Snacks

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 20, 2019 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

Well hello there! I’ve decided to put less pressure on myself to write perfect posts, and just throw some things up here when I have time. Maybe that way it won’t be a whole YEAR before I post again?!

Cool!

A few things have changed around here since I made that Brown Sugar Cherry Pound Cake below. Mainly, I have two kids now! A Calder and a Jack. Little man Jack turns ONE next month, and I have so much to say about his first year (and what a wonderful whirlwind it’s been!), but for now let’s just focus on these cookies.

These cookies! They’re so good. Like, I made them once a week for four weeks good. I know the recipe by heart good. I’ll never not have some in my freezer good. Know what I mean?

Everyone has their own idea of what the perfect chocolate chip cookie should be, and these are definitely mine. They’re soft on the inside and chewy at the edges, gorgeously rippled on the surface and full of deep, nutty, caramel flavor within. Plus they’re pockmarked with puddles of pure chocolate, and do I need to keep describing these? Are you just going to make them already? No mixer required! No waiting for butter to soften! No “curing” dough in the fridge for 24-48 hours! You could be eating them in like 20 minutes. Go. Go now.

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Brown Sugar Cherry Pound Cake

July 24, 2018 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

When Sarah calls you up and asks if you want to bake something, the correct answer is always yes. Yes! You’ll shout into the phone, not caring what day of the week it is or what you might have planned to do that afternoon. New plan: bake with Sarah.

So that’s where I found myself one bright afternoon, sitting with Sarah in my kitchen nook, the two of us staring at a giant bowl of cherries on the countertop and leafing through a mound of cookbooks for inspiration. Pound cake! We decided. What does Ina have to say about it? We wondered.

Ina had a few things to say about her pound cake (honey, pure cake flour, no cherries, etc.), but between Sarah and my meddling the finished recipe was a far cry from the original – laced with almond extract, spelt flour, a healthy amount of brown sugar, and studded throughout with fresh cherry jewels.

We watched season 5 of the Great British Bake Off while our own cake baked, which is something I recommend doing, regardless of whether or not you make this recipe. (A Mel/Sue sandwich is always a good idea, y’know?) Anyway, despite all of the meddling, and the fact that we were distracted by television and missed our baking timers, the finished product – our brown sugar cherry pound cake – turned out to be quite simple and fresh, a perfectly dense and buttery cake, topped with a bright and cheerful glaze in the loveliest (slash trendiest) of summer hues.

Bottom line is it’s scrummy. Will you try it? On your mark, get set, BAKE!

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Orange Chocolate Almond Biscotti

December 21, 2017 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

When I was a kid, I don’t think you could have paid me to eat biscotti.

To kid-me, an oblong brick of a “cookie” filled to the brim with nuts and dried fruits (and any other non-chocolate addition) merited every last quotation around the word.

Give me chocolate chip! Give me snickerdoodle! Hell, give me a fig newton, but keep that biscotti away from me, will you?

Oh, how times change. I’ve lived, guys, and I’ve learned. It turns out that biscotti don’t have to be tooth-breakingly hard. They don’t have to contain aniseed, or any other flavors/spice you dislike.

Biscotti can be tender and crumbly and even worthy of the chocolate chip! And dunked in some coffee, tea, or a cold glass of milk? Ho ho ho, everybody. Merry almost-Christmas to me!

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White Chocolate & Peppermint Dipped Chocolate Roll-Outs

December 18, 2017 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

More cookies! Because honestly, why not?

I’ve loved these Chocolate Roll-Out cookies since I discovered them (thanks, as always, Deb!) a few years ago. They’re soft and brownie-like, but in a rollable cookie form, which means fun shapes and glazes and toppings galore.

I should note that they’re also fantastic plain, without any of that kind of fanfare.

But it’s the season for fanfare! In the form of a smooth white chocolate dunk, and then a heavy sprinkle of crushed candy canes. It’s Christmas in a cookie – absolute perfection.

