantry and put this together in flash…along with a grilled cheese of course.

A few notes from me: Most tomato soups (and creamy soups in general) call for heavy cream. I never have that on hand, and I like to make soups with things that I have on hand. I find that milk works just fine and makes for a slightly lighter soup without compromising too much. If you dig a creamier soup, feel free to use heavy cream rather than milk. If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to sneak all the veggies I can into a meal. It’s how I roll. This soup isn’t any different. Finally, this soup makes use of an immersion blender/stick blender (click here to see which one I have). If you don’t have one, it’s a pretty sweet kitchen gadget that has tons of uses and doesn’t take up too much space. I recommend it 🙂

Okay, let’s get cooking!

Your ingredients:

  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1/3 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 small)
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used one salt free and one garlic seasoned), NOT drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 cups chicken stock/broth
  • 1 cup milk (I used 1%)
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey (to taste)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft. Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize). Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft. Hit all your soup goodness with the immersion blender and blend until smooth (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup). Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.

If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit. But if you’re like me at all, you’ll just be itching to get that warm goodness in your belly and you’ll eat it right away, complete with a grilled cheese. Yum!

I can’t help but take a picture of chopped vegetables. So pretty.
Soften those vegetables up.
It’s coming together!
Blend it all together.
Cook it down a little…
So Simple Tomato Soup
and serve!

So Simple Tomato Soup

A few easy, on hand ingredients combine to make a simple from scratch tomato soup everyone will love!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe
15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup diced carrot
  • 1/3 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup diced zucchini about 1 small
  • 1/2 cup tomato paste
  • 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes NOT drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 2 cups chicken stock/broth
  • 1 cup milk I used 1%
  • 1/2 tablespoon honey to taste

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft.
  • Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes.
  • Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize).
  • Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft.
  • Blend until smooth using an immersion blender and blend. (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup).
  • Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.
  • If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit.
Keyword Gluten Free, soup recipe, tomato soup
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other soup recipes?

Check out some of the recipes below!

Jess2 Comments

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

I have loved my sourdough starter from day one. I named it “Fred” (I mean, it rhymes with bread) and put a reminder in my phone to remember to feed it. Once I felt I had “mastered” (Do we ever really master anything?!) regular sourdough bread, I immediately got on Pinterest and started looking for other recipes to use my starter discard. Anything that I could bake with or without yeast, I wanted to use my sourdough starter. It was a challenge I made for myself and I loved bringing in new recipes for my colleagues at school to share and get input.

Like so many things, that wained over time. I still baked beyond bread, but generally not more than once a month. Then I decided to teach a few friends how to bake with sourdough and my passion was re-lite. (Thank you new sourdough friends! I appreciate you all so much!)

Enter this sourdough chocolate cake.

Before I share the recipe for sourdough chocolate cupcakes, I want to give just a little background. Working from home with my kids has brought some unexpected perks, one being a newfound kiddo interest in cooking and baking with me in the kitchen. My 10 year old has kicked butt and my 5 year old daughter is just itching to help. For Easter, she insisted she wanted to make cupcakes from scratch. “Great,” I say. “What kind?” “CHOCOLATE!” she says. I tried to convince her we should do a carrot cake but there was no talking her out of chocolate.

Then I saw my healthy, just doubled starter sitting on the table in all it’s glory. Inspiration station baby. I did a little research and I stumbled upon this recipe from King Arthur’s Flour. After some tweaking here and there and came up with my own version. I know I haven’t had a chocolate cake in quite some time, but I did declare one of the best I have had. They turned out marvelous, light and fluffy, sweet but not overly so. I hope the next time you either have excess starter or are just in the mood, you give these a try! –Jess

Your ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard, recently fed
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (regular milk would do just fine too!)
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate (I used Nestle’s dark chocolate chips…a recent obsession at our house)

Your Steps for Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes

In a small bowl, combine starter, almond milk, and flour. Cover and set aside for 1/2 hour to an hour.

Meanwhile, mix cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and egg (beaten ahead of time) in a large bowl. Stir cocoa powder mixture and chopped dark chocolate into the liquid ingredient bowl. Add starter, milk, and flour mixture. Mix until well combined. It will seem as though it won’t combine. Be patient and take your time. I used a large fork to combine the sourdough starter and chocolate mixture, using a gentle lifting motion.

It may take a few minutes, but suddenly, it will look like a chocolate cake batter rather than a strange marble cake, I promise. Once fully mixed, place in a lined or greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 14-18 minutes. Mine were done in exactly 16 minutes, bouncing back when I touched them. Allow to cool, then, if you are feeling especially “from scratch,” check out the frosting below!

Note: You could totally double this recipe and have a whole 9 by 13 cake. I just know my family didn’t need that much hanging around our house (We still have slices of lemon pound cake in the fridge that my son put together!)

