Deep Dish Honey-Peanut Butter Chippers

It's been a long while since I've made a batch of cookies. I've been enjoying less sweet treats like these delicious Peanut Butter Blondies -- and I've actually played around with that recipe, too, so keep an eye out for another super healthy modification. Anyway, the theme is the same: I'm trying to stay away from processed sugars, favoring honey and maple syrup instead as more nutritive sweeteners.

And these cookies might be some of my favorite to date. They taste almost like honey roasted peanuts. Now, if you'd rather make smaller cookies, you could likely just scoop out tablespoonfuls of dough and flatten onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

I prefer the deep dish version:

DEEP DISH HONEY + PEANUT BUTTER CHIPPERS

What you'll need . . . 

• 1-1/2 cups white-whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 cup rolled oats, uncooked 
• pinch sea salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 cup honey* 
• 1/2 cup peanut butter 
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 tablespoon flax meal + 3 tablespoons hot water 
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips 
• 1/2 cup crushed peanuts, if you have them 

* I'm sure maple syrup would work well in an equal ratio if you don't have/eat honey.

Method . . . 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a standard muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the peanut butter, honey, and Earth Balance -- until fluffy. Then mix in the vanilla extract and flax egg until well combined.
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips and peanuts (optional).
5. Divide evenly into a muffin tin and use lightly moistened fingertips to flatten the tops.
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for a couple minutes before turning over onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

And if you'd like to see scenes from our fun date at Ommegang Brewery to see Modest Mouse!

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Pumpkin Deep Dish Pizza

I've regained my appetite (good sign) + the food must go on! I stay sane by stepping into the kitchen to cook. We've been enjoying our freezer meals, but I've made stuff from scratch more than I intended to this month simply because I needed that time to think. To knead dough and zone out. Those of you who love cooking and baking understand. Kitchen therapy for the win!

So, it started way back when with pumpkin garlic knots then pumpkin pizza then pumpkin pesto rolls. Now I'm dishing up deep dish pizza with a new crust recipe that lends better to this style dish. I've made three different variations, and this is the one that has worked the best. If I haven't yet convinced you to try pumpkin in your dough, this might be the time to trust me.

For those of you new to my favorite crust: Why put pureed pumpkin in place of water? Is it just jumping on the fall trend train? Nope. It adds nutrition, obviously, but also a great moisture content and more complex flavor.

I could just be crazy, though. Probably.

PUMPKIN DEEP DISH CRUST
enough for two 10 inch pies

What you'll need . . .

• 1 package yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/4 cup warm water 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or homemade)
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup 
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 2 cups bread flour (give/take)
• 2 teaspoons salt

Method . . .

1. In a large bowl, combine the yeast with the water and let proof (get frothy). 
2. Then add in the pumpkin puree, oil, and maple syrup. Whisk well until totally combined. 
3. Fold in the flour and salt and eventually work to kneading with your hands for several minutes. Start with 1-1/2 cups flour and work up to more until you form an elastic, non-sticky ball. 
4. Then place back in the bowl, drizzle with some olive oil, cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let rise for 2 hours. 
5. Punch down, divide into two balls -- use one per pizza. Dough stores in the refrigerator for two days or freeze it for a month.

// DEEP DISHIN'

To make deep dish pizza -- you flip your notions about this dish upside down. The cheese actually goes on FIRST and is then covered with sauce of your choice.

Whoa.

• Preheat your oven to 475 degrees F. Lightly oil a 10" (or 8" if you want a lot of crust overlap) pan. I used a springform pan for a few of the pizzas and like how it worked better than a standard cake pan. Just my preference!
• Take your dough and press it into the pan, distributing evenly and working up the sides almost like you'd do for a pie crust.
• Start with a layer of provolone cheese covering the entire bottom. This will help keep the crust beneath from turning soggy. Then sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.
• Add a layer of sauce just a bit thicker than you'd normally use on a traditional pizza. You want to cover the cheese below, but not drown it.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan or other cheese and then bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until edges are browned and cheese is melted (you can cut to check).
• Let cool 5-10 minutes before slicing.
• It took me a few goes for my pizza to turn out "right" -- so don't be surprised if you're first try yields too-thick crust or not-crisp-enough, etc. You'll get the hang of it quickly. It's just a different animal.

