I came across a Food & Wine recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies in The Tennessean over Christmas and jotted it down. Then I thought — hey! NUTELLA! Because, you know, it’s Nutella. How could it NOT be good?

Because these are flourless they crisp up a lot as they cool. You can control the thickness [...]]]>

I came across a Food & Wine recipe for flourless peanut butter cookies in The Tennessean over Christmas and jotted it down. Then I thought — hey! NUTELLA! Because, you know, it’s Nutella. How could it NOT be good?

Because these are flourless they crisp up a lot as they cool. You can control the thickness with cooking time; around 10 or 11 minutes gets you a thicker cookie; more than 12 minutes gets you a crisp, thin wafer. Both are crispy after they cool, and both are fabulous. Make a tray of each and see what you like.

You will need:

• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Seriously. It takes about 19 seconds to pull these together, and the mixing part is so easy that this is a great one for kids who like to help.

Mix all ingredients together and drop by tablespoon on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350F, but don’t go far! These go from cookie to crisp in seconds, so watch for when they rise and start cracking on top. Take them out just after cracking for a thicker result, or let them rise, crack and fall for thinner crisps.

I’m kind of at a loss for words with these. Can you imagine how good they were by looking at that picture? Because let me assure you… they were BETTER than whatever you’re thinking.

Kiddo and I wanted to do something lovely for our local police force because they are awesome. They always take the [...]]]> Ohai, cupcakes.

I’m kind of at a loss for words with these. Can you imagine how good they were by looking at that picture? Because let me assure you… they were BETTER than whatever you’re thinking.

Kiddo and I wanted to do something lovely for our local police force because they are awesome. They always take the time to say hi to Kiddo and all the other kids when they’re cruising our neighborhood, they do all they can to help with the issue of our neighbor’s dog that will. not. quit. barking. ever. and they solved both lame crimes of which we’ve been a victim in the last year. They’re awesome. So what better for the boys in blue than blue velvet cupcakes?

I found this recipe at the incredible Sprinkle Bakes. Aren’t those great? She was SO helpful in helping me adapt the recipe to the food coloring I had to that perfect Cookie Monster shade of blue she showcases. It’s exactly what I wanted them to look like! She adapted her cupcake recipe from Paula Deen’s recipe; I adapted it with Sprinkle Bake’s help only to use all gel food coloring. The frosting is all Sprinkle Bakes.

You will need for the cupcakes:

• 2 cups sugar
• ½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp Wilton royal blue gel food coloring
• 1 small dab of violet gel food coloring (I dipped in a toothpick and used that much)
• 2 ½ cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

You will need for the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (I hate sifting; I whir it up in the food processor instead to aerate and get lumps out)

To make the blue velvety goodness:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 F and line cupcake pans with liners — I got 26 cupcakes out of this
2. Cream sugar and butter in mixing bowl till light and fluffy, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg
3. Mix cocoa and food coloring together to make a paste — this took a while to mix thoroughly with all gel, but it came together nicely; add this paste to sugar mixture and mix well again
4. Sift (or buzz in food processor) flour and salt, and add to creamed mixture a bit at a time, alternating with buttermilk, then mix in vanilla
5. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add to cake batter; mix just to combine
6. Scoop thick batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full, and bake for probably 25-30 minutes, but start checking at 20 — mine were done at about the 22/23 minute mark; watch for toothpick inserted in center to come out clean
7. Remove cupcakes from oven and allow cool completely on a wire rack

Now make frosting!

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until nice and smooth
2. Add sugar gradually and beat on low till combined, then beat on high speed until very light and very fluffy

Frosting time! I use a giant star tip from Bake it Pretty, or The Place I Could Spend All My Monies (and the stardust). I dusted on a little edible blue glitter on top because hey, why not.

Shall I just spare you the picture? Because really, it doesn’t do it justice. Just try this (it’s so crazy easy — you just have to try) and then come back and tell me what you thought.

What you need:

Lissa and I have decided we’re going to be professional guacamole and margarita tasters. Anyone in the market for that? Anyone? Well let us know. We’re available.

Given our fondness for that combination, I thought it was time to share Lissa’s margarita recipe with you. I declare it Lissa week [...]]]>

Lissa and I have decided we’re going to be professional guacamole and margarita tasters. Anyone in the market for that? Anyone? Well let us know. We’re available.

Given our fondness for that combination, I thought it was time to share Lissa’s margarita recipe with you. I declare it Lissa week here at One Particular Kitchen! We’ll celebrate! (With margaritas!)

