I’ve been doing a lot of baking lately. Actually, a lot of cooking in general, as I’m sure most  people have. I always like to have a sweet bite in the house. I change it up every week, and a family favorite is cookies. There’s so many different types to choose from. But there’s something about these Corn Flake Cookies that make them an easy choice. Something about the texture is kind of addicting to me.

The recipe is easy. No need to refrigerate the dough before baking. From start to finish, in about 25 minutes you’ll have warm cookies fresh outta the oven. I’ll bet you can’t eat just one!

Corn Flake Cookies
approximately 2 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup Butter, unsalted – room temperature
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp pure Vanilla Extract
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
1 cup Corn Flakes
1/2 cup Pecans

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl cream together the butter, sugars, egg and vanilla.
Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, mix until totally combined.
Stir in the corn flakes and pecans, just until incorporated.
Drop by tablespoonfuls (I use a scooper) onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet.
Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to continue to bake on the cookie sheet for another few minutes, until centers are set.
Enjoy!

When I taught a German cooking class a few days ago at The Curious Kitchen we made this cake. There was enough for all the participants and a tiny piece left for me to sample. Just let me say that little bit was not enough. So, I made the cake today at home. I’m in love. Delicious.

INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
1 stick Butter
2/3 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp pure Vanilla
6 Tbsp whole Milk
1 ¾ cup all-purpose Flour
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt

Almond topping:
1/2 cup slivered Almonds
1/3 cup Sugar
4 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Milk

Filling:
2 ½ Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
3 Egg Yolks
1 cup Milk
1/2 tsp pure Almond Extract
3 Egg Whites, stiffly beaten
a pinch of Salt

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Butter and sugar a 9″ springform pan.
Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Mix in the vanilla.
Stop your electric mixer and add in the dry ingredients.
Mix on low and pour in the milk.
Stir only enough to blend thoroughly.
Pour into the prepared springform pan.

Topping:
Heat together almonds, sugar, butter and milk or cream until the sugar dissolves.
Sprinkle about half a teaspoon of flour over the top of the cake batter.
Pour the almond mixture evenly over the batter.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cake while preparing filling.

Filling:
Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks and milk in a medium saucepan.
Place over the medium low heat setting and stir constantly until the sugar is dissolved, but do not allow it to come to a boil.
Stir in almond extract.
Set aside to cool before folding in the egg whites.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites, adding the salt, until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites into the cool yolk mixture.
Place a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap over the top and chill.

Assembly:
When the cake has cooled, slice in half crossways to make two layers.
Place bottom layer cut side up on cake plate.
Spread with filling.
Top with the second layer with the almond glazed side up.
Refrigerate until time to serve.

This easy cake is nutty and dense with the most incredible texture (achieved by the coconut sugar and oat flour). Honestly, I couldn’t stop eating it. It’s delicious on it’s own, but I made a quick caramel sauce to drizzle on top.

Pecan Oat Cake
Makes one 9-inch cake

INGREDIENTS
Topping:
2 Tbsp Butter, softened
3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 cup Pecans, chopped fine

For Cake:
4 Tbsp Butter, salted
2/3 cup Coconut Sugar
1 cup Oat Flour (made by processing oatmeal until fine)
4 Eggs, beaten

Warm Caramel Sauce, if desired (recipe follows)

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
For Topping:
Spread the 2 tablespoons of softened butter on the bottom and sides of your cake pan.
Coat the pan with the brown sugar and pecans.
Set aside.

For Cake:
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy.
Add in the oat flour and eggs until combined.
Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown and springy on top and barely beginning to shrink from the sides of the pan.
Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes.
Unmold the cake onto a cake platter (nut side up) and allow to cool.
Sift a little powdered sugar on top.
Serve with warm caramel sauce, if desired.
Enjoy!

Caramel Sauce

INGREDIENTS
1 stick of Butter, salted
¾ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream

METHOD
In a small saucepan melt the butter over medium low heat.
Add the brown sugar and heavy cream together, whisking vigorously to combine.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer.
Stir continuously until the sugar is melted and no longer granular (about 3 minutes).
Allow to cool until just warm, before serving.
Caramel will thicken as it cools.
Store in refrigerator and warm slightly

I got my inspiration for this dish from a roasted cauliflower appetizer at Etch Restaurant in Nashville. It was so amazingly delicious! I paid careful attention to every detail, texture and flavor as my daughter and I enjoyed the appetizer… because I knew that soon enough I’d be craving it and want to make it at home.

Here is my rendition of the roasted cauliflower appetizer. The one real difference is that I used a yellow bell pepper instead of a red bell pepper to make the coulis that I put the roasted cauliflower on. The only reason I used a yellow bell is that’s all I had at the time, but it was perfect.

This recipe has several components, but please don’t let that stop you from creating this dish. Each step is super easy and so worth it. That’s what makes this dish so remarkable, the way all these flavors come together and combine! I hope you’ll give it a try!!

