Unfussy

Horchata Crispy Treats

Unfussy
It’s back to school so that means keep it simple. I wanted to doctor up rice crispy treats so I added plenty of cinnamon and vanilla for Horchata-inspired treats. They taste like fall is just around the corner.
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 9 ounces (250g) marshmallows
  • 3.5 ounces (100g) Marshmallow Fluff
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 1/4 cups (190g) Rice Krispies
  • Extra cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Line an 8″ square pan with parchment. Grease the parchment.

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add cinnamon and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add marshmallows and stir until melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Gently stir in Rice Krispies until uniformly coated in marshmallow mixture. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.

Press into prepared pan. Let sit several hours. Cut into giant squares.

Peach Crumb Cake

Breakfast, Unfussy

Cake:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp. almond extract
  • 3 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches

Crumb Topping:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line a 9×13″ pan.

Make Cake: Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix well to combine. Stir in baking soda and salt. Add the flour, one third at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Stir in almond extract and half of the peaches. Spread into the prepared pan.

Sprinkle remaining half of the peaches evenly over the top of the cake.

Make Crumb: Whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt together. Pour in butter and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture is evenly moistened.

Spread crumb mixture evenly over the cake batter. Bake at 350°F for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

My Hero Bread

Bread, Unfussy

I keep making this bread – it’s essentially Jimmy John’s bread and I often hollow out the inside like they do before I build the sandwich for a better bread-to-filling ratio. Anytime I find a bread recipe that calls for making a starter hours before, I just use sourdough starter since it’s already percolating in the refrigerator.

  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 TBSP kosher salt
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp. yeast
  • 4 TBSP canola oil
  • 1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (115g) unfed sourdough starter

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low until a rough dough has formed, about 3 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Mix on low for another 7-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into quarters. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets.

Gently roll the dough into 4 uniform loaves, about 14″ long (or the length of the baking sheet). Place 2 loaves on each baking sheet about 6″ apart. Spray or brush the loaves with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Bake for 30 minutes until light golden brown. Enjoy within 24 hours, or freeze until ready to use for best results.

Iced Lemon Cookies

Cookies, Unfussy
This is my mom’s old-fashioned sugar cookie recipe gussied up with lemon zest and tart lemon icing. It’s just what the doctor ordered.

Cookies:

  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • Zest from 2 lemons
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 TBSP milk
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • sugar for topping

Icing:

  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 2 TBSP butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt. 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

Scoop or roll dough into balls about the size of golf balls. Roll each ball in granulated sugar. Place on prepared cookie sheet and press down with a glass until the cookie is 1/2″ thick.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just starting to brown on the edges.

Let cool completely before icing.

Stir together lemon juice, soft butter and powdered sugar until thick and spreadable. Thin with additional lemon juice, or thicken with additional powdered sugar until you reach a consistency that is thin enough to spread without dripping off the cookies.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies

Cookies, Unfussy
This is a great cookie jar cookie that can be enjoyed literally any time of day. I recommend a cookie for breakfast, a cookie for lunch and then a sensible dinner- it’s really working for me. A little coconut oil makes the texture perfect and they stay that way for days.
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup salted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheets with parchment.

Cream butter, coconut oil, sugar and brown sugar together until very light and uniform in color, scraping bowl when necessary. Add peanut butter and mix to combine.

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat to blend well, then vanilla, scraping bowl as needed.

Add flour and baking soda and mix until well blended.

Finally, add oats, coconut and peanuts and stir to combine well.

Scoop or shape into balls (whatever size you like- I like golf-ball size at the very least) and place on prepared baking sheets. Press down with a fork in a criss-cross pattern so they are about 1/2″ thick.

Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (or longer, depending on the size), until just starting to brown on the edges. Let cool before removing from cookie sheet.