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Oatmeal Cookie with Raisins and Walnuts

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Looking for sweet healthy treat? Yes, you can’t go wrong with oatmeal, raisins and walnuts…all wrapped in a lightly sweet oatmeal dough.

Lately I have been baking a lot these cookies and when I feel like having something sweet in between meals I go for one of these cookies and I am happy.

– Why are these cookies so good?

Well, these cookies are slightly crispy and chewy, and the combination of raisins and walnuts are amazing…sweet and nutty.

– How easy is to make these cookies?

Super easy, by the time the oven is at the right temperature I can guarantee you that the cookies are ready to go in…no wasting time.

– How to make the raisins soft, juice and plump?

Before anything else I like to soak the raisins in water, rum or brandy…and lightly heat in the microwave, so when added to the cookie dough they are soft and very moist. Do not worry about children eating these cookies as the alcohol will be totally evaporated.

– Why should you give this recipe a try?

Okay, I am sure that you all made oatmeal cookies before, and I am sure that they were all very good…but I urge you to try this one and you can tell me what you think about this recipe…do we have a deal?

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of unsalted butter (113 g)
  • 40 g brown sugar
  • 10 g sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 70 g all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
  • 100 g old-fashioned oat
  • 100g raisin, pre-soak in approximately 4 tablespoons of water, brandy or rum draining before adding to the cookie batter
  • 100 g walnut, small piece and slightly toasted

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375oF.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using) salt and baking soda.

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat together the sugars and butter until creamy and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and the egg, make sure to scrape the bowl occasionally.

Add the flour mix it into the creamed mixture, mixing until just combined. Mix in the oats until just combined.

Add the raisins and the walnut into the oatmeal batter.

Use the 3 tablespoons size cookie scoop to portion and drop it onto baking sheets, spacing them a couple inches apart.

Turn the temperature to 350oC and bake until slightly dark and chewy, 10 to 12 minutes.

If you like a crispier cookie, let them bake longer.

Remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool on a wire rack.

– If you enjoy this healthy and simple recipe, please take a look on these…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Walnut and Cranberry Sourdough Bread

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The combination of the nutty walnut and tart/sweet cranberry in this sourdough bread is just amazing…delicious plain or smeared with butter.

– Why sourdough bread?

Sourdough bread completely count on wild yeast found in air and lactobacillus to leaven the dough, very different from the bread leavened by commercial packaged yeast.

– Is sourdough bread healthier than the regular bread?

Apparently, bread using sourdough starter can be somehow considered as prebiotic, therefore it might help your intestine flora with good bacteria. Because the digestion of the starches starts to breakdown during the fermentation making sourdough bread easier to digest.

– How can I control the sourness of the sourdough bread?

To make it easier to understand…the longer the dough ferments the sour the bread will turn out, with this in mind let’s consider two scenarios.

  1. X amount of dough in a bowl + Y amount of sourdough starter
  2. X amount of dough in a bowl + 2Y amount of sourdough starter

Dough (B) has twice amount of sourdough starter as compared to dough (A).

When both doughs are placed to proof, the dough (B) will leaven faster than dough (A) right? It will take much longer to dough (A) to reach the same level of leavened as dough (B) because started with less raising agent (sourdough starter), so dough (A) will taste sourer than dough (B).

The take home message…the less sourdough starter used the sourer the bread will turn.

Now that I really confused you…

– Should we go to the recipe now?

Ingredients:

  • 65 g mature sourdough starter (1:1:1)
  • 255 g water
  • 275 g bread flour
  • 50 g whole wheat flour
  • 6 g salt
  • 12 g olive oil
  • 60 g toasted walnut (small pieces)
  • 60 g dry cranberries

Method:

Start by mixing both flours, water, and oil together in a medium bowl. Make sure that all the flour is incorporated into the water. Cover and let flour mix rest for 1 hour (hydrolysis).

Add the sourdough starter to the dough and mix until the starter is completely mixed to the dough. Use the stretch and fold method around the bowl, approximately 50 times. There will be gluten forming.

Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Add the salt and mix again using the stretch and fold method until all the salt is totally incorporated into the dough.

Rest the dough for 45 minutes and perform stretch and fold method on the dough. You will notice gluten forming as the dough will stretch farther.

