Category: Baking Recipes

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mesquite flour adds a wonderful accent to these oat and walnut studded chocolate chip cookies. If you’ve never baked with it, this is your encouragement

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If you’re looking for a unique and special chocolate chip cookie, this is the recipe. I developed a version of these for my book Super Natural Cooking circa 2007 and they’ve had a special place in my heart (and kitchen!) in the years since. If I were going to enter a cookie contest, these might very well be my entry. The flavor is that good. To make them requires tracking down one specialty ingredient, mesquite flour. I promise it is worth the extra effort. Mesquite flour is a wonderful, fragrant flour made from the ground-up pods of the mesquite tree. It has a slightly sweet and chocolaty flavor, with a touch of malt and smokiness. You can use it all sorts of things, far beyond these cookies, including pancake mixes, waffle mixes, oatmeal, and sweet quick breads.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Ingredient Spotlight: Mesquite Flour

Chances are you’re new to mesquite flour, so here’s a bit about where it comes from. First thing, mesquite trees are very generous and play an important role in the lives of many native cultures in the Americas. They grow in a wide area ranging from the Southwestern United States all the way through Central and South America – the Sonoran desert, Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico. If you’ve driven through the Southwest, you’ve seen a lot of mesquite. And, as you can see from this list, mesquite are drought-tolerant and thrive in hot and arid climates. They are also remarkably resilient plants that give back in many ways and contribute life-sustaining properties to the communities they are a part of. Mesquite also nitrogen fixes, so it gives back to the land in that way as well.

Different parts of the plant are used for different purposes. Mesquite wood has long been used as fuel or shelter. Beyond that, flour ground from mesquite pods are an important food source, celebrated for being nutrient-rich profile, contributing fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates to traditional diets. The plant has medicinal uses as well as ceremonial. So, mesquite flour, a wonderfully delicious ingredient plays a rich and important role in many cultures.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Where to Buy Mesquite Flour

Sourcing mesquite flour will take a bit of effort. Look for products that are sustainably harvested preferably using traditional methods. You want 100% mesquite flour with no other added ingredients or flavoring. If you roadtrip through the Southwest, keep an eye out at local markets and farmers’ markets for bags of mesquite flour. This is where you’re likely to find locally produced products.  Unfortunately, the ones I’ve picked up in the past that way don’t have active websites. This Peruvian mesquite flours mentioned below have been reliably good, and are easy to get. Please let me know in the comments if you are using local mesquite flour and can point me to a site to order.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

What if I don’t have Mesquite Flour?

If you don’t have mesquite flour, substitute 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour OR all-purpose flour in its place; your chocolate chip cookies will still turn out chocolate chewy and fantastic.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

How To Freeze Cookies:

Scoop cookie dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Freeze for an hour or so and then transfer the frozen dough balls to a container or freezer bag. The will keep, frozen, for a month or two. Bake at the regular the temperature, adding a couple minutes to the overall baking time. You can see them arranged to be frozen in the photo above.

Below you can see the cookies ready to go into the oven. I use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop to get uniform cookies. This recipe makes a lot of cookie dough. The motto here is bake some, freeze some. 
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Pro-tip

Avoid over-baking these cookies. The dough is darker that cookies made exclusively with unbleached all-purpose flour. Because of this, it can be a bit trickier to tell when they’re fully baked. Look at the edges of the cookies, where the dough touches the pan. You want that to be nice and golden.

Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet
Lastly, lets talk about add-ins. These cookies are loaded with chocolate chunks and boosted with walnut pieces. I feel like the chocolate is key here, and I love the chocolate walnut combination. But I encourage you to experiment with other combinations. A bit of espresso powder might be nice. Or maybe some sort of toasted coconut version.
Mesquite Chocolate Chip Cookies on a Baking Sheet

Related Recipes

Here’s where you can find all the cookie recipes. I love chocolate chip cookies and you can find a number of different takes on them including David Lebovitz’s Great Chocolate Chip Cookies, Itsy Bitsy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (best ice cream sandwich cookies), Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies, this Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie, and these Healthful Double Chocolate Cookies.