  • Bubbly starter, nice and healthy.
  • Flour, milk, and starter, pre mixing.
  • Liquid ingredients….
  • mixed with dry ingredients and chopped chocolate
  • Mixing in the starter. Be patient. Use a large fork.
  • Ready to bake.
  • Almost ready to frost!
  • Umm..freaking yum.

For the frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • dash of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk

I am not calling myself a frosting expert by any means, but I will say that my husband ate ALL the leftovers with pretzels as soon as he got home from work, so it must have been pretty good?

Using an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Add vanilla and almond milk. Mix an additional 30 seconds to a minute. Frost your sourdough chocolate cupcakes. Then try a favorite “delicacy” from my childhood: Frosting on saltine crackers! Might I recommend frosting the non-salted side so that the salt goes on your tongue when you eat it? Yum!

Looking for other sweet treat inspiration? Check out my baking page by clicking the link below:

Baking

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes

Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting: Simple in flavor profile but oh so delicious and a great way to bake sourdough style!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Rest Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Sourdough
Servings 12 cupcakes

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard recently fed
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or regular milk
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup chopped dark chocolate

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • dash of salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons almond milk

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, combine starter, almond milk, and flour. Cover and set aside for 1/2 hour to an hour.
  • Meanwhile, mix cocoa powder, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Combine maple syrup, olive oil, vanilla, and egg (beaten ahead of time) in a large bowl.
  • Stir cocoa powder mixture and chopped dark chocolate into the liquid ingredient bowl. Add starter, milk, and flour mixture. Mix until well combined. It will seem as though it won’t combine. Be patient and take your time.
  • Once fully mixed, place in a lined or greased muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for 14-18 minutes, until they bounce back when touched.

Frosting

  • Using an electric mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy.
  • Gradually add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time.
  • Sprinkle with a dash of salt. Add vanilla and almond milk.
  • Mix an additional 30 seconds to a minute. Frost cooled cupcakes.
Keyword chocolate, cupcakes, dessert, sourdough
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment

Sloppy Joes and Homemade Rolls

Inspiration comes from interesting places, doesn’t it? I have this lovely friend who is immensely creative and loves to create food masterpieces often. Since she is working from home part time right now, this happens regularly for her. She shared that she made homemade hamburger rolls and that her husband declared them better than store bought. Well, those lingered in my head and I was intrigued, hoping to find a reason to make them. (Wait for it…Sloppy Joes to come!)

Two days later, my son and I were flipping through my most recent cooking magazine as we are waiting for the time to start teaching and learning from home, and we see Sloppy Joes. Alas, we don’t have any rolls and with COVID-19, we have been strictly holding to one grocery trip a week, and my husband is the one to do it (he’s at work…bummer). But! The recipe of the rolls! So I quickly set to work to put my own spin on a from scratch Sloppy Joe mix with yeast rolls.

Oh my goodness, these rolls. Simple to put together. Leaves the house smelling amazing, and tastes delightful. If yeast wasn’t such a hot commodity right now, I am certain my family would have a batch of these baked up every week. My kids snack on them like crazy. And the Sloppy Joe mix? Once we ate through the first batch of rolls, my kiddos were more than happy to eat it out of the bowl or on top of a slice of sourdough. Needless to say, this was a big hit at our house and lasted for a couple dinners as well as a few lunches for my kiddos. I hope it’s a hit at your house too!

First, the Sloppy Joes

Your ingredients:

  • 2 pounds ground meat (We do home ground venison, but do what suits your family)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup diced green pepper (about 1 pepper)
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 1/2 cup beef broth/stock
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (Or sub in brown sugar. We just have syrup on hand and I like to use it whenever possible)
  • 2/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Brown ground meat in a large sauté pan. Remove and set aside in a bowl. If your protein is lean like venison is, add and heat the olive oil to the pan. Add pepper, onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté for 5-10 minutes, until soft. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat to boiling. Bring down to a simmer, stir in the browned meat, and simmer for 40 minutes over low-medium heat. And just like that, you have delicious, from scratch Sloppy Joe’s! Now for the rolls (After Sloppy Joe pictures of course 🙂 )

  • Brown it up !
  • Dice up those veggies!
  • Get the cook on!
  • Looks thin, but let it simmer!
  • So good!

From Scratch Dollar rolls

My inspiration came from Cooking with Curls, but I modified her recipe just a touch to suit my own taste. You can find her original post here. Here’s how I put mine together:

Your ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 1 cup hot water (110-115 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (This has total flexibility though. I accidentally did 2 teaspoons the other day and they turned out fine. The original recipe calls for 4 tablespoons)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons butter, divided (1 tablespoon softened and remaining melted to brush on top of the rolls prior to baking)

In a stand mixer bowl, add yeast, sugar, and hot water. Allow to proof for five minutes. Stir in egg, flour, salt, and one tablespoon softened butter. From here, allow stand mixer to mix the ingredients on a low speed for 4 minutes, until a soft dough is formed. Cover the bowl and allow to rest and rise for an hour and a half.