Rest the dough for 45 minutes and perform lamination.

Spray the counter with a little water and place the dough on it.  Stretch the dough a much as you can, forming a rectangular shape.

Spread the walnut and cranberry on ⅔ of the sheet and fold into thirds, and again into thirds. Place the dough into a container and cover. Rest the dough for 45 minutes.

Perform sets of coil and fold and rest 45 minutes in between until the dough is somehow set, all the sides of the dough can pretty much hold itself.

When ready to pre-shape, sprinkle flour on the counter and on the top of the dough. Flip the bowl on the counter and let the dough fall on the flour surface.

Stretch the dough gently to form a rectangle, fold both side to the center and roll the dough. Seam the end of the dough.

Flour well the banneton and place the dough seam up.

Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered.

Next morning, pre-heat oven to 475oF with an empty tray.

In the meantime, boil water.

Flip the dough from the banneton to a floury surface. Using a soft brush, gently brush off excess of flour. Make the cut on the dough and spray with water.

Place the dough into the hot oven.  Carefully add the boiling water to the empty tray to create steam. Close the oven door.

Spray more water on the dough every 3 minutes, 3 times. After 15 minutes of baking, remove the water tray and the parchment paper underneath the bread. Lower the temperature to 375oF, bake for another 20 minutes.

Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack. Make sure the bread is completely cool before slicing.

– Did you enjoy this recipe, you might to look at these other bread recipes…

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Chunky Chocolate Chips Cookies

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These cookies are one of the best I have ever made…it is loaded with chunks of dark Belgium chocolate and toasted walnuts. They are almost like a chocolate bar with walnuts.

Let’s be honest, there is not such a thing as “not good chocolate chips cookies”, but there is a “great chocolate chips cookies”, and I can assure you that this is one of the great ones…as mentioned above, it is loaded, yes, loaded with dark Belgium chocolate and lots of toasted walnuts…again, the quality of the cookies lay on the quality of ingredients you use, and this time I did not hold back…instead of the chocolate chips found in grocery store (without offense) I decided to chop the bar of the dark chocolate (Trader Joe’s) and wow…

I hope you get the chance to try this recipe and find how amazed I was when I first broke into one of the cookies…

Ingredients:

  • 2 sticks (½ lb) of unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 135 g light brown sugar
  • 100 g sugar (for less sweet use 70g)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 300 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 400 g dark chocolate, cut into random chunks, I used Belgium
  • 250 g walnut, roasted and chopped into chunks (increase up to 400 g)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F

Sift the flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix it all.

Place butter and sugar into bowl and turn mixer on low, and then on medium until the butter is smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract, continue to beat on medium until all the eggs are incorporated to the butter.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and add the mixture of flour. Mix gently until all the flour is incorporated.

Pour in the chocolate and walnut into the dough and stir gently, making sure that the chocolate and walnut are mixed evenly into the dough.

Using an ice cream scooper, scoop the dough on a cookie sheet lined with silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. The cookies should be slightly golden on top and bottom. Remove from the oven and let it cool for approximately 15 minutes. Do not move the cookies as they still “cooking” and setting during the 15 minutes rest.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you enjoy this recipe you might want to try the Brown Butter Chocolate Chips Cookies recipe.

Did you know that dark chocolate contains plant flavonoids? Flavonoids are antioxidants…in spite of the antioxidants in dark chocolate one should be careful not to consume too much due to its fat content.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Banana Bread with Chocolate and Bourbon

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This banana bread is delicious…moist and loaded with semi dark chocolate and a hint of bourbon. Great warm and each bite come with chocolate and toasted walnut.

This is a very simple recipe for banana bread packed with chocolate chips and spiked with bourbon.  The recipe is based from here. I halved the recipe and baked in 2 mini loaf pans.

Ingredient:

  • 1 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ tablespoon baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas
  • ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons bourbon
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Direction:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Butter and flour 2 mini loaf pans. Make sure to remove excess of flour.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, add the egg and beat for approximately one minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the bananas, lemon juice, and bourbon, beat until well incorporated. The mixture may look curdled. Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until almost completely incorporated.