Pour this into a blender:

• 4 oz tequila
• 2 oz Triple Sec
• Splash of liquid margarita mix
• Splash of Grand Marnier
• Splash of orange juice
• 1/3 large can frozen limeade concentrate (like this, but limeade)

Blend away with plenty of ice. (One of these doesn’t hurt; I’m just sayin’. Mine even works after a user error fail!)

I am a saltaholic so I go for the lime-and-salt rimmed glasses. The Yankee not so much — no salt for him. The Kiddo? All Cheerios all the time. That’s how we roll.

Oh I wish I could make this look as good as it tasted!

My fabulous friend Lissa makes this so often that she doesn’t even look at the recipe anymore. That’s the sign of a good supper! She told me how to make it while The Kiddo and I were visiting last fall, and I can’t [...]]]>

Oh I wish I could make this look as good as it tasted!

My fabulous friend Lissa makes this so often that she doesn’t even look at the recipe anymore. That’s the sign of a good supper! She told me how to make it while The Kiddo and I were visiting last fall, and I can’t believe it took me this long to make it. It is absolutely phenomenal, really. You must make this as soon as possible.

You’ll need:

• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 can french onion soup
• 1 can beef consomme
• 2 lbs. uncooked chicken, turkey or peeled shrimp
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 2 bay leaves
• 14 ounces (or 1 can) chicken broth
• I also added some chopped dehydrated red peppers out of the freezer from last summer’s garden

Steps to easy prep:

1. Mix all ingredients and bake in buttered casserole, covered tightly (I did a tight cover of foil then a lid on top of that) for one hour at 350F; stir and recover, then bake 30 minutes more or until rice is done

Oh wait. It’s only one step. Don’t you love that? This expands a lot as the rice cooks and soaks up the chicken broth so allow yourself plenty of room in the casserole dish (I totally pushed my luck there; overflow crisis narrowly averted).

I served this with shredded cheese, hot sauce and cornbread. It went fast.

Another classic Southern comfort food dish. Ahh…. so fabulous.

I learned to make this dish when I was just out of college and had a job that was more handling customers than washing diapers. For the record, I’ll take Cheerios over conference calls any day.   This was one of those “oh I use some [...]]]>

Another classic Southern comfort food dish. Ahh…. so fabulous.

I learned to make this dish when I was just out of college and had a job that was more handling customers than washing diapers. For the record, I’ll take Cheerios over conference calls any day.   This was one of those “oh I use some of this and a little of that and sometimes those — should I write this down?” sort of things, so I’m doing my best to turn it into an actual recipe.

Here’s what you’ll need for this:

• 4 chicken breasts or one roasted rotisserie chicken
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cold
• Chicken broth — about 2 quarts
• 2 Tbsp. or so cornstarch
• Salt, pepper, onion powder

Let’s deal with the chicken first. Either boil or slow cook the chicken breasts, saving the water it was cooked in, or (timesaver alert!) buy a lovely already-roasted rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Viola, my Grandma would wittily say, you’re halfway there. With either method, wait till the chicken is cooled and chop it into chunks; set aside for now.

Dumplings time! While the pot of broth is heating up, cut the butter into the flour like you’re making biscuits using either a pastry blender, a fork, or a few pulses of the food processor.  Now sprinkle in some salt and pour in chicken broth, a little at a time, till the dough holds together enough to be able to roll it out — this will take somewhere around a cup or cup and a half, but it’s not a science.  When the dough holds together, roll it out very thin and cut into strips about an inch wide, and two inches long. A pizza cutter is great for this! These, obviously, do not have to be anywhere near perfect.

Returning to your chicken broth: get a big pot of chicken it simmering — either the water you reserved from cooking the chicken breasts, or some homemade you might have in the freezer. If you’re using quarts of chicken broth, pour in one full quart plus whatever is left after making your dumplings. Bottom line: you want plenty in there so the dumplings have room to cook.

After the broth has come to a nice simmer, start carefully dropping in the dumplings; they’ll all sink to the bottom at first and that’s fine. Let them simmer gently for about half an hour, swirling the pot around every so often. You don’t want to do too much stirring because the dumplings are delicate as they’re cooking and you don’t want to make them all into a giant ball of mush; some gentle moving around with a wooden spoon is fine.

Thickening time! Whisk about 2 Tbsp. of cornstarch into 1/4 cup of cold water till it’s all dissolved and there are no lumps. Pour this mixture into the pot of dumplings and stir gently, then add in your chopped chicken.

Sprinkle in some salt, some pepper and some onion powder, bring the whole mess back up to a simmer, then reduce heat so it’s just below simmer. Let it cook another half hour or so to give the cornstarch time to work its magic and thicken things up and for all the flavors to get to know each other properly.

Now serve! This is crazy good with green beans (cooked with bacon fat, duh) or just on its own. It also freezes like a dream so I make a giant pot once a month or so and freeze quart size bags of it.

