Cooking through the seasons for family & friends in my Colorado kitchen
This coconut almond granola is studded with big chips of toasted coconut, slivered almonds and sweetened with maple syrup. It’s spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Coconut almond granola makes the perfect easy breakfast or snack to have on hand. What makes this Coconut …
Deeply chocolate and ultra smooth, the chocolate silk filling is crowned with homemade whipped cream and sits on a buttery chocolate cookie crust. Decadent chocolate silk pie combines two layers of chocolate and is a perfect dessert for any occasion. This chocolate lover’s dream pie …
Dipped in chocolate, these heart-shaped chocolate linzer cookies have all the traditional “spice” flavors of a linzer cookie: hazelnuts, citrus zest and and a little cinnamon, minus the jam usually sandwiched in-between. They’re pretty and oh so good!
Looking for a chocolate version of the classic linzer cookie? The combination of the semi-sweet chocolate and the orange-scented hazelnut cookie may be better than the original. Maybe I should try to mask my chocolate bias a little more, but I can’t help it; I’d take chocolate over jam any day! If you’re looking for the traditional jam-filled linzer cookie, these raspberry linzer cookies are the ones you’re looking for!
You’ll need one large cookie cutter, approximately 2 1/2 inches across. The heart cutter I used was perfect for Valentine’s Day, but you can use any medium-sized cookie cutter you love to fit the time of year or mood.
Chocolate-Dipped Mocha Cookies
Swedish Tea Rings – Classic Jam Thumbprint Cookies
No-Chill Cinnamon-Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Cardamom Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Fresh Ginger Cookies
Gorgeous raspberry jam-filled sandwich cookies made with toasted hazelnuts, citrus zest, cinnamon and almond extract. Raspberry linzer cookies are in the shortbread cookie family, buttery, delicate and spiced perfectly to compliment your favorite jam. Which Cookie Cutters Make the Best Linzer Cookies? You’ll need one …
Whole wheat popovers are the whole-grain version of a traditional popover, made with eggs, milk, whole wheat pastry flour and salt. They “pop” up just as delicious as the original with hollow, airy pockets, just waiting to be buttered and devoured! what are popovers? Popovers …
Everyone’s favorite baked pasta! Three-cheese ziti is made with an easy tomato sauce and, you guessed it…three cheeses! This quick baked ziti recipe is easy enough to throw together for a weeknight dinner, but memorable enough to make for a night of entertaining friends and family. It’s that good!
This quick three-cheese ziti is easily made ahead and freezes well, meaning you can easily double and freeze one batch for your future dinner needs. It’s a one-pot dish made with ziti pasta, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and cottage cheese. The tomato sauce is seasoned with a simple blend of dried Italian spices you probably already have on hand. So, boil some pasta and make this in a snap!
Three-cheese baked ziti was gifted to my husband and me eight years ago, after we brought home our second baby girl and it was pure comfort, on so many levels. I’m not sure there’s ever been a more intense hunger than those first few days postpartum. I’ll never forget the kindness we were extended when we were showered with meals after her birth. Since then, I’ve made this meal dozens of times for my family and friends, and it always receives rave reviews. Try it and see if this it isn’t your favorite baked ziti, too!
Baked ziti is ziti pasta (or a similar tube-shaped pasta), tossed with marinara sauce and cheese, and then baked. Similarly, lasagna is a baked pasta, but it uses sheets of pasta and it is layered with the cheese and tomato sauce. Although equally delicious, all this layering is what makes lasagna much more time consuming. I usually reserve lasagna for a weekend affair, unlike this three-cheese baked ziti.
I usually buy a few boxes of the Whole Food’s house brand ziti to have on hand. You can always substitute penne pasta or rigatoni if needed. A short, tube-shaped pasta is best.
Preheat oven to 350o. In large pot, boil pasta in salted water until al dente (even less if planning to freeze before baking). Drain pasta with a large colander, and return drained pasta to pot. Add butter and toss cooked pasta with butter until butter melts and pasta is evenly coated.
To the buttered ziti noodles, add marinara sauce, half of parmesan, and cubed mozzarella. Stir in pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and mix until well combined. Stir in cottage cheese.
Oil a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Transfer ziti and sauce to baking dish, using rubber spatula to be sure no sauce is left behind! Cover top of pasta with sliced mozzarella and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Top with minced fresh parsley, freshly ground pepper and more parmesan, if desired.
Serve this baked ziti with a simple green salad, or some easy roasted green beans! Maybe a little bread to make it a true carb fest?
