Bites of My Life

Week 6, we have arrived. Pretty much just going through the motions at this point? Anyone else feel like they are in a quarantine daze?

-Been starting my day with a “Vitamin C Elixer” so I call it. Just a mix of citrus you have on hand, for me that’s a splash of grapefruit juice, orange juice and lemon, with a pinch of cayenne and hot water. I don’t know if it does much, but it makes me feel like I’m starting each day on the right foot.
-Take A Bite celebrated 7 years last week!
-A few of my quarantine staples.
-While in Oklahoma City, one must drink a Club Special (and a brandy ice, which I have not crossed off my list yet). This regional cocktail is an Okie fave and mine. 1/3 part vodka, 1/3 part limeade, splash of sprite, splash of club soda and a lime!
-Used this recipe as a guide for our “use what you have carbonara.” Swapped Italian sausage for guanciale and added peas, because pro peas in carbonara.
-Turned Perfect CCC’s into pizookies, and no one was mad about it.
-Went Live on Instagram with my friend Elyse yesterday making our Coffee Cake Cookies. These cookies are truly so good!

Annie

Coffee Cake Cookies with The Healthy Little Foodie

When we look back at this time 10 years from now, I’m hoping that amongst the virus and the illness and the loved ones we may have seen suffered, I hope we also remember all the games we played, walks we went on, loaves of bread we baked and cookies we ate. I love how more and more people are getting in their kitchen more, baking and cooking up a storm.

While I’m pretty used to working from home already, this new stay at home order isn’t too far from my normal. I’ve been busier which I’m so thankful for, but still working in the time to be in the kitchen. Quarantine brought a baking bug, and I’ve caught it. The baking bug has also come with a new push of creativity and confidence honestly. I started doing regular Sunday afternoon Instagram Live baking videos the first Sunday of self-quarantine and it was well, really fun.

My friend Elyse has also been bit by the baking bug and coming up with all kinds of treats in her kitchen. Elyse bakes completely gluten-free and her recipes are typically made with no refined sugars and dairy-free. You can always count on Elyse for a healthier treat recipe. With all these Live videos and people “going live”" together on Instagram, I pinged Elyse if we should bake together and we jumped on the idea.

So we would LOVE if you joined us this Sunday, April 19th at 1pm CST on Instagram! We came up with this recipe for Coffee Cake Cookies which is just really hitting all the trigger points for me right now. Crumb topping, fluffy cinnamon cookie. They taste like a buttery snickerdoodle with a crumb topping. Hi, hello, yum! The recipe can easily be made gluten-free and we give options if you want to use the OG flour and sugar or cleaner ingredients - ha!

The Healthy Little Foodie + Take A Bite Coffee Cake Cookies 
Yields 20-22 (or 10-12) cookies
disclaimer: we developed this recipe during self-quarantine and assumed people didn’t need 20 cookies lying around, so we included the measurements to easily half this recipe.

Ingredients:

Crumb topping:
6 tbsp. (3) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup (2 tbsp.) packed brown sugar (sub for coconut sugar)
1/4 cup (2 tbsp.) granulated sugar (sub for monk fruit sugar or coconut sugar)*
1 (1/2) cup all-purpose or gluten-free flour
1 1/2 (¾) tsp. cinnamon
1/4 (a pinch) tsp. Salt

Cookies:
1 (½ cup or 1 stick) cup of unsalted butter, softened (we prefer Kerrygold or Vital Farms)
1 (½) cup packed brown sugar (sub for coconut sugar)
1/2 (¼) cup granulated sugar (sub for monk fruit sugar or coconut sugar)*
2 (1) eggs
2 (1) tsp. vanilla extract
3 (1½) cups all-purpose or gluten-free flour
2 (1) tsp. baking powder
1 (½) tsp. salt
1 (½) tsp. cinnamon
Powdered sugar or monk fruit powder for dusting 

*if you are using coconut sugar for both the brown and granulated sugar, use ½ (¼)  cup for the crumb topping and 1½ (¾) cup for the cookies. 

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, using your hands, a fork or a pastry cutter, combine all of the crumb topping ingredients. Work the butter into the dry ingredients until coarse crumbs are formed. Set aside.  

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined. On low, add in the vanilla extract.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In batches, gradually add the dry ingredients into the mixer with the wet ingredients, until the dough comes together. 

Using a cookie scoop or spoon, form golf ball size balls of dough and place on prepared baking sheet 2 inches apart. Make an indention in the center of each cookie with the back of a teaspoon or your finger and fill with 2 teaspoons of crumb topping (be generous with your topping). Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan. Then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Once completely cooled, dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!

We hope you have most of these ingredients already in your kitchen, if not, see if you can get all of the groceries delivered by Sunday so you can bake with us!

Don’t forget! Come watch us on Instagram Live Sunday, April 19th, 2020 at 1PM CST! And if you are reading this post after our Live baking date I’ll be sure to link to the video we record.

Annie + Elyse

Bites of My Life

Different. Probably a word we all used a million times this past week and especially when referring to Easter. It was different to not be in church on Sunday morning. It was different to not have family over for a big brunch. It was different to not have the sounds of The Masters streaming in the background all weekend. It was different, but it was still great. Great for the invention of technology and getting to watch and hear a beautiful sermon from the comfort of the couch. Great to get to watch my nieces hunt eggs, even if it was from a distance and from inside the car. Great to support a local restaurant I love by opting out of cooking and purchasing our Easter meal from them instead. Great having the reminder that even though this time period is “different,” it is out of my control, it’s not to be feared, it’s being taken care of by the greatest of them all.

