Secret Recipe Club: Honey Almond Scones

It's been a while since my last non-Secret Recipe Club post. I know I've been unfair to my other SRC members by not posting regularly. And so, as I've said a few times, this will be my last post for a while. I hope to be back with my regular posts and back in SRC in a few months - God willing! 

I was eager to see who I was assigned to for my last month before the break, and man - I wasn't disappointed! Goodie Godmother 's website is just awesome. This time I had to enlist my husband's help in choosing just one awesome recipe to cook! And after 15 minutes of browsing through, he just gave up and said, "everything looks so good. I can't choose. It's too hard!"

Mary, you've created a beautiful space for your readers! I love your blog and I love your '10 facts about me'. We are alike in a lot of ways - the love of caramel, the sweet tooth and a lot more. It was awesome getting to know a little bit about you through your blog!

So - back to choosing! Did I make these smooth and creamy, chocolate dreamy cookies which are so similar to a particular store-bought cookie that my kids love? Or do I make these vanilla bean marshmallows that remind me so much of my mom's homemade marshmallows? Ugh. So tough!

In the end, I made two recipes - the first one was these Red Velvet Baked Doughnuts. No surprise with my pick considering my love for all things red velvet is well-known. Unfortunately for me, just as I pulled the doughnuts out of the oven and I was waiting for them to cool, we had company. And before I could even think of photographs, they were all gone - yummy cream cheese glaze and all. :( Oh well! 

Finally, knowing my husband's love for scones, I settled on these Honey Scones. The flavour sounded lovely and it would be perfect for a Saturday morning breakfast with the family. 

The only modification I made was the addition of almonds. My husband needs the crunch of nuts in scones for them to be 'perfect' and almonds and honey made perfect sense to me. I also didn't use the Chantilly cream Mary recommended, but instead added a sprinkling of sugar over the top of the scones to add crunch and some extra sweetness.

Honey-Almond Scones

Recipe adapted from this one on the Goodie Godmother 

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
7 tbsp unsalted butter, cold & cubed
3/4 heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp sugar, for topping
1/3 cup almonds, roughly chopped

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper or Silpat.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add the butter and work it into the flour using a pastry cutter, two knives or your finger tips. You want the mixture to look crumbly with the butter still in small pieces.
4. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the cream, vanilla and honey.
5. Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and combine with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together.
6. Transfer the dough onto the prepared baking tray. Pat it down and shape it into a square about 8"x8".
7. Sprinkle the sugar and chopped almonds over the top of the scones in an even layer.
8. Using a sharp knife, cut the large square into 8-12 smaller squares depending on how large you want your scones.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the base and edges are a beautiful light golden brown.
10. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving with a glaze, preserve, cream or spread of your choice!

The flavour of these scones were really good. I mean - how can you go wrong with honey and almonds. The texture was something different from what we're used to in a scone. I guess that's from the total lack of any kind of sugar in the recipe. The honey gives the scones a spongy, soft texture. There were no complaints :)

Thank you, Mary, for this recipe, and for all the other yummy recipes on your site. Everything looks scrumptious and I can't wait to try all the others I've bookmarked. 

Thanks to Sarah, Camilla and everyone else at SRC - especially Group B, for being so kind and sweet and welcoming! I've enjoyed my time here, and I hope I can bake with you again in a while.

Until next time, dear readers and friends - blessings and hugs to you all... 

XOX 

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Brown Butter Granola Breakfast Cookies

For the last few months, I've only been blogging once a month with my Secret Recipe Club group. I hate that I am not posting regularly (owing to many reasons), but I am grateful to SRC for keeping me posting at least once a month. But I have to take a break even from SRC because it just isn't fair to the other members when I'm not posting regularly. August will be my last SRC post. I will be applying for a break from the group. I hope to be back to blogging in a few months.

