You don’t need to go to a bar or a restaurant to enjoy an old fashioned. Nope, this classic whiskey cocktail is a cinch to make at home! In fact, it’s Jack’s favorite drink, so we always keep old fashioned ingredients on hand. They…
You don’t need to go to a bar or a restaurant to enjoy an old fashioned. Nope, this classic whiskey cocktail is a cinch to make at home! In fact, it’s Jack’s favorite drink, so we always keep old fashioned ingredients on hand. They’re super simple: whiskey (Jack likes rye), Angostura Bitters, a little sugar, ice, and an orange twist for garnish. Jack’s biggest tip for this old fashioned recipe is to choose a whiskey you love. The simplicity of an old fashioned means that there’s not much to mask the flavor of the liquor. If anything, the bitters and sugar […]
Baked fennel gratin is made with onion and olive oil and topped with Gruyere, Parmesan, panko crumbs, and nutmeg. Fennel Gratin Baked fennel pairs so well with Gruyere and Parmesan. In this easy gratin, the fennel wedges are baked with onions and stock and finished with a crisp, golden topping of panko and cheese. It’s […]
Baked fennel gratin is made with onion and olive oil and topped with Gruyere, Parmesan, panko crumbs, and nutmeg.
Fennel Gratin
Baked fennel pairs so well with Gruyere and Parmesan. In this easy gratin, the fennel wedges are baked with onions and stock and finished with a crisp, golden topping of panko and cheese. It’s the perfect side for a holiday meal if you want to impress! For more fennel recipes, try this Mushroom Fennel Quinoa Stuffing and Grilled Fennel with Parmesan and Lemon.
Cheese Balls are the perfect appetizer for parties, especially during the holiday months. Everybody loves a good cheese ball. This homemade cheese ball recipe is our family’s favorite! It’s easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. It’…
Cheese Balls are the perfect appetizer for parties, especially during the holiday months. Everybody loves a good cheese ball. This homemade cheese ball recipe is our family’s favorite! It’s easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. It’s made with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, garlic powder, a dash of hot sauce, and coated…
Cozy season is in full swing! I’m living for all the soups and seasonal dishes right now. What’s on your menu this week?! What To Eat This Week Kick things off with french onion stuffed sweet potatoes! You can bake the potatoes ahead of time. Slow cooker chicken taco soup for the win! I still […]
Savory Steel Cut Oats for breakfast is loaded with protein and provides a good dose of fiber, which will keep you feeling satisfied longer. Savory Steel Cut Oats If you never had savory oats, think of hearty grits or risotto! This breakfast for one is made with breakfast sausage, mushrooms, Parmesan and a runny egg […]
Savory Steel Cut Oats for breakfast is loaded with protein and provides a good dose of fiber, which will keep you feeling satisfied longer.
Savory Steel Cut Oats
If you never had savory oats, think of hearty grits or risotto! This breakfast for one is made with breakfast sausage, mushrooms, Parmesan and a runny egg and can easily be doubled or quadrupled. It’s a delicious alternative to sugary fruit-topped oatmeal, like these Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats, Banana Nut Protein Oats, or this Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bowl.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe is so good you’ll fall in love at first bite. The cookies have a hint of salt, so they don’t come off too sweet. They’re chewy with slightly crispy edges. They have deeply developed flavors with nutty notes of brown butter. They truly are exceptional. The best part? You don’t need fancy ingredients, just a few tricks.
How To Make A Better Chocolate Chip Cookie
Here are my Top 5 Tips to slay the chocolate chip cookie game:
Brown your butter. This one step adds a deep, nutty flavor that takes the humble chocolate chip cookie to a whole new level.
Sift your flour. Humidity and packaging affect the volume of flour. If you don’t use a scale, get a correct measurement by sifting it first.
Use granulated sugar and brown sugar. Granulated sugar adds color and crispness, while brown sugar makes the dough moist and chewy.
Rest your dough. Chilling the dough uncovered helps create a dough with concentrated flavors, a firm texture with less spread, and deeper browns.
Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens can be off by up to 50°. A cheap thermometer can be the difference between a cookie win and a big, fat fail.
How To Cool Chocolate Chip Cookies
Never remove cookies from a sheet pan right out of the oven. They are still very soft and are likely to break. Instead, leave them on the sheet pan for five or so minutes and then use a spatula to place them on a cooling rack.
How To Store Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cookies should be cold to the touch before storing. Placing a warm cookie in an air-tight container will make it mushy, and you worked too hard for that. Once cooled, place them in an air-tight container lined with a paper towel. Separate layers with wax paper to prevent them from sticking together. Top the final layer of cookies with plastic wrap to reduce exposure to air. They will last at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Refrigerating baked cookies will dry them out. Instead, for longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months.
