jenny jones

I’ve had a craving for soft oatmeal raisin cookies lately and never knew how to make them. My oatmeal cookies are always crisp so I decided to try making soft and chewy ones. It was easy. They turned out really well with several different variations.

My recipe works three different ways:

1) Made with only butter.

2) Made with half butter, half oil.

3) Made with only oil.

But here’s the surprise. I did a blind taste test (with my husband’s help) and I could not tell the difference between any of them. All of the cookies, made with butter, oil, or a mix of both, tasted the same to me. So if you’re like me and try to avoid butter, make them with oil. I use cold pressed avocado oil. If you prefer butter, use only butter. If you’re undecided, use a 1/2 and 1/2 mixture of each. I think you’ll like them no matter what but keep in mind that they are large cookies because that keeps them soft, and also do not over bake them. If you bake them until they are too brown and golden, they may not be soft. But they’ll still taste good, though.

Oh, and one more thing: You can skip the raisins and use chocolate chips instead. (Do I hear applause??) Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I can never get enough spaghetti and meatballs. It’s really one of the best comfort foods. Most people think you have to cook sauce for hours but I will never do that when I can make delicious marinara sauce (and meatballs) in half an hour. I always use canned San Marzano plum tomatoes for my sauce.

And people think you have to brown meatballs first before putting them in your sauce but I don’t do that either. By cooking the meatballs totally in the sauce they come out super soft and delicious. We had this tonight with a salad and breadsticks. I made cookies too.

For dessert I made soft & chewy oatmeal raisin cookies – super easy. I’ll be posting that recipe soon. Meantime, if you want to try my quick and easy spaghetti and meatballs recipe, click here. – Jenny Jones

I made ribs this weekend with my own rub and sauce and I can see why the video has 5 million views and 35,000 comments on youtube and why my recipe has garnered over 800 comments here on this website. They are fantastic! I always make them in the oven now because I don’t like cleaning the grill. And this time I couldn’t find the silver skin on the back to remove and they were still just as tender as ever.

In case anyone has not tried this easy, foolproof way to make the most delicious fall-off-the-bone-ribs, try this recipe. Use my rub and sauce and you won’t be disappointed.

I went to bed early last night, planning to have the leftovers for dinner tonight but this morning, two of the ribs are missing. Apparently, my husband decided he needed a midnight snack. ? Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Somebody please stop me from eating five! These oven-baked Polish doughnuts are so light and so delicious and filled with homemade custard, well….. I can only make these a few times a year. It’s too easy to eat five. Pączki are most often filled with jam but custard is my favorite by far. These Polish doughnuts are light and airy and really simple to make.

Filling them is the hardest part and a pastry bag does make it easy. I used to use a long, slender pastry tip but I find it easier to use a wider tip, something like these:

Pączki are traditionally fried but I avoid eating deep fried food – nobody needs that. Besides, I could never eat five fried doughnuts without requiring medical care. Oven-baked is the way to go. Fill them with jam or custard. Either way you will love these delicious pączki (pronounced potnch‘-kee). Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Look at this beautiful spaghetti! It’s not just beautiful but it’s delicious and healthy too, full of brain boosting beets. And wait until you see how easy this pasta dish is. Everything cooks in one pan. No draining the spaghetti and no extra pots to wash. I am loving my new one-pan and one-pot recipes and this one makes a dramatic presentation. (anyone thinking Christmas?)

The ingredients are so simple: garlic, beets, spaghetti, and Parmesan cheese. You’ll need a pan at least 8 inches across so the spaghetti can fit, but you still have to break the spaghetti in half. These days, whenever I sauté garlic, I add it before the oil gets hot. This way there is no chance it can burn and the garlic flavor infuses the oil as well.

Beets are red… very red. Do not wear white clothing when handling beets and remember they can also stain white or wood utensils. I use the big holes on a box grater like this to shred the beets:Beets are full of fiber and nutrients and are good for lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation, supporting brain health, and they have anti-cancer properties. So besides the stunning presentation, there are may reasons to make this easy and healthy side dish. Keep in mind it’s important to stir the spaghetti well and often so it doesn’t stick.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

Autumn is here and that means it’s apple pie time. I always make it with an oil crust because if nothing else, it’s just easier. You can pat it into the pan but I find that rolling it between sheets of wax paper is the best way to use an oil crust, especially for the top. My apples of choice are granny smith ? and my thickener of choice is tapioca but flour works too.

Homemade apple pie is something special. We were at a social gathering last night and when desserts were set out, I told some friends I had just made an apple pie and it was cooling on the counter at home. If they wanted to, we could skip the prepared desserts and go to my house for apple pie. “Homemade apple pie? Let’s go!”

That’s the power of homemade apple pie. My husband’s two favorite desserts are my Fresh Strawberry Cake and Homemade Apple Pie. Nothing compares. I love this delicious pie and I must admit I like the power. I think I hear him in the garage right now cleaning things up. ? Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

My favorite desserts are something a little sweet, and that is why I created this simple loaf cake.  It’s easy to put together (I like that) with barely any cleanup (LOVE that), and it’s not too sweet so I don’t feel guilty if I have a little piece after breakfast. I still prefer baking without butter and I always prefer easy recipes so this one is perfect. It’s a moist tender cake and so delicious I never seem to have any leftovers.

If you don’t have a mixer, you can make this recipe by hand. Just sift all the dry ingredients, including sugar, into a bowl, make a well, stir in the liquids, and proceed. It won’t be quite as tall but still very delicious – a bit more like a pound cake. As for the chocolate chips, I use dark chocolate chips but I also like to use part chocolate chips and part chunks of a dark chocolate bar, somewhere in the 63 to 70% cocoa range. I just chop it up into small chunks.

And I’ll say it again: toast  your nuts before baking with them and you will see a big difference in the flavor, especially with pecans, my favorite baking nuts. If you like sweets that are not too sweet, easy to make, and even easier to eat, you will love this easy loaf cake. Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I made cinnamon rolls with breakfast. Notice I say “with” and not “for.” That’s because cinnamon rolls FOR breakfast is a no-no. But once you have your eggs and whole grain toast and a little fruit, you’re allowed to have a cinnamon roll. At least that’s the rule around here because it’s my kitchen and I am in charge!  This is an easy one-rise recipe that I make without butter but you can use butter in the filling if you like. It’s one of my most popular recipes. Click here for my cinnamon rolls recipe. – Jenny Jones

I never knew such a healthy, hearty bread could be so good and so easy to make. It’s probably the no knead bread I make the most because it’s just so easy. I haven’t bought bread in years. All of the bread recipes I post here are ones I make at home and it’s usually the Dutch oven breads because they are so easy to put together.

The prep is barely 5 minutes as you just combine the oats and flour(s) with yeast, salt, and water in a bowl. You cover the dough and let it rest overnight and the next day you fold the dough over a few times, let it rest a while, and bake in a Dutch oven. It’s foolproof. And you get a hearty, crusty loaf of bread you could never buy anywhere that’s so fresh and delicious. This multigrain no knead loaf is usually part of my breakfast and I also love it with a bowl of vegetable soup.

I started the dough last night but I was impatient this morning and didn’t wait the full 2 hours before baking. It was actually 1 hour and 15 minutes so I saved 45 minutes off the resting time. I will try it again with the shorter resting time and if it works once more (and was not a flook) I will adjust the recipe so you can make it faster. To try my multigrain no knead artisan bread, click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones

I didn’t have any cream cheese. But I wanted carrot cake. My husband said, “How about your chocolate frosting?” (He loves chocolate!) Once I stopped laughing, I decided to make my whole wheat carrot cake with chocolate frosting, knowing once he had a taste, he would agree to never make a baking suggestion again. Well after I ate some of the cake, I had to eat crow. It was delicious!

Homemade carrot cake is a real treat and worth the effort of shredding a big carrot. I’ve simplified my recipe so it works with or without crushed pineapple and this time I didn’t have pineapple either and this cake is really delicious without it, especially with chocolate frosting. I used my 2-Minute Chocolate Frosting and frosted only the top of my cake right in the pan.

Mine is a healthier whole wheat carrot cake make without butter so the only butter here is in the frosting. I sometimes double the frosting, split the cake and make it a 2-layer treat. If you want to try something different and delicious, make homemade carrot cake with chocolate frosting, or use the traditional cream cheese topping.  Click here for the recipe. – Jenny Jones