Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls

So I found these on gimme some oven. They call them "No-Bake Energy Bites." This is true, but they taste like cookie dough balls! I will absolutely make them again. And again. And again.


INGREDIENTS:
1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. ***I found my small Pampered Chef scoop worked well for this! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Yield: 16 balls (+1 for the chef)

Homemade Thin Wheat Crackers

These look and taste a LOT like those famous crackers that are thin and made with wheat. ;) I love em! I bake them closer to 10 minutes to make sure they are browned. If not, they aren't as crispy as I would like. Try these - they really aren't too hard! I found this on Two Peas and their Pod, and they found it from KAF.


INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup water (you might need to add a little more)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  *** LOVE the silpat!!!

Set aside.

2. Add the flour, sugar, salt and paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Cut the butter into small pieces and add it to the bowl.  Using a pastry blender, mix the butter into the dry ingredients thoroughly.  Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup or bowl.  Add to the butter/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. If the dough is still dry, add a little more water. *** I've always had to add more water at this stage. Also, I made this dough in the food processor and it worked very well!

3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.  Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a towel so they don't dry out.  Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle.  Lift the dough and turn it as you roll to ensure it's not sticking.  You want to roll the dough as thin as possible, try to make sure it's 1/16-inch thick at most.  If you want all of your crackers to be perfect, trim the edges of the dough so you have a rectangle with even sides.  Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.

4. Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You can place them close together because they will not spread.  Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt.  Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough.  Save all of your scraps under the towel to keep the dough from drying out; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.

5. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes.  Check the crackers at 5 minutes, and if some of the thinner ones are browning too quickly, remove them from the oven.  The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them.  Remove crackers from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  Store the crackers in an airtight container.

Recipe from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

Caramel Corn

I got this awesome recipe from my friend Lisa. It's the easiest way to make caramel corn and has virtually no mess, as it's all made in a paper grocery bag in the microwave!

CARAMEL CORN

4 quarts of popped corn
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Place popped corn in paper bag
Combine brown sugar, butter, light corn syrup and salt
Bring to boil in microwave and cook 2 minutes longer.
Remove and stir in 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 tsp vanilla.
Pour syrup over the popped corn.
SHAKE.
Put in microwave for 1 1/2 min.
SHAKE, put back in for 1 1/2 min. longer,
SHAKE
Pour caramel corn on parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets to cool.
Store in a covered container.

ENJOY!

Hot Buttered Pretzels

I decided to make some homemade pretzels when our friend Kali was over the other day. I had to choose between a couple recipes. I went with one from my King Arthur Flour Cookbook and it was a winner! (Notice this is another great use for a Silpat! LOVE those things...)

INGREDIENTS:

Dough
2 1/2 cups unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
7/8 to 1 cup warm water*

Topping
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
coarse, kosher or pretzel salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

*Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

DIRECTIONS:

Manual/Mixer Method: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat till well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, till it's soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough and place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 500°F. Prepare two baking sheets by spraying them with vegetable oil spray, or lining them with parchment paper (or a SILPAT).

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the sugar, and place it in a shallow bowl.

Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28 long), and twist each rope into a pretzel, as illustrated. Dip each pretzel in the sugar water (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets.

Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Bake the pretzels for 8 to 9 minutes, or until they're golden brown, reversing the baking sheets halfway through.

Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you've used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that's what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.

Yield: 8 pretzels.