White Chocolate & Peppermint Dipped Chocolate Roll-Outs…

Toasty Pumpkin Granola

November 17, 2017 by mollygilbert520 1 Comment

BOY am I glad it’s Friday! As Calder might say, “awesome, wow!” (we’ve been listening to a lot of the Hamilton soundtrack lately). So yes, FRIDAY!

This particular Friday means two things: one – I’m on a flight east to start some early Thanksgiving celebrations with my family (hooray!) and two – weekend baking! Double hooray!!

This weekend, I challenge you to make your own granola. It’s easy (the measurements below aren’t set in stone, so take any liberties you like), satisfying, and this pumpkin version in particular will make your house smell like the tiny fairies of Autumn sneezed warm spices everywhere (and I say that with the utmost respect/admiration for those guys).

One batch of this stuff will yield you a healthy, delicious and très seasonal breakfast (either with milk, yogurt, or sprinkled over a warm bowl of oatmeal) for the upcoming week and beyond. It makes a great gift, and also freezes nicely for future breakfasting/snacking.

Happy Friday, everyone! Let’s get to baking!

Toasty Pumpkin Granola…

Kid-Friendly Banana Oat Muffins

October 9, 2017 by mollygilbert520 Leave a Comment

I’m on a muffin bender, and my toddler is VERY happy about it. First was the classic blueberry sort, then I turned Deb’s famous double chocolate banana bread into muffins (holy Popes, Deb!) (Also friends, let me know if you want me to post that recipe here, I will gladly oblige), and then I made these muffins three Friday nights in a row. (On a related note, I may have to get out more.)

I’ve convinced Calder that they’re a treat (chocolate chips help with this illusion, and the enthusiasm with which he asks for a “teat!” these days is both heart warming and slightly terrifying), but the truth is that these little cakes, packed with protein and whole grains (and only a small amount of processed sugar – fresh bananas and applesauce bring plenty of natural sweetness), feel perfectly appropriate for daily toddler consumption.

With my ever-growing mountain of muffins on hand (I find they do pretty well in the freezer, then either briefly microwaved or just left out at room temp to thaw), I’ve taken to doling them out as a post-Sunday-soccer practice “teat” (I have to say that I use the word “soccer” pretty loosely here — a bunch of 18-month-olds chasing bubbles around with orange cones might not fulfill the actual definition), as a welcome afternoon pick-me-up at the playground, or just as part of a “special” weekday breakfast.

If you have kids (or, you know, not) and are looking to get on the muffin train, look no further! These have it all. Bananas, applesauce, Greek yogurt! Oats, whole wheat and buckwheat flours! And some mini chocolate chips for good measure. “Teats” for everyone!

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Classic Blueberry Muffins

September 15, 2017 by mollygilbert520 2 Comments

At the beginning of September, as backpacks are filled and schedules are… filled (I excel at writing), everyone loves a good list. I know I do.

As such, I herby present you with my (highly scientific, expertly curated) list of:

Things That Aren’t Actually So Bad About Summer Ending:

It’s time to dip back into our really pretty great sweatshirt collection
Hot coffee, extra splash of cream
One Pot/Pan meals on repeat
Foliage/leaf peeps
Apple picking/pumpkin patch trips
Elections! Know your day to vote.
We can stop wearing those “cold shoulder” tops. What even are those?
Appropriateness of planning toddler Halloween costumes (sidenote, could use some input: garden gnome, fuzzy/non-fuzzy animal, or something else entirely? Might be important to say that my child looks a lot like a garden gnome, but also does a great fish impression.)
Blueberry muffins as lunch treat and/or after school snack!

Number nine is taking center stage in my house this week. There are still a few (a very few, maybe) good fresh blueberries to be found around these parts, but I also just unearthed a giant bag of frozen berries from earlier this summer (score!), and as such, some fresh, tender-crumbed muffins sounded like just the thing.

