Ingredients for Granola

Oat

Old fashioned rolled out is the best choice for granola. The texture of granola is a huge part of what makes granola great. Oats play a huge part the texture but not all types of oats are equal in delivering this texture. Old fashioned rolled oats is best.

Almonds

Almonds add an extra crunch and flavor and is my favorite nut to add to granola. Walnuts and pecans are also fit this recipe and make delicious granola. If you don’t like these options you can choose your favorite nut. We add nuts in order to add more layer of texture. The oats give our base layer and we want the nuts to add crunch without braking out teeth. In order to not brake our teeth chop the nuts or add them to your food processor or blender before adding them to the granola.

Brown Sugar

Sugar is our sweetener but also plays a part in the texture of our granola. You can use just honey as your sweetener or substitute with maple syrup. I like using brown sugar because I do believe it helps bring out the texture I want. To much honey and maple syrup makes the granola too wet and it doesn’t always cook the same.

Honey

Honey helps sweeten our granola with a bit of added flavor. Maple syrup is also a great substitute for honey if you prefer. You could also substitute sugar instead of using honey. Honey is also a healthier choice over sugar so I do sweeten with both to create the right texture without to much comprise.

Blackstrap Molasses

Molasses adds a great depth of flavor to anything that you add it to. It also has great nutritional value being full of rich vitamins and minerals. Our American diet lacks good vitamins and minerals and then use synthetic supplements. There no need for supplements if you purposely add ingredients that are rich in vitamins and minerals in your diet.

To learn more about the benefit of blackstrap molasses read this.

Find more recipes with molasses here…

Oil

I use Coconut Oil but other oils would work as well but becareful of which one use choice. the different oils wont change the texture but each oil has a little different flavor and it comes out differently in what you cook it with. Coconut oil in my experience taste best when making granola.

Wheat Bran

Wheat bran is another ingredient that I choose to put in for its nutritional benefits. Bran is one of the 3 parts in a wheat kernel and is stripped away during the process of making our refined flour. It is full of great healthy benefits including its great source of Potassium, Manganese, and Fiber to name a few.

Wheat bran in our granola offers a little bit of softer chew for a variety of texture. It also contains gluten. Most granola recipes are gluten free, you can leave the wheat bran out or use Oat Bran for a gluten free option.

Where to find wheat bran? Not all grocery stores carry wheat bran but Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran will probably be the easiest to find in the baking section. Or you can order online from Amazon Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran or Azure Standard Wheat Bran.

Flax Seeds

Another great ingredient full of nutritional value. Flax seed is full of omega-3 fatty acids that are super important for our brain and nerve function. They are also a great source of thiamine, copper, protein, fiber and lots more. I buy my flax seed whole and grind it just before adding it to my recipes.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon adds some delicious flavor along with some great antioxidants. Herbs and spices have so many great healing abilities. I’m very intentional to add lots of flavor through natural herbs and spices like cinnamon into my recipes.

Salt

Salt brings out the flavor of everything you put it on. Its a great resource in the kitchen for making any flavor or recipe stand out. When it comes to baking, table salt works just fine but if sea salt has the needed health benefits.

Egg White

The egg white at first seems like a strange ingredients and not its not for the added protein and health benefits… The egg white is a binding agent along with the sugar and helps create the chewy, crunchy chunks.

How To Make Granola

Melt Oil, Sugar, Honey and Molasses Together

In a small sauce pan melt coconut oil, sugar and molasses together. We want the sugar to melt completely but not to come to a simmer or boil. We don’t want to create candy and brake our teeth on our granola. Take off heat as soon as its melted.

Blend or Chop Dry Ingredients

In a food processor to Vitamix, chop almonds, flax seed, wheat bran and 1 cup oats. Pulse a few time till a the almost are crumbly but not blended smooth, we want texture.

Mix Dry Ingredients

Pour you chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the rest of the oats

Combine Wet and Dry ingredients

Pour the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Froth Egg White

In a separate bowl take one egg white and whisk with a fork or small whisk until frothy. Add to granola mixture.

Bake Granola

Spread the mixture on a baking sheet evenly. Its okay if its thick but I wouldn’t have it any thicker than half an inch. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Do not mix or crumble while its baking. just leave it alone and let bake.

Let Cool and Crumble

Let cool completely before braking apart. Once cool down you can brake the granola with your hands or a fork if you prefer. At this point you can also add dried fruit to your granola if you want. We like to add raisins, golden raisins my family’s favorite. Add, dried blueberries, craisins, dried apricots or whatever you fancy.

Store

Pantry: Store in an air tight container or zip-lock bag for up to 3-6 month in a cool dry environment.

Freezer: You can also store your granola in the freezer for long term storage, 6-12 month. When freezing granola make sure you use an freezer zip-lock or an air tight container. When freezing be sure to give room for expansion

Storing in the refrigerator may cause the granola to get soggy, I don’t recommend.

