chocolate bit meringues

When I was in college, my roommate Lauren would get these amazing care packages.  Huge boxes would come in the mail, and there was always homemade food inside.  She was generally pretty possessive of these gifts (who wouldn't be?), but on occasion she let me have a taste of whatever treat happened to be in the box that month.  One of my favorites was these chocolate bit meringues.

What makes these little cookies so special?  Well...it's what's inside.

That's right.  Inside that beautiful white meringue are huge chunks of chocolate (and cornflakes for an added crunch).  They are delicious!

I talked Lauren into giving me the recipe, and now I'm sharing it with you.  So treat yourself (or a loved one) to a huge care package full of these...they'll definitely brighten up your day. :)

Chocolate Bit Meringues 

• 3 egg whites
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 cups cornflakes
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. vanilla
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate bits

Add salt and vanilla to egg whites; beat until frothy.  Sprinkle in sugar while beating to a very stiff and glossy meringue.  Fold in chocolate bits and corn flakes.  Drop onto well-greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

cookies and cream fudge

 

So...I had this dilemma.  Hubs was turning 30 years old (a BIG birthday, you know), and we were going to be leaving town the next day.  I was already up to my ears in laundry, cleaning, packing, and all of the other chores that go along with leaving town for a week.  Trying to bake a birthday cake in addition to that would have been INSANE.

And then there was this other problem - if I bake a cake, who would eat it?  We weren't going to have a party, so it would just be two of us with a huge cake.  And if we left town the next day, we'd have to basically trash the cake (there wasn't room for it to go with us).  

I decided to do something a bit fun and fanciful to make his birthday special.  I made fudge!  He'd been eying this fudge recipe in one of my magazines, so I figured now was time to give it a try.  It didn't disappoint.  It only took me about 10 minutes (and two separate runs to the grocery store to get forgotten ingredients...ha!).  It was absolutely delicious, and it's small enough that we'll be able to take our leftovers out of town...if there are any leftovers, that is.

To top off the fun, I actually cut a big 3-0 out of the fudge in honor of his big day. :)

Cookies and Cream Fudge
adapted from Taste of Home's "Food Gifts"

• 24 Oreo cookies, broken into chunks, divided
• 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 T. butter
• 2 2/3 cup white chocolate chips
• 1 t. vanilla

Line an 8-in. square dish with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray.  Place 2/3 of the broken cookies in pan.  In a heavy saucepan, combine the milk, butter, and chips; cook and stir over low heat until chips are melted.  Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.  Pour over cookies in pan.  Sprinkle with remaining cookies.  Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into pieces.  Makes about 3 dozen pieces.

sweet and savory pulled pork

Sweet and Savory Pulled Pork

• 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (about 3 pounds)
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 t. ground mustard
• 4 t. paprika
• a few shakes of liquid smoke

Place the pork into a slow cooker.  Top with celery and peppers.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour over top.  Cook on high for 1 hour and then low for 7 hours.  Remove meat from slow cooker; remove any pieces of fat and then shred with two forks.  Place shredded meat and all liquid from slow cooker into a large saucepan; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.

quick brown bread

This bread was a fantastic find.  I whipped it up in about 5 minutes, and it finished baking just in time for the soup to be done.  It's made with all whole wheat and flavored with molasses, so it passed my "relatively healthy" test.  And, it's amazing in the morning with jam or Nutella.  Loved, loved, loved it!

Quick Brown Bread

From Gooseberry Patch's Rush-Hour Recipes

• 1 cup milk
• 1 T. white vinegar
• 2 cups whole-wheat lour
• 1 t. salt
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup shortening, melted and cooled, or oil

Combine milk and vinegar in a small bowl; let stand for a few minutes.  In a separate large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Mix thoroughly and set aside.  Add remaining ingredients to milk mixture.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just enough to barely mix.  Pour batter into a well-greased 9"x5" loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center tests clean.  Makes one loaf.

anzac biscuits

 

These cookies are known as ANZAC Biscuits.  They are an Australian treat, and eating them brings back  memories of our recent trip to New Zealand.  This is a wonderfully chewy, dense cookie with an incredible flavor.  They also freeze well, last a LONG time (even after a few weeks, the leftovers are still chewy!), and have the power to trick you into thinking that you are eating a granola bar instead of a cookie.

ANZAC Biscuits

in Gooseberry Patch's Best-Ever Cookies

• 1 cup long-cooking oats, uncooked
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 T. maple syrup, honey, or corn syrup
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1 T. boiling water

Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl; set aside.  In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir butter and syrup or honey together until butter melts.  In a small cup, mix together baking soda and boiling  water; add to butter mixture.  Add butter mixture to oat mixture; mix well.  Roll into 1-1/2 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.  Cookies will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.  Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.

 

 

sourdough mushroom dressing

I have to admit, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner is the dressing or stuffing.  I don't really care which you give me...I'd be satisfied if that's all there were on my plate.

This recipe is inspired by Chef Bobby Flay's own recipe for dressing.  I didn't get to see his show down with Pioneer Woman, but I did go online and look through all of their recipes.  His sourdough dressing caught my eye.  Mine isn't exactly like his (I made it a little easier), but my goodness it was delicious!

Sourdough Mushroom Dressing

• 1 lb. sourdough bread, cut into cubes
• 1 1/2 pounds of mushrooms (pick your favorite or use a variety)
• 2 T. canola oil
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 to 3/4 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• herbs to taste (i.e. thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley) - use liberally

Spread bread cubes onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove and place in a large bowl.