This month, I just LOVED the blog I was assigned to. Not only did I find some awesome, mouth-watering recipes, but I also found so much that built me up in my spirit. Jessie Weaver is a gorgeous woman of faith, an awesome mom, wife and cook and I don't think you will be disappointed with the range of posts you will discover on her amazing blog. Thank you for everything, Jessie. I love what you write, and you have a regular reader in me!

If you've visited my blog before, you probably know all my love for breakfast baking. It's more like an obsession. Muffins, scones, rolls, quick breads - I've done it all and I do it waaaaay more often than I care to admit. I found a few awesome recipes in these categories on Jessie's blog - the gingerbread white chocolate muffins, the chai spice scones (another SRC recipe) and a few more, but there was one that grabbed my attention. I saw the words 'brown butter' in the title, and I was sold.

Brown Butter Granola Breakfast Cookies
Adapted from this recipe on jessieweaver.net
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly whisked
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 cups whole wheat flour (I used 2 cups wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
1 cup granola (I used an unsweetened chunky one with slivered almonds, walnuts, raisins and oat clusters)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup oatmeal
3 tbsp coarse flaxseed meal

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F and prepare a cookie sheet by lining with greaseproof paper or Silpat.
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter on low heat stirring until it is all melted. Allow it to keep cooking on low heat until the butter browns and gives off a heady, nutty aroma. This could take 10-12 minutes, and while it doesn't need stirring, you will need to watch it the whole time. It can go from browned to burnt in a matter of seconds.
3. Set the brown butter aside for 10 minutes to cool.
4. Stir in the honey, salt, baking soda, cinnamon powder and vanilla extract.
5. Add the eggs and buttermilk and stir well to combine.
6. Stir in the flour, granola, chocolate chips, oatmeal and flaxseed meal. Mix well.
7. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the cookie dough onto your prepared baking sheet. Allow some space between each cookie and the next. If you're shaping them by hand, form 2 inch sized balls and slightly flatten on the baking sheet. I got about 30 large cookies from this recipe.
8. Bake in batches, allowing each batch to bake 15-18 minutes. The cookies will be golden brown on the bottom and slightly risen.
9. Allow to cool on the sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Serve fresh if possible. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

I didn't make many changes to this recipes. Just added some oatmeal instead of the oat bran she recommends (I didn't have oat bran at hand), and some flaxseed meal. And I just mixed everything in the same saucepan in which I made the brown butter. It really is an amazing one-bowl recipe!

All of us absolutely loved this recipe! The cookies are not too sweet, have an amazing aroma and flavor and texture - crispy on the outside with a soft center, studded with nuts, raisins and chocolate chips. How could breakfast get any better! Thank you, Jessie! We LOVED this recipe :)

I will be back in August for one last SRC post. See you all then!

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Berries & Cream Scones

It's Secret Recipe Club time again! If not for SRC, my blog would be already dead and gone. After two more months of SRC, I will be taking a few months off though. I need some time away from the blog to focus on the family and while I will miss blogging, I know I will be back.

This month, I was super excited to be assigned the fabulous blog Camilla's Culinary Adventures! Oh man - Camilla really is a star. She manages a fabulously loaded blog on which she posts amazing recipes very regularly, she runs a beautiful family and she is also our Group B moderator here at SRC. I need lessons from this lady on time management! Hats off to you, Camilla. You're an inspiration!

I honestly had such a hard time picking a recipe this time around. She has so many recipes in almost every style of cooking. I was tempted to pick a bread recipe, or a Madeleine recipe (I adore Madeleines) or one of her amazing cupcake recipes since my daughter has been nagging me for cupcakes. Finally, I ended up with a breakfast recipe when i needed to make a quick batch of scones for someone. I remembered seeing this recipe on Camilla's site and went back to it. 

The recipe is originally strawberries and cream but I didn't have strawberries in the house at the time, and so I made it with blueberries instead. I'm sure it would have been amazing with strawberries though! Next time! 

Berries and Cream Scones

Adapted from Camilla's Culinary Adventures

Ingredients 

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 cup white sugar 

1/4 tsp salt

8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold

2/3 cup double cream 

1 large egg 

1/2-3/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries 

1 tbsp double cream (for the top)

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir well to combine. 

