baking

October is National Pizza Month!

Abby H.Leave a comment

October is National Pizza Month, so I thought I’d share with y’all some of our favorite pizza stuff: recipes, pizza swag, and even ways to save money on ordering pizza.

Goodness knows we have pizza about once a week (Friday take-out night is usually pizza), so I have all kinds of tips and tricks.

If you are new to making your own pizza at home, here is a list of my must-haves, including ingredients and kitchen tools!

Need a break from cooking and want to order takeout? Here are a few suggestions for saving money and/or earning cash back on your next pizza night:

  • Domino’s has its Piece of the Pie rewards club. For every $10 spent, you earn 10 points; once you reach 60 points, you’ll earn a free pizza. More details can be found here.
  • If Pizza Hut is more your style, they have Hut Rewards. Earn 2 points for every $1 you spend. They have several different rewards, depending on point values. From breadsticks (75 points)  to a Large pizza (300 points), there is something for everyone.
  • Little Caesar’s has an app with various deals, and they also have a merch shop with all sorts of cool stuff. They are the Official Pizza of the NFL; with Football season coming to a close soon, there may be some playoff deals afoot.
  • GrubHub: One of the perks of Amazon Prime is that you get a free subscription to GrubHub+ with $0 delivery fees on orders over $12 and reduced service fees.
  • 7-Eleven : Seriously- their app has all sorts of deals on pizza, both by the slice and whole pizzas.  Get up to $15 in value when you download the 7-Eleven app, including 1,800 points, 11¢/gal off fuel, & more.

Recipe: Choose Your Chip Cookies

Abby H.Leave a comment

Looking to switch up your classic chocolate chip cookie recipe this fall? I have just what you need.

Over the years, I have made hundreds  (maybe thousands) of batches of cookies, and I have substituted all sorts of different flavors of chips and extracts.

With the holidays approaching, there will be a lot of variety in baking chip flavors available at your local retailers. Some of my favorites include mlik chocolate, candy cane, pumpkin spice, butterscotch, and peanut butter. If you are an online shopper, The Bulk Priced Food Shop on Amazon has a lot of great baking chip flavors.

If you like a little more texture in your cookies, substitute one cup of the chips with dried diced fruit, or crushed freeze dried fruit, or diced candied fruit. Candied lemon peels are excellent in cookies with lemon extract, and white chocolate chips. Dried cherries go great with dark chocolate chips/chunks.

Change up the flavor with different extracts. I like cake batter, lemon, or almond in place of vanilla. Watkins is my favorite brand- they have a wide variety of flavor extracts. Rembmer Essential oils and baking extracts are NOT THE SAME THING.

If you are vegan or gluten-free, there will be substitutions at the end of this post just for you.

Choose Your Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup room-temperature butter (not melted, not hot)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 cups, all purpose, baking flour
  • 2 cups of chips, your choice

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).
  3. Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
  5. Mix in baking  soda, salt, and flour.
  6. Once all ingredients are blended into the dough, add chips.
  7. I like to refrigerate my dough for about 30 minutes, this gives the flour a chance to rehydrate, and for the flavors to meld before the cookies are baked. It really in my opinion it makes the cookie texture a little bit better.
  8. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper. I prefer parchment paper.
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.  Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

Variations: substitute half a cup of the room temperature butter for nut or seed butter of your choice. This will give your cookies a subtle nut flavor.

If you are vegan, substitute butter with your favorite plant-based butter, or hydrogenated shortening. Butter flavor shortening works best.

Additionally, you can substitute the two eggs for two flax eggs or egg replacer of your choice. It does affect the texture of the cookie, but if you are vegan or egg free, you’re probably used to the texture.

Coffee Cake- The Best Breakfast Ever.

Abby H.

Coffee cake is one of my favorite breakfast quick breads. I didn’t have time to whip up a batch, but if you are looking for a tried and true recipe, check out my post here. https://hewesfamilyfun.com/2021/02/10/simple-frugal-recipe-coffee-cake/

If you’ve got a boxed coffee cake mix (Bob’s Red Mill makes a great one) and want it to taste a little more scratch-made, check out my tips here for improving boxed cake mixes.  

And if you are looking for some coffee to go with your cake, here are some easy coffee shop-style recipes you can make at home without any fancy equipment.  

And if you want your coffee on the go, or any drinks for that matter, check out the Panera Unlimited Sips Club. New subscribers who sign up for a monthly Unlimited Sip Club subscription through May 31, 2026 and enter promo code SIP3 at checkout will receive three months of an Unlimited Sip Club monthly subscription for $3/month plus tax. Remember to use Promo code: SIP3 at checkout!

Recipe: Oat Flour Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Abby H.

The kids love cookies. It’s one of the few foods they both agree on.

I started making these about 6 months ago. They are so good, easy to make, and they are pretty customizable if you have food allergies.

Oat Flour Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

  • Two sticks (1 cup) salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup peanut butter, smooth preferred
  • 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups AP Flour
  • 2 cups Oat Flour
  • 1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 baking chips of your choice- I used Milk Chocolate, Semi-Sweet Chocolate, and Peanut Butter chips.

To make Oat Flour, pulse oats in a blender or food processor until the oats are a smooth flour. 1 1/2 cups of oats should make about 2 cups of flour. You can also buy it online or at most health food stores. 

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Line baking sheets with parchment paper. 
  • In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter.
  • Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
  • Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
  • Mix in baking powder, salt, flours, and oats.
  • Once all are blended into the dough, add chocolate chips.
  • Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper. I prefer parchment paper.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.  Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

This recipe makes about 6 dozen cookies. 

This dough also freezes well. 

