Everybody loves getting my homemade caramel corn for Christmas but this batch is for me. Why shouldn’t I give myself a Christmas present? It’s not like I would eat it all in one day! I could. But I won’t. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. ?
I hope all of your baking turned out and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. – Jenny Jones
Guess what? I decided to try making my sugar cookies with whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out perfect! In fact, you will not be able to tell the difference. I wish I had tried this sooner but I only make these Christmas cookies once a year.
I used whole wheat pastry flour combined with all purpose flour and now these healthier sugar cookies, which already have half the butter and less sugar than most recipes, are even better. Since I give a lot of these as gifts, I prefer to use a cookie press – it’s so much faster and it makes smaller cookies so you can give more.
I’m not the best at adding sprinkles but I do recommend a very fine ground sugar if using a cookie press. A more coarse sugar will roll off the cookies but one that’s finely ground will stick. If you want to make my healthier Christmas sugar cookies even healthier, I hope you’ll try the whole wheat version. I even simplified the process so these homemadce sugar cookies are a breeze to make. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
My Christmas snowball cookies look fancy but they are so easy, even an amateur cook can make them. There’s no mixer required because this recipe is so simple. You just put all the ingredients into a bowl and combine with your hands. After a brief stint in the fridge, you just shape them into balls and bake. They are actually pecan balls so you must be sure to toast the pecans first. It really adds so much more flavor to these powdered sugar cookies.
They make a beautiful presentation so I often give them as a homemade Christmas gift. But they don’t just look good. These pecan balls simply melt in your mouth and every time I serve them or gift them, people ask for the recipe. And here’s some even better news. You can make them ahead and freeze! Gotta love that: Easy make-ahead Christmas cookies! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
I’ve been giving homemade treats as Christmas gifts for years. It’s easy to buy gift cards but taking time to make something for a friend or family member is more meaningful and always brings a big smile. Making someone homemade caramel corn or cookies or granola bars gives them something they can not buy anywhere because nothing store bought will ever taste as good as homemade.
The best homemade gifts are ones that travel well and keep well. That’s why I choose caramel corn, sugar cookies, granola bars, and biscotti. Everyone’s favorite is my caramel corn and if you’ve ever tasted this homemade caramel corn, you’ll see why – it’s absolutely fantastic!
Granola bars are the next most requested gift, again because you can’t buy a granola bar anywhere that even comes close to how good these are. Biscotti is a more exotic and unexpected gift because it takes more work to make these Italian cookies but my recipe for double chocolate almond biscotti will make a coffee lover very, very happy. They are so delicious!
Sugar cookies are not an unusual gift but my recipe uses less butter and less sugar than most and these festive holiday cookies simply melt in your mouth. Nothing store bought will ever taste as good. I can’t wait to start making all of these holiday gifts. Some will be mailed and others delivered in person. If you want to give and receive joy this Christmas, I hope you’ll consider giving some homemade treats as gifts. But be prepared: They will ask for them again next year! Click below for the recipes. – Jenny Jones
Did you eat too much turkey? Is that second piece of pumpkin pie still haunting you? Have some crudite.
Most of us probably didn’t eat enough vegetables over Thanksgiving weekend. Green bean casserole is mostly casserole and not a lot of beans. And aren’t candied yams really a dessert? Thanksgiving dinner is a great tradition and I enjoyed mine just like everyone else, as well as the leftovers but there’s a big container of fresh vegetables in my fridge right now. I always keep crudite on hand but I made extra today.
Vegetables are our lifeline to good health and when you have colorful veggies ready as a snack, you’re doing a lot of good for your long term health. I mix the colors because each color has its own health benefit: yellow & orange for eyes and lungs, red for memory and immunity, green for bones and teeth, purple & blue for aging and blood pressure and that’s just naming a few. Eating a variety of colored vegetables will provide a variety of different antioxidants that can help keep us well.
Eating vegetables every day, both fresh and cooked, is like an insurance policy for your health. And fresh crudite is not only appealing to look at, it’s delicious. Keep and container of fresh veggies in your fridge and see how fast they disappear! – Jenny Jones
Wishing all my American friends and visitors a Happy Thanksgiving. And for all those committed to cooking all day for friends and family, like I am… good luck! It’s a challenge but very satisfying once you’re all done and putting away leftovers for tomorrow.
I already made my simple stuffing, gravy, cranberries, and pumpkin pie yesterday. Today it’s the turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans and of course real whipped cream for the pie. My best wishes to everyone for a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I have much to be thankful for and never take my good fortune for granted. – Jenny Jones
Just in time for Thanksgiving, here is an even faster way to make my original crusty rolls. And you can make them ahead and freeze. They freeze beautifully and you can re-crisp, directly from freezer to oven, in minutes. They are even more crusty when you freeze and reheat!
The original version takes 4 hours but this one is ready in half the time – TWO hours! Using more yeast and hot water, it’s the fastest way I know to make these fabulous dinner rolls. It’s important that your oven be preheated to 450° F and my oven takes 35 minutes to reach 450. It’s really best to use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven it hot enough as these rolls depend on the first blast of high heat to puff up and rise.