Granola

Yield: 2 Quarts

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Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 2 Cups Oats
• 1 Cup Almonds
• 1 Cup Wheat (or Oat) Bran
• 1/2 Cup Flax Seed (whole)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Melt the Coconut Oil, Brown Sugar, Honey and Molasses in a small sauce pan. Don't simmer or boil, just melt and then take off heat.
3. In food processor or vitamix chop the Almonds, Flax Seed, Bran and 1 cup Oats. Chop till chunky but not smooth, we want texture, just not too big.
4. In a large bowl mix our chopped mixture with the rest of the oats (1 cup), Cinnamon, and Salt.
5. Add the sugar and oil mixture and stair until combined.
6. In a small bowl take 1 egg white and whisk with a fork or small whisk until frothy. Add to the granola.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Spread the mixture on baking sheet evenly.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 275 degrees. Do not stir, just leave alone.
9. Let cool completely before braking apart. Once cooled brake in to bite size pieces with your hands. At this point you can add any raisins or any other dried fruit. Store in a air tight contain in your pantry for up to 6 months.

Shop This Recipe

Most of these ingrdients will easily be found in your local grocery store. Flax, Wheat Bran and Blackstrap Molasses are the few that might prove to be difficult. Here are some options.

Learn more about Azure Standard by reading my Azure Standard Review and Costco Price Comparison.

Flax Seed

Amazon: Anthony’s Organic Brown Whole Flaxseed, Batch Tested and Gluten Free, Raw, Non GMO, Sproutable, Keto Friendly 2lbs $14.99
Azure Standard: Organic Flax Seed, 5lbs $8.66

Wheat Bran

Amazon: Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran 8oz $7.77
Azure Standard: Organic Wheat Bran 16oz $2.40

Blackstrap Molasses

Amazon: Golden Barrel Unsulfured Black Strap molasses, 32 oz $11.49
Azure Standard: Blackstrap Molasses, Organic $7.29

Vitamix

Amazon: Vitamix, Pearl Grey, Series 750 Blender, Professional-Grade, 64 oz. Low-Profile Container $699.99 ON SALE $399.99

Food Processor

Amazon: BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Easy Assembly 8-Cup Food Processor, Black $38.99

The post Granola Recipe Easy, Healthy And Crunchy appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Heads up! My post do contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

More Calzone Recipes…

Calzones for dinner! Try my Mushroom and Onion Calzone or Spinach and Artichoke Calzone next!

How To Make Chocolate Cinnamon Dessert Calzones

This recipe is very simple. I make dessert calzones whenever I am making calzones for dinner. My dough is already made the oven is already up to 500 degrees. To make this very simple dessert, just grab a little bit of butter, some chocolate chips, a little brown sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

1. Make pizza/calzone dough

I make my pizza dough from scratch but you can also buy pizza dough for your local grocery store or pizzeria’s sometimes sell dough. Click here for my pizza dough recipe.

2. Roll out your dough

Roll the dough out just like pizza dough. You can even do the little throw in the air trick if you are that cool. Before placing the filling on make sure you place some parchment paper under the dough.

3. Add filling

Add your dessert filling ingredients to one half of the rolled out dough. Start with some chunks of butter or melted butter on your dough. Now brown sugar, then some chocolate chips and last but not least cinnamon.

4. Fold the calzone

Fold over the plain side of dough over onto the side with the filling. Leaving about an inch of room to seal. Pinch the edge a little and roll or twist the edge all the way around.

5. Butter or Egg wash the top

In my other calzones recipes I egg wash the top. For this dessert calzone I wanted to do a little more… Instead of the egg wash you can use butter. After the butter I sprinkled a little more cane sugar and cinnamon on the top. It was delicious!

6. Bake and enjoy!

Score the top. Bake on a cooking sheet at 500 degrees for about 7-9 minutes. Not too long or the sugar will burn. I left my in just a tad to long and the top is a little dark. But it didn’t taste burnt, just had a few rough edges.

More Dessert Calzone Toppings!

I hope this simple recipe encourages you to explore a little when making a dessert calzone. Its as simple a sprinkling a few ingredients that you like together to satisfy your sweet tooth. Here are some other ingredient combinations that you might enjoy.

S’mores Calzone

• Marshmallows
• Chocolate Chips
• Cinnamon
• Butter

Fruit Calzone

• Cream cheese
• powdered sugar
• blueberries and strawberries (or another favorite fruit)

White Chocolate Calzone

• White chocolate chips
• Cream cheese
• Sliced Almonds
• Nutmeg

Nutella Calzone

• Nutella (That would probably be enough…)

Be creative! There’s so many options out there and you will learn more about baking and cooking by trying new things then just following a recipe. So go for it!

Chocolate Cinnamon Calzone

Yield: 1 Calzone

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Instructions

1. Make Pizza/Calzone dough
2. Roll out dough in a circle like a pizza
3. Put Butter, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Chips and Cinnamon on 1 half of the dough. leaving about an inch on the sides for sealing.
4. Fold over the dough on top of the filling. Push down on the edges to
   seal and twist and fold the edge into the calzone creating a swirly
   crust.
5. Use egg wash or melted butter on the top and sprinkle a litt more sugar and cinnamon on top.
6. Cut 5 steam holes on the top of the calzone
7. Bake at 500 degrees for 7-9 minutes.
8. Let cool and enjoy!

