easy Archives - Just J.Faye

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

November 14, 2017 by Jenna

The days are dark and cold. Let’s make brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Actually, it’s not that cold. It was 70 degrees yesterday. Boo. I’ll take cool temps and a light dusting of snow, please.

Warm or cold, it is that time of year. That time to eat everything pumpkin. You know, just before we switch to peppermint and molasses. I’ve been taking full advantage the season – beer, bread, lattes, soup, smoothies, pasta, pancakes, yogurt, bars, and cookies. Obviously, cookies.

These brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are super easy to make. Let me sum it up – brown the butter. Whisk in the sugars and wet ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill. Bake. Eat.

It’s truly that simple.

You could make it easier on yourself and just use melted butter instead of brown butter, but don’t. Brown butter is just too good and it’s not that difficult to make. If I can do it, you surely can.

In other news, yesterday marked eight weeks since my heart surgery. EIGHT WEEKS. Honestly, I still haven’t completely wrapped my head around the fact that it happened. But it did. I have the scars to prove it.

My recovery has been going extremely well (except for that time my incision got infected and I had to take antibiotics for four weeks). I have been lucky to have a strong, supportive network and can’t thank people enough for reaching out with kind words and positive vibes.

I have been going to a cardiac rehab class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for the last 4 weeks. Here I am connected to a heart monitor and do 40 minutes of cardio and a few minutes of strength training and stretching. I have been working my way up to running during the cardio portion and got up to 25 minutes of running yesterday (intervals of 5-minutes jogging with 2-minutes walking). I hate (and am terrible at) running on treadmills, but it feels great to work up a sweat.

Since the cardiac rehab has helped build up my cardiac endurance and confidence Michael and I decided it was finally time to head out on a hike last weekend. I woke up so excited on Saturday you would have thought I was an 8-year-old on Christmas morning! We did Mount Galbraith on Saturday and White Ranch on Sunday for a total of about 9.5 miles for the weekend. I think we were both a little bit nervous, but we took things slow and steady and didn’t run into any issues. I didn’t even feel any waves of lightheadedness like I always had this summer. It was so wonderful to be outside and hiking through the foothills with Michael again! I kind of tear up just thinking about it. Haha.

It’s been quite the journey and now it’s time to focus on increasing my cardio endurance, gaining back muscle tone, and eating brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Brown Butter Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time

80 mins

Cook time

13 mins

Total time

1 hour 33 mins

The hardest part about making these brown butter pumpkin chocolate chip cookies is to not eat them all before sharing with friends.

Serves: 2½ dozen

Ingredients

½ cup butter
1 ice cube
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup pumpkin puree
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
⅓ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon all spice
½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Brown the butter. To do this melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the melted butter until it becomes golden brown in color and has a nutty smell.
Pour browned butter into a large bowl and whisk in an ice cube. It will froth a little.
Once the brown butter has cooled for a minute or two whisk in the sugars, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Fold in the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for an hour (up to 24 hours).
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll dough into balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Bake for 9-13 minutes.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then move them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Make sure to check out these other pumpkin recipes: pumpkin oreo bars, chocolate pumpkin snack cake, brown butter pumpkin bars & hearty, healthy pumpkin soup.

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake

July 18, 2017 by Jenna

A quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It’s a moist, chocolaty cake that is studded with fresh zucchini – a delicious summertime dessert!

On Sunday I was going to go hike a 14er, but for a variety of reasons and factors I ended up not doing it. This meant that I had an entire free day to myself. No people to see. No things to do. No commitments. It ended up being quite luxurious.

After some strength training at the gym, a walk to the farmer’s market, and a little reading outside on the patio I decided to dig out The Duesterhoeft Café cookbook and whip up something from my family’s collection of recipes.

Since it’s the time of year when my fridge is stocked with zucchini I landed on the chocolate zucchini cake. Also, chocolate cake on a Sunday (or any other day, really) is never a bad idea. Ever.

The cake comes together very quickly. First, cream together the butter, oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Next, stir in the zucchini and finally, mix in the dry ingredients. The batter is a little bit looser compared normal cake batter, due to the moisture from all the zucchini.

Pour the batter into a 9×9 baking dish and sprinkle it with chocolate chips and brown sugar. The chocolate chips and brown sugar melt together in the oven and form a sort of caramely, crispy layer on top.