Kiddo and I had the urge to make cookies, and since he doesn’t actually eat any of them, I get to pick the recipes. This one jumped right off the page at me, I swear: cookies plus chocolate plus coffee? Sign me up.

This one is from the Better Homes and Gardens [...]]]>

Kiddo and I had the urge to make cookies, and since he doesn’t actually eat any of them, I get to pick the recipes. This one jumped right off the page at me, I swear: cookies plus chocolate plus coffee? Sign me up.

This one is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook — you know, the red and white one. It’s a classic.

You will need:

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 packed cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp instant coffee (I used two packets of Starbucks VIA sent to me gratis by the awesome Maris)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. With a mixer, beat butter on medium to high speed for about 60 seconds to soften it up, then add in brown sugar, cocoa powder, coffee, baking soda, and cinnamon (not granulated sugar). Beat till combined, scraping bowl as necessary
3. Add in egg whites and yogurt, and beat till combined
4. Add in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating till just combined (if you’re using a hand mixer you may need to finish off with a wooden spoon — the batter gets pretty thick and sticky)
5. Pour granulated sugar in a shallow bowl, then drop teaspoons of the cookie dough into the sugar, a few at a time. Roll the dough into balls, coating with sugar as you go. The dough will be crazy sticky, but you’ll be able to handle it easier once the white sugar is stuck to it
6. Place cookies 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about ten minutes, or until edges are firming up. Cool on a wire rack
7. Eat with abandon Carefully pack up to give away

This [...]]]> The Kiddo loves him some Polar Express. He loves the hot chocolate song and wanted to make some to enjoy while we watched the movie. And by “enjoy” I mean “direct me to drink on his behalf” because he has very strict rules about drinking anything other than milk and water. Alrighty then.

This is actually so easy that it barely deserves to be called a recipe. Don’t you love that kind of recipe?

Stir together in a mug:

1. 3 teaspoons cocoa powder
2. 3 teaspoons sugar
3. Pinch of salt

Now add either boiling water or steaming hot milk and stir. Add marshmallows at will.

Feel free to entertain your taste buds by adding peppermint syrups, Bailey’s, cinnamon, etc.

That’s all. Isn’t that easy? Don’t you want to quit buying those little packets?

Stay warm!

Yesterday was the first birthday of One Particular Kitchen! Yay! So I did what anyone would do: I made a cake. My mother made this cake for my birthday a few times and it was always spectacular and pink and fluffy. I was am the kind of little girl who thinks there can [...]]]>

Yesterday was the first birthday of One Particular Kitchen! Yay! So I did what anyone would do: I made a cake. My mother made this cake for my birthday a few times and it was always spectacular and pink and fluffy. I was am the kind of little girl who thinks there can never be too much pink, and this cake was just the prettiest, most precious thing my birthday-girl self could dream up while I was running around in Gunne Sax dresses (which were, of course, pink).

I have a copy of this recipe, officially called Strawberry Layer Dessert, that came out of my mother’s cookbook, and I’m afraid I’m not sure which one it was; likely early versions of the Better Homes and Gardens or Betty Crocker picture books, but it’s nowhere to be seen in either one of those books I have on my shelf.

This one involves some downtime between steps, so be sure to allow yourself time to get everything done.

To make your own Barbie’s dream cake you will need:

• Two 10-ounce packages frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
• Two 3-ounce packages strawberry-flavored gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups whipping cream, whipped to stiff peaks
• One 10-inch angel food cake

To make the cake come to life:

1. Drain strawberries, reserving 1 cup syrup (see note below)
2. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, add reserved strawberry syrup, then chill mixture till partially set
3. Beat mixture using whisk attachment of stand mixer until light and fluffy — this took quite a few minutes for me till it was lighter pink and fluffed up nicely
4. Fold in whipped cream and chill another 30 minutes or so till the mix is thickened up again
5. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of mixture to a separate bowl and fold in strained strawberries
6. Split angel food cake into three layers, and use the smaller bowl of mixture with the strawberries to fill between layers, then frost top and sides of cake with remaining mixture. Garnish with fresh strawberries if you have them on hand

Note: I ended up with frozen whole strawberries that did not have syrup, so I put them in a bowl with some sugar while they thawed, which produced some lovely syrup. Instead of slicing I just broke them up a little with a fork before folding into the whipped cream mixture and they were lovely!

This is another one of those recipes that I have written down on a scrap of paper and tucked away. I have no idea where it came from, but it’s so yummy.

It’s also what I had for breakfast this morning. Is that wrong? It’s fruit, people.

Try this. Seriously. Gather: