Homemade Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

1 cup water

2 TBSP. honey

1 TBSP. yeast

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 TBSP. melted butter

3 1/4 cups flour ( I used 2 cups whole wheat, 1 cup all purpose flour)

optional - oats or sesame seeds

Directions

- Pour warm water into medium sized bowl, add in yeast and honey. Let sit for 5 minutes making sure the mixture starts to foam.

-Add in salt, egg, and melted butter.

-Slowly mix in the flour using an electric mixer. (I only added three cups of flour to the bowl, then used the 1/4 cup flour to sprinkle on the counter and my hands to finish kneading the dough). Shape dough into a ball. Dough will be pretty sticky! Try not to add more flour!

- Pour a very small amount of olive oil, like 1tsp. into bottom of bowl, and place dough inside. Lightly coat the ball with olive oil and cover bowl with a light dish towel. Let rise about 45 min. or until doubled in size. 

-Gently punch down dough, and divide into small balls. This recipe makes about eight regular sized buns, but I wanted mine thinner (we usually buy the sandwhich thins for our burgers). So I divided the dough into smaller balls (about the size of a golf ball, which made 11 buns). U can flatten the dough into a large circle using your hands, or take a rolling pin which is what I did.

-Place the buns onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let rise for another 30 minutes or so. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

-Brush buns with melted butter and top with sesame seeds etc.

-Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes. Until lightly golden brown.

-Slice and Enjoy!!!

*recipe adapted from frugallivingnw.com*

Rustic Strawberry Peach Tart

I got this recipe from sallysbakingaddiction.com. She seriously has the best recipes, and this one did not disappoint! When I first saw the recipe I was a little intimidated, but I was so wrong! It was so simple and the end result not only looks amazing, but tastes great too!

Ingredients:

Filling

2 ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar (I only used 1 Tbsp. sugar)

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

Crust

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 cup ice water, plus more as needed

1 egg beaten for egg wash

additional sugar for sprinkling 

Directions:

1. Filling- Mix peaches and strawberries together in bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and toss well to coat. Let fruit sit and soak in its juices while you make the crust. 

2. Crust- In medium bowl whisk flour, sugar and salt together. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or your hands. I used the bottom of a wire wisk. Continue until the mixture resembles course, pea sized crumbs. 

3. Add 1/4 cup ice water and stir with fork until flour is moistened. Add up to 2 Tbsp. ice water if mixture seems dry. Gently knead the mixture until dough is formed. Shape the dough into a ball and flatten into a thick disc. Wrap in plactic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour. 

4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. 

5.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 12 inch circle. If needed you can use a pizza cutter to help trim the circle. Transfer dough to baking sheet.

6. Spoon the fruit (not the juices) into the center of the dough. Leave a border about 2-3 inches around the sides. Gently fold the edges up over the fruit, overlapping the dough as needed. Pour most of the remaining juice over the fruit (too much will make the crust soggy). Brush the crust with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-35 min. until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

ENJOY!

Homemade Hummus

After buying hummus at the store and reading the ingredients, which basically consists of chick peas, tahini paste (sesame seeds), olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and spices I figured I mine as well make my own! This recipe is really simple and hummus is something you make to your own liking. Meaning they're no exact ingredients or directions. You can add anything to your hummus depending on what you like; roasted garlic, avocado, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers etc. 

Ingredients:

1 can chick peas

4 Tbsp. olive oil (varies depending on the consistency you like)

Juice from half a lemon

1 1/2 Tbsp. of toasted sesame seeds (I added this in place of tahini paste)

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. plain greek yogurt (optional) *I added this for a more creamy texture, hummus recipes don't usually contain yogurt*

cilantro

Sriracha 

salt and spices to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients in a food processor (I used my Ninja) until you reach your desired consistency.

*If you have tahini paste use that, I just didn't have any. Again all these ingredients you can add more or less of, it's really just a personal preference!* Hope you Enjoy!

Soft-baked Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Cookies

Ingredients: Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Chocolate Cookie Dough

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Make chocolate dough. Cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. In seperate bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix into the wet ingredients. Then mix in the milk and fold in the chocolate chips. 

Make peanut butter dough. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Mix in the peanut butter, egg and vanilla. Slowly mix in the baking soda, flour, and salt. Do not overmix. Fold in the chocolate chips. 

*Chill both doughs for 1-2 hours*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Measure 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter dough. Roll into ball. Repeat with Chocolate dough. Smoosh the two balls together and roll into 1 large ball. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. Cookies will look a little underdone, but allow them to cool on cookie sheet.

recipe from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Chocolate Almond Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 stick softened butter  (1/2 cup)

3 overipe bananas

1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt

2 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour for 1 cup)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour bottom of loaf pans. Beat softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add yogurt, eggs, and bananas until well incorporated. Slowly stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and chopped almonds. Pour into 2 8x4 loaf pans or cupcake pans. Bake 25-30 minutes for cupcakes and 50-55 minutes for loaf pans. 

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup (1 1/2 stick) unsalted butter-room temperature 

3/4 cup brown sugar

14 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup chopped peanut butter cups (additional for topping)

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Cream butter and sugars in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla. In seperate bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add in flour mixture to other bowl. Stir in chocolate chips and peanut butter cups. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop rounded cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 min. 

Homemade Tortillas

These tortillas are so good and so easy to make! Pretty similar to Cafe Rio's!

Ingredients

2 3/4 cup unbleached flour

1 1/4 tsp. table salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup water

Directions

Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Add in olive oil and water. Mix well until dough forms. Separate dough into balls, about the size of a golf ball. Warm pan on stove to med high heat. Roll out balls on lightly floured surface. Cook tortillas on one side till they are golden brown and bubbles start to form, then flip. 

*Makes about 10 small tortillas*

Recipe from: homegrownandhealthy.com