I hope that doesn’t sound gross/weird. I just don’t know how else to explain it!

The cake has a nice, light crumb and the perfect amount of chocolaty flavor.

Cut a generous slice and top it with a dollop of ice cream. Grab a glass of wine and a good book. Then take everything outside to enjoy.

If that’s not a lovely summer evening, I don’t know what is!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

A quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. It's a moist, chocolaty cake that is studded with fresh zucchini - a delicious summertime dessert!

Serves: 16 pieces

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
¼ cup canola oil
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
heaping ¾ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup buttermilk
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cup flour
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup brown sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grate zucchini and set aside in a strainer to drain excess water. You will need one cup.
In the large bowl of an electric mixer, add the oil, butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Beat on high for 2-3 minutes.
Mix in the zucchini.
Add in the buttermilk, baking soda, flour, and cinnamon and mix on low until everything is combined.
Pour batter into an ungreased 9x9 cake pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and brown sugar.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

Notes

Try to drain most of the water from the zucchini. I’ll usually let mine sit in a strainer for a few minutes and then soak up some moisture with a couple paper towels.

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand (do people normally?) replace it with ¼ cup milk (dairy, almond, soy, whatever) mixed with 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice. Stir it up and let it sit for a minute or two before using.

Adding ¼ cup chopped walnuts on top with the chocolate chips and brown sugar would be a delicious idea.

This recipe can be easily doubled and baked in a 9x13 pan.

My mom likes to store it in the fridge, but it's delicious stored at room temperature as well!

My mom’s personal notes on the recipe in the cookbook: “I love zucchini from the garden; raw, sauteed, roasted, baked into breads and muffins, and especially baked into this cake recipe. My mom would make this often in the summer. I like to keep it in the fridge… no reason, I just like it that way. This recipe is in honor of my mother’s good friend Marlys Stockman from Plato.”

More The Duesterhoeft Cafe cookbook recipes: Coconut Coffee Cake, Rhubarb Cake, and Basic Banana Bread.

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Easy, Healthy Stovetop Granola

March 23, 2016 by Jenna

Granola. I love it. However, I don’t let myself buy it. I love it too much and when I have it in my cupboard I risk bingeing on it. Not ok. Store bought granola tends to be sold in large quantities with high amounts of sugar and it’s just not what I need.

Luckily, when I have that granola craving, this recipe for easy, healthy stovetop granola comes to the rescue. It’s makes a small batch and is low in sugar, simple to make, healthy, and super delicious.

This is what I need, but is also what I want.

Not only is it healthy and easy to make – it’s ready in under 10 minutes! – but it also is super customizable both in terms of mix-ins and serving suggestions. So many possibilities.

Get the recipe over at Minneapolis Running and start enjoying this easy, healthy stovetop granola immediately!

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Chocolate Cherry Almond Pistachio Date Bars

February 17, 2016 by Jenna

You know when you get hangry and it’s the absolute worst? Yeah, me too.

Let’s prevent future hangry episodes with these chocolate cherry almond pistachio date bars.

They are…

Easy to make – just a few minutes!
Very portable – take them with you anywhere!
Super healthy – full of whole, good-for-you ingredients!
Way delicious – chocolate chips, cherries, almonds, pistachios, dates, what’s not to love?!

So why wouldn’t you make them?!

Get the recipe on Minneapolis Running!

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Sweet and Salty Snack Mix (Highly Addictive!!)

December 22, 2015 by Jenna

I’m sorry.

This snack mix.

It’s sweet. It’s salty. It’s snack mix. It’s sweet and salty snack mix… and it’s ridiculously addicting.

That’s why I need to apologize.

A combination of pretzels, Fritos, Chex, and nuts are coated with a caramely mix of butter, brown sugar, and honey to make this delicious and sinful treat.

My mom’s friend Brenda introduced this sweet and salty snack mix to us. I praise and curse her name every time I have it. So good, but so bad.

I mean, look at it! I die.

The fact that this recipe is absurdly easy to make doesn’t help the situation either. In less than 10 minutes you will have this glorious mix cooling on your table and will have already figured out that the Fritos are your favorite part. But you’ll keep testing to see if maybe, just maybe, the pretzels are your favorite.

(they aren’t)

After this cools immediately pack it up and bring it to a party. You won’t be able to trust yourself alone with it.