INGREDIENTS
1 head of Cauliflower, washed and trimmed into nice size flowerettes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
dash of Sea Salt

For Bell Pepper Coulis:
1 Yellow or Red Bell Pepper
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
dash of Sea Salt

For the Truffled Pea Dip:
1 cup frozen Peas, thawed and drained
2 drops Natural Liquid Smoke
1 to 2 Tbsp Truffle Oil (depending how strong of a Truffle flavor you like)
dash of Salt

For the Feta Cream:
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 to 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
Pinch of Salt

Garnish with Marcona Almonds

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place flowerettes in roasting pan and toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, coating the cauliflower with the oil.
Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Roast the cauliflower in the hot oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tips begin to get a light golden color.

Meanwhile, you can roast the yellow bell pepper over the gas flame of your oven, on the grill, or you can roast the pepper in the oven on broil, turning it as it gets charred and blacked.
Once the pepper is completely charred, cover and allow it to steam for about 15 minutes.

Now let’s get started on the Truffled Pea Dip.
Place the peas, liquid smoke, truffle oil, and salt in the food processor and process until smooth.
Taste, adjust smoke, truffle oil and/or salt if desired.
Place mixture in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

At this point you’re pepper should be steamed enough, so remove the cover and allow it to cool while you make the Feta Cream.

Place the Feta cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl.
Mash together with a fork until it gets creamy, but still has some feta cheese chunks.
Place mixture in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

Back to that bell pepper… it should be cool enough to handle.
You can easily peel the charred skin off, and discard (I actually like the flavor the skin adds, to I always leave some in).
Carefully remove the stem and seeds.
Put the pepper into the food processor, along with any juice from the pepper.
Pulse until mostly smooth.
Place pepper in a small bowl and mix in the olive oil and salt.

To Assemble:
A nice long or oblong plate is best.
Place the bell pepper coulis in the center of the plate, this will serve as a bed for the roasted cauliflower.
Decoratively place the cauliflower on the bell pepper coulis.
Place an equal portion of the Truffled Pea Dip and the Feta Cream on each side of the cauliflower.
Garnish with Marcona Almonds.
Enjoy!

The problem with Hickory Nuts is that they are very hard to open and even harder to pick the nut out, well, nearly impossible. But we figured out a super easy way to take advantage of the free hickory nuts on our property, and get the incredible rich flavor of the hickory nuts that you can use in so many delicious ways!

They’re everywhere!

We remove the outer shell and wash the nuts thoroughly.

We collected a giant bag full of hickory nuts!

My husband smashed the nuts against a board, using a heavy hammer, inside a cardboard box. He did it that way because when you smash them they tend to go flying.

Then I take over… I get my largest pot and fill it 3/4 of the way with the nuts, shell and all. Add water to cover the nuts and turn them on  medium high. When they come to a boil, turn the heat to medium, place a lid on top, and allow them to cook for 4 to 5 hours, stirring every so often (adding more water, if needed).

What you end up with is the most incredible nut broth. The flavor is delicious. It kinda tastes like a rich caramel. The nuts basically cook out of the shells and break down in the cooking process. Pour it all through a strainer, and discard the shells.

Then I started to experiment around with what I could make. I made savory risotto using the nut broth. Just follow the basic instruction for making risotto, substituting the hickory nut broth for the water. Rich, nutty and decadent… the flavor was out of this world!!

The next day I decided to make some cupcakes, using the broth in both the cake and the icing. Again, the flavor was wonderful. It’s like nothing else that I’ve ever tasted. You could use your favorite white or yellow cake recipe and substitute the hickory nut broth wherever liquid is called for.

Another dish that I made using the broth was wild rice, with glazed scallops, and I made a Hickory Nut Bourbon Sauce to serve with it. I cooked the wild rice in the hickory nut broth and it gave the rice an even nuttier, richer flavor. The scallops were sauteed over medium high heat in 2 tablespoons of butter, for a total of about 5 minutes. The Bourbon Hickory Nut Sauce that I made to go with this dish was really good. The recipe is below this picture.

Here’s the recipe for the sauce that I made for the scallops… which I prepared in the scallop pan (important because it gave the sauce more flavor).

This recipe makes enough for 2 people, or 12 scallops. The recipe can be easily doubled.

Simple Bourbon Sauce with Hickory Nut Milk

INGREDIENTS
4 Tbsp Butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup Hickory Nut Broth
2 Tbsp Bourbon
Pinch of Salt

METHOD
After you have sauteed your scallops to perfection, remove them from the pan and set aside.
Add the 4 tablespoons of butter, hickory nut broth, bourbon and salt.
Whisk together and cook for about 3 minutes, on low until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken.
Add your scallops back into the pan to coat them.
Serve scallops over rice, with a drizzle of the bourbon sauce around the plate.
Enjoy!