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Glazed Lemon Cake

This lemon cake is moist, fragrant and topped with a salted lemon glaze. It is made with lots of lemon zest and freshly squeezed lemon juice. You don’t need a mixer, the olive oil based batter comes together quickly, and you’re not much longer than an hour from having a beautiful cake to share.

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If you love to bake, you likely have a lemon cake in your repertoire. This is mine and I’ve been making variations on it for just about ever. I love it for many of the reasons people celebrate a good cake. It is moist and beautifully fragrant. It makes people happy and it sings with lemon flavor. You fold an arguably aggressive amount of hand-chopped lemon zest and a good jolt of juice into the batter and glaze. I like to make this cake with sourdough discard, but just as often don’t – instructions for both methods are included in the recipe below. This is the perfect picnic cake. No mixer necessary, and the batter comes together in a flash. Give it a try!
Glazed Lemon Cake in Baking Pan

Lemon Cake: Ingredients

The ingredient list for this cake is relatively short. Considerations for some of the main ingredients have notes below.

  • Yogurt – I like to use Greek yogurt for this cake. Either low-fat or full-fat will work.
  • Sourdough Discard – Sourdough discard works beautifully in this batter. It adds a dimension of flavor and contributes to a fluffy crumb. Also, I’m eternally trying to use my discard up in things like crackers, quick breads, and the like. If you don’t have discard, you can still make the cake (see the asterisk in the recipe). I do it all the time. Basically, add an extra 1/4 cup of flour to the flour mix, and add an extra 1/4 cup of water as well. The crumb is a bit more dense, but in a good way! The cake below was made with discard and you can see the fluffy crumb.

Partially Sliced Lemon Cake

  • Olive Oil – You are going to want to use a mild tasting olive oil here.
  • Almond Extract – I love almond extract and use it in a lot of my baking. I especially love the combination of lemon and almonds here. But if you don’t have it on hand, by all means swap in vanilla extract. It’s not a big deal at all.
  • Lemon – As I mention above, I’m particular about how I like to use lemon in this cake. For bursts of lemon zesty flavor, I suggest that you take the time to peel the zest from the lemon, scrape off any pith and cut it into the the thinnest whispers of strips (below). See photos. The rest of the cake is such a breeze, it’s worth it to make a bit of extra effort at this step.

Small Pile of Lemon Peel
You can see above, all the bitter white pith is stripped from the peel. And below, the lemon peel is cut into long, thin strips.
Small Bowl of Lemon Zest for Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake Variations

These are all variations on this lemon cake I’ve baked in the past. Lemon pairs well with so many other ingredients, I’m sure you’ll come up with other wonderful variations!

  • Boozy Lemon Cake: Brush 1/4 cup whiskey (or whisky) across the top of the cake after it comes out of the oven, before topping with the lemon glaze. Limoncello is another option, and I also love amaretto here.
  • Glazed Citrus Cake: Experiment beyond the lemon! You can make this cake with a wide range of citrus. Or even a blend of zests and juices. Consider blood orange, lime, grapefruit, etc. Or a blend.
  • Berry Lemon Cake: Fold in room-temperature berries along with the final addition of yogurt mixture called for in the recipe. Use as few or as many berries (within reason) as you like. I also prefer to finish off berry versions of this cake with a dusting of crushed freeze-dried berries after drizzling the warm cake with glaze. Raspberries, sliced strawberries, blueberries and huckleberries are all fair game. Or combine into a mix!
    Glazed Lemon Cake Cooling on a Counter
  • Glazed Sourdough Lemon Cake: This is the version of the cake you see in the recipe below. I love the crumb in the sourdough discard version — it is super fluffy, like a fluffy banana bread. The version with no discard has a more dense crumb – not quite in the poundcake realm but in that direction on the spectrum. The instructions for both are included below.
  • Lemon Cake with Pretty Flowers: Add some edible flower petals after drizzling the lemon glaze – rose, calendula, violet, rose geranium, etc. You can add fresh or dried. (Edible Flowers)

