Leftover Cookie Dessert

If you have leftover cookies, this is a good way to make use of them.Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture of it, as it was gone so quickly:)

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 5-6 big chocolate chip cookies
• 1 dark chocolate bar or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1 pack of cream cheese (8 oz)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

For the Filling

• Whipping cream (8 oz)
• 1 cup of coconut

Preparation

First you need to melt the chocolate in bain mari style. To do that boil water in a pot and while it is boiling put a small sauce pan in it and put chocolate in this small pan. Boil the water until chocolate melts

To prepare the dough grind cookies in a food processor and put them in a large bowl. Add cream cheese, chocolate, sugar and cocoa powder and knead. Then with the help of a roller make a rectangle shaped spread and put it on a stretch film.

Whip cream about 10 minutes in high speed, when it gets fluffy add coconut. Spread the cream on top of the dough and with the help of stretch film roll it. Close the edges and put it in the freezer preferably on night. If you don't have that time, keep it about 4-5 hours. Enjoy!

Leftover Cookie Dessert

If you have leftover cookies, this is a good way to make use of them.Unfortunately, I forgot to take picture of it, as it was gone so quickly:)

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 5-6 big chocolate chip cookies
• 1 bar of dark chocolate or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips
• 1 pack of cream cheese (8 oz)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

For the Filling

• Whipping cream (8 oz)
• 1 cup of coconut

Preparation

First you need to melt the chocolate in bain mari style. To do that boil water in a pot and while it is boiling put a small sauce pan in it and put chocolate in this small pan. Boil the water until chocolate melts

To prepare the dough grind cookies in a food processor and put them in a large bowl. Add cream cheese, chocolate, sugar and cocoa powder and knead. Then with the help of a roller make a rectangle shaped spread and put it on a stretch film.

Whip cream about 10 minutes in high speed, when it get fluffy add coconut. Spread the cream on top of the dough and with the help of stretch film roll it. Close the edges and put it in the freezer preferably on night. If you don't have that time, keep it about 4-5 hours. Enjoy!

Cacik (Tzatziki)

Cacik, also known as tzatziki, is a dish of seasoned, strained or diluted yogurt, eaten throughout the former Ottoman Countries.The ultimate source of the word cacık is uncertain. It is possibly a loanword from the Armenian cacıg, meaning cucumber.

This recipe is for 5 people.

Ingredients

• Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber
• Fresh dill
• Fresh mint
• 2 teaspoons dry mint
• 2 teaspoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic

Preparation

Grate cucumber, chop fresh dill and mint and mince garlic.
Take a large bowl add yogurt first, then cucumber and mix them. Add garlic, fresh dill and mint and mix again. Then add dry mint, oregano and salt. After you mix them all, take it to the bowl that you will be serving and spill olive oil evenly on the surface and sprinkle some more dry mint.You can decorate with fresh mint as well.
Enjoy!

Chocolate Lemon Bars

One of my colleague has lemon tree in her garden and she gives away lemons all the time. I was in a search of new ideas for my blog and she advised me to try lemon bars. One of my other colleague brought baking chocolate from Norway and I wanted to try them as well. So I decided to try a lemon bar with chocolate.

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of confectioners' sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 stick butter (4 oz)
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the filling

• 5 eggs
• 2 cups of confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 oz.  Norwegian dark chocolate 
• 4 lemons from Jenny's garden

Preparation

To prepare the dough take a large bowl add eggs and sugar and beat them with a mixer, then add butter at room temperature and continue beating until all ingredients mixed well. Slowly add flour and salt and keep beating.

When you have a dough that does not stick to your hand stop adding flour.

Take a rectangular or square baking pan, put baking sheet or oil on the pan and put the dough on it and spread evenly. Put some holes on the dough with the help of a fork and bake it about 15-20 minutes in 350-400 F preheated oven until its edges gets brown.

In the mean time to prepare the filling put eggs and sugar in a bowl and beat, then add vanilla extract and flour and keep beating. First peel two of the lemons with a grater and add it to the mixture, then squeeze all lemons and add the juice and beat. Lastly add the chocolate you melt in bain mari style and keep beating until they all mix well.

To melt the chocolate in bain mari style boil water in a pot and while it is boiling put a small sauce pan in it and put chocolate in this small pan. Boil the water until chocolate melts.

Take the dough from the oven and wait until it cools down, add the filling and bake about 20 minutes more. After taking from the oven, set it aside to cool down and when it is cool enough keep it in the fridge one to two hours. Take it from the fridge and cut into squares. Wait about 15 minutes to serve, otherwise confectioners sugar you sprinkle on them will melt immediately.

Enjoy!

Rice Paper Rolls

Recently I changed my diet and try to stay away from bread and pastries.However, I don't find it fulfilling to eat some spreads like hummus without bread. Thankfully I have discovered rice papers and wanted to share my first recipe with them.