The post Simple Recipe for Dessert Calzones appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Heads up! My post do contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Ingredients for Mushroom and Onion Calzone

Mushroom

You can use either fresh or frozen, both work just fine as long as they are both chopped. The recipe calls for 1 cup. I use frozen so if you are using fresh you may want to do 1 1/2 cups.

Onion

I use a yellow onion but white onion or sweet onion will also work well for this recipe. I like to caramelize the onions and mushroom with a little bit of sugar but that is optional. You can simple saute them without the sugar and it will still be delicious.

Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta cheese is the base of the filling. I love the texture of baked ricotta cheese. Ricotta is a soft, creamy cheese that spreads so perfectly. Its made from the whey leftover when making hard cheeses such as mozzarella or cheddar. These cheese is low in fat and rich in phosphorus and vitamin B12.

Mozzarella Cheese

Mozzarella cheese is considered a hard cheese. When melted it will stick to the other ingredients and hold them together as they cool down again. Mozzarella wont only work as an binding agent but also adds a nice salty flavor and cheesy texture to our calzones.

Garlic and Italian Seasoning and Salt

All of these ingredients add a huge amount of flavor but they also have great health benefits. Garlic is an antibiotic, helping build up our immune system and fight colds and viruses. Italian herbs such as basil, sage, thyme and oregano all have antioxidants, help build up the immune system, are heart healthy and even some regulate hormones and more. Salt is essential to our taste buds and also our body’s health and function with its sodium electrolytes and all.

An Egg

We just need one eggs. This egg will help the filling bind together so when you cut or bite into your calzone the filling don’t fall out. I also you a second egg for an egg wash, this is optional.

How to Make A Calzone

Step One: Make Pizza/Calzone Dough

I make my pizza dough from scratch but you can also buy pizza dough for your local grocery store or even some pizzeria’s just sell dough. Click here for my pizza dough recipe.

Step Two: Saute Onion and Mushrooms

I like to caramelize my onions and mushrooms by adding a little bit of sugar while sauteing them. The sugar is optional but I think adds the perfect touch of sweet flavor to our cheesy calzone.

Step Three: Mix Calzone Filling Ingredients

Mix together the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, egg, garlic, seasoning, salt. Then add the mushroom and onions.

Step Four: Roll Dough Out

Roll the dough out just like pizza dough. You can even do the little throw in the air trick if you are that cool. Before placing the filling on make sure you place some parchment paper under the dough.

Step Five: Spoon the Calzone Filling and Fold

Spoon the filling on the to dough leaving about an inch of room to seal. When the filling is on fold over the dough onto the filling. Pinch the edge a little and roll or twist the edge all the way around.

Step Six: Cut Steam Hole and Bake

Cut five steam holes on the top of the dough. At this point you can cover with and egg wash, it is optional. Now bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees.

IMPORTANT, The pizza dough recipe makes 4 calzones while the filling only fills 2. This is because my kids and I like verity. In other words, they like pepperoni and I like mushrooms. To make a pepperoni calzone just though some pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni inside the calzone.

I also have an Spinach and Artichoke Calzone Recipe and a Dessert Calzone Recipe.

Mushroom & Onion Ricotta Calzone

Yield: 2 Medium Calzones

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

Filling

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 onion (chopped)
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Crust

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Make Pizza/Calzone Crust.
2. Chop onions and mushrooms and saute with the sugar, oil and garlic.
3. Once the onions and mushrooms are soft and caramelized turn off heat and let cool.
4. Mix together in a separate bowl, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, salt, and the Italian seasoning.
5. Add onions and mushrooms to mixture.
6. Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
7. Roll out dough in a circle like you would pizza dough and place parchment paper underneath.
8. Spoon the filling on the half, one side, of the dough. Leaving 3/4 inch from rim.
9. Fold over the dough on top of the filling. Push down on the edges to seal and twist and fold the edge into the calzone creating a swirly crust.
10. Egg wash the top and cut 5 steam holes on the top of the calzone.
11. Bake for 15 minutes at 500 degrees.

Notes

IMPORTANT, The pizza dough makes 4 calzones while the filling only fills 2. This is because my kids and I like verity. In other words, they like pepperoni and I like spinach. To make a pepperoni calzone just though some pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni inside the calzone.

I also have an Mushroom and Onion Calzone Recipe and a Dessert Calzone Recipe.

The post Mushroom and Onion Ricotta Calzone appeared first on Embracing The Home.

A Little About Azure

Azure Standard runs like a co-op. They deliver their goods once a month to delivery drop locations throughout the United States. When you make an order you are committing to meet the delivery truck at the drop location and pick up your order straight off the truck.

Azure Standard is known for and believes in the benefit of organic foods. Although they do have some non organic products. They are also known for the ability to order bulk quantities but they also offer smaller or regular sized quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs. I buy 25 lbs at a time.

Azure Standard is a family and community motivated company. They strive to provide affordable and healthy food to their customers. From the why they grow their organic foods to the way the deliver, their motivation is for the benefit of the family and community.

Why Buy Organic?

Organic foods can be expensive! And the question that always comes to my mind when seeing the price difference at the store is… “is organic actually worth this price?”. Is organic food worth the money? How much does it affect our health? Aren’t the labels out there all just a scam? In order to determine if organic foods are best for you, you will have to evaluate your own health conditions and your financial state.

Does Organic Foods Have Higher Nutrition Values?

The research is conflicting… Some say yes, some say no. I say yes and this is why.

What they have found to agree on is that organic foods have more antioxidants. Antioxidants help our body fight off free radicals. Free radicals can be very dangerous to our bodies and DNA causing cancer. Antioxidants help fight that from happening. Organic foods are a great source for antioxidants where conventional foods are not. Check out Healthline’s “What Is Organic Food, and Is It Better Than Non-Organic Food?” for more information.

Antioxidants not only protect our bodies but also protect the plant from disease. Non organic plants have chemical pesticides sprayed on them to protect them. By doing this the plant does not need to produce as much antioxidants. Organic foods are not sprayed with these chemicals and create their own protection through antioxidants. When we eat these foods the antioxidants in them also aid our own health.

There more I could say about the benefits of organic food but that will have to wait. Comment below if you have any question, I’d be happy to answer them.

Is The Price Worth It?

I can’t answer this for you. You will have to decide based off of your budget and needs. For us we try to buy mostly organic. We have a very tight grocery budget in this season of life and organic foods shouldn’t really fit in our budget but we make it work and this is how.

1. We buy in bulk. When you buy foods in bulk the price goes down. Its cheaper. So we are able to save money with some purchases when buying organic bulk.
2. We cook from scratch. I cook practically everything we eat from scratch. We do not buy prepared meals. Are kids eat fruits and veggies for snacks, there are no fruit poaches, goldfish or crackers in this house unless we make them ourselves. And I do make them. We save so much money and that money goes towards buying organic, high quality foods.
   
   I can’t say that we never buy anything prepared, or that I make everything from scratch but the bulk of what we eat we make. I do buy rice cakes and tortilla chips and some other things like that on occasion. I do not grind my own peanut butter or mill my own flour (yet). But I do make my own brown sugar (How to Make Brown Sugar).

Azure Standard and Costco Price Comparison

Why We Shop Azure and Not Costco

We have a few Costco’s around us, the closet one being about 25 minutes away. I don’t drive due to seizures so we mostly grocery shop as a family. Therefore we don’t shop at Costco because it of the drive and time frame that we do our shopping. I wish it worked out for us to shop there but its not for us at this time.

Azure Standard has been a great source for us. I love, and my husband loves, that our drop location is 5 minutes away. This works for our family because I can do the time consuming shopping online at my leisure and my husband can do the quick pick up once a month.

I trust Azure Standards quality of food and I love their family, community and healthful living passion. Costco is great! But just not the same. From what I’ve heard from my friend who works at Costco the company side is really good but they don’t have the same motivation for what they do. And that’s okay. It doesn’t make me not want to buy at Costco, but it does make me want to be from Azure.

Price Comparison

Here I compared what I bought this month from Azure Standard with Costco prices.
My last review I compared with Walmart prices. To see that price comparison click here “Azure Standard Review, Pros, Cons, Price Comparison”

Disclaimer: Costco prices and stock may very depending on your location. This price comparison is based off of the online search of the Sacramento warehouse. The online and in store prices may also vary.

*minus what I couldn’t price at Costco.

Now obviously this is prices per lb or oz so the total is not the actual number of dollars I paid but the price per lb or oz of each item. I though it was interesting Azure cost a little bit more with most of the items but The few that Azure was cheaper it was buy a signification enough amount to not only to even the total out but reduce it. I was actually kinda surprised.

Costco Membership Vs. Azure’s Shipping Fees

To shop at Costco you much be a member. The standard Gold Star membership Card cost $65 per year.

Azure Standard does not have a membership fee but it does have a shipping fee for most states. They are based in Oregon so the states close to them there is not shipping fee but for these states: AL, AR, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT-east of Missoula, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NM-east, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV, WY there is a 8.5% shipping fee.

This means that if you order $200 worth from Azure you will pay an extra $17 for shipping. 200 x 0.085 = 17. If you were to order $200 worth each month you would then pay a total of $204 for shipping for the year which in comparison to the Costco membership is a lot.

If you happen to live in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona there are not shipping fees.

In Summery

I’m still very happy with Azure Standard. The quality and taste of their foods is great. The price is in our budget and comparable to Costco and better than Walmart. Their delivery and drop off system works wonderfully for our family. The more I shop at Azure the more I like it!

Comment below what store I should price compare next!

The post Azure Standard Review, Costco Price Comparison appeared first on Embracing The Home.

• Ingredients for Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookies
• How To Make Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookies
• How To Freeze Cooking Dough

The molasses add a bold flavor but is not overpowering. The molasses also adds the perfect amount of moisture that keeps the cookie soft while lowing the butter amount a little. With a little less butter the cookies will not burn as easily and makes the cookie slightly healthier. There is still plenty of butter to create a chew texture with the sugar and oats, so don’t worry, its not that healthy.

