Cooking through the seasons for family & friends in my Colorado kitchen
Chunks of dark chocolate, a delicate crisp texture, and rich, caramel flavor make these bakery-sized, ultra-thin chocolate chunk cookies irresistible! Every cookie plate must have a chocolate chip cookie. Thin and crispy chocolate chunk cookies are chocolate-forward and extra special, perfect for the holidays or, let’s …
No chill time required for these cinnamon-sugar cut-out cookies! Just mix, cut & bake these delicious roll out cookies, made extra special with cinnamon and almond extract. No cookie plate is complete without a decorated cut-out cookie, like the ones we remember from our childhood. These …
Swedish tea rings are classic thumbprint cookies. They’re made with a thick base of buttery shortbread, rolled in pecans and crowned with a jewel of jam.
These beauties are a must on any of our family cookie plates! This recipe originated from my mother’s paternal grandmother and we all look forward to them every Christmas.
Use your very favorite jam for these cookies. Strawberry or raspberry, my favorite, is especially pretty, but there are so many possibilities. Make use of any tiny helpers you can solicit as they make the cutest thumbprints!
To start, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add yolk of one egg and mix well. Gradually add the flour until just combined. Using a small cookie scoop or teaspoon, scoop and roll the dough into small balls. You should have about 16 balls.
Place egg white and pecans in two separate small bowls. Using small spoons, roll each dough ball in the egg white and then coat in the pecans. Use your thumb to press a hollow in the center of each ball.
If you make these, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram (@lane_bakery)! I love seeing everything you create.
No-Chill Cinnamon-Sugar Cut-Out Cookies
Ultra-Thin Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Fresh Ginger Cookies
Cardamom Cookies with Brown Butter Icing
Cappuccino Flats
Diana’s Christmas Cookie Plate I noticed the arrival of Christmas trees shining through neighbor’s windows earlier than ever this year, as well as an unprecedented extravagance to outside Christmas light displays around town. There’s a definite longing for the joy and hope of the Christmas …
Slow-cooker beef & barley soup is a cross between a French onion soup and a tomato soup, with tender beef – but not too much, lots of carrots and velvety barley. It’s an easy weeknight meal your family will love! A slow cooker soup had …
This grated apple yogurt bowl is my five minute oat-less version of Bircher muesli, made with an apple, yogurt, almond butter and lots of cinnamon. It’s a crave-worthy on the go breakfast or snack and full of good-for-you ingredients.
Have you ever tried Bircher muesli? This apple and yogurt bowl was inspired by many months of grating apples to determine the best ratios for homemade Bircher muesli. I remember that light bulb moment back in 2015 when I was desperately trying to reinvent Pret a Manger’s Bircher muesli, realizing how much flavor, sweetness and texture grated apple brings to the table.
Don’t let me lead you to believe I don’t like muesli. But, this grated apple bowl is a nice departure from the usual oatmeal-based bowl; plus, it doesn’t require any soaking time like overnight oats, although you can make it the night before and pop it in the fridge overnight.
Since it’s apple season, it’s a great time to stock up on your favorite apple and try this recipe. When apples are in season, they’re so juicy and flavorful, the perfect compliment to the tartness of plain yogurt. Did you know apples can be stored in the fridge for up to 8 weeks? So, if you find them on sale, stock up!
Yogurt, and in particular greek yogurt, is an excellent source of protein and makes a wonderful morning meal because it keeps you feeling satisfied for hours. Besides being creamy and delicious, yogurt is also rich in calcium and contains probiotics that help support a healthy gut and give your immune system a boost. I’m telling you, you’ll feel great eating this apple yogurt bowl for breakfast, or any other time of the day.
Yogurt – Use what you love here, but definitely go for plain yogurt. You won’t believe how much sweetness comes from the apple. I like whole-milk versions best since they’re so creamy. Greek works really well in this recipe, as mentioned, and ups the protein count big time.
Ground cinnamon – This will seem like too much to add, but this bowl can stand up to a hearty shake of cinnamon.
Apple – Grate the apple with a box grater, as close to the core as you can without slicing your knuckle off! I like the sweet-tart varieties like pink lady or honeycrisp, but use whichever is your favorite.
Almond butter – The combo of apple, cinnamon and almond butter really sings. It’s best to use an unsweetened variety for this as well, because you really won’t miss the sugar!
It’s seriously so easy and comes together in just a few minutes! No measuring required. Just eyeball and add things to taste. Here is the rundown:
Absolutely. This makes a wonderful make-ahead breakfast or snack as you meal prep for the next day. Just assemble and layer in a lidded jar (I like these “working glasses” from Crate & Barrel) and place in the refrigerator overnight to stay cold. In the morning, grab and go! Don’t forget a spoon.
Fall cupcake recipe redo! Moist cinnamon cupcakes sit beneath a large kiss of pumpkin cream cheese frosting, spiced with more cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Dusted with cinnamon-sugar on top, cinnamon cupcakes with pumpkin spice-cream cheese frosting are as pretty as they are delicious! Looking for …
Sweet potato burritos are filled with shredded sweet potatoes, caramelized onions, and cheddar cheese. They’re seasoned with oregano, cumin & chili powder and baked to bubbly cheese perfection. These addictive sweet potato burritos will soon become a new favorite! With such a simple list of …
Even though school is already back in session in Colorado, I can’t let the last weeks of summer slip by without sharing one of my favorite summer salad staples: caprese salad with balsamic reduction!
Caprese is made with fresh mozzarella, juicy summer tomatoes, fresh basil and a drizzle of balsamic glaze and extra virgin olive oil. With a rustic loaf of bread, this salad is satisfying enough to count as a weeknight dinner. I’ve been making caprese salad for many years, but it’s been refined through lots of trial and error.
