Italian Sesame Cookies

These cookies remind me of one of the cookies I love from my favorite Italian Bakery...and let me tell you these taste just as good!!...I would have never thought that I could get close to them even tasting as great...but these do and I am so excited about that!....Now the wheels are spinning on what other type of cookie I can make with this dough...I will be doing some experimenting for sure....I did take a portion of this dough and made them a little bigger and while they were warm I glazed them with pink icing to try and replicate my daughters favorite Italian cookie ( I will post a pic below) These were really easy to make but the applying of the sesame seeds can be a little time consuming...But it will be so worth it!...This will also be a great cookie to add to a plate of other cookies you make and definitely a great coffee dunker!..you can also toast your sesame seeds before adding to cookie..Here is how I put these together.....Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter (softened)

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups AP flour (I used 00 flour)

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups sesame seeds (toasted if you like)

3/4 cup of milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a mixing bowl cream butter and sugar until creamy..add 1 egg at a time beating after each addition...add vanilla. 

2. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking powder...grab a whisk and give it a good stir to combine..gradually add this to the butter mixture and mix well

3. The dough may be sticky, but turn it onto a floured surface and sprinkle with more flour and knead until smooth...divide dough into 8 even portions...shape each portion into 24 inch logs. Cut into 2 inch pieces

4. Place sesame seeds and milk in separate shallow bowls...brush each log with milk then sprinkle with sesame seeds(I used a spoon)...this can get a little messy , I did this on a small dish ..then transfer each log onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet  at least 2 inches apart

5.Bake at 350 degrees until bottoms are lightly brown 7-9 minutes...let cool in wire racks

 I kept these cookies plain..made them a little bigger then brush with pink icing while warm!

These were to go's for porch delivery's for my family!

Italian Sesame cookies

Yield: 8 dozen

Author: Natalie Buscemi-Hindman

Prep time: 30 MCook time: Total time: 30 M

Bakery style Sesame cookies...great for dunking

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick of Butter (softened)
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 3 large Eggs (room temp)
• 3 Cups All purpose flour ( I used 00)
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 3/4 Cups Sesame Seeds (toasted if you like)
• 3/4 Cups Milk

Instructions:

How to cook Italian Sesame cookies

1. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until creamy...add 1 egg at a time...beating after each addition...add vanilla
2. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt and baking powder...grab a whisk and give a stir to combine....gradually add this to the butter mixture and mix well
3. The dough may be sticky, but turn it onto a floured surface ..sprinkle with more flour and knead until smooth...divide dough into 8 even portions...shape each portion into 24 inch logs then cut into 2 inch pieces
4. Place sesame seeds and milk in separate shallow bowls....brush each log with milk then sprinkle with sesame seeds ( I used a spoon)...this can get a little mess, I did it on a small dish....transfer each one onto a greased or parchment lined baking sheet at least 2 inches apart
5. Bake at 350 degrees until bottoms are lightly brown 7-9 minutes...let cool on wire racks...Enjoy!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Arancini {Rice Ball} Casserole

Well if I had to choose one of my favorite Italian dishes ...Arancini would be right up there at the top!....I have made Rice Balls before, but I have not mastered them to perfection yet...So when I saw that you could actually make a casserole that tasted like one, I had to give it a try!!....When I made this dish I did not have any beef on hand(because of the pandemic) So it was pretty much a vegetarian version...And it was still amazing...But I did have everything else so I decided to get to work.....This was really simple to put together...Here is what I did...Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS

2 bags success rice or 2 cups uncooked rice ( follow package directions)

2 cups pasta sauce of your choice

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion diced

1 cup frozen peas

 1 egg

 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Italian breadcrumbs

1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella

+ fresh mozzarella if you have it

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Cook rice as directed..when done remove from bag..

add to bowl and set aside

2. add beef to pan and saute..as it cooks add onion and cook until browned...add peas and 1 cup of sauce and salt and pepper and simmer

3. to the bowl of rice add parmesan cheese, egg and 1/2 cup tomato sauce...if it looks like it needs a little more sauce add another 1/4 cup

4.  spray a 8x8 casserole dish with cooking spray, sides too..add some breadcrumbs to dish and roll around to coat bottom and sides

5.  take half of the rice mixture {a little more if needed} cover the bottom of the dish and up the sides, press to form bottom layer. Fill with the meat and pea mixture. Top with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and break up some fresh mozzarella on top of that

6. Top with the remaining rice mixture pressing down till even. Top with remaining sauce...sprinkle with breadcrumbs , then top with remaining mozzarella

7.  cover with foil and Bake 30 minutes

let rest a few minutes then slice as you like!...Enjoy

Yield: 6

Author: Natalie Buscemi-Hindman

Arancini (Rice Ball )Casserole

All of the goodness and flavor of a Rice Ball without all of the work...This version of Arancini gets layered Casserole style!

