New Mexico Biscochitos

If you know me in real life then you may know that I'm not a fan of chocolate chip cookies (CCC). If you see me eating one I'm usually nibbling around the chocolate pieces—true story. In fact, I actually prefer chocolate chip cookies sans the chocolate chips. Seriously, the CCC batter is DELICIOUS as its own cookie. I realize that's not normal, so I decided to blame my home state, New Mexico, on the reason why I prefer cinnamon-sugar sweets to chocolate.

I grew up eating a delicate dessert called biscochitos—a cookie that doesn't have a smidgen of chocolate, but are dusted with cinnamon and sugar and are so tender they practically melt in your mouth. These cookies are special and typically emerge around the holidays or for very special occasions, so they've always been somewhat of a delicacy in my mind.

Another thing that makes biscochitos the creme of the cookie crop is that they're the official New Mexico state cookie—a fun fact I learned when I was in elementary school. Depending on what region you're from in New Mexico, they're spelled different (biscochitos, bizcochitos, biscochos, etc.), but still taste pretty much the same. They're traditionally made with anise (a teeny tiny seed that tastes a bit like black licorish), but I grew up eating them without anise, so that's how I make them. They're also made with lard. Yes, straight up lard. They may taste "just as good" with shortening, but I think my family may disown me if I stray from the recipe too much.

Why all this talk about a cookie? Well, a couple weeks ago Better Homes and Gardens asked if I'd be interested in participating in their State Cookie Contest. I may be living in Georgia now, but since I'll always call New Mexico "home," I asked if I could bake on behalf of the Land of Enchantment. They said the New Mexico spot was mine, so armed with a brand new Better Homes and Gardens baking sheet*, I got down to business and made the first recipe that came to mind: biscochitos.

The grand prize winner in the State Cookie Contest wins a $100 Walmart gift card and TWO Better Homes and Gardens Bakeware sets (one for me and one to give away....or possibly TWO to give away since we're moving)!


Here's how you vote for this mouthwatering cookie...It's as easy as 1, 2, 3:
1.  "Like" BHG Live Better on Facebook
2. Look to the left and click on "State Cookie Contest"
3. "Like" New Mexico Biscochitos
(You can vote once EVERY day until July 27!)

Biscochitos

adapted from Simply Simpatico

Ingredients:

1 cup lard (or shortening)

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon anise seed (optional)

3 tablespoons sweet table wine (Mogen David Concord works great!)

1/2 cup sugar (may need a bit more)

2 tablespoons cinnamon (may need a bit more)

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream lard and sugar together until creamy. Add egg and beat until very fluffy. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir and mix in wine (and anise seed, if using) until it's a dough-like consistency (may need to knead). Roll dough out on floured board to 1/4" thickness. Cut into desired shape. Combine 1/4 sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon; sprinkle on top of each cookie. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Combine the rest of the sugar and cinnamon. Once out of the oven immediately cover the entire cookie with cinnamon sugar mix. Enjoy!

* I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I DID receive a free pan to use in the creation process, but all thoughts and reviews are my own**

Flour Tortillas

Tortillas have always been a staple in my home. When I was younger—much younger—I remember standing on my tippy-toes on a yellow stool out in Tome, New Mexico, watching my Nana and Tia make tortillas. I was amazed that these tiny women could knead and roll out dough with such intensity. I also distinctly remember they didn't have a recipe (a hard concept to grasp since, at the time, I had to quadruple check the directions on how to boil). My Nana and Tia always had tortillas on hand and whenever we went on vacation they'd give my dad a dozen or so to take with him so we could have tortillas no matter where we were around the country.

My mom would make homemade tortillas, too, but sometimes it was easier to just buy them. In New Mexico, packaged tortillas taste just as good as homemade, but in Georgia, they taste very processed to us, so we've been buying them out of a desperate need to have tortillas in our lives. For the rest of our time here, and when we move, I'll make them, because they are SO much better than anything store bought. I was always afraid that if we made them they wouldn't taste as good as they do from home. But I'm happy to say I'm completely wrong. These taste just like home.

The following recipe is what my mom, Tia Frances, and my other aunts use to make tortillas. Unfortunately, neither my Nana or Tia are around anymore so I'm not sure if they used it, too, but I'm willing to bet my Tia Frances got the recipe from them.

I have to warn you about one "ingredient" that's not mentioned, but absolutely necessary. This is going to sound completely cheesy, but I swear it's true. You have to make these when you're in a good mood, because they need to be made with love. My husband and I made them once while we were arguing and they were horrible. To this day he'll say that they were "fine," but they really weren't good. Trust me on this and really put your heart into making them.