If you are allergic to peanuts, you can substitute sunbutter or your favorite nut butter. Do not use Nutella- It contains a lot of sugar and other ingredients that will throw off the chemistry of the recipe, and you won’t get yummy cookies.

Gluten Free Peeps: You can use 1:1 Gluten Free AP Flour and Gluten Free Oats in place of AP flour and regular oats.

Vegans: Substitute Crisco or Coconut Oil for butter. Do not use margarine/spread as it can contain a higher quantity of liquid than butter. Use your favorite egg replacer.

Looking to add Fiber to your Cookies??

Abby H.

One of my goals for the year is to get more fiber into myself and the kids. The average American adult consumes about 15-16 grams of fiber per day, significantly less than the recommended daily intake of 25-38 grams (source).

Besides fruits, veggies, lentils and beans, oats also have fiber.

Making Oat flour can be done at home by pulsing rolled oats in a blender until they are a fine, smooth powder. If you don’t have the time or inclination, Quaker sells oat flour.

Here is the recipe I came up with based on my favorite cookie recipe.

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1.25 cups brown sugar
  • 1.25 cups white sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 2 cups oat flour
  • 2.5 cups AP flour
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and peanut butter.
  3. Add sugars one at a time and mix until fluffy.
  4. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated fully.
  5. Mix in baking powder and flours. Once all are blended into the dough, add chocolate chips.
  6. Drop tablespoon-sized dough balls on cookie sheets that have been greased or are lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad.  I prefer silicone baking pads.
  7. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Let cookies rest 1-2 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack.

This recipe makes approx. 6 dozen cookies. If you are allergic to peanuts, you can substitute sunbutter or your favorite nut butter. Do Not use Nutella- It contains a lot of sugar and other ingredients that will throw off the chemistry of the recipe and you won’t get yummy cookies.

My Favorite Egg Replacers for Baking!

Abby H.

The price of eggs has been increasing, at least in California for a few years. Between the law enacted in January of last year regarding farm animals in confinement, and the avian flu making it’s rounds, eggs can be upwards of $8/dozen.

That’s a lot. I love to bake, and eggs are commonplace in a lot of recipes. After some research and trail and error, here are some of the egg replaces that I use.

You’ll notice that for most of these substitutions, the measurement is 1/4 cup, which is about how much liquid is in a large sized chicken egg.

Not sure which one to use? Here is my handy guide:

For Cookies:

  • Aquafaba
  • Canned Pumpkin
  • Smooth Nut Butter

For Cake/Quick Breads:

  • Plain Greek Yogurt
  • Bananas
  • Canned Pumpkin
  • Carbonated Water
  • Silken Tofu
  • Applesauce

Brownies:

  • Canned Pumpkin
  • Unsweetened Applesauce
  • Bananas
  • Smooth Nut Butter

Looking for some recipes to use these on?

 

Celebrate National Baking Day!

Abby H.

I love baking- cookies, bread, even biscuits. To celebrate National Baking Day, here are a few of my favorite recipes:

Want cookies but don’t want to turn on the oven? Try these:

Recipe: Banana chocolate chip muffins

Abby H.

I made these muffins after I discovered some overly ripe bananas chilling on the counter last weekend.

These are made with Kodiak Flapjack mix instead of AP flour. This gives the recipe a little more protein and a little more filling.

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 6 tablespoons oil/fat of your choice (melted butter, coconut oil, avocado oil)
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark, your choice)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons milk of choice 
  • 1.5 cups Kodiak Flapjack Mix
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips of choice
Nutritional Information Courtesy of Fitness Pal

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Line muffin tin cups with cupcake liners.
  3. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except flapjack mix and chips with an electric mixer.
  4. Once the wet ingredients are fully combined, blend in flapjack mix.
  5. Stir in chocolate chips.
  6. Evenly distribute batter into lined tin wells.
  7. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick/knife comes out clean after inserted into muffins.
  8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

This recipe is not vegan. Kodiak Flapjak mix contains milk ingredients.

Today Is National Cake Day!

Abby H.

Yup, it’s International Cake Day. I’m celebrating with the kids by baking a cake later this afternoon.

If you are looking for a way to celebrate at home, here are my tips for making a cake mix taste more like a scratch-baked cake.

Here are a few of my favorite cake recipes:

Fresh Baked Bread Any Time!

Abby H.

I love to cook and bake. I love freshly baked bread. I’m kinda over the poppin’ fresh dough boy’s crescent rolls and Italian loaves. I don’t have time to make bread from scratch on weekdays. I recently discovered Wildgrain. I ordered our first box last week and it will be arriving soon (I’m stoked).

Wildgrain offers a monthly subscription box that’s shipped to your door and contains bake from frozen breads, artisan pastries, and even fresh pasta! When you sign up here you can score free croissants for life. 

What is exciting for my family is the ability to customize- Wildgrain’s new customizable subscription box features NEW multiple box types including:

  • A mixed box where you can pick your own delicious loaves of Wildgrain bread, pasta, and pastries.
  • A pastry only box where you are able to grab choice Wildgrain pastry options.
  • A bread only box where you can snag all your fave Wildgrain bread loaves.
  • A new Vegan bread-only box!

Wildgrain will continue to offer the same favorite seasonal and rotating add-ons they have always had. Now you can just add more of your favorites into your own customizable box!

Free Shipping- That’s right… Wildgrain orders SHIP FOR FREE? No matter where you live in the U.S. or how many “extras” (like those yummy chocolate croissants) you add on, Wildgrain boxes always ship for free! Let your audience know today!

 

To learn more or order a box yourself, check out Wildgrain here.