Life on Food

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Cheddar Beer Bread

Happy Tuesday! I made my way down to South Carolina for the week. The temperatures are warmer but now that it is the holidays I only want to be home. Hopefully this week will fly by.

To help pass the time I am going to share a wonderful loaf of bread with you. And this bread has no yeast. Yeah! Not that you should be scared of yeast bread but if you are this is the bread recipe for you. It is super simple and wonderfully delicious.

I honestly wasn't so sure about the whole beer addition but it totally worked.

We had this with a big bowl of soup. I just love soup in the winter but I always like a little something more to nibble on. I am just not satisfied with a meal until I chew on something. I guess that sounds very animal-ish of me.

This bread is perfect for a cold night. Perfect for a lighter meal after Thanksgiving day or holiday feasting. And what you don't eat right away you can have the next day for breakfast. I actually had this bread as toast for several days with jam.

Cheddar Beer Bread

by Emily Morris

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients (1 loaf)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 ounces white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
12 ounces of beer

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.

Over a large bowl, sift together the all-purpose and whole wheat flours and the baking powder and the salt.

Add in the grated white cheddar and combine.

Pour in the beer and stir until a batter forms. The dough will be thick. Spoon the batter in the greased loaf pan.

Pour the melted butter over top.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and set in the middle. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Triple Chocolate Cookies #Chocolate Party

Christmas is all about cookies. You have all month to test out your cookie recipes before deciding which ones you are going to leave out for Santa.

So I thought it was most fitting when Roxana choose cookies as the special theme to pair with chocolate for December's #chocolate party.

I had a couple options in mind by ultimately went with some triple chocolate cookies. Go big or go home right?

I made these with my mom when I was home over Thanksgiving. We had pie, ice cream and lots of turkey leftovers but that didn't stop us from making cookies.

Time was tight with all of the activities and family visits during our short trip to Maine but as a duo we were able to make the dough together one morning. Up at eight with cookie dough is a great way to start the day I must say.

The next morning we were up bright and early to bake them off. Good thing too because we left later this day along with the cookies. Traffic was horrible and Mr. J and I snacked on our cookies to distract us from the annoyance of sitting still on the highway.

I made a little Christmas tree with the cookies once they were cooled.

If you want to join in on the fun here is how you participate:
1.) Blog about your chocolate treat. Your recipe must include the ingredient we choose. It can be a simple no bake treat or a sophisticated layer cake, the complexity level of the recipe is totally up to you.
2.) Include a link back to the Chocolate party page. Optionally, add the Chocolate Party logo in your blog post or on your sidebar.
3.) Your recipe must be published during the current month. Please do not link old recipes, they will be deleted.
4.) Add the linky code at the bottom of your post.

Triple Chocolate Cookies

by Emily Morris,
Adapted from Mudslide Cookies

Prep Time: 15 minutes, plus 30 minute chi

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert chocolate cookie

Ingredients (24 cookies)

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10-15 minutes
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup coffee, at room temperature
1 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until they are combined.

Add the eggs and vanilla and stir until mixed. Stream in coffee.

Gradually add flour and mix until a dough forms. Fold in the mini chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Remove dough from the fridge and roll into large dough balls, 1/4 cup or golf ball sized. Set on a non-stick baking sheet with 2 inches between each, eight cookies per sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are set and the middles are still soft. The centers should be puffy. Do not over bake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely on baking sheet.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Weekend Edition: Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Thanksgiving. Mr. J and I traveled up to Maine seeing my parents on Thanksgiving day and his parents on Saturday. It was a fun, family filled weekend.