3. Add the butter and using either a pastry cutter or just the tips of your finger, work the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture resembles chunky breadcrumbs. You could even do this in the food processor. 

4. Add the cream and egg and gently bring the dough together. 

5. Once the dough is formed, add the blueberries and be very gentle to disperse the berries. Take care not to bruise the berries too much. 

6. Transfer the dough onto your prepared baking sheet and pat into a circle that's about 1/2 inch thick. Slice into wedges and drizzle the top with the reserved cream. 

7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the scones are lightly golden and raised. 

8. Serve warm drizzled with a glaze of your choice or with cream and jam. 

These scones were different from the ones I've made before and we all loved them - especially my husband! The base and edges had a crispy cookie like texture that we couldn't get enough of, and the middle was soft and crumbly, and as Camilla mentioned that her son noticed, - the flavour was intensely buttery and delicious!

Thank you for this amazing base recipe for scones Camilla. You can bet I'll be using this to make many amazing combinations for years to come! Please go check out Camilla's blog and I promise you a treasure trove of recipes that you can't stop bookmarking! 

Don't forget to check out the other awesome SRC recipes below!

Until next time :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Caramel Apple Shortbread Squares

I always look forward to the second Monday of each month. That's when my group posts their reveals as part of Group B of Secret Recipe Club. I usually so look forward to my blog assignment each month that I bake from it within the first week… and then I have to wait three whole weeks to write about it!

This month, my assigned blog was Flavors by Four - an amazing blog by an awesome cook, baker and blogger duo - Susan and Nicole. This mother-daughter team takes turns blogging about the yummy recipes they find and cook! I love that they do this, and I hope that one day, my daughters will want to share my blog with me! My older one is already super interested and I can't get her out of the kitchen… :) Thanks for the yummy recipes, and inspiration, Susan and Nicole!

I had quite a few recipes shortlisted at first - my favourite being these awesome looking Buckeye Brownies! And since I love muffins so much, these Dark Chocolate Cherry Muffins were a close second. But after much pondering and browsing, I chose these delicious, buttery Caramel Apple Shortbread Bars. 

These are so flavourful and delicious, and were a hit in our home. The only change I made was that for some reason, my caramel was a little too runny and I wasn't sure I should pour such runny caramel over the shortbread base. So I used a tiny amount of cornstarch to thicken the caramel before using it. I think maybe it was the kind of apples I used. So if you have a thickish caramel, please feel free to omit the cornstarch I have used. 

Caramel Apple Shortbread Bars

Adapted from Flavors by Four

Ingredients

Shortbread crust & topping

3 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

Caramel Apple Filling

3 large or 4 medium apples, peeled and sliced thin 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp butter

1-2 tbsp cornstarch (optional - only if required)

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F. Prepare a 9"x13" baking tin by lining the bottom and sides with parchment or non-stick baking paper. I used non-stick baking foil. 

2. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Stir to combine.

3. Add the softened butter and using a mixer or a wooden spoon stir to bring the dough together. Mix until the dough is uniform but do not over-mix.

4. Press about 2/3 of the shortbread dough into the bottom of the prepared baking tin. Allow to parbake in the oven for about 20 minutes. This is sufficient time for you to get the filling ready. 

5. To make the filling, combine the sugar and water in a heavy bottom saucepan and stirring occasionally until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then allow the mixture to come to a boil. Keep an eye on the sugar and watch it while it caramelises. It will turn a beautiful amber colour. Once you've achieved this colour, it can go for caramelised to burnt in a matter of seconds - so work quickly. 

6. As soon as the sugar is caramelised, stir in the sliced apples. This can cause the sugar to seize up and harden a little, but keep stirring and the sugar will dissolve. Once you have apples in smooth caramel, add in the cream and butter, stirring constantly. This mixture may bubble but it will subside. 

7. At this stage if you feel the mixture is too thin and runny (like mine was), dissolved about 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the caramel sugar and stir it back into the saucepan. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is thick and luscious. 