Combine mushrooms, oil, salt and pepper; spread onto a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes or until tender and browned.

In a large skillet, cook and stir bacon pieces.  When bacon begins to brown, add onion and garlic.  Continue cooking until bacon is crispy and onion is tender.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with a paper towel.

Pour chicken broth into hot skillet and bring to a simmer.  Liberally add herbs (either fresh or dried).

Combine bread, mushrooms, bacon, onions, broth mixture, and eggs in a large bowl; mix well.  Spread into a greased casserole dish and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes; remove foil and continue baking until golden brown (another 30-40 minutes).

french boule bread with garlic dipping oil

I'm excited to welcome a guest blogger - Pie Birds, Buttons and Muddy Puddles!  This bread looks fantastic...I can't wait to give it a try.  

Now, I know what some of you are thinking - you don't bake bread, right?  Well, let's change that because this is a super simple bread recipe that you cannot mess up.  I promise.  No kneading and no mixer involved.  Seriously, you make the dough, let it rise and then shape into rolls like I did here, or you can make 4 small round loaves instead.  This is one of those recipes that will impress your family and friends so please don't run away.  Enjoy these French Boule rolls with a garlic infused dipping oil that is also simple to make.  The boule recipe is from Grace at Anderson Family Farm and the dipping oil is family recipe that my Dad perfected.  Let's get started!

French Boule Bread with Garlic Dipping Oil
Ingredients:
for the bread

• 3 cups warm water
• 1 ½ heaping Tablespoons of dry active yeast
• 1 Tablespoon honey or sugar
• 1 Tablespoons coarse salt (like Kosher)
• 6 cups flour (half bread flour, half whole wheat)

for the dipping oil

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley, or 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped fine)

Directions:

Measure your water in a large measuring cup.  You want the water to be warm, but not hot!  Add your yeast to the warm water with the honey or sugar and set aside for a minute or two. If you don't buy yeast in bulk, you can use one of the little packets (just measure the yeast out of that). Put the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add water mixture to dry ingredients and stir by hand until there are no dry pockets.

The dough should be quite sticky and wet, if it is not then you were too heavy on the flour and you’ll just need to add more water. No kneading, remember?

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside to rise at room temperature for about an hour or longer.  Once it doubles in size and starts to collapse you know it is ready.  But this is easy, remember, so if you can't tell if it is doubled or starting to collapse, just go for it after an hour or so.

This is what my dough looked like after an hour and a half.  Perfect. Now preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place a stoneware pan in the oven (if you don't have one you can use a baking sheet upside down).  Place an oven safe pan (metal - don't use glass!) on the bottom rack, underneath the rack with the stoneware pan.

Flour your counter really well and scoop your dough out onto the counter.

Use a sharp floured knife to cut the dough in half, and then in half again, giving you 4 quarters.

Cut each quarter into 4 equal sized pieces, giving you 16 pieces of dough total.  They don't have to be exact, just eye it and no worries if some end up a little bigger or smaller than others.

Place a piece of parchment paper on top of an upside down baking sheet (or a baking peel if you have one, I don't) next to your work surface and start shaping the rolls.  Using well floured hands roll each piece of dough into a round ball, pinching the bottoms together towards the center.  Do this step pretty quickly, taking only about 20 seconds per piece of dough so you don't overwork it.  Place the round balls of dough, seam side down, onto the parchment paper.  Continue with remaining pieces.

Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with a little more flour and let them rise for about 20 minutes.

After about 20 minutes they should start to look puffy and they are ready for the oven.  Add a cup of cold water to the metal pan on the bottom rack of the oven.  This will create steam inside the oven, giving your rolls a nice crisp chewy texture on the outside.

Slide your parchment paper full of puffy rolls off the baking sheet and onto the hot stoneware pan, being careful not burn your hand!  Bake the rolls for 20 minutes.

Now while the rolls are baking you can make the dipping oil.  It is sooooo good.  Add about 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil to a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Heat until you warmed through.

Add one clove of minced garlic to the oil and shut the heat off and let it sit and mingle for a few minutes.  You don't want to cook the garlic, just infuse it into the oil.

Grate about 1/4 cup of fresh Parmesan cheese.

Measure out 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes and 1 Tablespoon of dried parsley (or double of fresh parsley).

Add the crushed red pepper flakes and parsley to the garlic infused oil.

Mix well.

In little bowls, place 1 Tablespoon of the freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Pour the oil mixture over the cheese and mix.  The smells are going to overwhelm your senses here and you might drool.  Apologies in advance.

Take your rolls out of the oven and let them cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before you dig in, if you can.  I usually can't.

Enjoy with the dipping oil and marvel that you just made a wonderfully impressive French bread.


The dipping oil is the perfect condiment for these delicious rolls.  See the chewy crust all around the edges of the roll?  That steam in the oven really gives you a professional bakery result.  See the herbs and cheese in that oil?  Seriously amazing flavors. Are you drooling yet?

I told you this was easy, and these step by step pictures (taken by my best bud Travis) will help you along the way.  Hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I enjoyed sharing here on Delightful Country Cookin'. I have plenty more recipes over at my little blog, Pie Birds, Buttons and Muddy Puddles.  Enjoy!