Recipes

Below you can find a list of different recipes that I have made. All of these are my own creations, though many of them were inspired by different recipes around the internet. Any time that I wanted to make a specific dish I would go online and search for recipes on that dish. Once I had a general idea of different peoples thoughts on the recipe, I would try my own twist on it. Usually after a few failures I was able to make something that I was both happy with, and was fully my own.


Breads

These recipes are organized by use. Even as I write this, I have a pizza dough currently sitting in the fridge, and I commonly still make the egg honey bread. I spent a lot of time experimenting with bread making, first starting with a bread machine and a simple white bread recipe. Below you can find the best and most used recipes that I currently use (12/19/2019).

Pizza Dough

5 (ish) Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

2 Cups Warm Water (120 - 120°F)
1/4 - 1/2 Cups Oil

Place sugar and yeast in large bowl. Gently mix together. Add warm water and whisk to combine. Allow mixture to sit for about 5 minutes or until the liquid has started to foam. Whisk in the oil. Add the flour and the salt. Mix together until a dough starts to form. Move from bowl to work surface and knead dough for about 10 minutes. If the dough feels too dry add water (1 teaspoon at a time), or if the dough feels too wet add flour (again, 1 teaspoon at a time). Lightly oil a large bowl and place the kneaded dough into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours (or up to a week based on how tightly you seal the dough).

Makes enough dough for 2 extra large pizzas or 3 large pizzas.


When making pizza, turn your oven on as hot as you can can. My experiance with my oven usually has me cook the pizza at 550°F for 12 minutes, then I turn the oven off and keep cooking the pizza for another 6 minutes. I then take the pizza out and let it cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting and eating. Keep in mind the order of your toppings when baking the pizza at a high temperature. You do not want easily burnable toppings on the top most layer of your pizza, or they may burn.


Honey Egg Bread

Egg Honey Bread
2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Instant Yeast
1 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup milk (or dairy free milk, or water))
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Oil
2 Large Eggs

1 Large Egg (optional: to top with egg wash)

Mix sugar and yeast together. Heat liquid to about 110°F and whisk into yeast sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, honey, and eggs. Once yeast mixture has started to foam, combine with egg mixture. Add flour and salt and combine. Place on a work surface and knead dough for 10 minutes. The dough should be rather sticky (from the eggs and honey). If you find the dough too sticky, you can add flour to it (1 teaspoon at a time). Place dough in a large oiled bowl and allow to proof for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size).

Once the dough has doubled in size you can make the dough into: challah, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, or really anything that a sweet dough works well for. Once your dough is shaped, you may want to brush it down with a beaten egg. Make sure to give your dough a chance to rise again after shaping. When baking, the internal temperature should be around 195°F.


White Bread

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Instant Yeast
1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup water (or milk, or almond milk)
1 Tablespoon Oil

Place sugar and yeast in a bowl. Gently mix together. Add warm liquid and whisk to combine. Allow mixture to sit for about 5 minutes or until the liquid starts to foam. Whisk in the oil, and then mix in the flour and salt. Place on a work surface and knead for 5 - 10 minutes. If the dough feels too wet or too dry add extra flour or liquid (1 teaspoon at a time). Oil a large bowl and place the dough into it. Cover until doubled in size.

This can be baked as a standard loaf of bread (at a temperature range of 350-450°F) or you can make special shapes or even rolls out of this. The internal temperature of bread when it is done should be between 190 - 200°F.

You can make this into a nice honey bread, by simply adding about a tablespoon of honey after you whisk in the oil.



Cakes

I started making cakes when I found myself one day really wanting something sweet. My first cake recipe was made with hot cocoa powder and a microwave. It was not a very good cake. Since then I have experimented with a few different types of cakes.

Cookies And Cream Cake

I found the following recipe online, and I have tried to make a version of it once. I found it to be delicious, so I have decided to add a link to the recipe here, as this is a cake I intend to make again.

You can find the recipe below:
Cookies And Cream Cake Recipe

The complete link to the page that has nice pictures and descriptions can be found below:
Original Website


Chocolate Cake

1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Sugar
6 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Cup Almond Milk
1/2 Boiling Water
1/4 Cup Oil
1 Large Egg
2 Teaspoons Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add almond milk, boiling water, oil, egg, and vanilla and whisk together until combined. Bake for 35 minutes.