Glazed Lemon Cake
Please let me know if you try this one! Or if you explore any fun variations. Or(!) if you bake one and take it somewhere wonderful on a picnic. It’s the kind of cake that loves an adventure and loves to be shared!Glazed Lemon Cake

More Recipes

Here’s where you can find more favorite baking recipes. A few to look out for include this one bowl banana bread, this no-bake chocolate cake, my favorite flourless chocolate cake, this Rosemary Olive Oil Cake is outstanding (thank you Kim Boyce!), and the Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake.

For anyone wanting more lemon inspiration, here’s where you can browse all the lemon recipes. A couple favorites include these lemon ricotta pancakes, this lemony olive oil banana bread, this lemon focaccia, this roasted lemon chutney, and these limoncello macaroons. oh! And there are some good citrus recipes here as well!

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Baked Quinoa Patties

Great served hot or room-temperature, these quinoa patties are packed with herbs, kale and creamy feta cheese. Adult and kid-friendly, and perfect for lunches on the go.

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Quinoa patties are portable, packed with protein, and adaptable. Even people who are on the fence about quinoa tend to love them, especially the ones you see here. This version is sesame-crusted and boosted with lots of herbs and kale. That said, you can play around with a wide range of accent ingredients and cooking techniques. I initially featured a skillet-cooked version in my book, Super Natural Cooking (2007), but you can bake them as well with great results, and that’s what you see here.
Baked Quinoa Patties

How to Make Quinoa Patties

Quinoa patties come together quickly, particularly if you have a few cups of leftover quinoa on hand. I always cook extra quinoa, knowing it will come together into a quick lunch if I plan ahead a bit. To make quinoa patties you simply combine cooked quinoa, eggs, herbs, breadcrumbs and seasoning in a bowl. The patties are shaped by hand and then baked or pan-fried. They can be enjoyed hot or room-temperature, and, either way, I love them with a bit of hot sauce.
Quinoa patties on a baking sheet prior to baking
You can see the patties prior to baking above. And then after baking below. I like to sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top for added crunch. Really push them into shape using your hands so that they will hold their shape.
Quinoa patties on a baking sheet after baking

Quinoa Patties: On the Go

I initially highlighted these quinoa patties (below) when a number of you asked about packing meals for flights. I was heading to London – so, a long flight from San Francisco. My strategy for flight meals is an ever-evolving system which (currently) involves a collapsible container, two thick rubber bands, and a plastic fork/spoon thing. All food goes in one container, and I avoid anything liquid to get through security. A good splash of sauce seems to be fine though. For my flight to London, I packed these potstickers. What you didn’t see was the way I buried them under a layer of these baked quinoa patties. Not pretty, but great to have on hand. I use a folded piece of parchment paper to divide the dumplings from the patties.
Quinoa patties packed for lunch in a small box
When I stay closer to home, I tend to go the bento or tiffin route – have a look at this page if you’re interested in more on-the-go, feel-good lunch ideas.
Quinoa patties in a bowl served with a side salad

Variations:

As long as your base ingredients (quinoa, eggs, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs) hold together into a patty, you can play around with different accents and ingredients. Here are a few ideas I’ve had success with over the years.

  • Za’atar Quinoa Patties: Follow the recipe as follows, adding 1 tablespoon of za’atar to quinoa mixture. This is a favorite, especially along with a sesame crust.
  • Lemon Madras Quinoa Patties: Skip some of the herbs and stir in 2 teaspoons Madras curry powder and the slivered zest of one large lemon.
  • Gluten-free Quinoa Patties: Niki commented, “I substitute ground almonds or walnuts for the bread crumbs – works perfectly.”
  • Brussels Sprout Quinoa Patties: VL noted,”I just want to say I made these for a trip this weekend, but used brussels sprouts instead of the kale. They were great!” I can also imagine finely chopped cabbage working brilliantly as well, along similar lines.