These are fluffy and dense with berries, with just a small hit of lemon zest throughout. The tops are wonderfully sugar-crunch-capped, so particularly healthy they are probably not, but particularly delicious? You bet.

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Victoria Sponge

July 21, 2017 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

Ever since I first laid eyes on the absolute delight that is the Great British Baking Show (or Bakeoff, depending on where you live), I’ve been jonesing for some Victoria Sponge.

I’ve also been in a generally better mood, because as anyone who has watched this show can tell you, it’s the loveliest of lovely things to watch and, somehow, can make you forget (if only for an hour-long episode) that things like this are the truths we live with now.

Plus, there’s cake! Or sponge, if we’re being British about it. As far as I can tell, a Victoria Sponge (I really want to call it a “Victoria Sponge Cake” but isn’t that like saying “Victoria Cake Cake?” Help me, Brits!) is basically just two light and buttery pound-ish cakes, sandwiched with a thin layer of jam and a thick (beautiful, billowy) layer of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

SWOON.

I’d put it firmly in the category of snack cake, which as we all know is the best kind of cake — the kind you can just snack on all day long and it somehow feels appropriate. Not overly adorned. Lightly sweet. Snacky. You know?

Anyway, when I went to create my own version, I ran quickly towards Nigella Lawson, Domestic Goddess that she is, and she didn’t steer me wrong. (Also, Mary Berry’s version — and most versions, actually — calls for castor sugar, which is the Brit way of saying superfine sugar, which I didn’t have on hand. I eventually picked some up, though, because the cake — the sponge, I should say — really benefits from a final dusting of the stuff before serving). The final verdict on this thing is: SCRUMMY. Let’s eat cake.

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Orange Yog-sicles

June 30, 2017 by mollygilbert520 1 Comment

Happy #popsicleweek, peepsicles! If you’ve yet to discover the wonder that is this weeklong, summer blogosphere holiday (started by Billy of Wit & Vinegar five years ago 🙌🏼), you’re in for a treat (or, like, a few hundred treats, once the week is through).

The week is basically just a celebration of popsicles and blogging and sharing and probably Mariah Carey, and it’s a brain-freeze-filled good time, so find your favorite pop and get chilling! In years past, I came to the party with Dark Chocolate Pudding Pops (a personal favorite), Date Shake Pops (crowd-pleasiest of crowd pleasers), Honeydew Agua Fresca Pops (real refreshing), and Brown Sugar Roasted Strawberry & Coconut Pops (longest-named pop ever)!

This year, I bring you light yet creamy, tangy and faintly sweet, gorgeously pale-yellowy ORANGE YOG-SICLES.

….Yes. Yog-sicles. Just go with it.

They’re mostly yogurt and OJ, with a splash of cream and vanilla (because balance!), both toddler and grownup approved. If we’re being honest, I threw these together without much thought during nap time (after a very appropriate and on-trend for #popsicleweek toddler meltdown), using ingredients I had on hand, and I’m proud to say they’re some of my favorite pops yet.

So, what do you say? Should we make yog-sicles a thing? ENJOY!…

Tender Rhubarb Snack Cake

April 25, 2017 by mollygilbert520 3 Comments

Sniff sniff, HONK sniff! I think I’ve officially entered the stage of life where someone in my house is always sick. Sniffles and coughs and viruses, oh my! (And Calder’s not even in daycare yet! Oh dear.) It’s all terribly glamorous and attractive, yes it is.

But what if rhubarb cake is a cure-all? Do tender crumb and sweet-tart fruit have healing powers? What if the soft cake is flecked with dark buckwheat flour, some Greek yogurt, and hints of citrus, too?

I’m going with yes. (And even if not, a friend I shared this cake with said it “tastes of unicorns,” so at the very least, we’ve got that going for us.) Join me!

Tender Rhubarb Snack Cake…