Chocolate & Pudding. HOW could you go wrong with such a combination?

Alright, I’ll admit it. When I attempted to make these chocolate crepes a month or so ago, they were a complete and utter failure. I must have let the batter sit too long - the crepes were very weak. This was a much-needed cooking lesson.

These crepes have been a family favorite for quite some time. They have been requested for birthdays, and are a wonderful breakfast treat.

As you can see, with Grandma’s help, we succeeded at making crepes: Dad gave us the “thumbs up”!

Grandma advised us to keep our crepe-making secrets. Thus, I shan’t give you any recipes.

**Next Time on Grandma’s Cooking School: Roast Beef!**

Some things are a bit difficult to make at home. Like whole wheat crackers. It’s just hard to make them crispy, tender, and tasty.

Here’s a recipe that comes very close.

Notes:

I experimented by adding spices, Parmesan cheese, and nuts to make the crackers more flavorful. The original flavor is very nice as well. Please, experiment! Get creative!

The dough is very similar to pie dough and should be handled gently for tender crackers.

To get perfectly even crackers, you can roll them out using a pasta rolling machine.

Wheat Crackers

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (I used sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• Scant 1/2 cup milk
• Kosher salt, for spinkling

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 325°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Mix together the flours, nuts, raw sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter. Gradually add milk until the dough comes together.

3) On a floured surface, roll out 1/3 of the dough very thin - about 1/16 inch. Sprinkle with salt, spices, cheese, etc., if desired. Cut into squares, triangles, circles, or whatever shape you wish. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.

4) Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes approximately 8 dozen crackers.

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These cookies are a lovely blend of one of favorite flavor pairs - Chocolate & Peanut Butter. In fact, my favorite cookie recipe stars those two ingredients.

To be completely honest, I was scared of this recipe. I had my doubts about flourless cookies. So I made a half recipe.

But I had nothing to worry about! These cookies do have a very soft and chewy texture, but the flavor is straightforward and scrumptious. Make them with 60% cacao baking chips, and these cookies are lovely treat.

Note: The original recipe didn’t call for any butter, salt, or vanilla; I added all three.

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Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Adapted from the little red house

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (homemade or regular)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2) Place the peanut butter, butter, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix.

3) In a small bowl, mix together the oats, salt, and baking soda. Add to the peanut butter mixture and stir well. Stir in the chocolate chips. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

4) Drop by spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool on the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies

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Brown sugar is such a lovely ingredient. Yet it is just as processed as regular sugar. So I decided to attempt to make my own, using ground natural sugar and molasses.  This article/video from Martha Stewart was very helpful.

Admittedly, my sugar was much different than commercial brown sugar. But I think it is a very nice alternative.

Would you like to try it for yourself? Here’s what you’ll need:

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Printable Page

Ingredients:

For light brown sugar:

• 1 cup ground natural sugar or 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons molasses

For Dark Brown Sugar:

• 1 cup ground natural sugar or 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses

Directions:

Place the sugar & molasses in a blender or food processor. Mix until fully combined. Store in an airtight container, with a slice of apple or bread to keep soft.

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Devil’s Food Cake

Chocolate & Almond Biscotti

Macadamia Nut Brownies

Milan Cookies

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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This summer, Grandma decided that it was time to give us girls some cooking lessons. We planned to begin this fall, but everything got a bit crazy. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we were able to take our first course: Banana Cream Pie!

Grandma is such a patient, joyful teacher. She doesn’t have to do everything to make sure we do it right. She encourages us to be involved in every step.

It seems she has magical hands. From years of experience, she knows little secrets to success. Like adding a little water to your pan before you pour in the milk to keep it from scalding.

This pie is so delicious. I won’t lie and say it’s easy, because it isn’t - especially if you decide to make French Custard for the filling and meringue for the topping. But it is worth it.

By the way, I didn’t JUST take photos. I got involved, too! Here’s the proof.