Yes! Just cover dish and place assembled, unbaked ziti in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees until bubbly and hot throughout, about 45-50 minutes.
Any leftovers will keep well in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat baked ziti, covered with a silicone lid, in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. You can also reheat in the oven at 350 until heated through, but keep it covered with foil so it doesn’t brown too much on top.
Baked ziti is a wonderful freezer meal! To freeze, after transferring sauce and pasta to oiled baking pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and then a layer of foil. It can be stored in the freezer for up to two months. To cook frozen baked ziti, just thaw in the refrigerator overnight, remove plastic wrap and foil and bake at 350 until bubbly and hot, about 45-50 minutes.
Raspberry crisp with chocolate streusel, for two! This recipe combines juicy sweetened raspberries with a punch of crisp chocolate streusel, baked to perfection and topped with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. Chocolate raspberry crisp is the easiest dessert to throw together. In less than 10 …
Nothing beats the real, homemade version! Heavy cream, vanilla extract and a little powdered sugar. This recipe for homemade whipped cream is the three ingredient staple every home cook needs in their repertoire. It’s so easy and there’s no special equipment needed other than a …
A spin on a classic made with (fresh or frozen) raspberries & homemade chocolate crumble topping. Juicy raspberries with a punch of crisp chocolate streusel, baked to perfection.
Another fruit and chocolate development here, this time a spin on a classic fruit crisp made with raspberries and chocolate streusel. This recipe combines juicy sweetened raspberries with a crown of crisp chocolate crumble, baked to perfection and topped with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream. Chocolate raspberry crisp is the easiest dessert to throw together. In less than 10 minutes you’ll be popping this beauty into the oven for a lovely finish to a fancy dinner at home or a quiet, cozy evening in.
The inspiration for this recipe came from my abiding daydream of a chocolate streusel topping for any number of my favorite fruit crisps. I discovered a chocolate “crunch” in Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie cookbook and knew as soon as I read her description that Dorie must surely be signing off on my vision for a chocolate crisp makeover. After a few tweaks, I found Dorie’s chocolate crunch, aka chocolate streusel or chocolate crumble, is the perfect topping for my favorite fruit in a baked raspberry chocolate crisp.
This is a quick two-part assembly: first the fruit filling and then the streusel. Layer in pan…and bake! Here’s how it goes:
Combine melted butter, flour, cocoa powder, salt and both sugars, mixing with a fork until crumbly. Place in the refrigerator while you make your raspberry filling and preheat the oven.
Mix together raspberries, corn starch, vanilla, and sugar and gently combine. Let sit for a few minutes while oven preheats.
Center a rack in oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
Pour raspberry filling into an ungreased round 9 inch pie plate or square 8 inch baking pan. Sprinkle chocolate streusel crumbles on top of raspberry mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until raspberries are very bubbly around the edges and fruit has cooked down considerably.
Let crisp sit for 5-10 minutes to cool slightly, and top with homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
There are countless variations and ways to change up fruit crisps! A few other ideas to try:
Yes! I tested this recipe with both frozen and fresh raspberries. I love making this dessert for Valentine’s day in February, when fresh raspberries are out of season and expensive, so I opt for frozen berries. But, when summer hits, I turn to fresh raspberries.
Lemon pizzelle cookies are thin and crisp waffle cookies, made with butter, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Often made at Christmas and Easter in Italy, pizzelle cookies are easy and fun to make! If you’ve ever had a pizzelle cookie before, you know how beautiful and …
Rolled in sparkly sugar, with barely golden edges, orange chocolate French butter cookies (sables) are flecked with dark chocolate and orange zest. French butter cookies are generally a perfect addition to a holiday baking line-up, as they’re sturdy and pack beautifully; these orange & chocolate sables …
For years, my crust always seemed to slump on me in the oven, especially my once-a-year pumpkin pies! For a long time, I just assumed it was the all-butter dough’s fault. However, this was not the case. I’ve now borrowed a technique from Cook’s Illustrated for a blind-baked quiche lorraine. Cook’s Illustrated includes details on how to gently press pie weights into the corners of the pastry shell and also to completely fill the crust dough with weights. Like, up-to-the-very-edge-of-the-crust fill! I finally decided it was time to go all-in and up the amount of pie weights I usually use. Like magic, no slumping. My baking gear drawer now includes a permanent big ‘ol bag of dried beans, so I’m not tempted to skimp on the volume, like before. Just don’t forget to line your uncooked pie dough with parchment paper or foil before adding your beans (or pie weights). Once baked, gently grab corners of paper or foil and lift weights out of pie pan to save for next time.