The molasses also adds an abundance of vitamins and minerals that your cookie would otherwise be without, so another good reason to call these cookies “healthier”. If you want to learn more about the “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses” click here.

Ingredients of Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookies

Butter

1 cup of butter at room temperature for best results. Butter is the foundation of any cookie. It is what makes our cookies both soft and chewy. It holds the dough together and also allows the cookie to spread and take its shape as it cooks. The amount of butter and even the temperature of the butter can make your cookie chewier, crispy or even cake like. We are looking for soft and chewy.

Brown Sugar

This recipe just uses brown sugar. If you are all out of brown sugar that’s okay, if you have molasses you can make your own brown sugar, click to find out how. Brown sugar has molasses in it and has more moisture making the cookies chewy while keeping them soft and not crunchy.

Eggs

Eggs help our cookie from crumbling. They help holds everything together and is a part of the rising action and helps determine the crumbliness or chewiness of your cookie. This recipe calls for two eggs. But after reading “Cookie Science: How Do Eggs Affect My Cookies?” I might try double yoke and one white instead of 2 whole eggs. For now I’m keeping it simple also cause it works. 2 eggs.

Molasses

Molasses is a rich in nutrient, color, and flavor, thick syrup that we get from sugar cane. I use blackstrap molasses for its nutrient benefits in smoothie, pasta sauces, chili, breakfast muffins, and more. Although we have molasses in our brown sugar I added more to enrich the flavor and texture of this cookie while adding extra nutrients and taking out a little saturated fats by using less butter than normal.

Vanilla

Sometimes I do without the vanilla because the molasses adds enough flavor, but a little vanilla or almond extract always enhances any baked goods.

Flour

All purpose flour is best for this recipe. Although sometimes I use a 50/50 ratio of all purpose and whole wheat as I have that premixed in a jar for my breads and other recipes. Its easy to use and my family doesn’t seem to mind 1/2 whole wheat cookies. If I was to use all whole wheat my husband would notice and say something. All whole wheat would not just change the flavor but also the texture of the cookie.

Baking Soda

This recipe uses only baking soda not powder. Baking soda is a leavening agents for quick rises, you may remember your science experiments with vinegar (acidic) and your baking soda (alkaline) when mix together create carbon dioxide bubbling all about. To create a similar reaction in our cookies we will use brown sugar as our acidic ingredient, not vinegar. The acid from the brown sugar does not mix with the baking soda until they are cooking and the butter is melting everything. This is when the carbon dioxide is released and therefore imprints air pockets in the cookie creating a chewy, not dense cookie. Too much baking soda can result in a crumbling crisp texture and too little will create a dunce cake like texture.

Salt

Don’t forget salt, just a the right amount of salt makes everything better. It brings out the flavor in the blandest of ingredients and makes the simplest of foods feel rich.

Cinnamon

Just a little added flavor to create another layer of enjoyment. Cinnamon and raisins are a perfect classic combination, along with brown sugar and molasses, how can we go wrong! Do remember that the molasses has added a good amount of flavor. To little cinnamon and it wont be detected, too much and the flavors might fight for attention leaving your taste buds unsure of what’s going on.

Oats

I use both quick oats and rolled oats. The quick oats will absorbs more liquids and help bind the cookie together while still added texture. The rolled oats are the big chunks that add the soft chewy texture. I love the texture of rolled oats in my cookie and when baked just right with the brown sugar and butter coating the oats who can resist!

Raisins

Last but not least raisin. These sweet chewy raisins add flavor, texture and act like candy in these delicious cookies. My husbands favorite raisin is the golden raisin. Sometimes I use 1/2 golden and 1/2 regular and my family loves them! If you are one of those people that can’t enjoy raisins in a cookie and must have chocolate chips, be my guest and make the switch. As much as I love chocolate chips in my cookies a pure oatmeal raisin gives me great pleasure. Oatmeal Raisin Cookies bring back beautiful child hood memories that could never be replaced, not even by chocolate chips.

How To Make Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookies

• Step 1 mix butter and brown sugar.     
  This step is important. Mixing the butter and sugar together first creates air the butter batter. The sugar gets covered so that the reaction between the baking soda and sugar happens when the butter melts.

• Step 2 Add the rest of the wet ingredients.    
  Add eggs, molasses, applesauce and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture.

• Step 3 mix dry ingredients.   
  You can mix all the dry ingredients together and add one cup in at a time but it’s most important that the baking soda, salt and cinnamon are mixed with the flour. This way the mix more evenly throughout the dough. The oats can be added after and raisins last.
  • Add flour, salt,baking soda and cinnamon at the same time.
  • Add quick oats and rolled oats q cups at a time till mixed evenly.
  • Add raisins (or chocolate chips) you can also add some nuts for extra chunky texture.

