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We love us some granola.  About a year a half ago we started making granola and now it’s a standard at our house every other week or so.  But after sticking to the same(although quite delicious) recipe, it’s growing a little bit stale from frequent use.

The recipe I came across in my new Farm Chicks in the Kitchen cookbook brought a completely new spin to our granola tastebuds.  I perused the ingredients: unsweetened coconut, pecans, crunchy peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon.  Just the change of pace we needed to refresh our yogurt bowls.

I’ve made this recipe twice now and it’s going in the regular granola rotation.

Crunchy Granola
from the The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

• 6 cups old fashioned oats
• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups pecan halves
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1/2 packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the granola: Heat the oven to 325 degrees.  Combine the oats, coconut, and pecans in a large mixing bowl. Combine the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until smooth.  Pour over the oat mixture and stir until well combined.

Bake the granola: Line a large shallow baking pan with foil and spread the mixture in the pan.  Bake until browned-about 50 minutes-stirring every 10 minutes with a large spatula.  Cool in the pan on a wire rack; then stir once more.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Notes: The granola comes together quickly.  The cooking time takes patience but it’s the best way to get the granola evenly toasted and yet not burned.  I’ve had the best luck finding unsweetened coconut at Whole Foods.  I don’t recommend storing it in the freezer between uses, it’s very hard to separate a cup of coconut from a white frozen block.  Try the fridge instead.

As New Years approached I found myself thinking about black-eyed peas.  Not an original thought, I give you, but mine dated back to all the times I sat at my Grannie’s table eating black-eyed peas with some home-grown hot sauce.  I emailed my Aunt for a few basics on how to cook up my bag of peas, but before I heard back from her we happened on this tempting recipe and went with it.  Let me tell you, we’ve enjoyed this pot of black-eyed beauties for several days.  For the first and second day we enjoyed them as a side to our pork chops, but by day 3 when the broth only seem to grow more flavorful, we threw in a handful of cooked rice, called it soup and starting dishing the bowls.

I don’t have a picture of the fully cooked recipe, so go ahead and make your own and send me a picture when you get a chance.

Hop over here to get the full, printable recipe.

Notes: We skipped the tabasco during the cooking phase and added it at our plates, in order to keep this kid friendly.  If you’re feeling brave in this New Year, go for the spice from the start.  The finished pot also needed an extra toss of salt and pepper.  We tried serving these over cooked rice the first night and it was fine but they were actually much better on their own, no stingy rice trying to dull down the flavors.
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You should make these cookies immediately if you:

• Breathe
• Like the combination of chocolate and peppermint
• Are addicted to Trader Joe’s Chocolate Peppermint Joe Joe’s
• Have long curly-hair and live around the corner from me
• Happen to be my best friend who lives in Texas

After planning a cranberry dessert for Mr. Darcy, my sister and I set our minds to find something less fruit-flavored as a second offering.  We decided to give my new cookbook a test run with this recipe for Peppermint Patty Cookies.  Lovely, lovely goodness, and not at all difficult.  Just give yourself an extra hour to chill the dough. Well, hurry, you’ll need to get started now if you’re going to eat them soon.

Don’t let the title, Peppermint Patties, fool you. I don’t even like peppermint patties. Think Peppermint hot chocolate cookie.  Get your beaters ready.

Peppermint Patties(or Peppermint Oreos)
from the The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen

• 14 tbs unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 tbs
• 1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1  1/2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 tsp milk or light cream
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips(or bittersweet bar, such as Scharffen-Berger)

Prepare the dough:
Cream 10 tbs butter in large bowl. Add granulated and brown sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, and salt with the mixer on low speed, beating until combined.  Roll the dough into a 10 x 2 inch log, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Bake the cookies:
Preheat 375 degrees.  Cut dough into 1/4 inch slices.  Place 1 inch apart on sheet(they will not spread).  Beat until just firm to the touch, 7-8 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool(cookies will break if you allow them to cool on cookie sheet).

Fill the cookies:
Cream the remaining butter, confectioner’s sugar, peppermint extract, and milk in a small bowl with mixer until blended. Sandwich the cooled cookies with filling.

(We almost skipped this next step, but decided at the last minute to dip a handful of them and they really completed the taste.)

Dip the Cookies:
Melt chocolate of choice, dip half cookie in melted chocolate and place on parchment or wax paper until chocolate is firm.

Notes: We added the green and red tint to the cream for added snap to these cookies.  Next time, to mimic the TJ’s cookies that we love so much, I’ll crush a few candy canes or peppermints into tiny pieces and mix it into the filling before adding to the cookies.