After the dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 9-16 equal pieces, depending on your family likes their rolls. We dig smaller rolls, we we went for 16. Place on a jelly roll pan lined in parchment paper or silicone cookie sheet liners. Cover and allow them to rest an additional hour, until they double in size.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Uncover rolls and brush with melted butter (sprinkle with sesame seeds? I mean, that would be fun!). Bake for 15-18 minutes. Then take in just how good your house smells and revel in the fact that you just made homemade rolls that are SO MUCH BETTER than store bought, I promise!

  • Science class-yeast, hot water, and sugar. So cool.
  • The rest of the ingredients.
  • Time to rest.
  • I love the change after just 90 minutes.
  • Cut into your pieces (half the size you want)
  • Allow to rest for an additional hour.
  • Hot and ready rolls right out of the oven. Perhaps the best smell ever!

From Scratch Sloppy Joes

A combination of yeast rolls baked fresh and slow simmered from scratch Sloppy Joes make for a perfect meal and doubles as meal prep for later in the week
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course dinner
Cuisine American
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 pounds ground meat
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup diced green pepper about 1 pepper
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2 1/2 cup beef broth/stock
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup or brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a large kettle. Add ground protein. Brown ground meat. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
  • If your protein is lean like venison is, add and heat additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
  • Add pepper, onion, celery, and garlic. Sauté for 5-10 minutes, until soft.
  • Stir in remaining ingredients and heat to boiling.
  • Bring down to a simmer, stir in the browned meat, and simmer for 40 minutes over low-medium heat, until thickened.
Keyword dinner, lunch, sandwiches, sloppy joes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Jess1 Comment

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

I had a favorite ham and potato soup from my early days of cooking. Let me tell you, it was thickened by cheddar cheese, so it was a soup after my Wisconsin heart. Then I tried my mother in law’s new recipe. It was delish. So of course, I was inspired to reevaluate my own recipe and developed this beauty. My favorite part? The number of ingredients is low and it comes together so quickly! Give it a try on a cold dreary day when you need a steaming bowl of soup to warm your hands and soul.

Your ingredients

  • 4 cups of diced potatoes (You can peel them if you prefer. I like to leave the peels on. You do you!)
  • 2/3 cup diced celery
  • 2/3 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (my favorite is kosher salt)
  • 3 cups chicken broth (I always make use Orrington Farm’s chicken broth base)
  • 2 cups milk (I used 1%)
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup diced, cooked ham

Your Steps

In a large kettle (I LOVE my cast iron dutch oven), combine the potatoes, celery, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then low to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat.

Carefully pour vegetables and stock into a heat safe bowl and set aside. Keeping the kettle heated over medium heat, add the butter and stir until fully melted. Stir in the flour and continue to stir/whisk until a golden brown color is created, about 3 minutes. SLOWLY (I am not good at this part…I am so impatient), stir in the milk, adding 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. Heat and stir until it thickens. Be patient if you can, it will be worth it. Once all milk has been incorporated, slowly reincorporate the chicken stock and vegetables. Add in ham and continue to cook over a medium heat until the ham is heated through. Taste test, and add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve this ham and potato soup up with a nice side salad and a piece of crusty bread. Yum.

My husband is still in love with the cheesy potato soup, so he likes to stir in a few tablespoons of cheese (Okay, again, Wisconsin. Let’s be real, it’s more like 1/3 cup. We love our cheese.). It makes a great add in, but this soup eats great without it too! Give it a try! Cheers to your time in the kitchen–Jess

I can’t help but always share a picture of the cut up vegetables
Diced ham. Check out the color contrast!
Simmer away as my rooster keeps watch.
Create a perfect roux of flour and butter.
SLOWLY incorporate the milk.
Ham and Potato Soup
Perfection. Ready to warm my soul and my belly.

Looking for more dinner recipes? Check out my cooking page below:

Cooking

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Ham and Potato pair nicely in this simple, hearty soup.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Course dinner, Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups of diced potatoes
  • 2/3 cup diced celery
  • 2/3 cup diced onion
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups milk
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup diced cooked ham

Instructions
 

  • In a large kettle, combine the potatoes, celery, onion, garlic, pepper, salt, and chicken broth.
  • Bring to a boil and then low to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat.
  • Carefully pour vegetables and stock into a heat safe bowl and set aside.
  • Keeping the kettle heated over medium heat, add the butter and stir until fully melted.
  • Stir in the flour and continue to stir/whisk until a golden brown color is created, about 3 minutes.
  • Slowly stir in the milk, adding 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. Heat and stir until it thickens.
  • Once all milk has been incorporated, slowly reincorporate the chicken stock and vegetables.
  • Add in ham and continue to cook over a medium heat until the ham is heated through.
  • Taste test, and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Keyword cast iron cooking, comfort food, ham, Ham and Potato Soup, Potatoes, soups and stews
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

JessLeave a comment