Monday, December 31, 2018
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Monday, December 17, 2018
Monday, December 10, 2018
14 Must-Bake Holiday Cookie Recipes
Holiday cookie list, comin’ in hot! 
We will take basically any excuse to bake and eat and stock up on sweets, and the holidays are a perfect no-judgement zone. What did we ever do to deserve this season of sweets?
So, question: are you a bake by yourself or bake with friends kind of holiday baker? Maybe a little of both? If you opt for the “I like to throw a party and bake with all my friends” kinda person, we highly recommend you check out this little post from year’s past to throw the ultimate holiday baking party with these recipes and more. 
Whether you bake on your own or with a crowd, here are some of our favorite cookies we’re making this season.
Minty Chocolate Holiday Cake Bites
You get to tear into a perfectly baked chocolate cake with your own bare hands. Need we say more? 
Gingerbread Cookies
from SallysBakingAddiction.com
Soft in the centers, crisp on the edges, perfectly spiced, molasses and brown sugar-sweetened holiday goodness.
Hot Chocolate Cookies
from LoveFromTheOven.com
Hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. HELLO.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Bites
Beautiful and delicious and also refined sugar free (!!!). Love these.
Soft & Chewy Snickerdoodle Cookies
Because everyone loves a good snickerdoodle.
Easy Sugar Cookies
from SugarSpunRun.com
Doesn’t get more classic that this.
Red Velvet Macarons with Cream Cheese Frosting
from BromaBakery.com
Red velvet macarons + cream cheese frosting = match made in heaven.
Nordic Gingerbread Cookies
from TheFauxMartha.com
You don’t have to be from The North to make these. Sturdy enough to decorate and soft enough to eat. Yes, please.
The Best Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Soft, thick, bricks of chocolate chunks and buttery dough baked into a heavy, milk-loving cookie that is our most favorite chocolate chip cookie of all time.
Peppermint Mocha Cookies
from SallysBakingAddiction.com
Have your peppermint mocha and eat it too.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
from GimmeSomeOven.com
These ones are classic for a reason. Super easy to make, packed with chocolate, and perfectly soft and chewy.
Peanut Butter Blossoms
from HomemadeHooplah.com
For all you chocolate + peanut butter lovers.
White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies with Vanilla Salt
from NotWithoutSalt.com
White chocolate, cool peppermint, and vanilla salt. WOWZA.
Classic Shortbread Cookies
from JoCooks.com
Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and just three ingredients.
Tell us: what are you baking this season? We want to know it alllllll.
Happy holidays from the POY team. 
The post 14 Must-Bake Holiday Cookie Recipes appeared first on Pinch of Yum.
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Monday, December 3, 2018
How To Cook Chicken Breasts
Chicken breasts are extremely versatile and there are thousands of chicken recipes in the world. One of the best things about chicken breast, though, is that you don’t need a set recipe to whip up an amazing meal. Learn our four favorite methods of cooking chicken and you will never be stumped at dinner time again.
Watch how to cook chicken breasts:
How To Bake Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: 450°F
- How long: 20-25 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Internal temperature is 165°F
Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil.
Sprinkle spices generously over chicken breasts. You can use your favorite mix of herbs and spices or a store bought chicken seasoning. Add salt if it is not included in the seasoning.
Use your hands to completely coat the chicken breasts with spices.
Bake chicken at 450°F for about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breasts or until the internal temperature of the chicken reads 165°F on an instant read thermometer.
Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board and loosely with foil. Allow chicken to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Baked chicken breasts are extremely versatile and can be seasoned many different ways. Use your favorite spice blends and flavors to make these quick and juicy chicken breasts any night of the week.
How To Saute Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: Medium high stovetop heat/400°F oven
- How long: 15 minutes total
- How to know it’s done: Internal temperature is 165°F
Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and cover with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin or heavy skillet, pound the chicken breasts, focusing on the thicker ends, until chicken is even in thickness throughout.
Sprinkle chicken with seasoning mixture, adding salt if needed. Rub chicken breasts until evenly coated in spices.
Heat oil in an oven proof skillet, such as cast iron, over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add chicken breasts and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes on the first side, or until edges are starting to look cooked and chicken has a good sear.
Flip the chicken breasts and transfer skillet to a 400°F oven.
Bake chicken for about 8-10 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165°F on an instant read thermometer. Loosely tent with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Sautéed chicken is golden brown on the outside and juicy on the inside. Experiment with different seasoning blends and pair with your favorite side dishes for an easy, but incredible weeknight dinner!
How To Poach Chicken Breasts
- Temperature: Medium low stovetop heat
- How long: 12-18 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Juices run clear
Place chicken breasts into a large sauce pan and cover with cold water by several inches.
Add a few simple aromatics such as carrots, peppercorns, salt, and bay leaves.
Cover the saucepan and bring the pot to a low boil over medium heat. Once water is boiling, reduce to a simmer and allow chicken to cook gently for about 10-12 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife.
Remove chicken and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Cooking liquid can be reserved and added to soups as a simple stock.
Poached chicken can be sliced, cubed or shredded. It’s the perfect blank slate to add to soups, casseroles, or seasoned for enchiladas or tacos. Make a batch of poached chicken to shred and use throughout the week for lunches and dinners.