Can You Freeze THIS Cookie Dough?
Absolutely! Portion the dough with a small cookie scoop or in 2 tablespoon-sized cookie dough balls. Freeze them on a sheet pan with a bit of separation so they don’t stick together. Once they are frozen solid, add the dough balls to a freezer-safe bag and remove as much air as possible. If using a container, top each layer of dough balls with plastic wrap to prevent exposure to air.
This chocolate chip cookie recipe is so good you'll fall in love at first bite. The cookies are chewy with slightly crispy edges. They have deeply developed flavors with nutty notes of salted brown butter.
In a light-colored, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter over medium heat until the solids separate and turn golden brown.
Place the brown butter in a large bowl to cool for a few minutes. When it is no longer steaming hot, set the bowl in the fridge or freezer until it hardens.
Once the butter has hardened,break it apart and add the brown and white sugar to the bowl.
Use a hand mixer (or elbow grease) to cream the butter and the sugars on low speed until incorporated.
Add the vanilla extract and one egg to the bowl. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the second egg. Mix on low speed until combined, and scrape down the bowl again.
In a separate bowl, combine the all-purpose flour and baking soda.
Pour half of the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture and mix on low speed until it barely comes together. Next, scrape down the sides of the bowl, add in the remaining flour, and mix on low speed until a dough forms.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the chocolate chips. Mix until the chocolate chips are interspersed evenly throughout the dough.
Roll 2-tablespoon portions of dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Chill the dough in your refrigerator, uncovered, for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
When ready to bake, place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Press the chilled cookie dough balls down with two fingers.
Bake the cookies for 4 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan, front to back. Bake for an additional 4 minutes, until the edges are a light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for at least 5 minutes before taking them off and cooling them on a rack.
*If using unsalted butter, add 1/2 teaspoon of finely ground salt (like fine sea salt) or 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground salt (like kosher salt) to the butter.*Use either light brown or dark brown sugars. Dark brown will give your cookies a touch more spread and chew.* If you prefer a crispy cookie, omit the brown sugar and use 3/4 cups total of granulated white. The cookies will rise more and spread less.
How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies – Step by Step Photos
In a light-colored, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) of butter over medium heat. When it starts to foam, the milk solids will separate from the water in little specks. Continue to cook the solids until they have turned golden brown. The air will smell of hazelnuts.
Once the butter has been browned, immediately remove it from the heat and place it in a bowl to cool for a few minutes. Once it is no longer steaming hot, set the bowl in the fridge or freezer until the brown butter cools to a softened butter consistency.
Once the butter has cooled and solidified into a mousse-like consistency, add the 1/2 cup of brown sugar and the 1/4 cup of granulated white sugar to the bowl.
Use a hand mixer (or elbow grease) to cream the butter and the sugars on low speed until incorporated.
Add the teaspoon of vanilla extract and one egg to the bowl. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the second egg. Mix on low speed until combined, and scrape down the bowl again.
In a separate bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda.
Pour half of the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture and mix on low speed until it barely comes together. Next, scrape down the sides of the bowl and add in the remaining flour. Continue to mix on low speed until the dough barely comes together. Do not over-mix, as this will give you a tough cookie.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 1 cup of chocolate chips. Mix until the chocolate chips are interspersed evenly throughout the dough.
Roll 2-tablespoon portions of dough into balls and place them 2 inches apart on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Chill the dough in your refrigerator, uncovered, for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
When ready to bake, place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 350°F. Press the chilled cookie dough balls down with two fingers.
Bake the cookies for 4 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan, front to back. Bake for an additional 4 minutes, until the edges are a light golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for at least 5 minutes before taking them off and cooling them on a rack.
December!! I can’t believe it. This week on the blog I shared this delicious mozzarella chicken with orzo. I also shared this cranberry orange coffee cake, my 2022 holiday recipe guide and these ham and swiss puff pastry twists! It’s also gift guide time! You can find my gift guides here: gift guide for babies & […]
This Creamed Corn Recipe might be one of our all time favorites! It’s so creamy, bright and delicious. We also love that it’s super quick, easy and low maintenance, coming together in only 20 minutes from start to finish! This creamed corn recipe is one of the best side dishes you can make year round, but we especially love it during chilly weather months and for special occasions like thanksgiving and holiday meals. How to…
This Creamed Corn Recipe might be one of our all time favorites! It’s so creamy, bright and delicious. We also love that it’s super quick, easy and low maintenance, coming together in only 20 minutes from start to finish!
This creamed corn recipe is one of the best side dishes you can make year round, but we especially love it during chilly weather months and for special occasions like thanksgiving and holiday meals.
How to Make Our Creamed Corn Recipe
Ingredients
Process
Melt some unsalted butter in a saucepan.