What sauce you use is up to you.

Here are a few suggestions -- pesto works great, too:

• Boozy + Bold Chunky Tomato Sauce
• Grilled Kalamata Tomato Sauce
• 10-Minute Heirloom Tomato Sauce
• Butternut Squash Pizza Sauce
• Garlic Scape + Swiss Chard Pesto
• Basil-Walnut Pesto
• Spinach Pesto

The weekend is a perfect time to try out new recipes, especially pizza recipes, so I hope you'll consider this one for a go.

Happy Friday, everyone!

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Deep Dish Veggie Tart

We shared with you some of the recipes we've been lusting over last Friday. For dinner yesterday evening, we finally got a chance to knock one of those items off the to-make list: the Lasagna Tart from 101 Cookbooks.

But since we rarely make recipes exactly as they appear online or in books, we changed it up a bit. What resulted was more of a veggie deep dish pizza than a lasagna tart. But that's OK -- even better than OK. I'm thinking some of you guys and gals who recently attended the Health Living Summit in Chicago might be feeling a little nostalgic. You may want to relive last weekend's events by making this healthy deep dish for dinner . . . tonight.

Am I right?


DEEP DISH VEGGIE TART

What you'll need . . . for the tart crust:
(original recipe is Clotilde's Easy Olive Oil Tart Dough)

• 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon dill (or other dried herbs)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup cold water

What you'll need . . . for the filling:
(again, inspired by 101 Cookbooks)

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced into thin "coins"
• 1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1-1/2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 14-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

Method . . .
(don't let these EASY 20 steps scare you off!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a tart pan and set aside.
2. Toss the zucchini coins with 1 teaspoon of salt in a dish to extract some of the moisture. Set aside while you prepare your crust.
3. Whisk together the flour, salt, and herbs. Add in the oil and water. Mix with a fork . . . and then give in and use your hands. The dough will be slightly sticky. You may add more water, if necessary.
4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough so it'll fit your tart pan. We make ours about an inch in diameter larger. Quick rolls are best, you don't want to handle the dough too much.
5. Very carefully transfer the tart dough to the pan. Fold over the excess dough to make the crust thicker. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest in your refrigerator for half an hour to an hour.
6. Make your sauce: In a food processor, combine the garlic, canned tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Stephen also added a pinch of cayenne for good measure. Heat over medium-low heat on stove to warm and let flavors mingle. However, you don't want the sauce scalding hot when you put it in the crust. Warm is the key word here.
7. Prick the bottom of your tart crust with a fork a couple times. Bake on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool (I waited 20 minutes).
8. Lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees.
9. Then let the layering begin!
10. Start with 1/2 of your cheese on the bottom.
11. Then 1/2 of your sauce. (A spatula helps spread.)
12. Then pile your zucchini coins in a circular pattern (again, using 1/2 of them -- see photo above).
13. Then add all the black beans.
14. Then another layer of cheese. This time, only add about 2/3 of what is left.
15. Then another layer of zucchini.
16. Then the rest of your cheese.
17. Then the rest of your sauce to top it all off.
18. Smush your ingredients just so -- you don't want them toppling over the top of the tart pan.
19. Get out a rimmed baking sheet -- you don't want juices wandering to the bottom of your oven -- and place your tart pan on it. Bake for 40 minutes.
20. Let cool before serving (10 minutes or so).

Despite how long this recipe is, you go from this unbaked wonder . . .


To THIS beautiful deep disher in no time at all!


Have you ever made a recipe that didn't turn out exactly as you thought it would -- but you loved it anyway? This happens to us ALL the time. It's how a lot of our favorite meals are made. And that's what I love about the experimentation aspect of cooking and baking . . . even when we make the same recipe, use the same ingredients, etc. -- there's never a guarantee that it will come out the same way twice!

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