I would give you the recipe, but I didn’t ask Grandma for permission to publish her secret recipes across the Internet. So I’ll leave you with this from her very old Betty Crocker cookbook.

**Next time on Grandma’s Cooking School: Chocolate Crepes!**

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…and got twitter. I’m still learning how it works, but you can click here to view my page.

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On a side note, these Cashew Cookies look scrumptious.

This CINNAMON FIG WALNUT BREAD sounds delicious.

These Chocolate Cupcakes are adorable.

This Creamy Mushroom Soup looks amazing.

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Here was an happy accident:

I asked Dad what he would like for supper. His answer: soup. What could be easier, eh?

I knew that one of Dad’s favorite soups is cream of broccoli, and I was pretty sure I could find some broccoli in the freezer. The catch? The the broccoli was FREEZER BURNT. One floret had turned a weird orange color and it all smelled horrid. Blech.

And so, instead of panicking, I quickly decided to make up a new recipe. That is how this soup was born.

Please do not be scared by the stick of butter included in this recipe. It is necessary. So very necessary. You can add any spices you like, but I found salt, pepper, and parsley sufficient. Also, any type of sausage may be used. I like spicy Italian.

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Sausage and Potato Soup

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Ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 3 medium russet potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons parsley
• 2 1/2 teaspoons flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage, cooked until no longer pink

Directions:

1) Melt the butter in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until transparent. Add the garlic, potatoes, salt and pepper, and parsley and cook 3 more minutes. Stir in the sausage.

2) Add the flour and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk. Bring to a boil and simmer just until the potatoes are tender. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Serves approximately 4-6 people

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In no particular order, here are my favorite food blogs. I can count on them to have creative, interesting, and quality content. Enjoy!

Please note that some of these blogs contain crude humor/profanity, but they have lovely recipes.

Have Cake, Will Travel - a bike-addicted, vegan, Swiss expat who lives in CA with 2 cats and 1 husband. I love her healthier recipes.

Kayotic Kitchen (aka Dutch Girl Cooking) - old-fashioned, home-style recipes with wonderful photos.

Smitten Kitchen - A chic style with beautiful photography and

Honey & Jam - a home schooled girl with a passion for baking and photography. Her posts are always interesting.

Joy the Baker - a twenty-something, self taught/ family taught/ taste buds taught baker. Lovely blog with funny commentaries on life.

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Here is my current favorite whole wheat biscuit recipe. We love to use them for biscuits and gravy. Delicious!

Note: I usually significantly reduce the amount of buttermilk. I’m not sure why, but these always turn out very wet for me. I recommend that you start with less buttermilk and add more as needed.

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Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits

From Relish Magazine

Printable Version

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (8 oz) whole-wheat pastry flour, divided
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, plus more if needed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450° F.

To mix using a food processor:

1) Place 1 3/4 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor fitted with the metal blade and process briefly to combine. Add the butter and toss lightly with a fork to coat the butter with flour. Using 1 second pulses, mix the butter until it resembles course meal. Do not over-mix.

2) Transfer the flour mixture to a bowl. Add 3/4 cup buttermilk; stir with a fork until the dough gathers into one large lump. Add more buttermilk if necessary.

To mix by hand:

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and toss lightly with a fork to coat the butter with flour. Using a pastry cutter, a fork, two knives, or your fingertips, cut the butter into the flour. Work quickly to keep the butter firm.

2) Add 3/4 cup buttermilk; stir with a fork until the dough gathers into one large lump. Add more buttermilk if necessary.

Continue for either version:

3) Transfer dough to a flat surface sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Roll the dough to coat with flour then pat out into a rough rectangle about 1/2-inch thick and fold into thirds. Repeat the patting and rolling. Pat the dough out to a thickness of about 1 inch. Using a 2-inch round cutter, cut out biscuits and place onto an ungreased baking sheet, placing the biscuits 1 inch apart as they will spread.

4) Bake 10-12 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Makes about 12 biscuits

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