Browsing Tag

nuts

Breakfast/Brunch, Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Gooseberry Pistachio Crumble Bars

Going back to an old stand-by as I am often doing. Here is yet another recipe for crumble bars, this time with gooseberries and pistachios. Just goes to show you that you can really use any fruit and nut combination. If you’ve never had a gooseberry, it’s a greenish or light pink (although there are also dark purple just not around here) berry. Quite tart. In German, they are called Stachelbeeren …. thorn berries …. because the vines have thorns on them. They are a member of the ribe family (as are currants) so they were banned in parts of the US for a long time and are just making a comeback (though there are still quite a few laws on the books outlawing mass growing of them). Anyway, delicious combo with the pistachios.

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Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Ukrainian-Style Walnut Ring Cookies, with Chocolate (волоський горіх печиво)

Here’s another Ukrainian/Eastern-European-inspired cookie recipe: Ukrainian-Style Walnut Ring Cookies, with Chocolate. In my research, I saw these both with chocolate like this, or with just walnuts held on with an egg wash and sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. I guess it was how fancy one was being. Or what ingredients are on hand. The cookie dough is quite nice — mostly whole wheat flour (a little unusual for a cookie) and a touch of dark, buckwheat flour honey. As with many of the cookies that I am making, these are mostly made at Christmas time, so it feels a little strange to be making them in the run up to Easter, but oh well. They are yummy no matter what time of year.

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Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sandwiches/Paninis, Sides

Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed Sourdough Artisan Bread

It’s Wednesday, so that must mean a new sourdough experiment for the week! Sticking to my “learn about Ukrainian food” theme, this bread is a Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed Sourdough Artisan Bread. The Ukraine produces some of the largest crops of sunflower seeds globally (although with Russian and other Eastern European countries). And the sunflower is also a symbol of peace in the Ukraine. So, this bread is meaningful and economically appropriate. The Ukrainians, I have read, also eat a lot of rye, so that will be next Wednesday’s experiment. In the meantime, this bread is moist, rounded (literally and figuratively), hearty and has good flavor with the sunflower seeds, whole wheat and honey.

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Candy, Cookies, Sweet Snacks

Chocolate-covered, Butterfinger-Sprinkled
Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Treats

This may be one of the most “American” things that I have ever made, and I am not exactly sure what prompted the “americanism” other than I actually ate a Butterfinger bar for the first time in my life the other day. I am not a huge fan of peanut butter on the whole — I like it as an ingredient in other things, but on it’s own, not so much. Nevertheless, these are delicious, if you like Rice Krispies treats (I do), chocolate and peanut butter (yes to both of those). AS an extra bonus, they are gluten free!

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Breads, Breakfast/Brunch

Sourdough Honey Oatmeal Almond Breakfast Bread

I had actually intended to make this bread sweeter than it turned out, and use it more like a breakfast bread, but turns out, it is a pretty perfect “all-purpose” sourdough loaf. Nice nuttiness from the almond meal gives it a great flavor, but also lends it to being a bit lower in gluten, so soft and moist as well. Very pleased with these results!

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