Autumn Hershey's Kiss Thumbprint Cookies

On a recent trip to the States I couldn't help but snatch up a bag each of the seasonal Hershey's kisses - candy corn, caramel apple and pumpkin spice. I tried them all and wasn't a huge fan of any of them. But I thought it would be fun to make thumbprint cookies with them and use the kisses as the center instead of jam! The cookie part is basically shortbread and the best way I can think to describe them is "homey" (and delicious of course). I would definitely make them again, though I would wouldn't buy those kisses again. It was fun though! These cookies would also be delicious made the way originally intended with jam, which I will be trying soon.

It's been snowing a bit on and off here. I'm reeeeeeally hoping for more snow today!!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sugar Cookie Bars
Coconut Shortbread
Chocolate Dipped Cherry Shortbread
Earl Grey Tea Shortbread

Autumn Hershey's Kiss Thumbprint Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Makes about 48

24 tablespoons (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
48 Hershey's kisses (about a bag?), unwrapped

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until smooth. Add egg, and beat until completely combined. With mixer on low, add flour and salt, and mix just until incorporated.

2. Shape dough into balls using about 1 tbsp dough. (If you want bigger cookies, use 2 tbsp and a longer baking time.) Place on baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart.

3. Moisten thumb with water, and gently press the center of each ball, making an indentation about 1/2 inch wide and inch deep. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges, 10-12 minutes. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, place a Hershey's kiss in the indentation. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Wow so apparently I'm not really updating my blog anymore! The days pass so quickly and while I'm still trying out new recipes and making yummy things (though there have been some just okay things too), I seem to be falling very behind in blog land. I wonder how long food blogs will be around for anyway? Do you think people will always want to read food blogs and maintain them or will there be a new thing? Hm.

Anyway, today I'm sharing with you these amazing lemon bars. I've always loved lemon bars. My most prominent lemon bar memory was when I made a batch as a teenager and I think I ate most of the batch by myself in a weekend. Lemon bars are addictive! The thing that makes these ones a little different is the crust which has crushed lemon cookies, and then there's a layer of cream cheese on top. So you have lemon curd, cheesecake, and a crushed lemon cookie crust. I don't think you need more convincing than that!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Buttermilk Pie Bars
Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies
Chocolate Fudge Souffle Bars
Eggnog Bars

Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Adapted from The Complete Canadian Living Baking Book

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp icing sugar

Cheesecake layer
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg

Base
30 lemon social tea cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Line a 9"x13" pan with parchment paper or grease; set aside.

Base: In food processor, whirl cookies to make 2 cups crumbs; pulse in butter until moistened. Press into prepared pan. Bake in centre of 325F oven until firm, about 12 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack.

Cheesecake layer: In bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth; beat in egg. Spread over base; set aside.

In bowl, beat eggs with sugar until thickened. Beat in lemon zest and juice, flour, and baking powder until smooth; pour over cheesecake layer. Bake in centre of 325F oven until edges are set and lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack. Cut into bars and refrigerate.

Mediterranean Couscous and Lentil Salad

If I were given the choice between beans and lentils, most of the time I'd pick lentils. And as a vegetarian I definitely need to be picking at least one of them! Sadly, I don't seem to come across many lentil recipes. At least not compared to bean recipes. (So please share your favourite lentil recipes with me!)

So one day I went searching for lentil recipes and came across this one on Epicurious. Looking at the ingredient list I was kind of skeptical (mint mixed with the arugula for the greens? no real added flavour except for salt, pepper, vinegar and garlic?) but it got really good reviews so I gave it a try. And I liked it. It's just a nice, fresh salad that's great to eat as a meal. The flavours are simple with salt, pepper, vinegar and garlic but it's good. And this salad can easily be made vegan by omitting the feta.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Greek Barley Salad
Orzo Salad with Chickpeas, Dill and Lemon
Broccoli Slaw
Portobello Salad with Mustard Dressing

Mediterranean Couscous and Lentil Salad
Adapted from Gourmet | September 1995

1 cup brown lentils
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 bunch arugula, stems discarded and leaves washed well, spun dry, and chopped
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 pound feta, crumbled or chopped (about 1 cup)

In a small saucepan simmer lentils in water to cover by 2 inches until tender but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes, and drain well. Transfer hot lentils to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cool lentils completely, stirring occasionally.

In a saucepan bring water to a boil and add couscous and salt. Remove pan from heat and let couscous stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and cool completely, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl whisk together garlic paste, remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir lentils and dressing into couscous. Chill salad, covered, at least 3 hours and up to 24.

Just before serving, stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Happy Halloween! I'm so excited it's Halloween this weekend!! My favourite holiday and time of year. I've wanted to make Halloween sugar cookies and decorate them for years but this year was the first I actually did it! It was fun but stressful because I have never worked with royal icing really. I made some of the "flooding" icing too thin so it had air bubbles and didn't harden properly. But I've learned some things that will make next time easier. I was really wanting to make these creepy coffin cookies but I didn't plan very well and thinned my white icing before I had the chance to draw out skeletons. Next time! Anyway I just wanted to share a photo of these with you to spread some Halloween cheer.

I also want to share this other sugar cookie bar recipe with you. I'm sure many of you have seen it around on other blogs and there's a reason for it. It's really good and so easy to make. The cookie part is really thick and soft, not like a regular sugar cookie that's thinner and more crisp/hard. The frosting is good but very messy. Well messy in the sense of if you want to travel somewhere with these, you can't just throw them all into a container, you have to carefully layer them with parchment. But it's worth it! The most exciting part for me was definitely buying animal sprinkles to put on top.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars
Cream Cheese Swirl Blondies
Snickerdoodle Blondies
Peanut Butter Squares with Milk Chocolate and Oats

Sugar Cookie Bars
Adapted from Anissa's Kitchen

I would omit the milk in the frosting next time - it made it look kind of weird (though it tasted fine).

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
5 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp milk
food coloring (if desired)

For frosting cream butter until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Add food coloring, if desired. Spread over cooled cookies.

Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles

I've made chilaquiles before, but the last time was with crushed tortilla chips. While I did really like that black bean chilaquile, I think I prefer this one which uses corn tortillas. Oh corn tortillas, how I love you. This is basically a Mexican casserole. Black beans, zucchini, chilies, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, cheese. Mmm. I'll be making it again for sure. It's really hard to find good and relatively healthy vegetarian casseroles, as I've lamented before.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Frijoles, Etc. Casserole
Summer Strata with Spinach, Basil & Roasted Garlic Custard
Southwest Brunch Bake
Butternut Squash Casserole

Black Bean and Zucchini Chilaquiles
Adapted from The Vegetarian Family Cookbook (found on Epicurious)

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped onion
1 green bell pepper, diced
One 28-ounce can crushed or puréed tomatoes
1 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
One 16- to 20-ounce can black beans or 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans (from about 1 cup dried)
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 small fresh hot chile pepper, seeded and minced
12 6-inch corn tortillas, torn or cut into several pieces
8 ounces grated Cheddar cheese
Green onions, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a 9- by 13-inch baking pan or 2-quart round casserole (optional).

2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the bell pepper and continue to sauté until it has softened and the onions are golden. Stir in the tomatoes, seasonings, beans, zucchini, and chile pepper. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently for 5 minutes.

3. Layer as follows in the prepared pan. Half the tortillas, half the tomato black bean mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions.