Author: tlkitchen

recipes

Sugar Cookies

tlkitchen

Hey there foodies! Happy National Cookie Day! Today we celebrate all things cookie and what a perfect time to share my favorite sugar cookie recipe! This is a beyond easy recipe and it will be a big hit even when it’s not cookie day. As always enjoy and happy eating!

What you need:

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 sticks of butter, softened
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • Optional: cookie icing

Method:

  • In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt
  • In a separate bowl, mix egg, milk and vanilla
  • Add liquids into dry bowl and mix
  • Add butter and mix until dough forms a ball(I like to use my hands)
  • Cover and set in fridge for at least an hour
  • When ready, make dough balls (about 1-1 1/2 tbsp of dough worth) and gently flatten ball with palms. (Don’t make it too thin…it will make the cookies come out hard)
  • Bake in oven on 350 degrees for 10 minutes
  • Allow to cool before adding any icing
  • Enjoy!
recipes

Basic Pie Crust

tlkitchen

Hey there foodies! The holidays are right around the corner and I just know we all are going to have such a great time cooking up some delicious food for our families and ourselves. I don’t know about you guys but one of my favorite things to eat during this great time of year, is pie. Apple, pecan, sweet potato, you make it, I’ll eat it! So to kick things off, I wanted to share a super simple pie crust recipe with you guys, they will work well with just about any pie.

Fun fact about pie crust. Not all pie crust contain sugar! I know what you are thinking….’How can you not add sweetness to a sweet desert?’ Well with pies, the sweetness comes from filling instead of the crust. Sugar can actually make your pie dough a bit too tender and make it hard to stretch without breaking. With that being said, same crust recipes do contain sugar, you just won’t work the dough as much.

Now back to taste. Though your crust will not have sweetness added to it, doesn’t mean it won’t taste amazing! After all, the crust is always the best part. In the recipe I use a mixture of unsalted butter and vegetable shortening. The butter will help with the crust flavor and the shortening helps make it nice and flaky. Of course there is a pinch (or two) of salt added to help bring everything together.

Again, this recipe is a very basic pie crust that works really well with savory and sweet pies. So give it a try and let me know what you think. Happy eating!

What you need:

  • 2 1/2 cup flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 6 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
  • 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
  • 1/2 cup ice water (or cold water left in freezer for 5-10 minutes)

Method:

  • In a large bowl whisk together flour and salt
  • Add butter and shortening and with a pastry cutter, 2 forks or your hands, chop up fats into the dough. It will start to resemble coarse meal.
  • Start adding in cold water 1 tbsp at a time, working dough after each table spoon. Once all water is added, if dough to too sticky, sprinkle in some additional flour
  • Form dough into a ball and cut in half
  • plastic wrap both halves and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 5 days.

When you’re ready to use:

  • Always place dough on floured surface before rolling it out.
  • Start from the center of dough ball and work your way out creating a circle
  • Make sure to spin dough after a few rolls (This helps it not stick to the counter)
  • When placing in pie dish, use knife to cut off extra

Pro tip!

**Brush top of crust with an egg wash after putting pie together to help get a nice golden crust

recipes

Gouda Mac-n-Cheese

tlkitchen

Hey there foodies happy Monday! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend and are all ready to take on this week with stride. Speaking of this week, Thanksgiving is on Thursday!!! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I am very excited to celebrate with the ones I love and the food I love. I figured while there is still time to sneak in some food shopping, I would share my absolute favorite Mac-n-Cheese recipe! It took me a few tries to perfect it but now it is perfect and would make a great addition to your holiday table.

What you need:

  • 1 16oz box Elbow pasta
  • 2 7oz wheels smoked Gouda cheese, cubed or shredded
  • 1 8oz bag Cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 1/2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp salt

Method:

  • Bring to boil a large pot of water (around 5-6 cups) and add pasta. Cook until noodles are tender. Drain noodles but do not rinse.
  • In a sauce pan: melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Mix together to create a roux (This helps thicken the cheese sauce).
  • In same pan add in milk, black pepper and salt.
  • Occasionally stir until milk starts to thicken. You can tell it’s thick by placing a spoon into mixture and milk will stick to the back of the spoon.
  • Cube or shredded Gouda cheese
  • Add Gouda cheese and half a bag of Cheddar to thicken milk and stir. At this time take the sauce off the heat and stir until cheese melts.
  • Pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta and mix well.
  • Pour into an oven safe dish, top second half of cheddar cheese on top and bake in the oven on 375 for 15-20 minutes
  • Let cool and enjoy!