Peach Cobbler Scones

I was overloaded with peaches this year. In a totally great way. I absolutely love peaches and I made so many different peach-y things. This was my favorite. Okay, that might be a lie, but this is one of my top three. (The other two to come). I've never made scones before and these were amazing. So, here you go.

Photo Credit to Joy the Baker

Peach Cobbler Scones

8-10 Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1½ sticks (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk, plus more for brushing
1-2 ripe peaches, sliced thin

For the cinnamon-sugar:
2 tbsp. sugar
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly to blend. Add the butter to the bowl and cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and the largest butter pieces are the size of peas. Stir in the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix gently with a fork until a dough forms. Knead briefly, about 10-15 times, until the dough has come together. Be careful to avoid over handling the dough, as it can result in tough, dense scones.

Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface. (If the dough is too soft to shape, chill it for about 15 minutes before proceeding.) Roll the dough out into a 10 x 12-inch rectangle. Brush half of the dough lightly with buttermilk. Lay the peach slices in a single layer over the buttermilk side of the dough. Sprinkle evenly with about half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Carefully fold the other side of the dough over the peaches as if closing a book and press down gently. Slice the dough into 8-10 equal sized pieces.* Transfer to the prepared baking sheets. Brush the top of each scone with buttermilk and sprinkle with additional cinnamon-sugar. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown and the scones are baked through, about 15-18 minutes. Let cool 2-3 minutes on the baking sheet, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool further. Serve warm.

*At this point, the shaped, unbaked scones may also be frozen on a baking sheet and then transferred to a freezer-safe container. Bake as directed straight from the freezer, simply adding a few minutes to the baking time and checking for doneness.

Recipe Source: Annie's Eats

Orange-Kissed Cookies

These are pretty delicious. This isn't, like, my favorite cookie of all time or anything. But I love the orange flavor for the summertime. 

Photo Credit to Our Best Bites

Orange-Kissed Cookies

36ish Cookies

1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening
1 egg
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (add another 2 tablespoons for high altitudes)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. thawed orange juice concentrate
1 Tbsp. grated orange zest

Frosting
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 c. thawed orange juice concentrate
1/2 c. softened butter
3 c. powdered sugar
2-3 drops orange food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a mixer, combine the white sugar and shortening. Beat until well-combined. Add the egg and beat well, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat for about 1 minute or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the orange juice concentrate and orange rind and mix well.

Using a cookie scoop, drop the dough/batter (the mixture will be VERY moist–thicker than a cake batter but thinner than traditional cookies) by the tablespoon-ful onto a lined, un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies are set and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely.

For the frosting, combine the frosting ingredients with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Pipe or spread over the cooled cookies.

Recipe Source: Our Best Bites

Black and White Cheesecake Brownies

Chewy, scrumptious, delicious…so so so good. Best cheesecake brownie bars ever. Oh man, I want more right now…

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Black and White Cheesecake Brownies

9X13 pan

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on both long sides, then spray parchment.
Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. In another bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar with a mixer until smooth. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla, and beat until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture. Increase speed to medium; beat until incorporated.
Reserve 1 cup of dough; cover, and refrigerate. Press remaining dough into bottom of prepared dish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Bake until base is set and edges are puffed, 22-25 minutes (don’t overbake or this brownie layer will be too hard and crumbly). Let cool in dish on a wire rack.
Mix cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and remaining egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread over cooled base; crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until filling is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in dish on wire rack, then lift out using overhang. Cut into 24 squares. Squares will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Love Mel. She always has awesome family-friendly recipes. Here we have a healthy, delicious, and quick pizza dough that I'm always cool with because we're always cool with pizza.

Photo Credit to Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3-4 cups whole wheat flour

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (preheating a pizza stone if you have it; if not, flip a rimmed baking sheet upside down and preheat that instead). 

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or you can definitely do this the old-fashioned way by hand in a large bowl), combine the water, yeast, sugar, oil and salt. There's no need to proof the yeast if using instant yeast. If you are using active dry yeast, let the mixture stand for 4-5 minutes until the yeast is foaming. 

Add the flour gradually until a soft dough forms that isn't too sticky to the touch (see the note below). 