8. Remove the par-baked base and pour the caramel filling over the top. Spread it out evenly using a spatula.

9. Crumble the reserved 1/3 of the shortbread dough over the top of the caramel apple filling.

10. Continue baking for a further 15-20 minutes until the shortbread on top is lightly golden and the caramel is bubbly but set. 

10. Allow to cool completely before cutting into squares. I let it sit overnight before cutting it into squares. 

These were absolutely delicious. Everyone's favourite part was the yummy shortbread crust. I can imagine using the same crust for tons of different fillings. So delicious! And the caramel apple filling was so addictive that you could eat it with a spoon. Thank you Susan and Nicole for a truly delicious recipe! Don't forget to check out the other awesome Group B recipes in the link-up below! 

Until next time… 

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Bacon Cheddar Cornbread

I get so excited every time the reveal date for the Secret Recipe Club rolls around. It is just so much fun to see who has been cooking and what everyone's been cooking! I missed having SRC in January, but it was our month off for the year. And now I'm back and ready to go!

When I received this month's assignment, I was in awe of the site. The site has so much going on, and in a great way! And when I read the 'About me' section, I knew just why. She isn't a just a blogger like me; she's a blogger who is a professional trained chef! I'm so happy to introduce you to Chef Becca from It's Yummi! She's just amazing, and SO versatile. Whether it's a fancy dessert, an elaborate main course, a simple starter or a healthy snack - she's got it all! Visit her and I know for sure you won't be disappointed with what you find.

As always, I had a rough time trying to pick just ONE recipe from Chef Becca's blog. So I ended up making two this time around. Actually, originally picked only one - a cookie recipe. Unfortunately, I neglected to take pictures before I put the cookies out when some friends came over. I figured I'd take the pictures after they left with all the leftover cookies. Well, who would have thunk there would be no leftovers! I recommend her Triple Chocolate Cookies, for sure! She has some fabulous muffin recipes too! I have several bookmarked!

The recipe I finally made for this month's reveal was her Bacon Cheddar Cornbread. It was my birthday on Saturday, and I decided to make one of my favourite meals. So we ate this yummy cornbread with my Beef and Navy bean Chili and it was oh so yummy!

Chef Becca uses her homemade Bisquick mix in this recipe. I just halved her Bisquick mix recipe, used what I needed for this recipe, and stored the rest in the fridge for later. So convenient!

I just combined 4 cups all purpose flour, 2 1/2 tbsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar. Then, I rubbed in 1/2 cup unsalted butter until I had a mixture that resembled fresh bread crumbs. Since I used butter instead of shortening, I store this mix in the fridge.

Bacon Cheddar Cornbread
Adapted from this recipe on itsyummi.com 
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups of homemade Bisquick mix (see previous paragraph)
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup creamed corn
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup cooked bacon, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Method
1. Into a 9x5 rectangular glass baking tray, or a cast iron oven-safe skillet, put 1 tbsp of butter. Place this into an oven and begin to preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
2. In a large bowl, combine the baking mix, the cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
3. Combine the egg, creamed corn, milk and oil in a medium bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
5. Stir in the chopped bacon and the shredded cheese.
6. Remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Pour the batter into the tray over the melted butter.
7. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Serve warm with extra butter, and some honey, if desired.

We ate this cornbread straight out of the oven with super spicy chili and we really, really enjoyed it!

The flavours are amazing, the cornbread is moist and the salty bacon is just perfect with the corn. So tasty! Or should I say SO YUMMI! My older daughter loved snacking on these beautiful squares of cornbread even after she was done with dinner. Definitely a keeper! Thanks Chef Becca! :)

I always enjoy the recipes my fellow bloggers from Group B cook up! To see what everyone else has made, check out the links below! :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Tomato Jam

When I received my assignment for Secret Recipe Club for this month, I must admit was a little confused. I mean - how do you choose ONE recipe from a blog that's chockfull of awesome recipes? And even while I was lolling about in confusion, she went ahead and posted this tempting chowder recipe. Thanks for adding to the confusion, Julie!

