Ingredients:
(Makes 4 dozen cookies)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

Method:
In a large bowl whisk the flour with the salt.

In the bowl beat the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the vanilla extract. Gently stir the flour mixture just until incorporated. Fold in the chopped pistachios and dried cranberries. Make sure that the nuts and cranberries are evenly distributed throughout the dough.(I had to switch to using my hands, kind of like when you make pizza dough, to form the dough together.)

Divide the dough in half. Place each half on a piece of wax paper. Roll the dough on the counter, along with the paper to form a smooth log. Twist the ends of the paper to seal the logs, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least two hours, or up to three days. (At this point, you can freeze the logs, for up to 2 months. Or remove aftr 2 hours, slice as noted below and freeze in an airtight container separating each disc with was/parchment paper.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F . Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Using a sharp knife, slice the logs into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick cookies. Place the cookies on the lined baing sheet and bake for about 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cookies are just beginning to brown around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Verdict: Buttery crust with flecks of green and red, the pistachios get toasted in the buttery crust and taste awesome. This is the best shortbread I have made so far.

The post Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookies first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Summer is here, and I mean really here. This year Seattle has seen several days in the 90s even before the 4th of July weekend – which often times is when summer officially starts in Seattle. It is super warm and I have a recipe here that is perfect for the summer days – a cool and refreshing breakfast that is both filling and nutritious. To be honest, I am never a big fan of having something cold for breakfast. I even warm my milk slightly for cereal and never use it straight out of the fridge. The only exception to this is yogurt and my granola parfait with yogurt – until I discovered overnight oats.

In case you don’t know what overnight oats is, it is a no cook method of eating oats, and you can flavor it any way you want. You just add all the ingredients into a jar, stir to combine and set it in the fridge overnight, and voila you have creamy yummy oats that you can grab on the go. I have used here one of my most favorite flavor combinations: orange and cranberry. You can just use milk, yogurt and a bit of vanilla. I have added chia seeds and hemp seeds to make it more nutritious and filling.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup milk(substitute with almond milk if you want to make it vegan)
1/3 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup oats(rolled oats is typically used, I’ve used steel cut oats)
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tbsp hemp seeds
2 tbsp sweetened dried cranberries
1 tbsp toasted sliced almonds

Method:
Whisk together the orange juice, yogurt, and milk. Stir in the oats, chia seeds, hemp seeds and cranberries. Place in a mason jar or a clean glass pyrex bowl. Place overnight in the fridge. Remove, top with sliced almonds and thin with more milk/juice as needed.

Verdict: This is by far the easiest breakfast that you can ever fix yourself. You can make several individual serving portions and store them in mason jars to grab as you go to school/work etc. And the flavor combinations are endless!

The post Orange Cranberry Almond Overnight Oats first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

With my resolve to do at least a post a month on my blog, the next recipe I have is “Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies”. This recipe is adapted from Martha Stewart, and has a rich chocolate flavor – from 3 different types of chocolate: melted unsweetened chocolate, cocoa powder and chocolate chips. The cranberries add a nice bite and a tart flavor in comparison with the rich chocolate flavor. I never would have thought that cranberries and chocolate put together would make such a divine combination, but now I know. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
10 oz coarsely chopped unsweetened chocolate
1 cup all purpose flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup dried cranberries(I used craisins)
1 1/2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place the unsweetened chocolate in a microwaveable bowl, and microwave in 1 minute increments, stirring the chocolate thoroughly in between every minute until it is completely melted. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in melted chocolate. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined (do not overmix).Fold in the chocolate chips and cranberries.

Drop dough 3 inches apart, onto the parchment lined baking sheets. Bake the cookies until edges are dry and tops are cracked, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.Let stand on sheets 3 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool.

Verdict: What can beat chocolate, and three different kinds of chocolate in this recipe – is bound to fulfill all your chocolate cravings. The cranberries add an amazing flavor here, cutting through the richness of the chocolate. Cherry would make a great substitute for the cranberries too.

The post Triple Chocolate Cranberry Cookies first appeared on Denny's Recipes.

Ever since I had the scones at the Empress hotel in Victoria, I wanted to make flaky melt in the mouth scones like the ones offered there. I also wanted it to be healthy, and was looking at different recipes. I finally fudged several recipes together to come up with this recipe. It really is a healthy recipe, that could easily substitute for cereal in the morning – because it has barley flakes, whole wheat flour and cranberries, plus the orange which acts as a refreshing wake up to your palate. The quantity really works for me, because it only makes 4 normal sized scones, or 8 mini scones. These scones are perfect for a to go breakfast or as a snack with tea in the evenings.

Ingredients
1/4 cup all purpose flour + 1 1/2 tbsp flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup rolled barley
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 large egg
2 tbsp cream
2 clementines/1 regular orange

Method:
Zest the clementines and juice them. Set the juice and zest aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the all purpose flour, wheat flour, baking powder and salt. Using a fork, crumble the butter into the flour, until the mixture becomes coarse. Add the sugar. Stir in the cranberries, barley flakes and the orange zest.

In a seperate bowl, beat the egg with the cream. Stir this into the flour mixture and stir with a fork. Add the reserved orange juice as necessary for it to make a dough, kind of like chapati dough, but softer and more moist. I used up only 1 tbsp of juice, but it depends on the brand of wheat flour you use. I used chapati flour. Pat this dough into a disc. Cut with a knife into four equal triangles. Place these triangles on plate and put it in the freezer just until you preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

When the oven has preheated, place the scones on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until flaky and golden brown.

Verdict: These scones were super refreshing. I wolfed one down right after it came out of the oven(the cook’s gotta taste), thats why you see only 3 scones in the pictures. The oranges made this bright and the flecks of cranberries added a nice tart taste. It would be hard to believe that this scone has barley and whole wheat flour, coss it is soooo melt in your mouth good.

Sending these cuties to ‘Breakfast Club – Berries’, event by Helen of ‘Fuss free flavors’.

Also sending to ‘Veggie/Fruit of the Month: Orange’ event series by Priya.

The post Cranberry Orange Barley Scones first appeared on Denny's Recipes.