-Easter has now passed but my Easter Recipe Roundup post is still fun of 25 recipes perfect for spring!
-Loaded baked potato. Something I would never make for myself, but indulging with a smile on my face since I haven’t had to pay for groceries since the middle of March!!!
-Spring is looking extra cute on the houses spotted on my 1 of 3 daily walks.
-My all-time favorite salad in Dallas, at home! We’ve made this a few times and surprisingly had most all of the ingredients without having to go to the store. Saved the recipe in highlights.
-Reality but rockin’ in.
-A lot of Defined Dish recipes have been going down for dinner around here. A lot of coconut aminos have also been used. Mom and dad love the meals but are less than enthused about coconut aminos replacing soy sauce…
-Started Friday morning with a group zoom workout with some of my best friends, with another best friend leading the class. Something we would really never do if it wasn’t for quarantine. #perk
-Grapefruit, lemon, rosemary, tequila and topo chico. Writing this makes me want to make another. Really winning in the spring quarantini category.
-Just mom, dad and I and a store-bought meal. Different but delicious.

Annie

Easter Recipe Roundup

When all of this Coronavirus began, I think we can all agree we’d be in the clear by Easter. I already had a couple of dresses hearted on Rent the Runway I planned to wear to church, and was starting to brainstorm what dessert I’d make for Easter brunch. The past few years, my family and my sister’s in-laws (our friends too!!) have gotten together and had brunch at my parent’s house. Ham, cheese grits, deviled eggs, Sue’s strawberry salad, Ingrid’s butterfly rolls and a rotating dessert have always been on the menu. It’s a nice little tradition we had going on.

This year we are putting traditions aside for obvious reasons. I’m still quarantining at my parents, so we ordered an Easter meal for the three of us from a local restaurant, will watch church online and plan to drive by to watch my nieces hunt eggs in their front yard…we’ll be watching from inside our car. It’s going to be weird, no other way to say it, but I think it’s important to still focus on why we celebrate Easter and still treat it like a holiday.

I know I’m very lucky to be with my parents right now, especially over a holiday. However, I know it’s going to be extra tough for those who can’t be with loved ones this weekend. But, like I said I think it’s still important to treat it like a holiday. Make a festive breakfast, put on a dress or just something nicer than leggings and a t-shirt, find an Easter service to watch online, and maybe schedule a Facetime date with family or friends to cook or bake a recipe together! I rounded up 25 Easter recipes from Take A Bite and some trusted sites. Baking has been therapeutic for so many during quarantine, and this weekend is the perfect time to try a new recipe!

Banana Bread
Banana Sheet Cake
Best Breakfast Casserole
Blueberry Banana Streusel Muffins
Creamy Lemon Vegan Bars

Four Layer Coconut Cake

Funfetti Cake
Homemade Oreos (with pastel-colored cream)
Key Lime Pie
Lavender Cupcakes
Lemon Loaf
Orange and Olive Oil Coffee Cake
Signature Sugar Cookies (cut into bunny and egg and cross shapes)

And now a few recipes I’ve made or recommend from sites I trust!

NYT Cooking Almond Cake (this came highly recommended by my sister Claire, only 5 ingredients!)
Cook’s Illustrated Banana Cream Pie
Half Baked Harvest’s Bunny Cookies
Bon Appetit’s Cardamon-Pistachio Carrot Cake
The Pioneer Woman’s Carrot Cake

Half Baked Harvest’s Coconut Carrot Cake Cheesecake (need us not forget the year when two of these cheesecakes showed up at Easter brunch)

The Baker Mama’s Easter Snack Mix
NYTCooking’s Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Fiveandspice’s Orange Scented Olive Oil Sticky Buns (this video will make you want to make them!)
Bon Appetit’s Sour Cream and Onion Biscuits
Elisabeth & Butter’s Strawberry Cream Scones
Hummingbird High’s Small Batch Easter Egg Cookies (perfect if it’s just you and a roommate or a small family)

Though it may be different this year, it can still be special. Happy Easter!

Annie

Bites of My Life

As we enter week 4 of social distancing, it’s feeing more and more normal. However I think this upcoming weekend is going to be hard and one of the hardest for a lot of people. With Easter this coming Sunday, but everyone still having to shelter in place, it’s going to look different. Some traditions will have to be set to the side. This is something I hate to see, but have grown to adapt to and accept change better as I’ve gotten older. There is so much change happening right now, and I hope and pray you are all hanging in there!

I’m working on an Easter baking blog post that I hope to get up tomorrow. If you can’t be with loved ones, maybe you plan a facetime baking date? Lemon loaf baked with your family or friends with the help of technology? That’s a new tradition I can get behind!

-Finally made #thestew. I loved it, but this recipe already had my name written all over it before I even cooked it. Turmeric, coconut milk, chickpeas, sold.
-The worst part of quarantining in OKC is that my little nieces are down the street and I can’t play with them. Got to say hi from 6 feet away though!
-Finally tried my hand at Dalgona/Whipped coffee! Have you seen this social media sensation? I’m still tweaking my recipe but shared my tips on IG highlights.
-Best friend zoom turned murder mystery. Oh and I was the one who got murdered….
-Did you see my April Fool’s post?
-Not that we are snobs, but we are kind of food snobs. We felt out of character eating frozen pizza, but not for one second did we think it wasn’t delicious. Props to my dad for stocking the freezer with TJ’s finest.
-Experimenting with a little something that involves these butterfly prints!
-Since everyone is breaking bread during quarantine, I couldn’t be left out! Used this recipe and it turned out great!
-Started my Friday baking bread, ended my Friday baking Perfect CCCs on Facebook Live!
-And then really topped off the day with this broccoli bolognese which I highly recommend.
-Just me, Gabe and my ankle weights for a Saturday stroll.
-Week 3 of quarantine IG Live’s, this week making my Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars! Full video is saved on instagram.

Annie