The Year of Living Audaciously

Former food blog, now travel blog - following my year as a Fulbright ETA in Indonesia

Archives for November 2014

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

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Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Happy day-after Thanksgiving! How was your holiday? Mine was fantastic – I am back in Seattle and am so happy to be with my family and friends. We had a full house – family and friends from Spokane, California, New York, Indonesia… quite the holiday!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

We tried a couple of new recipes this year – the Dutch Apple Pie from Dieter’s Downfall was my personal favorite! And Smitten Kitchen’s Pumpkin Pie with Pecan Praline Sauce was to die for! Then we did all of our standards – my stepdad’s stuffing, my aunt’s mashed potatoes, these lightened up sweet potatoes… One of my favorite appetizers is my Rosemary Roasted Cashews – we only make them for the holidays because they are so addicting!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

Are you ready to switch gears to Christmas? Already there? Well, today I’m diving into Christmas cookies! These Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies are probably my favorite Christmas cookies of all time! I’ve been making them with my aunt since I was little and always know it is the holidays when we make these cookies!

I’m participating in a Christmas cookies roundup with some fellow bloggers! Check out their posts after the recipe for some more holiday favorites!

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies
Recipe Type: Cookies
Cuisine: Christmas cookies, dessert
Author: Mackenzie
Serves: 36 cookies
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3/4 cup peanut butter
  • 1/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup turbinado sugar (or regular)
  • 36 chocolate kisses, unwrapped
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the peanut butter, sugar, and brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Beat in the milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture and beat until incorporated. Cover and chill the batter for about an hour, or until firm enough to handle.
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. Pour the turbinado sugar into a small bowl.
  3. Roll the batter into 1-inch round balls and roll each ball in the sugar until thoroughly coated in sugar. Place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart.
  4. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned. Immediately upon removing the cookies from the oven, place an unwrapped Chocolate Kiss into the center of each cookie – pressing down gently until the cookie just starts to crack. Allow to cool completely on a wire wrack.


Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart

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Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart

I cannot believe it’s mid-November – the time is flying! I only have two more full weeks of class this semester. How is that possible?! I’m not ready for this semester to be done… I feel like I’m just getting into the groove with my classes – I love the material and my professors… Gosh, it’s crazy to think I’ll be on the downhill slide of college in just a little over a month!

I registered for my final semester of classes this week. It hasn’t quite hit me that this is the end. No more pouring over course listings, no more playing with my registration worksheet – I’m set for this last semester! It’s going to be a light semester and I am so looking forward to that! That’s what your senior spring semester is supposed to be, right? 🙂 Although I’m sure I’ll be filling my spare time pouring over job listings and writing cover letters… oh, what fun!

Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart

Today I’ve got this delicious savory tart to share with you! I needed a quick and easy dish to bring to a potluck and I started day-dreaming about a tart with caramelized onions, creamy cheese and herbs while I was in class today. So I came home and created this Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Tart! It turned out wonderfully, and beautiful too! I almost wish I hadn’t brought it to the potluck because I only got a small slice and I would have loved to have more! I’ll just have to make it again!

Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart

I combined a couple of different recipes for this: the crust is from Williams Sonoma and the filling I adapted from Lovely Bits Blog. The end result was fantastic and I will definitely be making this again – it was so easy and perfect on a chilly winter night. Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart

Caramelized Onion & Gruyere Tart
Recipe Type: Appetizer, Dinner
Cuisine: Savory
Author: Mackenzie
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 slices
A savory tart with a flaky crust and mouthwatering filling. It is easy to make and wonderfully shareable! You’ll amaze your guests!
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 3-4 tablespoons ice water
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 large vidalia (sweet) onions, halved and sliced thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
  • 3/4 cup shredded gruyere cheese
  • Fresh rosemary or dried herbs
Instructions
  1. Prepare the crust: In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and sugar just to combine. Add the butter and pulse until pea-sized pieces form. Add the water and pulse until dough comes together in a ball. Gather dough into a ball, form into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
  2. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle just a little bigger than your tart pan. Carefully transfer the dough to the tart pan. Chill for another 30 minutes while you prepare the filling.
  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and sugar. Cook onions for 8-10 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 7-10 more minutes, until onions are browned and caramelized.
  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush crust with egg white and spread dijon mustard over crust. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the cheese over the mustard and then top with the caramelized onions. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and finish with some fresh rosemary or dried herbs sprinkled over the top.
  5. Bake at 425 for 17-19 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is melted. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Salted Pecan Butter

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Salted Pecan Butter ~ nutty and salty this pecan butter is easy to make and is a delicious spread on toast!
In classic Mackenzie fashion, the weeks have slipped away and its been a few weeks since my last post! I was hoping to stay more on top of things but of course… that didn’t happen. But I’m perfectly okay with that – blogging is something I do for fun and if there isn’t time for it, that means I’m busy with school or other, more fun things!

The last few weeks have been a little bit of all of both! School has been busy but exciting. I love my classes and although I am taking a heavier than usual load, this has been one of my favorite semesters. I’m deep in the midst of writing my senior honors thesis – it’s an exciting process and call me crazy, but I reward myself at the end of each week with “time” to work on my thesis. Ha! With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, it’s time to crack down and make some serious progress… fun fun! I have all 24 interviews transcribed into a 118 page document and a massive, glorious spreadsheet to start my analysis. This week I’ve been coding the data and I’ll start writing this weekend!

Salted Pecan Butter ~ nutty and salty this pecan butter is easy to make and is a delicious spread on toast!And what have I been up to in the kitchen? Well… I made a crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup a few weeks ago that was delicious! And so easy! Sadly, the photos I took were just terrible and so I’ll have to make it again before I post it 🙂 But I did hit a home-run with this Salted Pecan Butter!

Libby came home from the farmer’s market last weekend with a tiny jar of pecan butter. It was nutty, creamy and absolutely amazing – so naturally, I had to recreate it. I found a recipe from Cookie and Kate and gave it my own little twist with some extra salt and a dash of cinnamon – and boy, do I have a new favorite treat! It’s a bit unfortunate that pecans are so expensive, but if you can buy them in bulk it would cut down on the price! Regardless, I’m definitely going to be making pecan butter all winter long!

Salty and nutty, this pecan butter is a must-try!

Salted Pecan Butter
Recipe Type: Butter, Side, Spread
Author: Mackenzie
Prep time:
Total time:
Serves: 1.5 cup
A nutty spread with a hint of a salty undertone and a dash of cinnamon to sweeten it up.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups pecans
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Cinnamon, to taste
  • Maple syrup, to taste
Instructions
  1. Toast the pecans in a medium skillet over medium heat for 4-7 minutes. Once toasted and fragrant, transfer to food processor.
  2. Blend in a food processor until it is creamy and smooth, like peanut butter! It can take awhile, close to ten minutes, so be patient! Scrap down the sides often!
  3. Once it is smooth and creamy, add a pinch or two of salt, a dash of cinnamon and a teaspoon or two of maple syrup. Blend and taste and adjust flavors to your liking! I added extra salt and LOVED the combination of the nutty spread with salty undertones and a sweet cinnamon finish. Pour into a small jar, seal with a lid and enjoy with toast!

 

A Look Back

CGI - New York City
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