This dough is sticky so it may help to see how to shape the rolls by watching the video attached to my original version of No Knead Crusty Rolls.
These fabulous artisan rolls can be made ahead and nicely re-crisped the next day or better still, make, cool, and freeze and just reheat by placing them directly on the oven rack, preheated to 325 °F, for 10-12 minutes. I’m always excited when I can find a way to make something easier and faster, especially when it’s homemade bread. They’re not just dinner rolls – I had them for breakfast today.
So there are three ways to make these crusty rolls. One is my original 4-hour recipe. Two is the overnight version where you use cold water and let the dough sit out overnight. And third, this new, fastest way ever to make no knead crusty rolls – in two hours! Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Somebody needs to stop me from eating my third slice of this delicious sweet bread! I’m happy to share my easy recipe for cinnamon swirl raisin bread and there are a few reasons why I think you’ll like it. First, it’s good! Second, it’s easy to make compared to most other recipes. Third, it’s a faster, one-rise recipe so the bread is ready to eat in 90 minutes. I use a mix of yellow and red raisins because I like the two different colors and textures.
Swirled loaves often wind up with gaps inside the loaf and it happens to me too. One day it’s perfectly tight and the next time I make it I get gaps but even with a gap, this cinnamon bread is still fantastic. I made the one below the exact same way as the one above, and it developed some small gaps but that didn’t stop me from enjoying it. With or without gaps, it’s the best cinnamon raisin bread I’ve ever had.
If you’re tempted to spread butter on it before adding the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture, I do not recommend it because when I tried it, the loaf did not hold together as well. In fact, this bread has no butter at all – I make it with extra light olive oil and it’s delicious! I hope you’ll try this recipe, follow it exactly, and let me know how yours turned out. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Here’s a simple chocolate cake recipe that works equally well using whole wheat pastry flour or all purpose flour. In fact, it’s hard to tell the difference so I prefer making it whole wheat. It’s like a chocolate pound cake but healthier because it’s 100% whole grain but you can make it with all purpose flour if you like. And instead of butter I use extra light olive oil. What sends it over the moon is adding dark chocolate chips and toasted nuts.
The only cocoa I use for my baking is Dutch process because it’s never bitter and the result is a beautiful, dark chocolate cake. I can always find it (Droste brand) at World Market. Pound cakes tend to be heavy and dense but by beating the egg whites separately, it makes the cake lighter and taller. My loaf pan measures 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches.
If you’re a chocolate lover like I am, I hope you like this moist and delicious, easy chocolate loaf cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones
Most people know that my favorite place to be is in the kitchen and to show you how much I enjoy “playing” there, I thought I would share what I cooked all this month. On the days I didn’t cook, we usually had leftovers as I prefer to eat at home than go to a restaurant. I hope my joy of cooking and baking will spark a similar passion in others to cook more at home. And now, here’s what I cooked this month…
Oct. 31 – Tortillas, salad, baked ziti, tapioca pudding with chocolate swirl. (photo below)
Oct. 30 – Asian salad, vegetable chicken soup
Oct. 29 – Granola, Greek salad, salmon patties, Greek spinach rice, dark chocolate almond clusters
Oct. 28 – No knead whole wheat bread, chicken noodle soup, my butter mix
Oct. 27 – Tuna salad, chicken stock, two bean turkey chili (photo below), whole wheat blondies
Oct. 26 – Granola bars, sesame seed breadsticks
Oct. 25 – Deviled eggs, tortillas, vegetable soup, pork fried rice
Oct. 24 – Pork loin with roasted vegetables
Oct. 22 – Multi grain no knead bread, Caesar salad, fast rice & beans, tapioca pudding
Oct. 21 – Eggs & hash browns, no knead raisin walnut bread
Oct. 20 – Granola, salad, pesto pasta with chicken
Oct. 19 – Egg salad, marinated beets, stuffed grape leaves (photo below)
Oct. 18 – Tortillas, chicken noodle soup, chocolate loaf cake
Oct. 16 – Beet & cabbage borscht, salad, skinless chicken drumsticks
Oct. 14 – Chocolate loaf cake (photo below), vegetable-bean soup
Oct. 13 – Wound healing soup, faster whole wheat no knead bread, biscotti (for a gift)
Oct. 12 – Granola bars, deviled eggs
Oct. 11 – Chicken and mushrooms with steamed broccollini
Oct. 10 – Granola, vegetable-bean soup
Oct. 9 – Chewy chocolate clusters, tuna salad
Oct. 8 – Deviled eggs, caesar salad, leftover turkey chili
Oct. 6 – Multi grain no knead bread (photo below) It’s one I make the most.
Oct. 5 – Whole wheat french toast, chicken soup, spicy cabbage salad, turkey chili, double chocolate biscotti
Oct. 4 – Hard boiled eggs, granola bars (photo below), tomato salad, cabbage soup, tortillas, leftover baked ziti
Oct. 3 – Simple whole wheat bread (photo below), whole wheat french toast, croutons, salad, leftover chicken pot pie, crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
Oct. 2 – No knead bread, salad, baked ziti, chocolate loaf cake
Oct. 1 – Sesame seed breadsticks, salad, chicken pot pie, dark chocolate fudge brownies.