This month, the blog I was assigned to cook from was the wonderful A Little Bit of Everything. Julie has been blogging since 2009 and has almost 750 posts on her blog. Yes, you read that right. Seven hundred and fifty! Is it any surprise that I found it hard to choose something?

This recipe was one that I passed over the first time because I thought it was too simple. But even after I bookmarked a few other yummy ones - including a cranberry-jalapeno jam which sounded divine, my mind kept going back to this one. And I am so glad I decided to go with my gut!

It was my first time ever making a tomato jam, and wow - it really is something! I stayed true to Julie's recipe with only a few minor adjustments - a little less sugar than she used, and some extra acid because the tomatoes I used just weren't tart enough. Apart from that, I stuck to Julie's recipe and instructions and it was just delicious!

And with Christmas just around the corner, I'm sure your friends would love receiving this beautiful red jam in pretty little jars with cute ribbons around them!

I must also mention that I only made half the recipe, using 2.5 pounds of ripe tomatoes. 

Tomato Jam

Slightly adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

2.5 pounds/1.1kg of ripe tomatoes

1 1/3 cup white sugar

4 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp red dried chilli flakes

Method

1. Wash, core and chop the tomatoes fine. I used a food processor. (If you're the kind of person who is bothered by tomato skins, you can blanch and peel the tomatoes. The skin doesn't bother me. So I skipped that.)

2. In a heavy bottom saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Stir together and set the saucepan on a stove on medium heat.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.

4. Lower the temperature and allow the jam to cook on low heat for about an hour or more. You will need to stir it and scrape down the sides at regular intervals. The frequency of stirring must increase as the jam gets thicker. You don't want it to catch and burn. 

5. When the jam is thick, mine reduced to less than one-third of the original volume, the mixture is sticky and glossy. 

6. If you're using to bottling and canning, follow your usual procedure to store this yummy jam. Or you could just allow the jam to cool, transfer to an airtight jar.

I store most of my jams and preserves in the refrigerator, and this one went into the fridge too.

I loved the flavor of this jam. It is sweet, tart, spicy and has a lovely sticky texture that keeps you licking your fingers. There are so many things I can think of to do with this jam - my brother suggested something with goat cheese. A tart maybe? I was thinking it would be awesome with feta or haloumi too. 

We made a simple grilled cheese with cheese, tomato jam, and tabasco sauce for added heat. It had lovely flavor and we enjoyed it! 

Thank you Julie for a lovely recipe and for your awesome blog posts. I've bookmarked quite a few including this delicious sounding Lemon Butter Baked Shrimp. I look forward to getting to know you better as we cook together in SRC! Until next time! :)

To see more yummy recipes from Group B of the Secret Recipe Club, visit the link below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Blueberry Muffin Streusel Cake

It's time for another Secret Recipe Club post. This is only my second month but I am totally loving it!

This month I was assigned to Anne-Marie's wonderful blog, This Mama Cooks. And boy, does she cook! She cooks up a storm. Her website is a treasure trove of wonderful recipes of all kinds. And best of all - if you have a special dietary need, she probably has something for you. Just fantastic healthy recipes, eggless recipes, low-cal weight watchers recipes, and tons of gorgeous gluten free recipes! Plus she has so many other fun lifestyle and health posts! I think I am now addicted to her blog. 

It took me a while, and I almost made something else (it was my husband's birthday yesterday and I almost made this Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte), but I ended up making a recipe that we all love eating around here. This is the kind of stuff that my family loves, and so I made this gorgeous muffin cake for breakfast one morning. And I was right - they loved it! I try not to make these indulgent breakfasts too often - maybe a couple of a times a month.

I didn't make too many changes in the recipe apart from substituting some of the all purpose flour with whole wheat, and reducing the sugar just a little.