Ingredients

For the Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sunflower/vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar (preferably red wine vinegar)
• 1 dessertspoon hummus
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the Filling

• 1 chicken breast
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 fresh ginger
• 2 green onions
• 7-8 medium mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon sunflower/vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin

For Rolling

• 7-8 rice papers
• 1/2 tablespoon Greek yogurt (optional)
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation

Put all ingredients for the sauce except hummus in a small bowl and mix them. Then add hummus and mix it with other ingredients well. 

Heat oil in  a large pan and add chopped chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger, black pepper and cumin and roast them until chickens turn into brown. Then add sliced mushrooms and cook them until mushrooms get smaller in size.
Lastly add the sauce and simmer it like 15-20 minutes until the sauce is all sucked. 

Take a large plate and put boiling water in it. Soak one rice paper in it like 10 seconds and take it back, make sure it is soft enough to make a roll. Put rice paper on the counter, take some of the filling and spread on the bottom part. To roll it in a proper way, first close the bottom part then sides and start rolling.

Put the rolls on a baking pan. If you want it crispy, you can apply some yogurt on it. But you need to dilute it with some water first, otherwise there will be some lumps.Also you can sprinkle some sesame seeds on the rolls for decoration.
Bake it in 400 F preheated oven about 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

Leftover CakeTruffle

I had some leftover cake and cream from Brown Velvet Cake, the best way to utilize them was to make truffle. But it turned out to be a truffle cake.

Ingredients

• Any kind of plain cake (preferably with cacao)
• 1/2 lb cream cheese 
• 1/4 cup whole butter milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of walnuts

Preparation

Put leftover cake in a blender and blend until it is crumbled.

Put chocolate chips in a small sauce pan (I used coffee pot) and put this into a boiling water in a larger pot. 

Melt the chocolate.

Take a large bowl add sugar, buttermilk and cream cheese and beat. Then add minced walnuts, melted chocolate and crumbled cake. Knead it until all ingredients mixed well.

I did not have cupcake pan, so I used small glass containers to give them shape. Cover the container with stretch film, so it will be easier to take them out.Then put a layer of coconut, dough and coconut again. You can do as many layers you want. Then cover the top with the stretch and keep in the freezer all night. Your cake will be ready next day, enjoy!

Almond Milk

I had two New Year's resolution, first one was to be vegetarian and second was to do a whole30. However, I realized these two do not work together well. So, I failed both. However I lost 10 pounds, while trying. It does not look like a failure at all:) During my six days of whole30 (that is right, I couldn't even survive one week), I have learned how to make almond milk and wanted to share.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 4 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 dessertspoon maple syrup, honey or molasses (optional)

Preparation

Soak almonds in a water about one day. After one day, you will be able to peel them easily. 

Put them with one up of water in a blender and blend couple of minutes. Then add rest of the water and other ingredients and blend couple of minutes more. 

You can drain it with a cheese cloth and a strainer and squeeze. I did not do it, since I prefer a thick one. Enjoy!

Brown Velvet Cake

I have tried to make red velvet cake. Since I did not want to use food coloring, I used beet juice. But, it did not work. However it still tastes good, worth to share.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
• 1/2 dessertspoon sea salt
• 1/2 dessertspoon baking soda
• 1 dessertspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups of beet juice
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 2 cups of confectioners' sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole buttermilk

For the icing

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 lb cream cheese
• 4 cups of confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup whole buttermilk

Preparation

Take a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until it gets fluffy, then add butter at room temperature, keep beating. Lastly add buttermilk and vanilla extract and beat until they all get mixed well. In a small bowl mix cocoa powder and beat juice and add this to the mixture and beat. 

Take another bowl and put a strainer on it. Put flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder into the bowl through the strainer. This will help them to mix better. 

Finally add this flour mixture to the other mixture and beat until it becomes a soft dough. Take a baking pan and put some butter and flour on the surface and pour the dough in it and bake in a 350 F preheated oven about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes stick a toothpick into the cake, if it comes clean, your cake is ready. If it is not, bake another 10 minutes.

In the mean time to prepare icing, beat butter and sugar in a bowl, then add buttermilk and cream cheese. Keep beating unless it gets creamy. Keep this mixture in the fridge about 1 hour. 

When your cake is baked, take it out of oven and let it rest about 30 minutes until it gets cold. Take it from the baking pan and with the help of a glass make round pieces. I preferred to do in that way, because I had a wide pan with short edges. But if you use a higher pan, you can do it all at once. 

Take a dental floss and cut the pieces in half.

Put the icing in the middle and close them. You can put icing on top or allover. You can decorate with cinnamon or cocoa powder.

Enjoy!