Kale Chips

I’ve seen several recipes for simple kale chips and was pleasantly surprised when I finally made them myself! They’re easy to prepare and have a very fresh crisp flavor and texture. I kept it simple with olive oil, salt, and pepper, but you can jazz it up with something like chili powder or garlic powder – the possibilities are really endless. What a perfect alternative to grabbing a handful of potato chips – you can get a healthy serving of vegetables instead!

Speaking of plants, I’m currently in love with springtime in Texas. Besides our trademark bluebonnets springing up…

I also have a big bouquet of daisies (my favorite!) that my dear husband brought home.

Plus, my veggie/herb garden is growing leaps and bounds! (photos to come) Spring is such a lovely time – hope yall are enjoying it too!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Wash the kale thoroughly to remove any grit and pat with towels or use a salad spinner to remove excess water. Rip or cut the leaves of the kale away from the stems and discard the stems.

Lay the leaves out on a baking sheet and lightly drizzle with olive oil, then lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake the kale for about 20 minutes or until crisp. Allow it to cool and then transfer to a bowl or storage container. Enjoy!

Source: A Cozy Kitchen

Mexican Hot Chocolate Toasted Pecans

I saw this recipe months ago on Pinterest and knew these pecans would be amazing whenever I finally tried them. Well, the time finally came and sure enough – these nuts are out of this world! The cocoa with a touch of spice perfectly represents the authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate flavors.

You can have a handful as a snack or add a bowl to a dessert spread for something a little unique. Either way – you’re in for a tasty treat! Enjoy

Mexican Hot Chocolate Toasted Pecans

Ingredients:
4 cups pecans
1 egg white
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 pinch ground allspice

Yield: 4 cups

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, use a silpat, or lightly grease the sheet to keep from sticking.

Mix the sugar, cocoa powder, and all the spices in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk the egg white until it is thick and frothy and add in the pecans. Stir them to coat evenly. Next, add the cocoa mixture and combine until the nuts are evenly coated.

Scoop the nuts with a slotted spoon onto the prepared baking sheet and cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove, toss the nuts, and place them back in the oven for 20 more minutes. After the first 40 minutes, check the nuts to see if the coating doesn’t crumble off of the nuts. If it does, place them back in the oven for 20 more minutes, otherwise let the nuts cool and serve!

Source: Simply Scratch who adapted from Savvy Eats

Croissants

I’ve been dreaming about making homemade croissants and finally that dream became a buttery reality. Life hasn’t been the same since. Ok, maybe a little dramatic, but really, these are practically life changing for a baker.

Now I know how much hard work goes into baking something great and complex. The process of rolling, folding, rolling, and folding again might seem excessive. But after biting into the flaky layers, it’s all immediately worth it. There is a lot of time and work that goes into homemade croissants, but besides the delicious results, you feel truly accomplished too!

And! Another great thing (I totally sound like a croissant saleswoman) is if you don’t want to make tons of basic croissants, you can use the same dough to make it’s best friend, pain au chocolat. Your kitchen seriously turns into a French bakery at this point. TWO types of fancy breads at once - so amazing!

Even though I didn’t use the same recipe, I used this helpful video to get a better visual of the technique used to make these. The tip he gives about pulling the tip when rolling the croissants is pretty great!

So if you feel ambitious enough to attempt homemade croissants, you totally should. Don’t be too intimidated, I promise it’s not extremely difficult! Just give yourself plenty of time, space, butter, and room in your belly.

Croissants

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cold butter
1 egg, beaten

Yield: 16 croissants

Directions:
Combine milk, first amount of butter, sugar, and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

While mixture is cooling, dissolve the yeast in the water and add it to the milk. Place the liquid in a mixer and add the flour. Using the dough hook, mix until the dough is elastic and sticky.

Place in a bowl, cover and let it rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours. Then place the dough in the refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes. While dough is chilling, soften the remaining cold butter by pounding with a rolling pin.

Roll the dough on a floured surface to form a 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Spread the butter over 2/3 of the rectangle closest to you. Fold the unbuttered third over the center third. Then fold the bottom 1/3 over the doubled portion. Rotate the dough around a quarter turn. Roll it again into a 1/4-inch thick oblong. Fold again in thirds.

Cover the dough and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or more. When the dough is chilled, remove from the refrigerator and repeat the folding and turning twice more. Then roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness once more. Cut the dough into 3-inch squares then cut the squares on the bias to form two triangles. Roll each triangle beginning with the wide side, then shape the rolls into crescents. Place on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silpat baking sheet. Leave enough room for each croissant to triple in size. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator before baking.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush a little of the beaten egg over each croissant to add color and texture while it bakes. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and continue to bake another 15 minutes. Remove the croissants from the oven, cool, and enjoy!

Source: Best Bread Recipes

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Happy World Nutella Day! And you know, that little thing called Super Bowl Sunday too.