• Step 4 Form Cookie Dough Balls to Bake!
  You can use a cookie dough scoop for more uniform size cookies. I personally just use a spoon. I do want to make sure my dough is tight and holding together. If its too lose the cooking will crumble and fall apart when picked up.

How to Freeze Cookie Dough

This recipe make a large batch (5 dozen cookies) of cookies dough. I typically eat a bunch of dough, bake half and freeze the other half to bake at a later date.

You can freeze your dough a couple different ways.

Frozen Cookie Dough Roll

• To do this I get a cookie tray length piece of either plastic wrap, parchment paper or even wax paper will work. I place spoon fulls of dough on the plastic/paper and form it into a log roll. You want the roll to be around 1.5 inches wide. This way when we go to bake cookies we can cut the roll into slices the perfect size for a cookie.
• After I roll in in the paper or plastic I roll it again in tin foil or place in a Ziploc bag. This will keep it air tight and protect from freezer burn.
• Write the name of the cookie dough and baking instructions for quick reference on the bag or foil.
• You can store in the freezer for 3-6 months and thaw out for 10 minutes before cutting into it to bake.

Frozen Cookie Dough Balls 

• On a baking sheet place some wax or parchment paper. Scoop cookie dough on the paper as if you were to make them, but you can place them closer together since we will freeze them and not bake them yet.
• Freeze you cookie dough for 30 minutes to an hour. Then you can put all the cookie dough balls in a freezer Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer for 3-6 months.
• Don’t forget to write the name, date and baking instructions on the bag for quick reference.

Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookie

Yield: 5 Dozen Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 8 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cups quick oats
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 3 cups raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix together brown sugar and butter till combined
3. Add eggs, molasses and vanilla
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
5. Then finally add quick oats, rolled oats, and raisins mixing 1 cup in at a time.
6. Use a spoon to place small portions on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for 8 minutes

I truly hope you enjoy these cookies as much as my kids do! If you have questions or comments please share below. I’m always to happy to hear how my recipes work (or don’t work) for other people.

The post Oatmeal Raisin Molasses Cookies appeared first on Embracing The Home.

5 Tips You Don’t Want to Skip

(Especially number 4)

Tip # 1: Cold butter.

The colder the butter the better. I freeze my butter for pie crust. Often I cut the butter in cubes and then freeze before adding to my flour. Keeping the butter cold keeps the water that’s in the butter from absorbing into the flour too soon. We want the steam from the water in the butter to make lots of air pockets in order to create glorious flakes in our crust. If you let the butter get warm the flour will absorb the water and you will get a dense crust.

Tip # 2: Cold Apple Cider Vinegar

The acids in apple cider vinegar slow down the gluten production and keep the dough from becoming elastic like. If your dough is worked too much the gluten molecules will activate and your dough will become tough. Apple cider vinegar will slow this down to insure a tender, flaky pie crust. Don’t worry, your crust will not taste like vinegar. Remember to use COLD apple cider vinegar, if your liquid is cold your butter will also stay cold.

Tip # 3. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

By now I hope you realize we want things to stay cold. After you mix all the ingredients making your dough but before you roll it out make sure you refrigerate for at least one hour. This will help solidify the butter again after it is worked into the flour. Don’t let your dough sit on the counter for too long, always put it back in the refrigerator.  Once I’ve rolled out my pie crust and placed it in the pie pan I always put them back in the refrigerator until I’m ready to put the filling in. If the is filling the crust and the oven is not preheated yet, I put it all back in the refrigerator. Keep it cold.

Tip # 4: Do Not Overwork.

I believe this is the number one reason people have tough, dense pie crusts. When you overwork your dough the butter melts and the gluten actives. So if you remember anything from this post, remember this. Do No Overwork The Dough! This often happens when we try to make the fancy, pretty crust we see on Pinterest. But don’t worry, you can still make the pretty crust, I have a tip for that as well.

Tip # 5. Freeze Your Decorative Pie Crust

When making a fun decorative top for your pie we often work it too much, melting the butter and activating the gluten molecules resulting in a tough, dense pie crust. Follow these steps. Mix your dough according to the recipe, refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, roll out the dough on wax or parchment paper for easy transporting. Freeze for 10 minutes. Cut out your pretty shapes and place them back in the freezer till you are ready to assemble them on your pie.

If you have scraps from the cut outs that you want to use place them in the freezer as well for 10 minutes before working them again. Don’t combined them into a ball to roll out again but instead try to layer them on top of each other then roll out. Again, don’t overwork. The shapes you make with the scraps wont turn out as well as the first set. They have been worked more, so that is just how it is.

If you like Raspberry Pie…. Check our my Raspberry Pie Recipe Recipe here.

How To Make A Perfect Pie Crust

First you will need a food processor. I’ve personally never made pie crust without one and I do not know what I’d do without it. The food processor combines the butter and flour quickly with out overworking or melting the butter. You will also need a rolling pin, but that will come later.