Add shallots and sauté.
Add corn and continue to sauté. Season with salt and black pepper.
Remove corn mixture from pan and set aside. Place saucepan back over heat and melt more butter.
Stir flour into butter and cook, constantly stirring.
Stir half and half into mixture until no lumps remain. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Add Parmesan cheese and stir.
Add corn mixture and sugar into half and half mixture.
Stir together and simmer. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed
Canned Cream-Style Corn vs this Homemade Creamed Corn Recipe
There are a few major differences you’ll find between a canned cream-style corn and the homemade version. Most canned cream style corn is a mixture of puree of corn with a few whole kernels, butter, salt and sugar (often times along with other additives and preservatives). It often times omits a creamy sauce as well.
Our homemade creamed corn recipe keeps all the corn kernels whole (although you can blend half the corn if you want, which is slightly more traditional) and stirs it together with a simple and delicious creamy sauce.
Frozen Corn and Canned Corn Alternatives
We think using fresh corn yields the best results, but you can definitely use frozen corn or canned corn if that is all that is available! There are just a couple things we recommend doing to ensure you have the best creamed corn!
Frozen Corn
Thaw the frozen corn completely and thoroughly drain the excess liquid. Any additional liquid will thin the sauce out too much, making it watery instead of thick and creamy!
Canned Corn
Pour the canned corn into a fine meshed sieve to strain all the liquid, give the corn kernels a good rinse and drain any excess liquid. Canned corn sits in a liquid to help preserve the kernels and elongate shelf life and the liquid often contains sugar and other additives that you can taste on the corn. We like giving the corn a good rinse to get any of the residue liquid and taste off the kernels.
Variations
As we mentioned above, it’s perfectly fine to use frozen or canned corn if that’s what you have on hand or all that is available.
We keep our creamed corn simple to really let the corn flavor shine, but you can definitely toss some herbs into the mix. some of our favorites for this are sliced chives, minced fresh thyme and chopped parsley.
Make this dish extra decadent by using heavy cream instead of half and half, adding some cooked, chopped bacon and/or stirring in a small dollop of cream cheese into the mix!
What to Serve with this Creamed Corn Recipe
Creamed corn is such a versatile side dish! Some of our favorite dishes to pair it with are:
This creamed corn recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To Reheat: Pour contents into a saucepan and gently simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Gently simmering and stirring are both important to ensure the sauce doesn’t separate.
As the mixture heats up and begins to thicken add grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until fully melted and desired consistency has been reached.
Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.
Freezing
Although doable, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture will be slightly off and it won’t be as fresh in flavor.
If you really want or need to freeze this creamed corn recipe follow instructions below for best results:
Cool creamed corn and place into a freezable plastic bag, removing as much air as possible, before sealing.
Place bag in freezer for up to 3 months
To reheat: Transfer bag to refrigerator and thaw.
Strain 1/2 cup liquid and discard.
Transfer remaining contents into a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
Once mixture has heated through, stir in an additional 1/3 cup half and half and continue to simmer.
Stir in freshly grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until sauce has slightly thickened.
The only creamed corn recipe you'll ever need and want to make! This quick, easy and mouthwatering recipe comes together in just 20 minutes and is the perfect side for some many dishes!
Place a pot over medium heat and melt 2 tablespoons butter.
Add shallots and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes
Add corn and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove corn mixture from skillet and set aside.
Place skillet back over heat and melt remaining butter.
Stir flour into butter and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, constantly stirring.
Stir half and half into mixture until no lumps remain. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.
Add Parmesan and stir until mixture is smooth.
Stir corn and shallot mixture and sugar into half and half mixture and simmer for an additional 2 minutes until sugar dissolves. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
Remove creamed corn from heat and serve.
Video
Notes
Make Ahead
This creamed corn recipe can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To reheat: Pour contents into a saucepan and gently simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Gently simmering and stirring are both important to ensure the sauce doesn’t separate.
As the mixture heats up and begins to thicken add grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until fully melted and desired consistency has been reached.
Adjust salt and pepper as needed and serve.
Freeze AheadAlthough doable, I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. The texture will be slightly off and it won’t be as fresh in flavor.If you really want or need to freeze this creamed corn recipe follow instructions below for best results:
Cool creamed corn and place into a freezable plastic bag, removing as much air as possible, before sealing.
Place bag in freezer for up to 3 months
To reheat: Transfer bag to refrigerator and thaw.
Strain 1/2 cup liquid and discard.
Transfer remaining contents into a saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
Once mixture has heated through, stir in an additional 1/3 cup half and half and continue to simmer.
Stir in freshly grated Parmesan, 1 teaspoon at a time, until sauce has slightly thickened.