There are a bunch of other great substitution ideas down in the comments as well.
Travel photos in London

A Few Tips!

One thing I’ve learned over the years of making these is that the quinoa mixture is easier to shape if you allow it to sit overnight, refrigerated. It just holds together better.

Linda Marie commented, “I found that wet hands made shaping the patties easier. Did them in the skillet. Turned out great. Will try baking next time.”
Quinoa patties in a bowl served with a side salad

Related Recipes

Here’s a post about how to cook quinoa along with a bunch of related quinoa recipes. And here’s where you can get more inspiration for feel-good lunch ideas. These quinoa patties are great tucked into a bento situation along with edamame, a bit of coleslaw, and bit of spiced avocado.

 

 

 

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Baked Mushrooms with Miso Butter

Baked mushrooms are the ultimate low-lift creation. Here, mushrooms are tossed in a simple ponzu marinade, topped with cubes of butter and citrus slices, then baked into perfection in a hot oven.

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I’ve been lucky to live in the vicinity of some world-class mushroom growers for most of my life. Far West Funghi were a staple at the weekly Ferry Building Farmers’ market in San Francisco and Long Beach Mushrooms are a bright spot now that we are farther south. I’ve cooked a lot of mushrooms over the years and simple, baked mushrooms are an easy go-to for me. What you see here are mushrooms tossed in a simple ponzu marinade topped with little cubes of butter and citrus slices. Everything is covered and baked into succulent perfection in a hot oven. The sauce creates itself in the base of the dish. This is the type of preparation that is great whether you have regular button mushrooms or a fancy mix of exotic varietals. Promise.

Baked Mushrooms in a Casserole Dish

The Inspiration

Using soy sauce or ponzu as an anchor ingredient in a mushroom marinade is a fantastic combination. You see skewered soy-brushed mushrooms grilled as standard fare at many izakayas in Japan. I do variations on this at home a lot, switching variables up depending on what ingredients are on hand, and what cooking method is available. For example, the recipe today bakes the mushrooms in a hot oven, alternately, you might make a foil or parchment pocket and grill or bake that way. I tend to use ponzu sauce, and made a fresh batch of it recently. The citrus accent is key, and I like to use whatever citrus is coming out of the garden – in this case Rangpur lime. I’m equally happy using lemon, Meyer lemon, lime, slivered market lime leaves, or orange. Use whatever you have access to!

Baked Mushrooms with Rice and More on a Marble Table

Make it Vegan

I like the richness and flavor the little dabs of butter lend to the recipe as written, the miso in the marinade melds with the butter into a fantastic sauce as the mushrooms bake. That said, a generous drizzle of good olive oil before baking would work nearly as well.
Close-up photo of specialty mushrooms - oyster mushrooms, mother of pearl mushrooms, chestnut mushrooms and more

Baked Mushrooms: What Kind?

You have a lot of latitude here. The mushrooms you see pictured are beautiful cultivated types from a local mushroom grower including oyster mushrooms, mother of pearl, lion’s mane, pioppino, chestnut, and golden oyster mushrooms. I like doing versions with enoki and nameko as well. I also made a fantastic version earlier in the week with straight-ahead grocery store cremini mushrooms – absolutely perfect over a bowl of steaming hot rice. So, don’t sweat it if that is what is available. This is still going to be great. One pro-tip, I like to break (or cut) the mushrooms into slightly bigger than bite-sized pieces before tossing with the marinade. They will go on to collapse as they bake.Raw mushrooms before baking
Above you can see the raw mushrooms in the dish they will eventually bake in. Some of the larger mushrooms, the oyster mushrooms for example, are torn into smaller pieces.
Marinated mushrooms before baking in a baking dish
In this shot (above) you can see the mushrooms after they’ve been tossed in the ponzu marinade. They are topped with citrus and a bit of butter. At this point you will cover and bake for about 20 minutes.
Baked Mushrooms in a Casserole Dish
Here’s what the finished mushrooms look like less than a minute after removing from the oven. I like to sprinkle fresh herbs on them before serving, chives are top of that list. And if you want to get a bit decadent, a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche is magic.

