Every weekday morning I eat yogurt with almonds sprinkled on top. But after almost 2 years (yes, years), I decided to switch it up a little bit. Instead of going to the store and getting granola, I embarked on an online recipe search to see what making my own granola would entail.
Turns out almost all granola recipes are pretty much the same. Take some rolled oats, and your favorite seeds, nuts, things like that and then some honey and brown sugar. It's so easy to make (2 steps!) and you avoid the struggle of trying to find one at the store that has all of your favorite things (i.e. sunflower seeds) and none of the things you don't particularly care for (i.e. dried cherries). The recipe below is based off of this recipe from The Kitchen Sink, it's super simple and makes your house smell heavenly!
Homemade Granola adapted from The Kitchen Sink
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon real maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet.
2. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to keep the granola from burning. Cool completely and then remove from the pan. Store in an airtight container.
When most people hear "spring break" they probably think of warm beachy places and questionable decision making, but my spring break (which started yesterday!) will mainly consist of studying for finals. Since Passover happens so late this year, our break is about 3 weeks before our first final, which means it really should be called something like spring not-so-much break.
But I'm not really complaining, because I've blocked out a good hour each day to just wander around the park, enjoy the warmer weather, take some pictures, (and think about property law).
So in honor of the fact that I don't have to set foot in the law library until April 27th, I baked a coffeecake. A "spring break coffeecake" if you will. There wasn't really anything springy about it. In fact, I accidentally put a dash of nutmeg in it (which I mistook as cinnamon), so if it belonged to any season, it was probably autumn. 
But nobody at school complained. And you can always just not accidentally put nutmeg in yours, for a more "season-neutral" version. The cake is a snap to make. And it isn't too sweet, which is why the vein of brown sugar & pecan running through it is so nice. 
I baked mine in a bundt pan, because I think the slices seem more like coffeecake that way, but you could also throw it in a loaf pan if you are so inclined.
You could also make more of the "filling" and use 1/2 as a topping ... but I didn't want mine to be overly sweet. For the sole reason that it was easier to justify eating it for breakfast. Which is a pretty silly justification for someone who is perfectly content to eat birthday cake for breakfast. But I digress. Happy spring everyone!
Sour Cream Pecan Coffeecake
1/2 cup butter, softened1/2 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup dark brown sugar2 eggs1 tsp vanilla extract2 cups all purpose flour1 tsp baking soda1 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1 tsp cinnamon1 cup sour creamFilling1/2 cup dark brown sugar1/2 cup chopped pecans1 tsp vanilla2 tsp cinnamon1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed. Add vanilla extract. 2. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. 3. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Add half of the sour cream, the rest of the flour mixture, and the rest of the sour cream. Mix until fully combined.4. In a separate bowl mix the brown sugar, pecans, vanilla, and cinnamon. Grease a bundt pan and pour in half of the batter. Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly and top with the rest of the batter.5. Bake for 25 minutes and check with a cake tester (it may need up to 10 more minutes). The tester should come out clean. Let the cake set for 10 minutes and then flip onto a plate.
At first I was going to share this recipe before the holiday (in case any of you wanted to make it) - but then I realized it would be strange to share a recipe that hadn't actually been eaten yet. Sure the pie smelled amazing, but I'm pretty sure most people get the real enjoyment out of their pies by eating them. So I decided to wait until after the Thanksgiving meal to make sure that the pie really did taste as good as it looked/smelled.
And boy did it! It was sweet, but not too sweet. The crust was flaky and buttery and not tough at all (which can sometimes happen if you overwork the dough). So, in the unlikely event that you are still hungry, or didn't have enough pie yesterday, or just feel like celebrating for one more day. Here is a recipe that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser or even just a "you-pleaser."
Happy Holiday Season!Pecan Pie
Pie Crust (trusty recipe from smitten kitchen)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
1 cup, chilled water
1. Cube the butter and place the butter back in the fridge. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt.
2. Add the butter cubes to the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter (or two knives) to blend the butter into the flour. The texture when finished will resemble small peas.
3. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the cold water and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula bring the dough together. When Almost completely combined, use your hands to bring all the dough together. You may need to add a little more water to bring it all together. *don't over mix*
4. Split the dough in 1/2 and wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Or until ready to use.
5. When ready to use, place the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper and roll out to a circle big enough to fill a pie plate. Transfer to the pie plate and punch holes in the crust using a knife. Place back in the fridge until ready to bake.
Filling
3/4 cup light corn syrup3/4 cup sugar3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup pecans
1. Mix the syrup, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add the milk, flour, and melted butter and mix in the pecans.
2. Pour the filling into the unbaked crust.
3. Bake at 350 F for about 45 minutes, until set.
Last week I failed. I did not post. I did not cook or bake. Really I just barely kept it all together. BUT I'm back and maybe even better than ever. School has definitely gotten more stressful, but instead of completely losing my mind, I started doing yoga. And am trying to accept that it (life, school, etc.) is a process, which gives us only fleeting moments of perfection.
So with all of that in mind, I post one of most flavorful, yummy, crisp cookies that is just begging to be dipped in coffee or tea. This cookie will definitely help you relax. It will encourage you to slow down for a minute and to take a deep breath. To stop what you're doing and just be in the moment.
I hope you get to make these. Or that someone makes them for you. Because they go along way toward creating one of those fleeting moments of perfection that so many of us could use.
Ginger Pecan Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup rolled-oats
3/4 cup pecan halves
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
*or use 1 teaspoon ground ginger, but prefer the taste of fresh. I used a grater and just squeezed out the water with a paper towel.
1. Put the oatmeal and pecans into a food processor and grind until it has the texture of cornmeal.
2. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, ginger, salt, and baking soda. Add the oatmeal/pecan mixture.
3. Put the butter in your stand-mixer bowl and beat until light (about 1 minute). Add both sugars and beat for 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla and the egg and mix until incorporated.
4. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until combined.
5. Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap and pack the dough into the pan evenly. Cover the top with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to cool (about 2 hours).
6. Heat your oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the loaf pan and slice in half lengthwise. Cut into 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake on cookie sheets with parchment paper for 15-18 minutes (until the edges are browned).
Turns out almost all granola recipes are pretty much the same. Take some rolled oats, and your favorite seeds, nuts, things like that and then some honey and brown sugar. It's so easy to make (2 steps!) and you avoid the struggle of trying to find one at the store that has all of your favorite things (i.e. sunflower seeds) and none of the things you don't particularly care for (i.e. dried cherries). The recipe below is based off of this recipe from The Kitchen Sink, it's super simple and makes your house smell heavenly! 
