EASY KOLACHE COOKIES

There are many different styles (and spellings) for Kolache cookies; some are made with yeast, some made with cream cheese, some are round, some are rolled up.

This recipe is a cream cheese and butter crust that bakes up light as air and flaky and sweet. Instead of using dried fruit (like some recipes call for), it uses jam (any flavor you like) They are truly delicious and look SO PRETTY on any cookie tray.

2  1/4  cups all purpose flour
1  cup butter at room temperature
8  ounces full fat cream cheese at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix flour and salt and set aside. NOTE: If you are using UNsalted butter, increase the salt in this recipe to 1/2 teaspoon. 

In a stand mixer, beat the room temperature butter + the room temperature cream cheese + sugar and vanilla on medium high speed for 3 minutes.

After you have beaten the butter-cream cheese for 3 minutes, slowly add the flour-salt  mixture (I usually add it in fourths), mixing well after each addition.

Divide the dough in half and shape into two flat disks about 3/4" thick. Cover and chill for about an hour.

After the dough has chilled for an hour, turn it out on a counter that has been coated with GRANULATED SUGAR. Roll dough to 1/8" thickness and make sure the sugar coats both sides of the dough (this dough is VERY easy to work).

NOTE: If you are like me, I often don't get back to this dough within an hour and it is rock hard when I go to roll it out. If that happens, just let it sit out at room temperature for about 20 minutes and it will soften up enough to be workable. 

Cut dough into (roughly) 2 1/2 inch squares. Pick up each square and pinch two opposite corners together (see above photo). Lay it on a parchment lined baking sheet and spoon 1/4 teaspoon of favorite jam into each end of the cookie. Personally, I like to do this step with a disposable frosting bag and I just squirt it into each end opening.

Bake in preheated 375° oven for 12 to 14 minutes (my electric oven takes exactly 12 minutes). Cool on wire rack.

ENJOY !!

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BAKED ONION RINGS

Don't let this terrible photo fool you, these BAKED onion rings are delicious, light as air, super crispy and packed with flavor!!

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1 medium size (sweet) onion*
1 1/2 cups corn flakes
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 large egg
1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
1/4 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pepper to taste
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Cut both ends off of an onion and then cut the onion into four thick slices. Separate the rings.

Put the corn flakes and bread crumbs in the food processor and pulse until you get fine crumbs, then put them in a bowl and set aside.
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In a separate bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk, flour, cayenne and black pepper. 
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Dip the raw onion rings into the batter and then set them on a baking rack so the excess batter drips off.
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Put 2 tablespoons canola oil on a rimmed baking sheet and put it in a 450 degree oven for 2 minutes to preheat. 

After 2 minutes, remove the pan and tilt it around to redistribute the oil. Quickly coat the battered rings into the dry bread crumb mixture and place on the hot baking sheet.

Bake for 16 minutes at 450 (turn them over half way through). Remove from oven and sprinkle with kosher salt.

*NOTE: I don't know if these would be as good with a plain yellow onion. We like sweet onions.

ENJOY !!!

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How To Eat Well On A Budget

 

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Whether you are a working person, a parent, a student living in student accommodation, there is liking to be a moment in your life where you want to reduce your food bill whilst not sacrificing the quality of the food you eat. 

Unless you have an unlimited budget, you may have noticed that eating nutritious food can sometimes become pricey. 

The good news is that there are ways that you can manage to eat well without breaking the bank. All you have to do is follow these tips. 

Have A Meal Plan

Knowing what food you will be eating for the coming week will save you money. Having that plan in place is the crucial step. Once you have decided what you will be eating you can then create a shopping list of the ingredients needed to make those meals. 

When doing this it is also helpful to double-check what you have in, what needs eating. This can potentially influence your meal plan and save you from needing to buy or waste food. 

Only Buy What You Need

You have planned your meals and compiled a list of what you need to buy, now all you have to do is stick to it. 

How many times have you added extra bits to your trolley or basket when you’ve been shopping?

It is through doing that, that your bill increases and you end up with wasted food.

The goal here is to remain focused. Don’t get caught up on those ‘special buys’. Buy only what you need. 

Don’t Eat Out

Home cooked meals are cheaper than eating out. You aren’t paying someone to cook. When you look at the cost of a meal out, you tend to find you could buy and make multiple meals or feed more people for the same price. 

Changing your habits to cook more at home, rather than making impulsive decisions to eat out will save you in the long term. That doesn’t mean you can have delicious food, but instead of opting for a takeaway or eating out, create a fakeaway instead.

You might find yourself less tempted to go out for meals if you batched cooked and prepared your weekly meals in advance. So that at the end of each day you have less time needed on the actual preparation of the cooking aspect. 

Plan Your Leftovers 

Depending on how much you have cooked, or the amount of people you are cooking for, it can be easy to find yourself with leftover food at the end of the meal. 

Having leftovers is a great way to keep your food costs down. There are so many ways that they can be used. 

You may choose to have the leftovers for the following day’s lunch, freeze them and have a ready-made meal ready for the future when you don’t have the time to cook from scratch, incorporating it into another meal such as a pie, stew, stir fry or casserole as a few examples. You could use them in a sandwich, make a salad. 

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