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Gingerbread Blondies

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Blondies have a reputation of being chewy, moist, and brown-sugary, and these Gingerbread Blondies are no exception. These soft bars are simple but offer that unique, spicy flavor of the holidays. Pecans lend a pleasant texture and dark brown sugar contributes the slight flavor of molasses. Make your life a little easier by ditching the whole rolling-out-individual-cookies situation and bringing these to your next holiday gathering. We love that these aren’t overly sweet, but if you feel you need to sweeten these up a little more, just drizzle them with a simple icing of powdered sugar, water, and a little cinnamon.

This batter is thick and fragrant. We used “pecan cookie pieces” (Walmart). Even people who don’t love nuts in their desserts won’t mind these tiny bits:

These blondies have a true gingerbread presence.

While many think that the first known gingerbread recipe came out of Greece, Germany might come to mind as the birthplace of gingerbread, and it seems that it was the birthplace of the gingerbread house (think Hansel and Gretel). So, let’s learn a few thing about Germany and her people:

  • Germans dang near worship soccer.
  • College is free in Germany.
  • Most businesses are closed on Sundays.

So soft. So chewy.

Have your kids help you dump ingredients for mixing. As you enjoy these blondies with those you love, teach them a few things about ginger:

  • Ginger can really help keep you from feeling too gassy (tee-hee-hee).
  • Ginger can help your stomach feel settled if you feel nauseous.
  • Ginger is thought to help reduce inflammation.

Adapted ever so slightly from: Gingerbread Blondies #21

Gingerbread Blondies
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 12 bars
Ingredients
  • 2 sticks butter
  • 2 cups dark brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon gingerbread spice
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • 2½ cups flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Melt the butter; let cool slightly.
  2. Whisk in the dark brown sugar, eggs, gingerbread spice and vanilla.
  3. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt.
  4. Stir in the pecans.
  5. Spread in an oiled foil-lined 9-by-13-inch baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, begin checking at 25 minutes.
  6. Cool.

 

 

Artichoke-Salami Stromboli

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artichoke-salami stromboli plated, further out-3

Savory: “pleasing, delicious in flavor.” Is this ever. This Artichoke-Salami Stromboli is positively bursting at the seams with cured, briny, fresh flavor. With only 10 minutes prep time, store-bought pizza dough make this a cinch and this salad is one of the simplest and best we’ve ever made, consisting of nothing but spinach, toasted pecans, thinly sliced celery, lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper. For the Stromboli, soft (although not soggy) pizza crust houses fresh spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, salami, provolone and parmesan – all of which marry together in the oven into a melty, toasty packet of Italian flavors.

artichoke-salami stromboli, raw-1

To ensure a crisp, non-soggy bottom, we suggest baking on a pizza stone, if you have one. We usually pick our pizza dough up from Trader Joe’s and we grabbed some thinly sliced salami at Walmart’s deli (unsponsored).

artichoke-salami stromboli baked, whole-2

You’re going to love this crunchy, bright-flavored green salad. We suggest using a food processor to quickly achieve a thin slice on the celery.

artichoke-salami stromboli, plated, closer-up-4

Have your kids help you layer ingredients on the dough. As you enjoy this dish with those you love, teach them a few things about the ingredients being used:

  • Spinach has powerful antioxidants, which help you stay healthy all-around.
  • Celery has potassium, which may help to lower high blood pressure.
  • Pecans are high in healthy fats and can help lower bad cholesterol.

There is a bit of controversy surrounding the origin of the Stromboli: some claim it was first made in an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, while others insist it was first made by a guy in Spokane. Some think it was named after the Italian island region of Stromboli, others after a movie titled ‘Stromboli.’ Either way, it originated in the U.S. in the 1950’s and we’re truly grateful that it did.

artichoke-salami stromboli collage

Adapted only slightly from: Artichoke-Salami Stromboli

Artichoke-Salami Stromboli
 
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Difficulty: Easy
Est. Cost: $13
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 pound refrigerated pizza dough, at room temperature
  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for stretching
  • 6 cups lightly packed baby spinach (about 5 ounces)
  • ½ cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts, drained (an entire small jar)
  • 4 ounces thinly sliced Genoa salami
  • 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese
  • 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts (TAC prefers pecans)
  • 4 stalks celery (with leaves), thinly sliced
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
  1. Put an inverted baking sheet on the lowest oven rack and preheat to 400 degrees F. Divide the pizza dough in half. Press and stretch 1 piece into an 8-by-10-inch rectangle on an oiled surface using oiled hands; brush with 2 teaspoons olive oil.
  2. Layer 1 cup spinach, half each of the artichokes, salami, ½ tablespoon parmesan and provolone on the dough, leaving a 1-inch border on the short sides and a 2-inch border on the long sides. Fold in the short sides, then the long sides, stretching to cover the filling; pinch at the seam. Repeat to make a second stromboli.
  3. Arrange the stromboli seam-side down, 2 to 3 inches apart, on a piece of parchment; slide onto another inverted baking sheet. Cut a few slits into the tops and brush each with 2 teaspoons olive oil; sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon parmesan. Slide the stromboli (on the parchment) onto the hot baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Cool slightly.
  4. Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, 5 minutes; cool. Toss the celery, the remaining 4 cups spinach and 2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice and walnuts in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. Cut each stromboli in half and serve with the salad.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 680 Fat: 38 g Saturated fat: 11 g Carbohydrates: 63 g Sodium: 1,490 mg Fiber: 4 g Protein: 26 g Cholesterol: 40 mg