Almond Flour Honey Cake

2 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Cloves

4 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl mix almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and ground cloves together. In a smaller mixing bowl whisk together eggs, honey, and oil. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Bake for 30-40 minutes.



Cookies

I have been making cookies almost as long as I have been making bread. Recently I have moved away from dairy free options and learned what everyone else already knew, that butter is amazing. As with the bread section, this section is currently ordered according to what I make most frequently. Below you can find the best and most used recipes that I currently use (12/19/2019).

Oatmeal Cookie

3 Cups Flour
4+ Cups Oatmeal
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (optional)
2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon (optional)
1/2 Teaspoon Espresso Powder (optional)

2 Cups Browned Butter
4 Large Eggs
2 Tablespoons Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Honey (optional)

First it is important to note that these cookies will taste far better if they are made with good browned butter, however, you can use un-browned butter or even vegan butter to make these cookies.

Also you can optionally add cinnamon, espresso powder, and honey to make a wonderful oatmeal cinnamon honey cookie. Simply add espresso powder and cinnamon when the dry ingredients are mixed together, and add the honey after you add the vanilla. If adding chocolate chips, add them right after you have mixed in the flour.

In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and baking soda. Pour in your cooled brown butter (so that the sugar does not cook, and when added neither do the eggs). Whisk together until combined. Next add in the eggs and vanilla, once again whisking to combine. Use a spatula to confirm that the mixture is fully whisked together before adding the flour. Fold into the wet mixture until just combined. One cup at a time fold in the oatmeal until the mixture is homogeneous. Chill in the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 72 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Use a spoon (or other tool) to get out about 1/4 - 1/2 Cup sized globs of cookie dough. In your hand, roll into a ball and place on baking sheet (about 6 per baking sheet). Bake for about 18 minutes (or less if cookies are small). Once the cookies come out of the oven, top with flaked or kosher salt. After about 5 minutes transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least 25 minutes.


Chocolate Chip Cookie

5 Cups Flour
2 Cups Chocolate Chips
2 Cups Packed Brown Sugar
1 Cup White Sugar
2 Teaspoons Salt
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Espresso Powder

2 Cups Browned Butter
4 Large Eggs
2 Tablespoons Vanilla

First it is important to note that these cookies will taste far better if they are made with good browned butter, however, you can use un-browned butter or even vegan butter to make these cookies.

In a large bowl whisk together the brown sugar, white sugar, salt, baking soda, and espresso powder. Pour in your cooled brown butter (so that the sugar does not cook, and when added neither do the eggs). Whisk together until combined. Next add in the eggs and vanilla, once again whisking to combine. Use a spatula to confirm that the mixture is fully whisked together before adding the flour. Gently fold in the flour until just combined. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Chill dough in the fridge for 12 - 72 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Use a spoon (or other tool) to get out about ¼ - ½ Cup sized globs of cookie dough. In your hand, roll into a ball and place on baking sheet (about 6 per baking sheet). Bake for about 18 minutes (or less if cookies are small). Once the cookies come out of the oven, top with flaked or kosher salt. After about 5 minutes transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least 25 minutes.


Snickerdoodle Cookie

2 3/4 Cups Flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cups Sugar
2 Teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Vegan Butter
2 Large Eggs
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Topping
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon


In a large bowl whisk together partially melted butter(about 80% melted such that it is near a liquid but still shows signs of being a solid), brown sugar, and sugar together. Add in eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add 1 cup of flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt and carefully mix together. Add the rest of the flour and mix together until well combined. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Scoop out a piece of dough about 1/4 cup in size. Roll into a ball with your hands, and then roll into the cinnamon sugar recipe. Place as many of these balls of cookie dough as you can on a baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Bake for 16-20 minutes (depending on how big each cookie is).