Balsamic glaze or reduction – A drizzle of shiny balsamic reduction or glaze, with its concentration of flavor, far exceeds the look and taste of plain balsamic vinegar. It’s worth the extra step to make it (or the money to buy it), believe me!
Freshly-ground coarse pepper – Turn your pepper grinder to the most-coarse setting and be generous! This gives the salad a bit of spice and accents the acidity of the tomatoes and the sweetness of the vinegar glaze.
Garden-fresh tomatoes – Pick some up at a farmer’s market or select a few heirloom tomatoes from the store if your grocery is well stocked. This will be obvious when you cut into a garden fresh summer tomato, but the color and taste is far superior to those white-centered off-season versions available at other times of the year. My stepmom and Aunt grew these beauties!
3 large tomatoes
16 ounces fresh mozzarella
¼ teaspoon sea salt (or other coarse salt)
¼ teaspoon coarsely-ground black pepper
10-16 large basil leaves, sliced thinly into a chiffonade, plus a few small leaves for garnish
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (may not use all of it)
1/4 cup balsamic reduction/glaze (may not use all of it; recipe below, or use store-bought, like this one)
Balsamic Reduction (Glaze):
Looking for another tasty summer salad? Try this Spicy Banh Mi Chicken & Quinoa Salad or this Lemony Quinoa Salad with Almonds & Dried Cherries.
Made with two kinds of chocolate, whole wheat pastry flour & lightly spiced with cinnamon & nutmeg, this whole wheat chocolate zucchini bread is your next breakfast or snack time hit! This is the quick bread I make for breakfast almost once a week in …
A summertime classic! Fresh peach crumble pie is made with layers of fresh peaches, scented with nutmeg and topped with a homemade brown sugar-pecan crumble. Served with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Last year, my mom probed me to dig …
Grilled chicken and quinoa meet a colorful bunch of vegetables including radishes, cucumber, serrano peppers, carrots, green onions and avocado in this spicy and beautiful summer salad. The dressing for this spicy Banh Mi chicken & quinoa salad is bright, slightly sweet and ever so fresh with both cilantro and mint teaming up with fresh lime juice and honey.
Gardening has never been easy for me. It’s frustrating because it’s something I very much enjoy. So this year, when my husband, Matt, surprised me with a bunch of seed packets and proclaimed this was the year we would figure things out, I admit I was skeptical. Our best gardening efforts in years past had yielded very little, even with the advantage of purchasing the giant baby starter plants! The price tag was right on the seed versions, though, and I was motivated and intrigued by Matt’s optimism. Maybe I could do this!
Fast forward about 6 weeks…two-thirds or so of our seeds made it into the seedling stage, but, unfortunately, no more than half survived the “hardening off” phase and were actually transplanted into our yard or small raised bed successfully. It’s now late July, and we have yet to harvest our first tomato or pepper and have had ONE teeny tiny zucchini.
However, turns out, shelling peas and baby mesclun greens have been really successful for us (and they can be directly sowed into the garden), so successful that I’ll continue growing those from seed every year to come! The peas don’t make it out of the back yard after my kids harvest them multiple times a day (that doesn’t disappoint me too much!), but the pretty greens beckoned to be turned into something delicious and a colorful summer salad seemed just right. Best part? My older two girls were so proud of our crop, they ate a remarkable 4/5 and 1/3 of their Banh Mi Chicken & Quinoa salads when we sat down for dinner! The almost-two-year-old also loved the deconstructed version.
To simplify this some, I suggest making the dressing ahead of time, up to one day in advance, as well as cooking and refrigerating the quinoa. You can also save time by chopping up/grating a bunch of the sturdier veggies, and just store them in the fridge until it’s time to assemble. I used my spiralizer because I wanted pretty pink and orange spirals, but I also had time to spare. Next time, I may grate the radishes and carrots on a box grater. Lastly, we have the grill fired up most days of the summer and it’s easy to grill a few chicken breasts, but in a pinch, stove-top grill pan or a shredded rotisserie chicken would work well too!
1 cup cooked quinoa, seasoned with ¼ t. of kosher salt while cooking
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 t. salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 T olive oil
5 oz. baby mesclun greens (or baby kale)
½ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 cup carrots, sliced into matchsticks or grated
1 cup radish, sliced into matchsticks or grated, or spiralized!
1 avocado, sliced into ½ inch cubes
4 scallions, thinly sliced
2 serrano peppers, thinly sliced
1 small cucumber, seeded and thinly sliced
4 t. sesame seeds, toasted
¼ cup lime juice (from about 2 limes), plus zest from one of the limes
1 T red chili paste
½ T chopped Serrano pepper
1 T low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
1 T fresh ginger, grated
1 T cilantro
1 ½ T honey
¼ cup olive oil
Cook quinoa according to package directions and season with ¼ t. of kosher salt. Set aside to cool.
Add all dressing ingredients except olive oil to a blender and pulse a few times. Stream in olive oil and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
Preheat a grill to medium high, about 400-450 degrees or heat a grill pan to medium high. Brush chicken breasts with 1 T of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes on each side. Set aside to cool before thinly slicing.
Toss together mint, cilantro, baby greens and quinoa with half of the dressing in a large bowl. Divide between four bowls. Arrange prepared carrots, radish, cucumber, avocado, scallions and sliced chicken around the sides of dressed greens/quinoa.
Drizzle bowls with remaining dressing or serve extra dressing on the side. Top with sesame seeds and sliced serrano chilies.
