This Site Is Going To Smell Like Vanilla For Months

being alive is great because there are so many different vegetables you can sauté. but then there are also the horrors

this blog is a friendly space for twitter and tiktok refugees

but I am literally begging y'all to switch your icons and write literally anything human-like in your bios, we have been at WAR with the spam bots and you're dressed like the enemy

none pizza with left beef became 10 years old a few days ago...

Sorry no it hasn't

this is microwave and we’re fostering her for my family. she’s a bit feisty but she’s warming up to us already.

Trick or Treat! :D

(idk if i should ask here or reblogs, so consider this knocking at the front and side door lmao)

Happy Halloween!

Earl Grey Cookies

“[...] a combination of shortbread and jam thumbprint cookies, made all the more interesting by the addition of tea - something different for a cookie exchange, or package them with a fancy cup and extra tea as a gift.” - ~mystery book~, p. 227

Sugar cookies are a staple of the holiday season. Whether decorated with frosting, cut into festive shapes, or sprinkled with powdered sugar, they are the go-to cookie for gifting!

When I first decided to try this version of sugar cookie, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But, I figured I’d give them a shot since it uses my favourite tea. In the end? Best. Decision. EVER! I’ve made them for myself and friends in past holiday seasons and I constantly get asked for the recipe and/or when I’ll be making more (the answer is always December, guys).

Like the Soul Cakes marking the overlap of four different holidays at the end of October, these cookies offer a twist on the traditional treats served this time of year.

Consider baking them with the Cranberry Banana Muffins to really spice up the holiday season!

EDIT: Now with extra tips!

(This recipe is an adaptation from a cookbook my grandmother has tucked away. However, I don’t have the title of the book and I can’t find her copy anymore so it’s of ~mystery origin~.)

Prep: 5 mins               Cook: 45 mins               Total: 50 mins

Ingredients*:

1 cup (227 g) butter, softened

⅔ cup (138 g) granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla extractñ

2 ½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. (6 g) Earl Grey tea leaves

¼ tsp. (0.5 g) kosher salt

½ cup (320 g) apricot jam or marmalade**

*Makes enough for about 3 dozen cookies.

** Be careful when selecting your brand of jam (both for these cookies and in general). Ingredients on labels are listed from greatest amount to least - so try to pick one that has apricots as the first ingredient instead of sugar!

First, preheat the oven to convection bake at 325℉ (160℃) [or 350℉ (177℃) if using a conventional oven].

Then, in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light (top-left).

Beat in the egg and vanilla (top-right).

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, tea, and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until just combined.

Roll the cookies into 1 tbsp. (about 1-inch or 2.5 cm) balls and place them on two large, parchment-lined baking sheets.

TIP: To get all of the cookies a uniform size, I level off a 1 tbsp. measuring spoon with dough, then roll them.

Dip the end of a wooden spoon about ⅜ th of an inch (1 cm) in diameter into flour and make indentations in the center of each cookie.

Fill each indentation with a generous ¼ tsp. of jam or marmalade.

Convection bake in the oven for 16 - 18 minutes [or the same amount of time, rotating the pan halfway through, if using a conventional oven], or until they start to turn a light golden.

Remove from oven and let cool on wire racks.

Overall, I would give these cookies a 5/5. The mild sweetness from the earl grey mixed with the sweetness of the jam produces such a unique flavour without being overwhelming. Not to mention that snacking on them creates this holiday/Christmas-y vibe that’s hard to describe.

As mentioned in the intro, I’ve made these for my friends in the past and they’re a massive hit. Because they look so different from traditional holiday sugar cookies but fit so well with the season, they become a really unique treat to give to friends and family!

Dwarven Flatbread

According to folklore, these tasty flat loaves weren’t created in the kitchen, but rather at the forge as ever-industrious, hungry dwarven craftsmen utilized the only materials they had available: flour, oil, water, salt, a hearth, and a hammer.” - Heroes’ Feast, p. 103

I've been interested in making flatbread for about a year now but always felt strangely intimidated by it. It wasn’t until I found this recipe and saw how quickly and simply it could be done that I decided to give it a shot.

Simple yet absolutely delicious, this wonderfully seasoned flatbread has just enough of a spice kick for it to stand out on its own or when eaten with the Fire Lichen Spread (p. 93) or a tzatziki dip!

Previously attempted by @afinickyguide, this review looks to take their suggestions to heart while also adding some of my own!