Easy to make in under 10 minutes, flavor-boosting Mushroom Powder has many uses in the kitchen adding delicious umami flavor to soups, stews, stir-fries, tacos, eggs, beans, and sauces!
Easy to make in under 10 minutes, flavor-boosting Mushroom Powder has many uses in the kitchen adding delicious umami flavor to soups, stews, stir-fries, tacos, eggs, beans, and sauces!
A slightly sweet and sour swallow made with fermented cassava flour that’s served alongside soups and stews.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
In Nigerian cuisine, swallows are a broad category of cooked soft doughs made from roots, tubers, grains, and flours that are popular at lunch time and can be eaten for breakfast or dinner. They are meant to be eaten as-is, not baked, alongside a variety of soups and stews like egusi and efo riro. You can think of them as being similar to gnocchi or dough dumplings, in that they’re made from tubers or flours then cooked. One popular swallow is eba, which is made by mixing garri (dried cassava meal) with water.
Another popular swallow is lafun, also known as white amala, made with a fibrous fermented sun-dried cassava flour (cassava goes by other names like yuca or manioc). Lafun flour, which goes by the same name as the swallow, is made by soaking chunks of peeled cassava in water and fermenting the mixture for three to four days. Once fermented, the drained cassava is left to dry in the sun for up to four days and subsequently milled into flour.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Lafun is often confused with fufu, a common term that is used in markedly different ways across West Africa and the diaspora. The base for both lafun and fufu start with cassava. However, in the case of fufu, once the cassava is fermented, it is wet milled: passed through a sieve or blended and strained. The leftover fibers are discarded and the mixture is left to settle. After a few hours, the water is decanted, the raw fufu is put in a muslin bag (nut milk bags, cheesecloth, and chiffon also work), and a heavy object is set on top to squeeze out any remaining liquid. What’s left is a damp, crumbly cassava meal that’s cooked with water to make fufu.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Making lafun with the flour is easy and requires only two ingredients: water and lafun flour. The flour is cooked with water to form a soft dough, then scooped onto plates or bowls with a spoon or an Igbako, a special scoop made out of dried calabash (a type of gourd). The texture, like most swallows, is soft yet firm with a stretchy quality, similar to the panade stage of uncooked choux pastry before the eggs are incorporated. As with most Nigerian swallows, lafun isn’t seasoned with salt or anything else to allow its own unique slightly sweet and sour flavor to come through. Never eaten on its own, it’s typically paired with seasoned soups and stews laden with nuts, seeds, or mixed greens, kind of like mashed potatoes and gravy. To eat, pinch off morsels with your hands or utensils, dip, and enjoy.
Using a fine mesh strainer, sift lafun flour into a 3-quart saucier or saucepan; discard any fibrous matter left in the strainer. Add 2 cups (480ml) boiling water and, using a wooden spoon, stir until well combined and a rough dough has formed, about 2 minutes.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Set saucepan over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring and scraping bottom in a circular motion, until no lumps remain, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1 cup (240ml) boiling water and stir until dough changes from creamy and opaque to more translucent, 5 to 10 minutes.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Reduce heat to low. Spread dough roughly across bottom of saucepan, poke 3 or 4 1-inch-wide holes in it with a wooden spoon, and pour remaining 1 cup (240ml) boiling water on top of dough. Immediately cover and cook until most, if not all, of the water is absorbed, about 3 minutes.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Uncover and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until lafun is soft yet firm, smooth, and stretchy, about 3 minutes (it should not be runny or sticky). If it’s too loose, add sifted lafun flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until lafun is desired consistency. If it’s too firm, add boiling water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until lafun is desired consistency.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
To serve, dip a spoon into water and scoop 1/2 cup portions onto individual plates or bowls. Serve lafun immediately with Nigerian soups like egusi.
Serious Eats / Maureen Celestine
Special Equipment
3-quart saucier or saucepan
Notes
You can find lafun flour in Nigerian or West African stores, and online from websites like Mychopchop and OsiAfrik. You can substitute white amala flour, cassava flour, and cassava fufu flour but the finished lafun may differ in texture and consistency.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Wrapped tightly in plastic and stored in an airtight container, lafun can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Lafun, like most Nigerian swallows, is rarely frozen since the texture changes when reheated.
To reheat, transfer lafun to a medium pot, pour in 1/2 cup warm water, cover, and set over low heat for 3 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook, stirring, until soft and warmed through, about 4 minutes.
Cheese Balls are the perfect appetizer for parties, especially during the holiday months. Everybody loves a good cheese ball. This homemade cheese ball recipe is our family’s favorite! It’s easy to make and always a crowd pleaser. It’s made with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, garlic powder, a dash of hot sauce, and coated… 
