This is a favorite recipe that I got from Than’s mom. These rolls are hearty but soft, and so delicious especially when eaten warm on the day they were baked. They also freeze pretty well, though, so you can stash some away for later.
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Cracked Wheat Rolls
Hearty, nutty dinner rolls with lots of good grains
Instructions
Pour 1 cup boiling water into a glass mixing cup. Stir in cracked wheat set aside to soften.
Mix 3/4 cup warm water, sugar, and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk well and allow to sit about 5 minutes or until foamy.
Blend in salt, egg, and oil. Add softened cracked wheat along with any additional water in the cup.
Mix in 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. If you've been using a different attachment, switch to the dough hook at this point.
Add 1 more cup of all-purpose flour and 1 more cup of whole wheat flour or other ground grain (flax, rye, wheat germ). Knead in mixer until well combined.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise to the top of the bowl, about 1 hour.
After dough has risen, gently knead it back down with oiled hands. Allow dough to rise once more if you have time. (This second rise is optional).
With oiled hands, separate out portions of the risen dough and shape into rolls of desired size and shape. Place on greased cookie sheets.
Allow rolls to rise once more after shaping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake rolls at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until they begin to brown. Don't overcook!
Baking Bites via Pinterest provided this yummy recipe. The cookies are great on their own, and even better when stuck together as a peanut butter sandwich!
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Toffee Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies, or 20 sandwich cookies
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth, followed by 1/2 cup peanut butter.
With the mixer on low speed or working by hand, gradually blend in the flour mixture, then stir in the toffee bits.
Drop scant 1-inch balls onto prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 9-11 minutes, until edges are golden.
Cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When cookies are cooled, sandwich each pair with 2-3 tsp smooth peanut butter.
Recipe Notes
Original recipe (with more explanation and photos!) is from Baking Bites
June 2016 in Review, and Christmas Cookie #6
A favorite photo…
A few highlights…
- Nathan turns 11
- Super fun vacation Bible school with an international missions theme
- Katya finishes Suzuki Piano Book 1
- Summer backyard barbeques begin
- Extended family comes for a weekend to watch Beauty and the Beast on stage
And a cookie recipe to go with it!
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Candy Cane Thumbprints
I got this recipe from a fellow pastor's wife at a cookie exchange many years ago. Even though there is no chocolate involved, they still end up as one of my favorites each Christmas! I always double the recipe when I make it, and then freeze half of the finished cookies for eating later in the month.
Instructions
Beat butter for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar and salt and cream well. Add egg and vanilla.
Mix in flour until well combined. Cover dough and chill for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned just around the edges.
Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use the back of a rounded measuring spoon or a melon baller to make an indent in the center of each cookie. Allow to cool completely.
While cookies are cool, mix peppermint filling ingredients together. DON'T ADD THE CANDY CANES! Whip everything else well to form a soft, fluffy icing that holds its shape.
When cookies are cool, spoon filling into indents and then sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top.
Recipe Notes
Cookies can be stored at room temperature for several days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
May 2016 in Review, and Christmas Cookie #5
A favorite photo…
A few highlights…
- School year ends
- A family wedding with lots of festivities
- Visit to St. Louis, complete with a backyard Senegalese meal and lots of good family time
And a cookie recipe to go with it!
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Peppermint Swirls
These pretty mint swirls are fun to make with kids, since they can help with the rolling and swirling. They make a colorful addition to Christmas platters. The recipe originally came from Light and Tasty magazine.
Instructions
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.
Divide dough into thirds. Stir red food coloring into one portion of dough; stir green food coloring into another portion. Leave remaining dough plain. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Divide each portion of dough into four equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 12-in. rope. Place a red, a green and a plain rope next to each other. Cut through all three ropes at 1-in. intervals, forming sets of three differently colored doughs. Repeat.
Roll each set of doughs into a ball; place balls 3 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 1/8-in. thickness with a glass dipped in additional sugar. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
February in Review, and Christmas Cookie #2
A favorite photo…
A few highlights…
- I didn’t take any photos. This picture is really from Feburary 2015!
- I didn’t write any blog posts
- What even happened in this month?
- Maybe there was no February 2016…
And a cookie recipe to go with it!
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Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies
Thumbprints are always pretty, and these were especially attractive and flavorful. I got the recipe from CookingClassy.com.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flour and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, blend together butter and sugar until combined (it will take a minute or two since the butter is cold. If you don't have a paddle attachment that constantly scrapes bowl, then occasionally stop mixer and scrape down sides and bottom of bowl). Mix in almond extract then add in flour blend until mixture comes together (it will take a bit of mixing since the butter is cold, so be patient, it will seem really dry at first). My dough never wanted to come together, so I ended up adding an egg at this point and that worked just fine.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls, about 1 Tbsp each, and place 2-inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Make a small indentation with thumb or forefinger in each cookie (large enough to fit 1/4 - 1/2 tsp of jam). Fill each with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp jam. Chill in refrigerator 20 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes). Bake in preheated oven 14 - 18 minutes.
Cool several minutes on baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Drizzle cookies with glaze when when cool. Store cookies in an airtight container.
Glaze Instructions
Whisk all glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl, adding enough water to reach desired consistency.
Pour or spoon mixture into a sandwich size resealable bag, cut a small tip from one corner and drizzle over cookies.
These bars have a simple ingredient list and come together quickly. They are also fairly economical, making them nice for large group catering. They capture the flavor of a snickerdoodle with the soft richness of a blondie. Than says “YUM.”
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Snickerdoodle Blondies
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in salt, egg, and vanilla until well combined.
Add flour and cream of tartar. Mix until no streaks of dry remain. Dough will be very thick.
Scrape dough into prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle evenly with 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bars are set and edges are just very lightly browned. Cool in the pan before slicing.