Prep time: 25 MCook time: 30 MTotal time: 55 M

Ingredients:

• 2 bags of success rice or 2 cups uncooked rice (follow package directions)
• 2 cups of pasta sauce of your choice
• 1 pound of ground beef or sirloin
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• Italian Breadcrumbs
• 1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella + fresh if you have it
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

How to cook Arancini (Rice Ball )Casserole

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
2. Cook rice as directed..when done add to a bowl and set aside
3. Add beef to pan and saute..as it cooks add onion and cook until browned...add peas and 1 cup of sauce and salt and pepper
4. To the bowl of rice add parmesan cheese, egg and 1/2 cup of pasta sauce...if it looks like it needs a little more sauce add another 1/4 cup
5. Spray an 8 x 8  casserole dish with cooking spray, sides too...add some breadcrumbs to dish and roll around to coat bottom and sides
6. Take half of the rice mixture ( a little more if needed) cover the bottom of the dish and up the sides.., press to form bottom layer. Next add the meat and pea mixture, then add 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and break up some fresh mozzarella and add that if you have it
7. Top with the remaining rice mixture pressing down until even. Top with remaining sauce...sprinkle with breadcrumbs...then add remaining mozzarella
8. Cover with foil and Bake for 30 minutes...let rest a few minutes and then slice as you like...Enjoy!!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Bakery Style Italian Bread

I was always so intimidated by using yeast that I never really made breads before....But in the last year I have been more confident with it and I now buy an abundance of yeast to keep on hand ...And I am always searching recipes to test out and add to my favorites...I have been making pizza dough, breads and rolls...and my favorite Easter bread...I came upon this King Arthur recipe that I adapted and I just love it....It reminds me of my favorite bakery bread...I am testing making rolls out of it as I type this...I will keep you posted!....Also this bread begins with using a dough starter that you prepare the night before...which I have never done before...I have to believe that is what gives this bread its nice texture...(Also I used 00 Flour for this recipe because that's pretty much all I use for everything) ...Well here is how I prepared this bread...I hope you enjoy this recipe!

INGREDIENTS

OVERNIGHT STARTER

- 3/4 cup all purpose flour or 00 flour

- 1/2 cup lukewarm water

- 1/ 8 teaspoon instant yeast

DOUGH

2 teaspoons instant yeast

3/4 cups lukewarm water

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

TOPPING

1 Large egg white with 1 Tablespoon water

Sesame Seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. To make starter...Mix ingredients in a small bowl, cover and let rest at room temperature overnight

FOR BREAD

2.  Combine the starter along with the rest of the dough ingredients...Mix then knead the dough...by hand, mixer or bread machine on dough cycle, to make a fairly smooth dough

3.  place dough in a greased bowl...cover and let rise for 90 minutes ...turning over and deflating after 45 minutes

4.  Transfer dough to work surface and divide into 3 pieces...Roll each piece into a 18 inch rope...braid the rope tucking ends under, set braid on lightly greased baking sheet

5.  Cover the loaf and let rise for 60-90 minutes or until puffy Preheating oven to 425

6. Uncover loaf and brush with egg white mixture and sprinkle heavily with sesame seeds

7. Bake the bread for 25- 30 minutes ...the longer it bakes the crunchier it will get

8.  Remove bread from oven and let cool on a rack...can be stored in a brown paper bag for 24 hours...wrap in plastic and freeze for longer storage

Here is the starter after resting

here is the 00 Flour I use

here are the rolls ..it made 10...bake for 15-20 minutes or an internal temp of 190 degrees

Bakery Style Italian Bread

Author: Natalie Buscemi-Hindman

This Bakery style bread begins with a dough starter that you prepare the night before.

Ingredients:

OVERNIGHT STARTER INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cups all purpose flour or 00 flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
• add these to a bowl...stir and cover to let rest overnight
• this will be added to your dough recipe for your bread

DOUGH

• overnight starter mixture
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 3/4 cups lukewarm 
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose or 00 flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• TOPPING
• 1 large egg white with 1 Tablespoon water
• sesame seeds

Instructions:

How to cook Bakery Style Italian Bread

For Dough

1. Combine the starter along with the rest of the dough ingredients... Mix then knead the dough...by stand or hand mixer or bread machine on dough cycle to make a fairly smooth dough
2. Place dough in a greased bowl, ..cover and let rise 90 minutes...turning over and deflating  after 45 minutes
3. Transfer dough to work surface and divide into 3 even pieces...roll each piece into a 18 inch rope...braid ropes tucking ends under...set braid on lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet
4. Cover the loaf and let rise for 60-90 minutes or until puffy...preheating oven to 425 degrees
5. Uncover loaf and brush with egg white mixture and sprinkle heavily with seeds
6. Bake bread for 25-30 minutes ...the longer it bakes...the crunchier the crust will get
7. Remove bread from oven and let cool on rack...can be stored in a brown paper bag for 24 hours...wrap in plastic and freeze for longer storage...ENJOY!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Home Made Hummus

My family loves hummus! and I didn't realize until recently how easy it actually is to make. So now I am making it all the time....I never was a fan of the store bought kind, I just usually went to my favorite Mediterranean restaurant to buy it because it just tasted fresher...But you can't get fresher than home made!....So here is how I make mine.
I took half of my regular batch and added roasted red peppers to it,  because that is my hubby's favorite so you can do that if you like also.
I am also adding my YouTube video demonstrating how I make it....Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 can Garbanzo beans

2 Tablespoons Tahini paste

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

1/2 Lemon (squeezed)

1/4 teaspoon Salt to taste

2 Cloves Garlic (minced)

1/4 Cup Water or more

Roasted red peppers (optional)

Olive oil and Paprika to garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Add all ingredients in order to Food processor and Pulse until smooth or desired consistency.