 

Dulce De Leche Cookie Bars

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dulce de leche bars 1 - 1

We adore cookie bars because they are soft and chewy and we can skip the edges if we want and have 3 or 4 sides of thick, soft wonderfulness. These Dulce De Leche Bars are everything to be desired in a cookie bar: soft, rich, and just a little chocolatey. The shortbread-ish crust is flaky and buttery, and the dulce de leche is sweet and gooey. The nuts and chocolate chips lend some pleasant texture. Thank us later.

We wanted to make our own dulce de leche for this… and it turned out horribly at first. We used the ole’ “pour sweetened condensed milk into a dish, cover with foil, and set that dish inside another dish with hot water coming half way up the sides of the dish and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes…blah blah blah” method. Bull. I cooked that junk for 4 hours and it didn’t get any darker than an extremely pale caramel color (and didn’t really thicken). So DON’T use that lame method. What DID work was this method: remove the labels from 2 cans of sweetened condensed milk, set them inside a large pot, cover with water. Bring it to a gentle boil and leave them in there, undisturbed, for 3.5 hours (you may need to add more water as it evaporates). Makes about 2.25 cups.

boiling cans of sweetened condensed milk for dulce de leche cookie bars-1

 

dulce de leche bars 2 - 1

Dulce De Leche Cookie Bars
 
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Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Serves: 25 bars
Ingredients
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
  • ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup dulce de leche
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-inch-square baking dish with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides; coat the foil with cooking spray.
  2. Pulse 2 cups flour, the butter, confectioners' sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt in a food processor until the mixture starts clumping together, about 1 minute. Press firmly and evenly in the bottom and ¼ inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake until firm and lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 5 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the dulce de leche, heavy cream, egg yolks and the remaining 1 tablespoon flour and 2 teaspoons vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture over the crust and sprinkle with the chocolate chips and pecans. Return to the oven and bake until set around the edge but slightly jiggly in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.
  4. Transfer to the rack and let cool completely. Lift out of the pan using the overhanging foil. Remove the foil and cut into pieces.

From: Dulce de Leche Cookie Bars

Quinoa Salad with Beets

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Quinoa Salad with Beets - 1

Quinoa Salad with Beets 2 - 1

How do you feel about beets? Beets are one of those things that we avoided as kids and teenagers. Actually, we never even tried one. What’s up with that weird texture anyway? And then, it happened. Blake was living in Ecuador and tried his very first beet. Delish. I had still managed to dodge the mysterious vegetable well into our marriage, when Blake decided he wanted to can pickles… and beets. “Whatever you want,” I said, “but don’t can too many because you’ll be their sole consumer.” Weeks went by and our pickles (and beets) were ready to be enjoyed. Reluctantly, I tried the tiniest bit of a beet, just to confirm that they were super gross. Instead, I was met with a deep, earthy flavor that I had never before experienced. I loved it. A lot.

beets-1

Pickled beets are wonderful in their own spicy way, but we enjoy beets even more in a salad like this where they can shine more true to themselves. This salad is stunning, fresh and full of different textures and flavors, which all balance each other out in a bright and wonderful way.

Quinoa Salad with Beets ingredients - 1

Tips (unsponsored): We boil our own beets, but you can buy them packaged and already boiled in many grocery stores in the produce section. We like to buy our grains in the bulk section of Sprouts, so we can just buy the 1 cup or whatever that we need for a dish.

Have your kids help you whisk the dressing.  As you prepare and enjoy this meal with your family, teach them about some of the health benefits of some of the ingredients:

  • Quinoa offers lots of protein, which you need to rebuild your skin, hair and nails.
  • Beets can help to lower high blood pressure, and pretty quickly too.
  • Pecans (albeit candied in this dish) provide your body with vitamin E, which helps your immune system stay strong.

Since quinoa derives from Peru, let’s learn a few things about Peru and it’s people:

  • Amazon jungle covers more than half of Peru.
  • If you visit Peru, don’t bring your guinea pig – it is a traditional meat there!
  • Lima, the capital of Peru, is home to more than ¼ of the whole population.

Adapted slightly from: Quinoa Salad with Beets

Quinoa Salad with Beets
 
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Author:
Difficulty: Easy
Est. Cost: $13
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 4 cups mesclun greens (spring greens)
  • 2 cups diced cooked beets
  • ½ cup candied pecans (or candied walnuts)
  • ½ cup sliced red onion
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Blue cheese, for topping
Instructions
  1. Cook the quinoa as the label directs; cool.
  2. Whisk the cider vinegar with the Dijon mustard
  3. Whisk in the olive oil.
  4. Toss with the greens, beets, candied pecans, sliced red onion, and the quinoa.
  5. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Top with blue cheese.

 

 

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