Flour Tortillas

originally adapted from Simply Simpatico

makes around a bakers dozen

Ingredients:
4 cups white flour
3 tsp baking powder
3 tsp salt
4 tablespoons lard (or shortening)
1 1/2 cups very hot water (let the faucet run until it's as hot as it gets)

Directions:
Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut in lard or shortening. Make a well in the center and add water, a small amount at a time, to form a dough. Knead dough with hands in bowl until it's smooth and feel elastic. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes. Form dough into egg-sized balls and flatten between palms. Preheat ungreased cast-iron skillet to a medium-high heat. With rolling pin, roll each ball into 6-inch, thin circles (or to the size of your skillet). Cook for approximately 30 seconds to 2 minutes (depending on how hot skillet is) on each side until tortilla looks slightly speckled and golden brown. Cover with a clean towel to keep tortillas warm and soft until served. Store tortillas in a plastic bag for later use.

Berry Rhubarb Pie

My husband and I went to Costco last week—a big deal since the closest one is an hour away—and we went to town buying fruits and veggies. With an abundance of strawberries and blueberries, we knew we needed to make something with them other than plopping them in our morning smoothies. So we (or I should say my husband) made what he makes best: pie!

Last year we really wanted to make a rhubarb pie, but we procrastinated and missed rhubarb season. Whoops. This year we didn't take any chances and bought rhubarb the second we saw it, and since we had a plethora of berries on hand, we decided to make a Strawberry Blueberry Rhubarb Pie. Or a StrawBluBarb Pie, if you will. As with most berry pies, the fruit will release a lot of liquid, so it's best to let it sit and thicken a bit before digging in...if you can wait that long

I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite pie, especially for the summer. The blueberries popped with sweetness, the strawberries tasted like snozberries...naturally, and the rhubarb complimented the berries sweetness by making my cheeks pucker just a bit. Do yourself a favor and make this pie—or a variation of it with whatever berries you have on hand!

Berry Rhubarb Pie

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and cut (if needed) into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon melted butter or butter spray
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• two prepared pie crusts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. In a medium bowl, combine berries and rhubarb. In a separate small bowl, mix together 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Sprinkle over fruit mixture and stir gently. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Gently stir again, making sure flour and sugar mixture isn't clumpy.
3. Mix lemon juice into fruit filling, then spoon into pastry-lined pie pan. With the other crust, either make a lattice top (in photo) roll completely out and place over filling. Crimp edges and cut steam vents in top. 
4. Brush lightly with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
5. Bake for around 40–50 minutes, or until filling is bubbling thick and crust is golden brown.

Sublime Doughnuts {a review}

Sorry for the lack of posts lately! I've been traveling and I think Amanda's been under the weather lately. Traveling combined with trying to sell our house means that I'm spending as little time in the kitchen as possible. Hopefully I'll get back in there soon! 

If you haven't heard, today is National Doughnut Day! I'm kicking myself for not talking about it earlier, especially on the food blog of all places, but a couple weeks ago I went to BlogHer Food in Atlanta and had an absolute blast! I posted this on my personal blog, and realized that I should have posted it here, too. Luckily, seeing as how it's National Doughnut Day and all, today is the perfect excuse to repost it...and get a doughnut today!

Sublime Doughnuts in Atlanta, Georgia

As we were chatting with our new friends from BlogHer Food at dinner our last night, I overheard this from the other end of the table: "They have red velvet, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, nutella donuts, and so many other flavors I can't even remember. You have to check out Sublime Doughnuts before you leave."

Wait. Hold the phone. There's a specialty doughnut shop minutes from where we were sitting? Half a second after hearing about this magical place, I turned around to tell Natalie about it. I muttered "specialty doughnuts" and before I could even finish my sentence she agreed that we had to go there. 

I should mention that the next morning we were going to take a nice, healthy trip to Whole Foods before dropping me off at the airport. But the doughnuts won. Doughnuts always win. 

The next morning we picked up our fellow food friend, Mandy from Home with Mandy, and headed towards Sublime Doughnuts. We walked in and were almost overwhelmed with choices stacked in the display case. Almost.

Since we couldn't decide on just one doughnut, we decided to each picked four different flavors to try. Then out of nowhere Mandy, bless her heart, bought them for us! While she was picking up the tab we picked up for some forks and started tasting. The three of us made “mmmm” and “yummm” noises with every bite and before we knew it, they were half gone. 

My favorite was the one right smack dab in the middle of the picture: the strawberries in cream. It was the lightest and least sweet out of all the donuts, and now I'm craving another one...I know I'm weird; I like things that aren't too sweet. I don't remember which doughnuts Natalie and Mandy liked (I was too consumed with trying all of them), but maybe they'll tell you in the comments. 

click to enlarge!

So now that I've completely enticed you with donuts, I have two questions for you: 

1. Do you spell it doughnuts or donuts? Personally, I like "donuts," but that's because I'm lazy.

2. What flavor would you try if you had a chance?

Ice Cream Bread

Ice cream bread? Say what?

If you're scratching your head right now, you're not the only one. I saw this a few days ago on Pinterest (anyone else completely addicted to that site?) and knew I had to try making it immediately.