Knead for 3-4 minutes. Cover and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Note: Don't stress too much about the exact flour amount in the pizza dough recipe. What is most important is to add flour until the dough is soft and smooth. If you have to add more or less than the range I gave, that's ok, as long as the dough isn't over sticky (and conversely, isn't overfloured).

{Copycat} Panda Express Chow Mein

Seriously. This is a true copycat recipe and I absolutely loved it.

Photo Credit to Food.com

Panda Express Chow Mein
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 (5.6 oz) packages refrigerated Yaki Soba noodles (found in the produce section of the grocery store.. usually the 3 packages are sold together in one 17oz. pack)
2/3 c. chopped celery (chopped diagonally)
1 medium-sized onion, thinly sliced
2 c. chopped cabbage

In a small bowl combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Set aside.
Remove Yaki Soba from packages and discard included flavoring packets. Rinse noodles well, drain, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large wok or skillet. Add celery and onion and saute for about 1-2 minutes or until onions start to become soft and transparent. Add cabbage and saute an additional minute or so.
Toss Yaki Soba noodles and soy sauce mixture with the vegetables over medium-high heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until noodles are heated through.

Recipe Source: Favorite Family Recipes

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza

These were so delicious! I love breakfast food a lot. And I love pizza. So, pizza for breakfast...kaching! Count me in. We had a little disaster with the aluminum foil, so I changed the recipe to just grease a baking sheet. Other than that. Bueno!

Photo Credit to Our Best Bites

English Muffin Breakfast Pizza
6 whole wheat English muffins at room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
About 10 dashes Tabasco sauce
12 thin deli slices of ham or 10-12 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
3/4-1 c. shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
Optional: Chopped vegetables like green onions, tomatoes, sliced olives, mushrooms, green peppers, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet or line with oil.
In a pie plate, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and Tabasco sauce. Gently pull apart each English muffin and soak each side (like you would for French toast) in the egg mixture–you want the egg mixture to soak into the bread, but you don’t want the English muffin to be completely falling apart. Place the muffin, cut side up, on the baking sheet.

If using ham, slice the ham into thin strips and then place on top of the English muffins. If using bacon, just sprinkle the crumbled bacon on top. Add any additional desired toppings and then sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes and serve immediately.

*FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: After baking, loosen them from the baking sheet with a spatula and then allow them to cool completely. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer. When the pizzas are solid, transfer them to a large Ziploc freezer bag. To reheat, place on a plate and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes at a time until the pizza is heated through (actual time will depend on how powerful your microwave is).

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

Chicken with Creamy Braised Leeks

Sometimes I order a Bountiful Basket just to try new things, because I like to do that a lot (just in case you were wondering). It gives me a lot of fresh produce while kind of forcing me to try new things. So after I received so many leeks I didn't know what to do with...I searched and searched. Then I found this and thought "Hm...I'll try it." Holy crap. Yes, I just said crap. It was delicious. So delicious Scott raved about it for 2 days (which is a long time for him). If you ever need to get rid of leeks...try it!!!

Photo Credit to Eating Well

Chicken with Creamy Braised Leeks

4 Servings
8 medium or 4 large leeks
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, halved
6 sprigs fresh thyme
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-6 ounces each), trimmed and tenders removed (see Note)
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Trim roots and dark green tops from leeks, leaving 5 to 6 inches of white and light green parts. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise (or in quarters, if large); rinse well. Place the leeks in a single layer in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, on their sides if necessary, nestling them together. Pour in broth; submerge the garlic and thyme in the broth between the leeks.
Bake the leeks for 40 minutes.
After about 30 minutes, sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the chicken and cook until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from the heat.
After 40 minutes, remove the leeks from the oven and nestle the chicken into them. Add cream and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to the hot skillet (but do not turn the burner back on). Stir up any browned bits and let the cream heat up from the warmth of the pan. Pour the cream mixture over the leeks and chicken.
Return the baking dish to the oven and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 165°F, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the chicken with the braised leeks, spooning the sauce over both.

*Note: It’s difficult to find an individual chicken breast small enough for one portion. Removing the thin strip of meat from the underside of a 5-ounce breast—the chicken tender—removes about 1 ounce of meat and yields a perfect 4-ounce portion. Wrap and freeze the tenders and when you have gathered enough, use them in a stir-fry or for oven-baked chicken fingers. {I just used the whole breast, but only used 3}

Recipe Source: Eating Well