What a great combo day – who wouldn’t want a Nutella treat added to their Super Bowl snack spread? I opted for some simple chocolate nutella cookies and wow are they delicious! These cookies are so moist and have the perfect amount of Nutella flavor. Come to think of it, I should’ve made some cookie sandwiches with more Nutella in the middle. Maybe for next year’s holiday…or maybe I’ll try it next week…

Good luck to the Pats and Giants – I’m still not over the Packers’ absence in Super Bowl XLVI, but let the best team win!

Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup dutch-process cocoa
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp hazelnut extract
1/3 cup Nutella
1/3 cup milk

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

Directions:
Whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, and cocoa, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter and sugars. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add the vanilla and hazelnut extract and beat until extracts disappear. Add the Nutella and mix until batter is smooth.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternately with the milk in one batch, mixing well. Chill dough for at least 15 minutes before baking. You can make the dough a few days in advance, just wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Take a tablespoon of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place on lined baking sheets and gently press down on the dough ball. Continue making dough balls until the cookie sheets are filled-leave two inches in between cookies.

Bake cookies for 10-11 minutes or until soft, but starting to set. Remove cookies from the oven and let cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Source: Two Peas and their Pod - thanks for yet another great recipe!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

These are the spicy twin to the sweet roasted chickpeas posted a few days ago – totally different flavor but equally as delicious! Again, peeling the chickpeas proved to be the longest part of the process but these were just as simple to make – you can easily tweak the spices used and make it into something you more prefer. You could mix it up with cajun flavors, Indian spices, or whatever you like and have a truly tasty and healthy snack. Enjoy!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (15 oz, aka: garbanzo beans)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of sriracha sauce (optional)
Dash of salt and pepper

Yield: 2 cups

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Rinse and drain the chickpeas and peel them if wanted. Dry them on a paper towel or kitchen towel. Combine all other ingredients in a bowl. Add the chickpeas and combine until evenly coated. Put the coated chickpeas on a lined baking sheet and bake for 25-35 minutes, until they reach your desired crispiness. Make sure to shake the pan after 15 minutes to keep them from burning on one side. Serve the chickpeas while still warm or once they’ve cooled completely. Enjoy!

Source: A Beckster original

Sweet Roasted Chickpeas

I’m one of those people who can sit and snack on nuts all day and be completely content. So when I saw a recipe for roasted chickpeas, I thought this would be a tasty and still healthy alternative to my cashews, peanuts, and pecans. These are really easy to make, just 5 ingredients! The most time consuming part was peeling the chickpeas, which is optional, but what I prefer. Also, when you get to the honey coating step, make sure not to have a heavy hand (like me) otherwise the chickpeas will be overcoated and a little sticky. Oops! Had to cook them a little longer to try and fix that!

These crunchy treats are perfect as a pop in your mouth snack, but beware, they are incredibly addictive. Lucky for you, they’re made with everyday ingredients and can be served up in no time!

Sweet Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients:
1 can of chickpeas (15 oz, aka: garbanzo beans)
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp honey

Yield: 2 cups

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Drain the can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and rinse them under cold water until starch is removed. You can peel of the skins if you wish. Place chickpeas on a paper towel to dry.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, cinnamon, and sugar. Place chickpeas in the bowl and stir until all of the chickpeas are evenly coated. Spread out the chickpeas on a large baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until chickpeas are crunchy and no longer soft in the middle.

Place hot, roasted chickpeas in a small bowl and coat evenly with honey. Spread the chickpeas back out on the baking sheet and allow to dry. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy!

Source: Two Peas and their Pod

Cinnamon Sugar Crackers

The thought of making homemade crackers seemed absurd at first – why spend the time making them when you can grab a box at the store? Well my friends, I’ve been proven wrong. I went out on a limb and tried these tasty little treats myself and WOW – they are a million times better than anything you could buy! The fresh taste totally beats something from a box and really, this 5 ingredient recipe weren’t difficult to make. These crackers will definitely be a regular snack in our household!

Cinnamon Sugar Crackers

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 Tbsp sugar, divided
3 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
2 Tbsp milk

Yield: 50+ crackers

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. With a food processor or mixer, combine the butter, flour, 4 Tbsp of sugar, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and mix until the dough forms a ball.

On a floured surface, using a heavily floured rolling pin, roll the dough thinly into a rectangle. With a pizza cutter wheel, trim off the sides to form a neat rectangle. Cut the dough into 1×1 inch squares. Using the blunt end of a skewer, make a hole in each cracker. This will make sure the cracker doesn’t over puff when baking.

Gently transfer the crackers (I used the edge of the pizza cutter to get them off the surface) to a lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the remaining cinnamon and sugar and mix. Liberally sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar mixture all over the crackers. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 12 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned. Remove from the oven and set the baking sheet on a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

Source: Slightly adapted from A Cozy Kitchen