I’ve learned this the hard way. Many times.

Sweet and Salty Snack Mix

Prep time

6 mins

Total time

6 mins

Warning: This sweet & salty snack mix is highly addictive! It’s also super easy to make and is great for a crowd. It's the perfect snack to bring to your next party!

Ingredients

6 cups Chex cereal
6 cups pretzels
5 cups Fritos
2 ½ cups mixed roasted nuts (or a nut of your choice)
1 cup butter
½ cup honey (or Karo syrup)
2 cups brown sugar

Instructions

In a large bowl combine the Chex, pretzels, Fritos, and nuts.
In a medium microwavable bowl, add the butter, honey, and brown sugar. Microwave for about 3 minutes, stirring half-way through then pour over the dry mixture and stir well.
Dump the snack mix on wax paper (or foil) to cool.

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Pear Gorgonzola Tart

August 4, 2015 by Jenna

I have a quick and easy dessert for you: Pear Gorgonzola Tart.

On Friday my friend Katie and I had a going away party.

PAUSE.

Did I mention I’m moving to Denver with one of my best friends? Because I am. On Saturday. I’m a little stressed about packing and saying goodbye to too many amazing people. I’m also overwhelmed with excitement. It’s weird. I don’t know what to feel, but at this point I don’t have enough time to think about feeling anything other than stress and excitement. Plus, I’m bad with feelings and being emotional, so….

Ignoring.

Then there is the fact that I need to sell my condo (here’s the listing!!) and find a job. I’m sure that will all work out though?

UNPAUSE.

I originally made this tart to pair with a bottle of sauternes and a couple of girlfriends pre-party, but the plan didn’t go as planned. Not a problem. This was gobbled up along with a variety of other tasty treats at the party -> watermelon salsa, mint spinach dip, chicken enchilada dip, ricotta arugula prosciutto bruschetta. Obviously, Katie knows how to put together a spread.

Then there was wine, beer, cocktails, and a room full of some of my favorite people. Magical.

Ok, but this tart. It’s easy! Seriously, so super simple. All you need to do is put fruit and cheese on a puff pastry and place it in the oven.

I mean, there are more steps (see below), but that is the basic idea.

There is something about the combination of cheese and fruit that screams politely exclaims with a loud voice, sophistication. Don’t you think?

Look:

So fancy.

As you can see from the picture I used both green and red pears. I cut up four (two red, two green), but probably only used the equivalent of 3. I ate the leftover slices while the tart was baking in the oven.

You could use all the same type of pears and/or only cut up three, but then what would you snack on while this is baking??

The tart was hanging out for a few hours before it got to the party and it still tasted good; however, fresh out of the oven is best. Just give it a few minutes, because: hot.

And be careful, those pear juices can leak.

My original plan was to use Roquefort cheese, but I couldn’t find it at the grocery store and the regular cheese lady wasn’t there to help me. Apparently cheese isn’t a hot selling item at 7:45am on a Friday. Go figure.

It’s ok though, because the Gorgonzola tasted wonderful. I think blue cheese would be good too and I strongly recommend giving Roquefort a try. You could even go all out and do a little bit of each, but that may be excessive.

Grab a bottle of sauternes and share this quick, easy, delicious dessert with some people that you love. While you do that, I’m going to go pack some more boxes.

Pear Gorgonzola Tart

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour

This puff pastry tart is an impressive and delicious dessert that is so easy to pull together.

Serves: 10 slices

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry
3-4 pears
Egg wash (1 egg + 1 teaspoon water beaten)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled

Instructions

Set the frozen puff pastry out in room temperature for 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Slice the pears.
Place the puff pastry sheet on the baking pan and roll out into a rectangle.
Using a paring knife draw a rectangle about 1-inch in from the edge. Be careful not to cut all the way through the pastry, just about half-way. It should look like a picture frame. Then use a fork to score the inside of the rectangle.
Brush the egg wash on the entire puff pastry then sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar.
Line the sliced pears on the inside rectangle of the puff pastry, flat side on the pastry, curved side up. I did mine in two rows alternating between green and red slices.
Drizzle with honey then sprinkle on the Gorgonzola.
Bake for 20 minutes until the edges are nicely browned.
Let cool slightly, then cut and serve. It’s best when served immediately.

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