Chocolate Sandwich Cookie

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cups Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/4 Cups Vegan Butter
2 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Filling
4 Ounces Vegan Cream Cheese
3/4 Cups Powdered Sugar Sugar
1 Tablespoon Extract (flavor of your choice)
2 Drops Food Coloring (color of your choice)


In a large bowl whisk together partially melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until fully combined. Chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

To make the filling place the vegan cream cheese in a small bowl and add the extract and food coloring. Mix together as well as you can (it will be difficult to mix well). Mix in 1/4 cup powdered sugar at a time. Once all the sugar is mixed in, use a whisk to fully combine everything.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using a strong tablespoon measurer (or a small spoon) scoop out about 1/2 Tablespoon of cookie dough and it into a ball. Place with at least 1 1/2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 11 minutes.

Once the cookies are baked and fully cooled, you can make the cookie sandwiches. Take a cookie and turn it upside down, place about 1 teaspoon of filling on cookie, and place another cookie on top of it and gently squeeze down.
The cookie sandwiches need to be chilled for about 30 minutes to help the filling set before eating.


Lemon Sandwich Cookie

3 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup Vegan Butter
2 Large Eggs
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Lemon Extract
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1-2 Drops Yellow Food Coloring

Filling
4 Ounces Vegan Cream Cheese
3/4 Cups Powdered Sugar Sugar
1 Tablespoon Extract (flavor of your choice)
2 Drops Food Coloring (color of your choice)


The directions for making this cookie are mostly the same as the Chocolate Sandwich Cookie recipe, except that you add lemon juice, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring to the liquid ingredients, and you do not add cocoa powder with the dry ingredients. These cookie sandwiches are baked and assembled the same as the chocolate variant.

I personally recommend making these cookies with a lemon filling, and eating them while they are still chilled from the fridge.


Bar Cookie

2 1/4 Cups Flour
2 Cups Oatmeal*
1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips*
1 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 Cup Oil
2 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

*You can include either or both oatmeal and chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl mix together flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix with a spatula until fully combined. If adding oatmeal add 1 cup at a time and mix until combined. If adding chocolate chips add them now and gently mix them in. Place the cookie dough in a 9x13 pan (or smaller for taller bars). Bake for 25-35 minutes.



Other Desserts

Here you can find a variety of other desserts that I have experimented making.

Apple Pie

3 Pounds of Sliced Cored Apples (around 6-9 depending on size)
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Teaspoon Lemon Juice

1 Pie Crust


Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix the sliced apples, brown sugar, sugar, flour, sinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice together. It may be easiest to use a combination of both a fork and a wooden spoon to do this. Each slice of apple should be covered. Place the apple mixture onto a pie crust. If you have a top crust place it on top of the filling. Bake for 20 minutes, then cover the edges of the crust and continue baking for another 40 minutes.


Chocolate Chip Brownies

2 Cups Sugar
1 1/3 Cups Flour
3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

2 eggs
2/3 Cup Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Boiling Water
1 Tablespoon Vanilla

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl whisk together cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and oil. Whisk in eggs, oil, boiling water, and vanilla. Whisk the sugar in until combined. Using a spatula mix in the flour.
Pour into a 9x13 inch pan and top with chocolate chips. Bake for 35-45 minutes. You want to remove it just before a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Lemon Bars

Bottom Crust:
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
12 Tablespoons Vegan Butter
1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Lemon Filling:
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
3 Tablespoons Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Large Eggs
3/4 Cups Lemon Juice
2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract

To make the bottom crust, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Melt the butter and pour it and the 2 extracts onto the flour mixture. Press the wet ingredients into the dry until it forms a crumbly stiff dough. Press the dough evenly into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Chill the crust by either placing it in the freezer for 5 minutes, or the fridge for 30 minutes. While the crust is chilling preheat the oven to 325°F. Once the crust is chilled, bake for 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
To make the lemon filling, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. Whisk in the eggs, then add the lemon juice and extract. Whist together until smooth. Pour the lemon filling onto a just baked (and still hot) crust. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes until the filling has just set (the middle still may not have fully set). Cool completly uncovered.


Dairy Free Pie Crust (12/19/2019)

2 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon (optional)

1 Cup Crisco (they come in 1 Cup bars)
1/4 - 1/2 Cups cold water.

This recipe makes enough pie crust for two 9 inch crusts.

