Browned Butter Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

 The new Chocolate Chip Cookies in the Costco food court inspired this and I took it up a notch!  This  makes approx 40  large cookies , but the good news is that after the freezing step, you can pull out as few or as many as you would like rather than baking them all at once. I LOVE to have these frozen dough balls to bake when I am expecting guests, not only a nice treat to offer, it also makes my house smell amazing !

4 cups all purpose flour ( I prefer to weigh mine, 480 g)

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks)*

1/4 cup sourdough discard*

2 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1 TB molasses

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips**

1 1/2 cups bittersweet or dark chocolate chunks (61-72% cacao)**

In a sauce pan melt butter over medium heat. 

When it begins to boil reduce temperature to medium low, stirring often but very gently until it turns a honey golden brown color. Immediately remove from heat and place in a heat proof dish and allow to cool.

* you will notice that the butter reduces a bit as it browns , you should end up with about 1 1/4 cup. Unfortunately I missed the reduced/browned butter pic for reference.

If you do not have sour dough discard available just brown 1 3/4 cups butter until it is reduced to 1 1/2 cups total

If you want to skip the browned butter completely....just use 1 1/2 cups melted butter

In a mixing bowl mix together the flour, cornstarch, sugars, baking powder and salt

In another bowl whisk eggs, molasses, discard and vanilla bean paste(or extract) with the cooled butter

Pour butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 

Add the chocolate chips and give it 1 more good mix until they are incorporated

** I really like the overjoyed brand as the dark chocolate come in chunks rather than chips so you have some texture differential.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Scoop about 2 TB dough per cookie, shape them into a tall oval mound and place them on the prepared sheets 

Freeze for a minimum of  2 hours until frozen solid.

At this point you can transfer them to freezer bags and pull them out to bake as desired.

To bake:

Preheat oven to 350

Place up to 6 dough balls on a parchment paper lined sheet  (don't take dough out of freezer until you are ready to put them in the oven, no more than 6 to give them room)

Bake for 15 -17 minutes until just turning golden on the edges, don't over bake 

Allow to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely and enjoy!!!

Pork Apple Cider Egg Rolls

 Another eggroll adventure! I found a recipe with  apple cider and ground pork, but the more I read it, it was definitely and AI created recipe, incomplete, pic didn't match etc....but I figured I could use the base and work from that! Original was sliders but I decided to make it into crispy, crunchy eggrolls!

Filling:

1 lb ground pork

1/2 cup apple cider

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion

1/4 cup shredded apple*

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground sage

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

*the tarter the better, I used pink lady, I used about 1/4 of the apple, dunked it in lemon water to prevent browning then shredded it, dunk the rest of the apple and reserve for later

Eggroll wrappers

Extras:amounts to taste, just don't overwhelm the main filling

Sharp or Extra Sharp Cheddar, shredded (white cheddar would be great too!)

Caramelized Onions

Bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled

Reserved Apples, chopped small

Combine all filling ingredients and mix with hands until everything is just incorporated, don't over mix.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30-60 minutes to blend the flavors 

In the meantime, cook your bacon and caramelize your onions , set aside until you are ready to assemble.

Remove filling from the fridge and heat a skillet over medium high head, throw about 1 TB oil in there, (olive or avocado is the best ) and allow to heat.

Put mixture into hot pan and crumble like you would taco meat, cook through, stirring as needed, but try not to overwork it into tiny crumbles. 

Drain, allow mixture to cool, then chill for 30 minutes( or longer until you are ready to assemble!)

When it is time to assemble I prefer to just stir the cheese directly into the mixture (you want the filling chilled enough to not melt it immediately), along with the apples and bacon.

Place one eggroll wrapper and add about 2 TB filling. Top with caramelized onions (and other extras if you didn't mix the others directly in to the filling)

With damp fingers, trace some water around the edges of the wrapper and roll up starting from the bottom corner.

 

Fold in the middle corners, then continue rolling , firmly but not over tight. 

Repeat with all fillings, toppings and wrappers

Place about 1/2 inch apart and brush with olive or avocado oil. Airfry at 360 for 12-15 minutes turning once.

Cool for 3 minutes and enjoy

I made a dip with garlic aioli thinned with a touch of apple cider

Mediterranean Meatloaf

 My husband loves meatloaf so I was trying to come up with something different than our normal ones. After some googling I found some ideas and came up with a delicious one! I made it with turkey this time, but I think it would be fantastic with ground beef or a beef/pork blend.

Quality olive oil
3 oz red onion
2-3 cloves garlic

1 small red bell pepper

2 cups baby spinach

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, I prefer oil packed, drained but not rinsed, chop well
1/2 cup crumbled feta

1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons dried oregano 

2 TB lemon dill hummus, plus more to serve 

1 egg
1/4-1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 pound lean ground turkey

Line a pan with foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and preheat oven to 425. 

Cut the red pepper in half and place cut side down on foil, cut onion in large chunks and put on the pan and unpeeled garlic as well. Drizzle all with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper

Roast veggies until tender crisp. Cover the pepper with a clean towel and allow the veggies to sit until  cooled a bit

While those are roasting , chop spinach into pieces and wilt in a pan over medium low heat, drain and squeeze any excess moisture out.

When cool enough, chop the onions fine, mash the garlic into a paste, pull the peel and seeds from the red pepper and chop, reserving half for topping.

Put roasted veggies, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta, humm us, dill, parsley and oregano in a bowl.

Add egg, turkey and 1/4 cup panko 

Gently mix until combined adding more panko as needed and salt/pepper to taste. 

(I added about 1/3 cup, next time I would add more to firm it up a little)

Place in a greased dish, I am cooking this in my pressure cooker so I have a nice little cake dish that works perfectly.  You can use a standard meatloaf pan if you are cooking it in the oven

For the topping, add the remaining red peppers and a bit of water to a small container and run an immersion blender through it until it is pureed.....you can do this in a blender or food processor if needed. 

Pour topping over meatloaf and spread gently

Put 1 cup chicken broth in you instant pot and place the pan on a rack making sure it is not touching the lid

Cook on HIGH for 25 minutes, natural release for 10. Release the rest of the steam, carefully remove from pot and let set 5 more minutes.  Add more feta cheese on top

Slice and serve with more Lemon Dill Hummus to dip!

*You can also add 1/4 cup chopped Kalamata olives either in the meat mix, on top before you cook or on top before you serve. I think olives are too overpowering so I let everyone add theirs as the like