Tag: baking

Kitchen/

Our All-time Favorite Granola

I’ve been making this granola for decades. The original recipe came from an old Make-A-Mix cookbook I got from my mom when I got married. I’ve tweaked it more than a few times since then, and that’s one of my favorite things about this recipe. It’s very adaptable to your taste and the season. In November I usually add pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon. In September, I’ll add apple pie spice. In the summer, I keep it pretty bare so we can add our favorite ripe fruit and a big spoonful of Greek yogurt. So good!

Once my husband and I became empty-nesters I tried halving the recipe a few times. I was met with deep disappointment from my favorite guy! I quickly realized if I wanted to keep him happy, I needed to just keep the granola in stock. Always.

Do you have a favorite granola yet? I’d love it if you’d give my recipe a try and let me know what you think. How do you adjust it for your family’s tastes?

Favorite Granola

Delicious granola with lots of room for personalization. Wonderful with yogurt parfaits, or with a little fruit and milk.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Snack
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 10 C. old-fashioned oats see notes
  • 1 C. sunflower seeds
  • 1 C. pepitas
  • 1/2 C. sesame seeds
  • 1/2 C. wheat germ
  • 1/2 C. flaxseed meal and/or chia seeds
  • 1/2 lb. shredded coconut sweetened or unsweetened, to taste
  • 1 C. sliced almonds
  • 2 C. walnut pieces
  • 1 C. brown sugar
  • 1 C. water
  • 1/3 C. vegetable oil
  • 1/2 C. honey
  • 1/2 C. molasses
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon see notes
  • 3 tsp. vanilla

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 300ºF. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or foil.
  • In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.
  • Heat on medium low until sugar is dissolved, but don’t allow to boil.
  • Meanwhile, in a very large bowl, combine oats, seeds, wheat germ, flax seed meal, coconut, and nuts. Blend well.
  • Pour prepared syrup over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated.
  • Spread onto prepared sheet pans.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after fifteen minutes.

Notes

  • Try using a 5-Grain Cereal Mix (such as from WinCo’s bulk area) in place of the oats.
  • May use Apple Pie Spice or other favorite spices in place of, or in addition to, cinnamon.
  • Keeps up to six months in an airtight container.
Keyword breakfast, granola, nuts, oats, snacks
Heartistic Life/

Super Easy Cinnamon Pie Crust Cookies

Family Favorite

Cinnamon Pie Crust Cookies are one of my favorite “cookies”. A simple but amazingly addictive treat, Pie Crust Cookies are a great way to use up leftover pie crust dough. The pies themselves are mostly, “meh”, for me (I know how crazy that sounds to many of you), but pie crust! Now that can be turned into something delicious. Add a cup of hot cocoa or herbal tea and I’m a happy girl!

I’ve never been a huge fan of cooked fruit pies. While there is definitely a time and place for a great apple pie, most cooked fruit makes me kind of sad. So mushy.

Dreaming of Pie

I do enjoy making pies, though. Especially holiday pies. I love most cream pies and pecan pie is one of my all time favorites. When I was a little girl, I once told my Aunt Shirley I would not go to sleep until she made me a Chocolate Cream Pie. It was already past my bedtime but she did it! Aunts are the best.

But let’s get back to pie crust and these simple delights. While store-bought pie crust makes these delicious cinnamon cookies even easier, making the dough from scratch is easy and takes these cookies to the next level. I’ve included my favorite, simple pie crust recipe here, but feel free to use your tried-and-true recipe.

Making Pie Crust Cookies Your Own

These cookies are easily modified and adapted to suit your family’s palate. Once baked and cooled a bit, I sometimes drizzle a simple vanilla glaze on top. The icing adds that extra bit of yum. It’s also fun to use cookie cutters to cut the cookies into shapes before baking. I have a friend who, instead of cinnamon, dusts hers with a bit of sugar and cocoa and some mini chocolate chips. And, if you’re into cooked fruit, you can definitely sprinkle some diced fruit on top before baking. So many fun possibilities!

Do you guys make something like this? What’s your family’s version?

Pie Crust Cookies

A simple but amazingly addictive cinnamon treat, Pie Crust Cookies are a great way to use up leftover pie crust dough.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Cookies & Bars
Cuisine Universal
Servings 1 crust