Not only did I try it, but I've kind of gone crazy trying different flavors. I'm still baffled that this bread is made with ice cream! Make this with your leftover ice cream or pick up a pint for a  fun, ridiculously easy, and tasty bread. When I say "ridiculously easy to make" I truly mean that. There are only two ingredients:

Self-rising flour* + Ice cream

The flavors above are strawberry on the left and "turtle tracks" (caramel, chocolate, and peanut butter) on the right. I've also tried pineapple coconut ice cream (SO delicious) and peach ice cream. I just bought some coffee ice cream and plan on making some bread with that very soon. I happen to like chunks in this particular bread, so to the strawberry ice cream I added additional frozen strawberries, and to the peach I added pecans. The sky is really the limit!

If you try this, let us know what you think and what flavor you used; I'm curious how it'll taste with different ice creams.

Ice Cream Bread

from The Hungry Housewife originally from 1001 Ways to Cook Southern

Ingredients:
2 cups (1 pint) ice cream
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour*
(For every cup of flour add 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt {sift together}. There you go, now you have self-rising flour.)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 x 4 loaf pan or line it with parchment paper. In a medium bowl mix semi-melted ice cream and flour together until just combined. Scoop into the loaf and and smooth out. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it. Remove from the pan and allow to coo. Enjoy! 

Fish "Tacos"

My husband and I have been on the South Beach diet for about 2 weeks now. The first 2 weeks eliminates all grains and fruit, needless to says it's been hard. Also the food has become rather monotonous. Most dinner's consist of a protein and a mound of veggies. Not that it's tasted bad but it's BORING. Which is where these fabulous fish "tacos" come into to play. I certainly can't have tortillas (corn or flour) so I substituted the tortilla with lettuce. I wasn't too optimistic about this but I couldn't stand one more night of grilled fish and a mound of green beans. To my surprise they turned out amazing! I would eat these even if I could eat carbs. SO GOOD! Give these messy (you'll need a few napkins) "tacos" a chance. You'll be a believer.

Fish "Tacos"

Ingredients:
5-8 Fillets white flaky fish (I used Dover)
Cilantro- 1/2 a bunch roughly chopped
Garlic- 2 Tbsp
Onion Powder- enough to season each fillet
Seasoned Salt- To taste
Tequila- 4 Tbsp
Lime juice (2-3 small limes)
Sugar 1 tsp or substitute (I used 1 pkg Truvia)
Olive Oil- Start with a 1/4 cup + more for fish
Diced Tomatoes- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained
Black Beans- 1 15 oz can rinsed and drained

Directions:
Season each fillet with Olive oil, Onion powder, Seasoned salt, and lime juice. Grill or pan sear each fillet. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the juice of two limes, tequila, garlic, 1/2 of chopped cilantro, olive oil and sugar (add more oil and sugar to taste). Set aside. Add 1/4 cup of the vinegarette to a pan over medium heat. Once heated through add rinsed tomatoes and black beans. Once cooked through add another 1/4 cup of vinegarette and flake the fish into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes or until heated through. Spoon the mixture into rinsed romaine leaves and top with reserved cilantro. Enjoy!

Sopaipilla Cheesecake Bars

I sometimes claim that I'm "not a fan of sweets," but that's a lie. I'm just not a fan of certain sweet treats; there are plenty of desserts I love. Like this one. I'm a sucker for anything covered in cinnamon and sugar, I have a weakness for cheesecake, and I puffy heart love sopaipillas.

Wait. Have you heard of sopaipillas before? (So-pa-pee-ya)

They look like little pillows and are basically puffed dough traditionally served after a Mexican meal. Some people stuff them with leftovers on their plate or fill them with honey for dessert. They're little pieces of heaven and I will one day learn how to make them.

But back to this recipe. It's another one of those desserts that's inexpensive and takes zero time to prepare, but tastes like you worked all morning to make them. I love, love, love the crunchy top and how it's combined with the creamy cheese filling.

I used healthier ingredients to make these (reduced fat crescent rolls, neufchatel cheese, and Brummel and Brown), and I honestly can't imagine how rich it would taste if you used the full-fat versions. Don't get me wrong, this is in no way healthy. But I figure every little bit helps!

A note: these taste good while they're warm and just out of the oven, but they taste even more amazing at room temperature or cold. Patience, my friends! 

Sopaipilla Cheesecake Bars

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

2 cans Pillsbury Crescent rolls
2 8oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted
honey (optional)

Directions:

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Unroll and press 1 can crescent rolls into the bottom of baking dish; press seams together. In a separate bowl, blend cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, and vanilla. Spread cream cheese over top of dough. Unroll second can of crescent rolls and place on top of the cream cheese mixture pressing seams together again. Melt butter in small bowl and brush over top layer of dough. Mix the reaming 1/2 cup of sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture generously over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbly and bottom crust is slightly brown. For an added touch of sweetness, drizzle with honey before eating! Tastes good warm, but tastes even better at room temperature or cold.