In a medium bowl mix together flour, salt, and sugar. Add the bar of crisco, and with your hands mix it into the flour mixture. The goal is to end up with a mostly combined dough, while at the same time being careful to not overwork the dough and develop gluten. Once the dough just starts to come together add the cold water (just enough that the dough forms). Place the dough on a work surface and cut dough in half. Shape it into either a circle or a rectangle (depending on what the pie crust is for) and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.



Meals

Below are a variety of meals that can be made as a dinner. These are some of my more common meals that I make for myself. A few years ago I was regularly making stew every week for myself, but I have sense had a change in taste and now more regularly make chicken pot pie, pasta, or pizza for myself. Every now and then I still make a big pot of stew, but it has become more rare.

Pasta Dough

1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Semolina Flour
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Large Eggs

In a medium bowl mix the all purpose flour, semolina flour, and salt together. Form a small impression (or well) in the center of the flour mixture and crack the eggs into the well. Using a fork whisk the eggs together while slowly incorporating the flour into the beaten eggs. Once a rough sticky dough starts to form, pour out onto a work surface. Knead by hand for 10 - 20 minutes until a rather smooth dough forms. You may need to add flour to the dough as it will be very sticky, but be careful as the un-kneaded dough should be sticky. If after kneading the dough still feels too sticky add very small amounts of flour to it at a time. If you find the dough becomes too dry (which can happen from kneading) add small amounts of water to the dough. When you have finished kneading the dough it should be rather smooth, and pressing a finger into it, the dough should bounce back most of the way. Cover completely in plastic wrap and allow the dough (and gluten) to rest for about an hour.

You can roll the dough out either by hand, or with a machine. Make sure to only work with as much dough as you have work space. If you think your work space is small, try cutting off a fourth of the dough and see if you have enough space to roll it out thinly.

When cooking the pasta make sure your water is well salted (not oiled) and that the water is at a rolling boil before adding the pasta. The cook time will depend on the size of your pasta. I have never needed more than 4 minutes (even for the thickest of pastas that I have made).


Chicken Pot Pie

4 Cups Chicken Stock
1 - 2 Pounds Boneless Skinless Cooked Chicken
1 - 3 Pounds Cooked Broccoli
1 Cup Caramelized Onions
1/4 Cup Oil
1/4 Cup Flour

1 Double Layer Pie Crust

First roll out the bottom of your pie crust in a 9x13 inch dish and bake for about 15 minutes at 350°F oven. While your crust is baking, heat the oil in a large pot. Once the oil is heated, whisk in the flour, and cook for a few minutes until the oil flour mixture has thickened a bit, and the flour has started to cook off. Next add the chicken stock, and whisk until it starts to simmer. As the mixture starts to simmer, add the onions. Next add the chicken and broccoli. Cover and allow to cook simmer for about 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add any salt or pepper that may be needed (or any other spices you may want, such as garlic). Fill your partially pre-baked pie crust, and cover with the other half of your crust.

Bake at 400°F for 10 - 15 minutes, before reducing the temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 45 minutes or so. You will probably end up with left over filling. You can either bake this without a crust separately or simply eat it.

You can consider adding other vegetables to this, however I personally am I very picky eater, and the recipe above is what I enjoy to eat. Carrots or celery can help bring out more of a standard chicken pot pie flavor. Also consider replacing the broccoli with peas.


Meat Stew

4 lbs Ground Beef (or any meat, ground or chunks)
3 lbs Broccoli

1/4 Cup Oil
30 Ounces Tomato Sauce
32 Ounces Unsweetened Almond Milk

6 Tablespoons Dried Minced Onions
4 Tablespoons Cumin
4 Tablespoons Paprika
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
2 Tabelspoons Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Jalapeno Powder
1 1/2 Teaspoonss Cyan Pepper Powder


Start by adding the oil to a large pot and cooking the meat. If using ground meat you want the meat fully cooked, while if using chunks you may only want to get some texture on the outside. Next, add the tomato sauce and almond milk. Mix until the tomato sauce and almond milk have combined. Cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Mix all the spices in, recover, and let simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the broccoli (uncooked) about 1 pound at a time (until the broccoli starts to cook sinks below the water level). Cover and let simmer for 1 hour. Uncover, and let simmer for 1 more hour.