Ingredients & Directions

• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt
• Cold Butter
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Water
• & An Ice Cube

1. First combine the water, apple cider and the ice cube in a small bowl. You want to use cold ingredients to make your pie crust. If you don’t have an ice cube you can simple combine and place the bowl in the freezer for a few minutes till it is cold.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt to your food processor. Pulse to mix together.
3. Cut your cold or frozen butter in cubes and add to food processor. It can be hard to cut frozen butter so sometimes I cut the butter then place in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before adding to the flour mixture. I want the butter to be as cold as possible before this step because this is when it is most worked. Pulse a few time until it it starts to combine with the flour mixture.
4. Add the cold water/cider mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing pulsing
   the food processor till you dough starts to look like little beads. Don’t overwork.
5. Place the crumbly dough on floured surface and bring together into a disc. Again, don’t overwork. do not knead the dough. Just simply combine together and form into a disc.
6. Wrap dough in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. I have also used a Pyrex glass container to store my dough but the zip-lock bag is my favorite to use. I often make my dough the day before I plan on making my pies. You can leave your dough in the refrigerator for up to a week and it will stay good. You can also place it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
7. When you are ready to make your pie roll out the dough on a floured surface and place in pie pan. Follow your pie recipes for baking instructions. If you are making a decorative top for you pie don’t forget to remember the tips for decorative pie crust above.

Perfect Pie Crust

Yield: 2 Pie Crust

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

4.0 Stars (1 Review)

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Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup or 2 sticks of cold or frozen butter
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons water
• 1 ice cube

Instructions

1. Combine, water, apple cider vinegar and ice cube in a small bowl to get cold.
2. Add flour, sugar and salt to your food processor. Pulse to mix together.
3. Cut you cold or frozen butter in cubes and add to food processor. Pulse a few time till it it starts to combine with the flour mixture.
4. Add water/cider mixture 1 tablespoon at a time while continuing pulsing the food processor till you dough starts to look like little beads.
5. Place dough on floured surface and bring together and divide into two discs.
6. Wrap discs in plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
7. Roll out dough and place in pie pan. Follow your pie recipes for baking instructions

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The post Pie Crust Recipe Made To Perfection appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Prepping the Chicken

If your chicken is frozen thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before you plan to cook it. Maybe you didn’t plan that far ahead, instead you can put the chicken in a Ziploc bag and place it in a bowl or container of cold water for about 1 hour, replacing the water every 30 minutes.

If your chicken is fresh or once it’s thawed out, pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other seasons you like. I choose my seasoning based on what I’m serving my chicken with.

Here are a few examples of different ways to season for different meals.

• Chicken tacos – Taco seasoning, or chili powder and garlic powder with salt and pepper. Sometimes I add a little cumin and cayenne powder or some lime juice.
• Lemon chicken – lemon pepper seasoning, or garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper and lemon slices.
• Chicken Alfredo – Italian seasoning or basil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Sometimes a little paprika or cayenne.
• Chicken with roasted potatoes – rosemary, thyme, sage, salt and pepper.

You can also marinate your chicken in olive oil and your choice of seasonings in a ziplock bag for 2-24 hours in the refrigerator before you cook it. If you choose this way you don’t need to pay dry just place directly in the skillet to cook. Personally, I prefer to dry rub my chicken.

Cooking the Chicken

The trick to cooking good chicken is to sear it capturing the juice inside the chicken to keep it moist. After I’ve seasoned the meat I turn my cast iron pan on medium high with a little bit of oil. If you don’t have a cast iron pan don’t worry, you don’t need it to get perfect chicken but it does help. Get your pan hot. Place the chicken on the hot pan and cook for 4 minutes on each side on medium high heat. If using a normal skillet keep the heat a little higher. You want the chicken to have a deep golden sear on each side.

Once you’ve cooked the chicken on each side reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 5-7 more minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. If cooking on a cast iron you can take off heat completely if the chicken breasts are small and let sit, covered, in the pan for 10 minutes. If they are larger keep them on low for at least 5 minutes before taking them off the heat. With your regular skillet you will want to keep on low longer (7-10 minutes) since it won’t hold on heat like the cast iron. After you’ve cooked it on low take off the heat completely, let it sit covered for another 10 minutes before serving.

Serving the Chicken

When the chicken is ready to serve I always pre-cut the chicken for everyone just to make sure it’s done all the way through before serving. I also have little kids who require me to cut the chicken so it makes sense. When cutting remember to slice against the grain. Not with the grain like I did in the photos, I always do it wrong but usually I’m cutting in cubes for my little ones. Cutting against the grain will keep it tender while cutting with the grain tends to make it tough.

Depending on how I’ve seasoned my chicken definitely depends on what I serve it with. Chicken and rice with broccoli is a favorite here. Chicken tacos with rice and beans. Rosemary Chicken and potatoes is another favorite. I could go on.

Whatever you serve it with I hope you enjoy it. And remember, cooking is a science but also an art. Feel free to experiment with seasonings, temperature and timing to make your perfect meal. Every kitchen and cook is a little different. Embrace your home by cooking your best.