Blueberry Muffin Streusel Cake

Adapted from this recipe on This Mama Cooks 

Ingredients 

Cake:

1 cup flour (I used equal parts of all purpose and whole wheat) 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

2 tbsp canola oil (or any neutral flavoured  oil)

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen 

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup flour (I used equal parts of all purpose and whole wheat)

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla 

3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped 

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 9x9x2 square baking pan and lightly dust with flour. Set aside. 

2. In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients and mix well to combine. I got a nice even mix by using my fingers. I think a food processor would work well too. Set aside. 

3. In another medium bowl, combine all the cake ingredients except the blueberries, and stir just until completely combined. You don't want any pockets of dry flour. 

4. Fold in the blueberries gently. 

5. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin and sprinkle the whole top of the cake with an even layer of the prepared streusel topping. 

6. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 

7. Serve warm. 

My favourite thing about this recipes was how easy it was to put together. No fussing about. Combine all the ingredients, mix and bake! Just loved it!

Another fabulous thing is that even though the cake and topping have very little butter/oil, it doesn't taste that way. It tastes really, really good - especially that awesome crunchy streusel topping with those amazing toasty pecans! The whole thing was polished off in a matter of hours! 

The level of sugar was just right for us but if you have a sweet tooth, you should up the sugar and use what Anne-Marie originally recommends. And while you're visiting her, make sure to check out her other fabulous recipes, and don't forget to say hello from me. Right now, apart from that gorgeous walnut torte, I also plan to try my hand at her awesome looking homemade chorizo, and this totally tempting Baked Pumpkin Chocolate French Toast with Bananas. I mean, how good does that sound?!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Check out the other fabulous SRC recipes at the link below. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club: Chewy Red Velvet Cookies

Can you believe I got to do TWO posts in my very first SRC month? I love Secret Recipe Club! One of the Group B bloggers wasn't able to do her post since she just had a little baby! How fun! Congrats! Enjoy your little one :)

The second site I was assigned to was Cheese Curd In Paradise! Wow. Ashley's SUCH a great cook, and has SOOOOO many lovely recipes. I loved looking at pictures of her little fella too... Such a cutie! Oh I must say I had such a hard time picking out a recipe I was going to make! I just kept bookmarking and going. It actually took me a few DAYS to find this recipe, but the minute I saw it, I knew this was the one for me! You know me and my love for Red Velvet, don't you?

Are you groaning "not another red velvet recipe"? Don't you dare! I may have done red velvet ice cream and red velvet madeleines and red velvet whoopie pies and even more red velvet stuff. Heck, I even have a recipe for a red velvet emergency - because that IS a real thing! But I have never made red velvet cookies before.

Chewy Red Velvet Cookies
Adapted from this recipe on Cheese Curd in Paradise
Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and line a baking/cookie sheet with grease-proof paper.
2. Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Stir in the food coloring
5. Stir in the vinegar.
6. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix in well.
7. Fold in the white chocolate chips.
8. Drop the cookie dough using an ice cream scoop or large spoon. You want about 2 tbsp worth of dough for each cookie. Make sure you have a distance of at least 2 inches between the cookies.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
10. Allow to cool on the pan for 3-4 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
11. Store in an airtight container.

I love the dense, chewiness of these cookies. And I have always been a fan of white chocolate with red velvet and that's why I substituted the regular chocolate for white. My only major changes to the recipe were reducing the amount of food coloring, and adding a splash of vinegar. Somehow in my mind, red velvet recipes need to have some vinegar in them. I guess you could say I am a red velvet purist - if there's such a thing!

I loved visiting your site, Ashley! In the days that I spent browsing through your site, I have bookmarked quite a few more recipes to try! My favorites so far are your Bang Bang Chicken Skewers, the peanut butter popcorn - (which I'm planning to make this weekend!!!), and the Strawberry Basil Shortcakes - which sound divine! Thank you for sharing your awesome recipes with all of us! You are such a prolific cook...

I loved having two wonderful sites to explore and share with you on my very first month of SRC! Can't wait for my next Group B assignment!