See below for my notes on the results and for some helpful tips and tricks when making this yourself! Get Heroes’ Feast here: https://dnd.wizards.com/heroes-feast

Prep time: ~5 mins           Cook time: ~40 mins           Overall: ~45 mins

For the ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt*

2 ½ tsp. dried herb blend (such as Italian seasoning, herbes de Provence, or za’atar), crushed **

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

⅔ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt or whole milk***

¼ cup neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable, canola, safflower, or grapeseed

* This is way too much salt. Use half of this amount (¾ tsp.).

** I didn’t have any Italian seasoning, so I used ½ tsp. each of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram as well as ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes (modified from here)

*** I used 2% plain greek yogurt.

I use the following conversions in my cooking:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour = 188 g

1 ½ tsp. baking powder = 6 g

½ tsp. baking soda = 4 g

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt = 8 g

½ tsp. dried rosemary = 1 g

½ tsp. dried basil = 0.5 g

½ tsp. dried oregano = 0.5 g

½ tsp. dried thyme = 0.5 g

½ tsp. dried marjoram leaves = 0.25 g

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes = 0.5 g

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil = 44 ml

⅔ cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt = 158 ml

¼ cup neutral-tasting oil = 60 ml

Above shows the dry ingredients whisked together with a well in the center for the greek yogurt and olive oil.

Again, when I made these the first time 1 ½ tsp. kosher salt was way too much. I made them again using half the amount (¾ tsp.) and they tasted much better.

Above is what the dough looked like after combining it with a wooden spoon and then working it by hand to create a shaggy dough.

The dough will be very dry and have lots of crumbly bits. Don’t worry! As you knead it into a smooth ball, the dough will become wetter and everything will incorporate nicely.

Above is what the dough looked like after kneading to make it smooth - about 5-6 minutes. You’ll know the dough is ready when it springs back after lightly pressing into it.

Although the dough will become tackier as you knead it, try not to add any more flour. Dough, in general, will absorb any extra flour you give it and though it might make it slightly easier to handle, the bread will become denser as a result.

Personally, I found the dough didn’t stick much to my bread board and when it did it was easy enough to handle with just a bench scraper.

The following link is a great resource to develop your technique for kneading bread. With the first technique, you use the heel of your hand to press into the dough, then fold it back into itself, turn it, and repeat. Using the second technique, you roll the dough with the heel of your hand in a “heart” motion.

Above is what the dough looked like after being divided into 8 equal portions and left to rest for 15 minutes under a clean kitchen towel. The smooth dough weighed around 400 g and divided nicely into 50 g portions.

Although you will notice the dough has expanded after resting, don’t expect as drastic a change as yeasted dough.

With the amount of dough in each portion, rolling it to 7 inches in diameter turned it into paper and gave it “cracker-like results” according to @afinickyguide‘s post. So, I opted to roll them to 5 inches in diameter and just under ¼ of an inch thick.

If you’d really like some larger flatbread, I would recommend taking @afinickyguide‘s suggestion and doubling the recipe to create 8 larger portions that could be rolled into 7-inch circles.

I found the cooking times in Heroes’ Feast to be way too long. When I originally tried frying it for 2.5 minutes, it turned out super burned when I flipped it - and that was before the pan had accumulated heat!

I would suggest the following cooking times for this recipe (using flatbread rolled to 5 inches in diameter):

While the pan is heating up, cook the first flatbread for ~90 secs on the first side and 60 secs on the other

For the second, cook for 30 seconds on the first side and 20 on the other

For each one after, cook for 15 seconds on the first side and 10 on the other

Also, don’t replenish the pan with 1 ½ tsp. oil for each flatbread if following my instructions! There was so much oil left after each one that it’s much better to swirl around and reuse the leftover oil in the pan. Only add ~½ tsp. more if you notice the oil level running low.

NOTE: I used a cast-iron skillet to cook my flatbread. Timings will vary based on the type of pan you use.

Overall, I give this flatbread a 5/5. After the adjustment of the salt content, these were delicious to eat both on their own, with a tzatziki dip, or with the Fire Lichen Spread (p. 93).

Although I can’t comment on how they would taste with store-bought Italian seasoning, the one I used (listed in the ingredients section) worked amazingly!

For best freshness results, wrap in plastic wrap or store in a reusable sandwich back and keep in the fridge. They will last up to a week in the fridge. To reheat, either leave them on the counter for half an hour before using or microwave them for 10 seconds at a time until soft.

I made this callout meme for me and me specifically