Enjoy my video below on how I put this together!

Mexican Lasagna

One of my favorite and most popular Crock Pot recipes is my Lasagna...I was looking to do a Mexican version of it for a Taco party I was having, so I came up with this version and everyone loved it!...First was coming up with the sauce ..it couldn't be Italian tasting like my original lasagna so I decided to add Salsa and enchilada sauce along with tomato sauce the last time I made it I also added a can of Tri-Bean blend to it which was a good addition...I have also added green chiles which can be optional...You could even add corn to sauce if you like...You can make this spicier also by what salsa you want to use..A lot of Mexican lasagnas call for using flour tortillas as your layers but I like using regular lasagna pasta noodles, you also add them uncooked....I have also made this with gluten free lasagna noodles and it was amazing!...This took less than 4 hours to cook on low which I do to prevent burning on the bottom..Next time I am going to make my Mexican Pizzas along with it...It could be a MexItalian night!...Here is how I made this...Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

SAUCE

1 pound ground sirloin

1 small onion diced

1 Jar Salsa (I used Chi Chi's mild)

1 can enchilada sauce ( I used mild)

1 can tomato sauce or petite diced tomatoes

+ 1 can of water

1 can tri- bean blend 

1 small can green chiles (optional)

LAYERS

1 box lasagna noodles or Gluten free version

1 can re fried beans

Shredded Cheese ( you can use your choice, cheddar, fiesta cheese or a combination)

you may need 1-2 bags

SAUCE

1. Preheat Crock pot to low

2. Ladle sauce in bottom to cover

3. Add uncooked lasagna noodles to fit

4. Drizzle more sauce over noodles then spoon half the can of re fried beans on top

5. sprinkle cheese over beans then cover with a layer of sauce

6. add another layer of noodles then repeat with the rest of the re fried beans then cheese

drizzle more sauce on top

7. You will end with a layer of noodles covered with sauce making sure all noodles are covered

8. Cook for 3-4 hours on low then top with cheese

Serve with Sour Cream if you like

**If by chance you don't end up with enough sauce to cover you can always add more enchilada sauce on top..you also want to make sure top layer stays submerged in sauce while cooking so it doesn't dry out

This is what it looks like finished...you can slice then scoop portions out

Peanut Butter Cookies (flourless)

So, what do you when you have three  jars of peanut butter in the pantry.... You make peanut butter cookies of course!..... And when looking through some of my old recipes I did not want to use granulated sugar.... So I thought I would replace with confectioners sugar and brown sugar and they turned out great.... Here is what I did.... enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Peanut Butter

1 beaten egg

3/4  cup  Confectioners Sugar

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking soda

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350

Mix all ingredients together

Scoop about a Tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball

Place on cookie sheet and flatten dough into a circle

Mark with a fork (I used a silicone fork worked great!)

Bake for 8-9 minutes until lighly golden

00 Flour Artisan Bread

I have never really been a fan of making yeast breads for the simple fact that I am intimidated by yeast!...and also because I try to stay away from gluten as much as I can...so if you can relate to this, this bread is for you!... I have recently been introduced to this 00 Flour from Italy that I ordered off of Amazon....it is Caputo's 00 soft wheat flour...00  is the rating that is given for the way the flour is milled....00 is the finest grated rating they give... the French also use this system....it is believed that this makes it easier to digest....it has lower protein and lower starch which means lower gluten....this is what makes it different from American bleached all purpose flours....So I decided to try this Artisan bread with it and I was pleasantly surprised on how simple this was...This dough is literally put together in 5 minutes but you will have to be patient because it needs to rest for 8-24 hours before baking...8 being the least amount of time and 24 being the most it should be left resting...here is what I did....Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 Cups Flour (I used 00) regular can also be used

1 teaspoon Salt

1/2  teaspoon Yeast

1 1/2 Cups warm Water

Directions

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined...it will look like a sticky mess but that is ok

Cover with plastic wrap (I Mark with the time so I don't forget)

Leave on counter at room temperature for 8-24 hours (I did for 12)

It will start getting bubbly

Once the desired rest time is done you will need 90'munutes before serving

Once rest time is up you will need to preheat oven to 450

And you will need to preheat your Dutch oven pan

Then take your dough and turn it into a floured surface

Knead into a ball and let rest for 30 minutes

I formed onto a piece of parchment paper for an easy transfer into Dutch oven pan...if you don't use parchment you will need to grease the pan

Add the dough to your Dutch oven and cut an x on top before baking

Bake covered with lid or foil for 30 minutes

Then bake uncovered for 10 more minutes to brown the crust

Let cool 15 minutes before cutting... An electric knife or a serated one works well

This bread has a nice crisp crust with a chewy center

This is the flour I used