Rosemary Chicken

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 chicken breast
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions

1. Mix all seasonings together in a small bowl.
2. Pat dry your chicken with a paper towel and rub seasonings on all sides of your chicken breasts.
3. Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat, or regular skillet on high. Add a little bit of oil to your pan.
4. Sear seasoned chicken for 4 minutes on each side.
5. Cover the chicken and reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken breast.
6. Take off heat, leave covered and let sit for another 10 minutes before cutting the chicken and serving.

The post Rosemary Chicken Breast Recipe appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients & Equipment Needed

Lemon curd is made from 5 simple ingredients

• Lemon juice
  Best from fresh lemons, you can use the bottled lemon juice but its just not as great for this recipe.
• Lemon zest
  Zest from an organic lemon is best. If you don’t have organic lemons wash with apple cider vinegar before you zest.
• Sugar
  You can substitute with honey or another sweetener but sugar is going to help create the texture we are looking for where the substitutes might not give the same results.
• Eggs
  Egg yokes and whole eggs. I freeze my egg whites in a pint jar and when I get about 1 or 2 cups I make angel food cake with them.
• Butter
  Butter will bring a creaminess to this recipe and will also help solidify the texture along with the egg yokes.

Equipment needed

• Double boiler or heavy bottom pot*
• Whisk
• Spatula
• Zester

*If you don’t have a double boiler or heavy bottom pot don’t fret too much. I actually don’t use my heavy bottom pot very often because I typically triple this recipe and my heavy bottom pot is too small for that amount. With my regular pot I just keep a very, very close eye on the heat and stir continuously. You want the heat to be very even to cook properly.

Instructions & Tips

To start your Lemon Curd zest 2 lemons. Mix zest and sugar together in a pot or bowl, off the heat. The sugar will draw out a little more flavor from the zest.

Next, add the eggs to your sugar and zest and mix for about 3 minutes until a pail yellow color. Mixing the eggs and sugar together will aerate the mixture creating a light and creamy curd. Then add the lemon juice and butter and turn the heat on medium high.

Stir continuously, don’t step away from the lemon curd. You want the heat to distribute as evenly as possible resulting in a smooth lemon curd. Cook for about 10 minutes or until it thickens. It will continue to thicken as it cools. When ever I do a larger batch it does that longer than 10 minutes, so be patient.

Once it’s thick, take off the heat and let it cool. If you are canning and you can put the curd straight into your clean, sanitized jars while it’s hot. Screw your lids on finger tight and add to hot canning water. If you have waited till the curd has cooled to can just make sure you canning water is not too hot when you place the cans in. You want the temperature of the water and the temperature of your contents to be a similar temperature when you place them in the water or you glass your brake.

Storing Lemon Curd

Once you’ve made your delicious lemon curd and if you didn’t eat it in one day you will need to find a way to store it. There are three may ways to store lemon curd.

• Air tight container in refrigerator. Lemon curd will last in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
• Water bath canning. Canned lemon curd has a shelf life of 3-4 months
• Freeze. Frozen lemon curd is good for 1 year.

Storing in your refrigerator is great if you know you are going to eat it within a week. So if you are making your lemon curd for an event or holiday just grab a air tight container or mason jar with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Enjoy that week, if by the end of the week you haven’t finished it place it in the freezer so as to not waste it. If you have frozen lemon curd its not hard to thaw. Just place it in the refrigerator 24 hours before you want to use it and it will be ready. You can also place it on the counter to thaw or in a bowl of cold water. If you place your cold glass jar in hot water it is likely to break and we don’t want broken glass mixed with our lemon curd. So make sure to use cold water.

Canning Lemon Curd

To can your lemon curd you can use the water bath canning method. Here are some simple steps to follow.

• Prepare, clean and sanitize all your jars and lids.
• In your water bath canner with rack, heat you water to a light steam or 180 degrees.
• Make your lemon curd.
• Pour lemon curd while still hot in your prepared jars. Leave an 1/2 inch of space from the top of the jar. Screw the ring on the lids just finger tight.
• Place the jars in the water bath canner. the water should cover you jars with about 1 inch of water on above the jars.
• Turn the heat up to medium high to slowly bring your water from 180 degrees to a boil. This may take 20-30 minutes. Just keep an eye on it. I set my timer for 20 minutes then check every couple minutes after that till its at a boil.
• Let the water boil for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the canner for another 5 minutes before removing.
• Take jars our with your canning jar lifter and place on a towel on your counter. Let them cool all the way before taking the ring off.

This recipe will make about 1 1/2 pints or 3 half pint jars of lemon curd. I like to triple this recipe when canning giving me 8-9 half pint jars.

Lemon Curd

Yield: 3 half pint jars

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

• Zest from 2 lemons
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 egg yokes
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons butter

Instructions

1. Mix zest and sugar together in a medium sized pot
2. Add eggs and egg yokes and mix until light yellow
3. Add lemon juice and 6 tablespoon butter
4. Place over medium-medium high heat. Do not heat too quickly or too high
5. Stir continually with spatula or wooden spoon for 10-15 minutes or until thick.
6. Once thick, remove from heat. If canning pour into prepared jars while hot. Canned shelf-life 3-4 months.Freeze up to a year.Refrigerate for up to 10 days.

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