You can visit my other SRC post for this month here.

Click on the cute froggy face below to see the other awesome recipes from SRC's Group B!

 

Secret Recipe Club: Carrot Cake Pancakes & more...

Woohoo! Yay! Yippeeee! This is my first time with Secret Recipe Club and I am so excited. Can you tell? From the first moment I heard I was accepted, I couldn't wait to see whose lovely blog would be assigned to me. And I wasn't disappointed one bit! 

For my first SRC post with Group B, I was assigned to a fabulous blog - Amy's Cooking Adventures. Hey - my little girl is an Aimee! :) 

Wow! The first time I visited her site, I was amazed! So many awesome recipes to choose from! How on earth was I going to choose? And from what I've read, she's an amazing mom, a strong woman and she's as cute as a button, I tell you! There's this picture of her with her new braces, and I swear I haven't seen anyone look so adorable after just getting braces! 

And just when I finished making the yummy food, and writing this post, I saw a message that another Group B member wasn't able to make her post happen, and I jumped at the chance of cooking from two blogs! Loved every minute of both. I've linked to my other post at the end of this one!

Now, back to my dilemma. I started off by bookmarking recipes on Amy's blog. I bookmarked 20 to start with. Ended up making three. And all of them were yummy! I will share the recipe for one of them here in the post. For the other two, you'll have to head on over to her site and get the recipe. 

These pancakes really were a treat. They were so reminiscent of a carrot cake - that same spice hit and moist goodness. And to make the experience complete, we had it with a cream cheese-maple glaze. It really was awesome. And it is such a healthy recipe! Can't believe something that tastes this good can be healthy too! Thank you, Amy, for an awesome recipe! 

Carrot Cake Pancakes
Adapted from this recipe Amy's Cooking Adventures
Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

¼ cup ground flax seed

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

2 large eggs, lightly whisked

1 1/3 cup skim milk

½ cup pureed carrots

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. In a large bowl, combine the flours, ground flax seed, baking powder, spices and salt. Stir together and set aside.

2. In a smaller bowl or measuring cup, combine the eggs, milk, carrots, honey, sugar and vanilla. 

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ingredients and stir just to combine.

4. On a hot skillet over medium heat, add some 2-3tbsp butter or oil. Tilt the pan to spread evenly.

5. Drop small ladlefulls of the batter on the skillet. You should be able to make 2-4 per batch depending on the size of your skillet.

6. Wait till small bubbles appear on the surface of your pancakes and flip them using a spatula. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the pancake is cooked through. 

7. Serve topped with pancake syrup, maple syrup, cream cheese glaze, sweetened Greek yogurt or a topping of your choice. 

Amy suggests serving this topped with toasted walnuts and that would have been just perfect! But I just plain forgot. All of us loved this recipe - especially my Aimee. She ate two for breakfast and then came back for another at snack time! Thank you, Amy!

Another recipe I tried from her site was the 'Melt in your mouth' chicken. This one was surprising. It is ridiculously easy to make and surprisingly tasty! I served it over elbow macaroni because it had quite a lot of sauce, and the kids gobbled it up! Surprisingly, the biggest fan was my husband. The only changes I made to the recipe was adding a glug of Tabasco sauce, and sprinkling the top with some smoked paprika. It was really good! 

This was a simple, quick and yummy dinner that all of us loved! Our only complaint was that there wasn't more of it!

I also made Amy's recipe for Peanut Butter Dog Treats! And my Jerry loved them and gobbled them up without hesitation! Here you can see him staring at a doggie treat with great longing in his eyes! :) I wish I had taken more pictures! 

It was a pleasure visiting your site and getting to know you a little, Amy. You are a beautiful person, a wonderful mom, and after I spent time reading your "Angel Wings" posts, I think you're a such strong person too! God bless you and your lovely family... XOX to you! 

I loved my first month of Secret Recipe Club! Don't forget to visit my OTHER SRC  post!

Click on the cute froggy face below to see the other awesome recipes from SRC's Group B!