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon or to taste
  • 1 C all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar optional
  • ⅓ C shortening, butter, or lard
  • ½ Tbsp vinegar optional
  • 2 – 4 Tbsp ice water
  • ¼ C butter softened (not melted)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 400°. In a small bowl or jar with a shaker lid, mix together the 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, or the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar, if using.
  • Cut or pulse in ⅓ cup shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  • If using, sprinkle mixture with vinegar and mix lightly or pulse once or twice. Continue with ice water in the same manner, 1 tablespoonful at a time, until dough is just moist enough to form a ball when lightly pressed together.
  • Working the dough as little as possible, shape into a ball and flatten to ½-inch thickness, rounding and smoothing edges as you go.
  • Place dough ball between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper and roll from center out toward edges until desired thickness is reached. Remove top sheet of parchment or waxed paper and move dough with bottom sheet of parchment to a cookie sheet or baking stone.
  • Using a pastry brush, spread ¼ cup softened butter over prepared pie crust. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into roughly 2" x 3" rectangles. Separate slightly or leave cookies close together, as desired.
  • Bake at 400° for about 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool slightly before eating, but these are delicious warm!
Keyword baked goods, cinnamon, cookies, pie, pie crust
Heartistic Life/

How to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract

Did you know you can make homemade vanilla extract? It’s easy, affordable, and, most importantly, delicious! Plus it’s literally a perpetual supply with just the occasional refill, depending on how often you bake. I recently saw a video by Ina Garten on making homemade vanilla extract. She showed a jar with the most beautiful brown liquid in it and claimed she has kept that bottle of vanilla going for thirty years. THIRTY years!! That’s almost as long as I’ve been married! I like things that last. Plus, has anybody else noticed that vanilla is suddenly even more outrageously priced than ever??

Disclaimer: There are several product/store mentions and suggestions with at least one direct link. None of these are sponsored and I receive no kickbacks for anything mentioned. It’s just me, sharing my opinion and research.

Justifying My Experiment

My favorite bottle of vanilla extract at Costco is currently $34.99. I don’t drink alcohol, so I had no idea how much vodka would cost, but I figured there is no way the ingredients to make vanilla extract (vanilla beans and vodka or bourbon) – and factoring in how long it lasts – can be less cost-effective than that tiny bottle.

While I didn’t spend a lot of time bargain-hunting, I did some research at Winco and Costco. However, I didn’t want to just buy the first, expensive thing either. Between Winco and Costco, I figured I would have a pretty good idea of the range of costs and quality of products at most of my local grocery resources.

Gathering Supplies and Comparing Costs

I started at Costco. They had a large bottle of vodka for $12.99. I have a 1.5-pint mason jar  (24 oz.)to put the vanilla in, so I figured with that bottle of vodka, I could make three or four jars. Cool concept if I had thought ahead about Christmas presents (it’s best to let the vanilla extract sit about six months before use), but I hadn’t. The vanilla beans at Costco are $15.99 for five beans. That’s about $3.20 per bean.

Then I headed next-door to Winco. The vanilla beans there were $9.81 for two. Yes, TWO. Which made their beans about $4.91 per bean. So, at this point, Costco definitely won the vanilla bean war.

As for the vodka, I found a smaller – but still large enough – bottle for $5.40. My research showed that as long as it’s at least 80 proof, any vodka will do.

Pricing Vodka

I bought the vodka at Winco and then headed back over to Costco for two vials of vanilla beans – plus a couple of other things; it IS Costco, people! Besides I had walked back and forth between the two stores and needed snacks.

I happened to have a vial of vanilla beans I had purchased at Winco a couple of months ago for some homemade vanilla bean ice cream that never happened, so once I got home I did a quick comparison of beans:

Vanilla Bean Comparison

Ummmm…. Wha….??? The straight across cost comparison between Winco and Costco just got a whole lot more complicated. Or simpler, depending on your point of view. For me, once I saw the difference in quality, The Costco won again. Praise to The Costco…

Technically the “recipe” calls for between 12 and 24 vanilla beans per jar of extract. I had three beans at home already (the Winco vials use to have three, but currently only have two), so I purchased two vials from Costco. That gave me a total of 13 beans. I plan to add a few more in a couple of weeks – after my budget recovers from the initial set up.

Keeping it Simple

The actual process for making the extract is ridiculously simple. First, add 12 – 24 beans to a clean jar…

Make sure the jar is tall enough to handle the beans without bending or breaking. Also be sure there’s enough room between the lid and the beans so that the beans can be completely covered in the vodka.

Then, add enough vodka to cover the vanilla beans. Cover tightly, label and store.

That’s it!

Final Analysis

If I factor in the cost of the jar, it cost just over $40 to get my vanilla extract going.  I have a bit of vodka left over to top off the jar as I use it. That gives me 24 oz. of vanilla extract for $40; about $1.67 per ounce. My favorite extract at Costco currently costs $34.99 and has 16 oz. in it; about $2.19. I’ve already saved some money! And everything I’ve read said the flavor is incredible. I’ll keep you posted on that. Better yet, try it yourself and let me know how it goes.

While you technically can use homemade vanilla extract after aging for as little as one month, every source I read said to wait at least six months for full flavor. After that, you can not only use the extract itself, but can snip off the end of the beans and squeeze out the seeds. I’m super excited for that first batch of Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream this summer!