This is so simple to through together, I hope you give it a try. And for the mushroom fans, here’s where you can have a look through all the mushroom recipes.

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Cottage Cheese Muffins

Golden, puffy cottage cheese muffins are high in protein, filling, and endlessly adaptable. If you love a savory baked situation, these are for you.

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I’m always on the lookout for cookbooks by Rose Elliot. They aren’t always easy to find, particularly if you are like me, living in the United States. For those of you who haven’t heard of her, Rose is an accomplished UK-based cookbook author who focuses on vegetarian recipes – three million copies of her books are in print (and probably many more now!). I loved the idea behind her golden, puffy, sun-dried tomato muffins which I came across in Vegetarian Supercook (2006). Not only does the cottage cheese and ground almond base make them a smart way to start the day, but you can adapt the accent flavorings based on whatever you fancy. 
Cottage Cheese Muffins in a Muffin Tin

Rose highlights the combination of tomatoes, cheese, and basil in her version of cottage cheese muffins. The ingredients come together to make your kitchen smell like a cozy pizzeria. In the years since I first highlighted this recipe I’ve baked a good number of variations beyond the original. You can see an herb-flecked version here. It’s loaded with fresh thyme, fresh oregano and lots of chives. I’ll include some other variation ideas down below.

Backing up a bit, one of the great things about Rose’s recipes (generally speaking) is that many of them strike a nice nutritional balance. They tend to combine proteins, complex carbohydrates, vegetables and good fats together in interesting (and delicious) ways. This is something that is actually harder to do than it sounds and I always appreciate her approach. You see that in a recipe like this one.Cottage Cheese Muffins on a Marble Counter

Cottage Cheese Muffins: The Ingredients

The ingredients called for here are fairly straight forward – eggs, cottage cheese, a bit of flour, some almond meal, etc. Plus whatever accent flavors you want to work in. I do have a couple preference I’ll share though.

  • Cottage Cheese: I tend to grab the low-fat option here. And, the larger the curd the better here. The large curds leave nice pockets of oozy cottage cheese throughout the crumb and I love it. The smaller curd cottage cheese works great as well, you’ll just be missing out on some of those magic spots.
  • Almond meal: You want to use a fine almond meal here. You can buy it, or grind your own in a blender. If purchasing, the skin-on almond meal option is fine, it’s just a bit darker and more rustic. I used the lighter almond meal for the muffins pictured here.

Muffin Batter in Tin Before Baking

Other Things To Know

I encourage you to give these muffins a try (they’re *really* good), but keep a few things in mind. The texture here isn’t attempting to emulate a traditional flour-based muffins. These are much moister, less bready, and more quiche-like.  Maybe a better way to think of them is like a souffle’s heartier, denser, more portable cousin. 
Muffins Cooling on a Counter After Baking
The muffins can be made gluten-free, use a GF flour or GF flour blend. If you make the muffins mini-sized they are perfect party fare, whether you go Rose’s sun-dried tomato route, the herb-fleck route (pictured) or I’m sure you can dream up countless other ways to flavor the cottage cheese and almond flour-based batter.
Side View of Muffin

Cottage Cheese Muffins: Variations

A few variations, and people have been mentioning other ideas in the comments.

  • chopped olives, lemon zest and chopped herbs
  • roasted, chopped mushrooms and fresh thyme
  • chopped chipotles and adobo sauce
  • roasted garlic, pesto and toasted pine nuts
  • sautéed chopped potatoes and rosemary
  • No nuts version: Amanda noted in the comments, “ I used half cup flax meal and half cup ground pumpkin seeds. They turned out great.”

Muffins Cooling after Baking

Let me know what you think of these, I really enjoyed them hot, as well as room temperature as a quick snack.
Here’s where you can browse more baking recipes.

 

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