Sweet & Simple: Honey Roasted Nuts
Posted: January 24, 2012 Filed under: Appetizer, Healthy, Snacks, Sweet & Simple, The Smart Cookie Cook, Vegetarian | Tags: appetizer, nuts, snacks, Super Bowl 8 Comments »
When it comes to flavors, sweet and salty treats provide the ultimate eating experience. They give a little bit of this and a little bit of that so you don’t have to choose when you snack sensors start calling to you. It’s the best of both worlds, a complex blend of sugar and salt to create multiple levels of flavor.
Honey is perhaps the most naturally sweet substance mother nature has bestowed upon us (besides sugar itself). It’s like sweet liquid gold. In contrast, nuts are the Earth’s natural salty snack. Combine the two, and you’ve got the pinnacle of salty-sweet snacks in the most basic form that nature intended.
These Honey Roasted Nuts are a handful of honey-kissed delight. With the perfect balance of salty and sweet, they are wonderfully satisfying to your snack attack cravings. They’ve even got a bit of heat that kicks in when you least expect it, spicing up your snacking experience. These aren’t your ordinary store-bought honey roasted peanuts; they’re fresh from the oven, made with real honey, and packing more flavor in one peanut than a whole jar of the store-bought stuff.
Besides being delicious, these nuts are quick and easy to make. Mix up the ingredients and give it a nice and toasty roast, and you’ve got yourself a snack. They’re the perfect finger food for Super Bowl celebrations, or for late-night self-indulging. To share or not to share? That’s up to you, my little cookies.
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Grandma’s Hello Dollies
Posted: December 19, 2011 Filed under: Cookies, Dessert, Holiday, Snacks, The Smart Cookie Cook, Vegetarian | Tags: baking, chocolate, Christmas, coconut, cookies, food, nuts 9 Comments »
There is one thing that I truly associate with the holidays. It’s not eggnog or peppermint or gingerbread, although all of those things carry their holiday nostalgia as well. No; for me, the most Christmasy thing I can imagine is my late grandmother’s Hello Dollies.
Once a year, every year, when Christmas rolls around, I break out her handwritten recipe on a faded note card and bake up a batch of these nostalgic treats. Like most handed-down recipes, the instructions are rather vague. And yet, I’ve never once messed them up. It’s almost as if I have her spirit to guide me through.
It’s strange how that little note card seems so fragile. It is from another time and place entirely, and to hold it in my hands feels slightly surreal. It is as if I must handle it with the greatest care or risk it shattering in the palm of my hands. Every time I look at it, I envy my grandmother’s perfect, dainty handwriting (mine is all over the place). Unlike a recipe from a random cookbook or website, it feels as if she’s actually speaking to me. I can see her in her kitchen, many years ago, preparing these beloved cookies for my father and his brother, who to this day cannot get enough of them. It’s slightly eerie, but a special experience indeed. No matter how fancy or impressive a cookbook is, it will never come close to the special feeling of following a hand-written family recipe.
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Caramel Corn with Pecans & Almonds
Posted: December 16, 2011 Filed under: Candy, Dessert, Holiday, Snacks, The Smart Cookie Cook, Vegetarian | Tags: caramel, caramel corn, food, nuts, popcorn 16 Comments »
You know that caramel-covered popcorn that you buy in the big tin canisters with the pretty designs on the outside?
This is so much better.
Before this Caramel Corn recipe came into my sheltered life, I had never had homemade popcorn. My corn experience had mostly consisted of microwavable bags and overly buttered, calorie laden movie theater corn that, although delicious, seemed almost dangerous to eat.
I like popcorn. It’s really good. Is it my favorite thing in the world? Probably not. Although, its intoxicating smell certainly increases its allure. That’s how popcorn gets you; its buttery aroma comes wafting up your unsuspecting nostrils, and everything goes black for a few moments. When you come to again, your hands are slathered in butter and a elephant-sized portion of popcorn has disappeared.
But that’s neither here nor there. What I’m saying is that popcorn doesn’t necessarily get me excited. Well, at least not until I gave this caramel corn a try. My little cookies, let me tell you something: there is nothing in this world as wonderful as homemade caramel corn. That stuff you buy at the store is mere child’s play. You have not lived until you’ve eaten homemade caramel corn, and this recipe is the way to go.
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Holiday Treats: Hello Dolly Fudge
Posted: December 6, 2011 Filed under: Candy, Cookies, Dessert, Holiday, Snacks, The Smart Cookie Cook | Tags: baking, chocolate, Christmas, dessert, food, fudge, gifts, holiday, nuts 8 Comments »
When it comes to holiday gift-giving, things can get ugly. There’s always someone, that one stubborn person, who refuses to tell you what they want. Do they really want nothing or do they merely enjoy messing with you? Regardless of their motives, those people make the holidays exponentially more difficult than necessary.
The good news is that food is a pretty universally adored gift. I mean, does anyone hate food? (I’m sure there’s someone; there’s always someone). The problem arises in choosing a food that you gift-recievee will enjoy. Brussel sprouts? Eh, not the safest choice. Cookies and fudge, on the other hand, are usually a pretty safe direction to go in. They’re delicious, generally enjoyed, and perfect for the holiday season.
Now that you’ve narrowed down your options, you’ve got one more choice to make: cookies or fudge? This is a tough choice. Cookies are yummy, but fudge is awesome too. So, how do you choose?
You don’t. You make both.
Enter my Hello Dolly Fudge. Hello Dollies are a classic Christmas cookie in my household, comprised of several layers: a graham cracker crust, coconut, chocolate chips, walnuts, and sweetened condensed milk. Bake ‘em up, and the result is ooey gooey goodness. I took the essential elements of a Hello Dolly and fused them together with my favorite fudge recipe. The product is delicious, chocolatey fudge studded with walnuts and coconut then topped with a graham cracker crumble.
Heck. Yes.
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Thanksgiving Dessert: Personal Pumpkin Poke Cakes
Posted: November 14, 2011 Filed under: Dessert, Holiday, Vegetarian | Tags: baking, buttercream, butterscotch, cake, caramel, cinnamon, dessert, food, frosting, nuts, poke cake, pumpkin, Thanksgiving 10 Comments »
When I say “personal,” I mean these cakes could easily feed two people, but why would you ever want to share? Having your own personal cake allows you to either indulge in the whole sweet treat in one fell swoop or pace it out and prolong the enjoyment. The choice is yours, my little cookies.
Regardless of how you choose to scarf ‘em down, you simply must make these Personal Pumpkin Poke Cakes. They are so good, unlike anything I’ve had before. It’s a whole new pumpkin experience, which I am always happy to partake in.
The cakes are so incredibly moist, and why wouldn’t they be? You’re almost always guaranteed a moist, delicious cake when you bake with pumpkin. Then, the cakes are poked & soaked with a sweet cinnamon-caramel sauce, along with sweetened condensed milk. It’s totally indulgent, but surprisingly, not overly so. It is just sinful enough.