Add the walnuts and chocolate, and stir by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let the loaf cool slightly in the pan, invert it on a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing.

I hope you enjoy this simple and easy recipe for banana bread. You might want to take a look at Banana Foster with Vanilla Ice Cream recipe.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!



Maple Candied Walnut

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Your family will love these slightly sweet and crunchy snacks made with maple and walnut…totally addictive!

Again, I see myself stuck with lots and lots of walnut…yes, they are from Costco, so in order to make them more attractive I coated them with a layer of sweet using maple syrup. They turned out delicious, crunchy and slightly sweet. These walnuts are great by itself or on top of any salad.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups walnuts (approximately 14oz)
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a small pan, place the maple syrup, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Turn the heat to medium low until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla extract, stir gently.

Pour the maple syrup mixture over the walnut. Spread the walnut on the silicone liner, making sure that the walnuts are not clustered. Bake for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Let it cool completely and store in an air tied container.

If you like this simple recipe for Maple Candied Walnut you might want to check on Roasted Cinnamon Almonds.

Did you know that consumption of walnuts has been well evaluated for the wellbeing of the heart? It has been published in many studies that walnut can lower your overall cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol).

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful day!



Spinach with Ponzu Sauce

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I hope that all my friends in US are having a fun and safe Labor Day long weekend…

Have you ever bought the bag of spinach at Costco? Well, every time  I buy it, I need to desperately use it,  otherwise most of it will go to waste.

After sautéing, making salad, steaming…I found myself with still 1/3 of the bag…now, think, think, think…
That is when I came up with this very light, simple and yet tasty spinach with ponzu sauce topped with walnuts. It is good and the complexity of textures and flavors are amazing…

Ponzu sauce? Yes, ponzy sauce or ponzu soya is very common in Japanese cuisine. It is a pre made sauce that is mainly composed of soy sauce and citrus flavor. It tastes like a diluted soy sauce with lemon/lime.

Ingredients:

Bunch of spinach
Ponzu sauce to taste
Walnut
Sesame oil

Method:

In a big pot, place water to boil. Add the spinach and let it blanch for a few seconds. Drain the spinach and immediately emerge the spinach in ice water.

Drain the water well by squeezing the spinach in between your hands.

Place the spinach in the serving plate, drizzle with ponzu sauce, then sesame oil and top it with walnuts.
Serve immediately.

If you enjoy this simple and easy recipe using spinach, you might want to check on Sauté Spinach with Bacon or the Spinach Rice.

Did you know that spinach contains high levels of antioxidants and is a very rich source of iron? In spite of the high content of iron, spinach also contains oxalate, an absoption-inhibiting substance, which prevents the iron in the spinach to be absorbed by the body.

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes and have a great week!



Cinnamon Rolls in Cups

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These cinnamon rolls come in cups…it is easy and less messy to serve. I used the water-roux method for the dough, therefore the bun is very soft and together with the crunchiness of the walnut, the sweetness of raisins…all this together blended with a layer of cinnamon…is absolutely delicious. Not to mention when these buns are in the oven, the whole house just smell SO good.
These buns can be stores in the freezer. To serve, warm them in the microwave.

Ingredients:

Water roux or Tangzhong
75 ml of water
15 g of bread flour

Dough
2 cups bread flour
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon butter
1½ teaspoon dry yeast
1 large egg and complete to 100 ml with heavy cream

1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnut

Method:

Water roux
Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches 65ºC/149ºF. The mix will turn to a paste and you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, cover with a saran wrap film over the paste and leave until lukewarm.

Dough
Add the water roux and all the dough ingredients to the mixer, knead for approximately 15 minutes, the dough reaches a thin membrane. The dough will be slightly sticky. Let is rise for approximately 2 to 3 hours in a cover container or until it double its initial volume.

Assembly
Punch down, knead the dough and roll into a rectangular shape of approximately 13 x 9 inches. Spread the cinnamon, the sugar, walnut and raisins. Roll it and cut into 12 pieces. Place them in a standard size cupcake pan. Cover the buns with saran wrap film and let rise until double in size.
Bake in preheated 350°F oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve warm.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and have a wonderful week!

Thank you for stopping by Simple Recipes!