How To Make Chicken In Instant pot
- Setting: Sauté & High Manual Pressure
- How long: 8 minutes
- How to know it’s done: Chicken is tender and cooked through
Cut chicken breasts in half to create smaller, evenly sized pieces. Season chicken generously with preferred spice mix, and stir to evenly coat.
Add oil to the Instant Pot and turn on sauté setting. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts in a single layer.
Brown chicken for about 3-4 minutes, flip and cook on the second side for an additional 3 minutes.
Add liquid to the Instant Pot to almost cover the chicken. This can be chicken stock, coconut milk, salsa, or even water. A simple jarred salsa is easy and provides lots of great flavor to the chicken. Here we used a roasted tomatillo salsa.
Place on the Instant Pot lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. When Instant Pot is done cooking, quick release the pressure. Carefully remove chicken. Chicken can be served immediately with some of the reserved cooking liquid or used for meal prep throughout the week.
How To Shred Chicken
Poached chicken and chicken cooked in the Instant Pot is great for shredded. To shred chicken, use two forks to pull the cooked chicken into shreds. Shredded chicken can be added to casseroles, soups, or used in the filling for enchiladas or tacos.
How To Cook Chicken Thighs
These methods for cooking chicken breasts can also be used for cooking boneless chicken thighs. Chicken thighs have a higher fat content and can therefore, be extremely flavorful. Be sure to cook chicken thighs to an internal temperature of 165°F.
How To Know If Your Chicken Is Done:
The best way to know if chicken is cooked is to use a meat thermometer. Insert the thermometer into the thickest part of the chicken and ensure that chicken is 165°F. If cooking bone-in chicken, be sure to avoid touching the bone with the meat thermometer when checking the temperature.
We’d recommend this instant read meat thermometer (affiliate link).
Our Favorite Chicken Recipes:
Instant Pot Coconut Tandoori Chicken
Sheet Pan Garlic Ginger Chicken
Garlic Basil Chicken with Tomato Butter Sauce
5 Ingredient Lemon Chicken with Asparagus
Thai Yellow Chicken Curry with Potatoes
Skillet Chicken with Bacon with White Wine Sauce
Roasted Tomatillo Chicken Enchilada Casserole
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Monday, November 26, 2018
How To Cook Tofu
Tofu! Familiar to some and bizarre to many. It can be baked, fried, sautéed, marinated, scrambled – in short: it can really do it all. And newsflash: you don’t need to be a vegetarian to enjoy!
Tofu is super high in protein and low in fat, and is a great alternative in many dishes that have meat. It can be cooked in a flash and served in SO many ways (see below). Gosh, it’s just the best.
Watch how to cook tofu:
In these examples, we used this soy ginger sauce recipe. It’s our favorite to use with tofu!
How To Bake Tofu
- Temperature: 400°F
- How long: 35-40 minutes
- How to know it’s done: golden brown, slightly crispy at the edges and chewy in the center
Baked Tofu is a great way to prepare a large quantity of chewy bites of tofu that can get tossed with sauce and added to noodle bowls and or a stir fry. This method is also helpful because it frees up stove top space while preparing other elements of your recipe.
Press extra firm tofu for at least 30 minutes. Cut tofu into cubes or slabs and place in a glass dish.
Add a sauce or marinade over the tofu. A variety of oil or soy sauce based marinades work well.
Cover and allow tofu to marinate for about 30 minutes.
Transfer tofu to parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes, flipping halfway through. Marinade can be reserved and brushed onto tofu during the baking process for extra flavor.
Baked Tofu can be served as a main dish or added to noodle bowls, rice bowls, or salads.
How To saute Tofu
- Temperature: medium high heat
- How long: 20 minutes
- How to know it’s done: golden brown, slightly crispy at the edges and chewy in the center
Sauteed tofu is cooked with a small amount of oil and a bit of sauce to create a delightfully crispy exterior.
Press extra firm tofu for at least 30 minutes and cut into cubes. Add a small amount of oil to a non-stick skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add tofu to pan and brown on each side for about 1-2 minutes for a total of about 15 minutes.
Once all sides of tofu are lightly golden brown, add about 1/4 cup of sauce.
Cook tofu, stirring frequently until sauce has been absorbed into tofu and caramelized around the edges creating a crispy exterior.
Add sautéed tofu to salads, stir fry, noodle bowls, or soup.
How To Fry Tofu
- Temperature: medium high heat
- How long: 9-11 minutes
- How to know it’s done: both sides are golden and crispy
Frying tofu is a very simple and quick way to cook tofu. It achieves a reeeally golden crunchy exterior that makes for a hearty plant-based meal.
Press extra firm tofu for about 30 minutes and cut into triangles. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add tofu to the pan in a single layer. Do not overcrowd the pan. Allow tofu to cook, undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes or until the underside is golden brown and crispy.
Flip the tofu pieces and season the cooked side with salt. Allow the second side to cook for an additional 4 minutes or until the second side is golden brown and crispy. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. Season second side with salt.
This crispy tofu can be be tossed with a sauce after cooking for extra flavor. We used triangles of tofu, but cubed or sliced tofu works well with this cooking method, too. If cooking cubed tofu, flip onto all sides during the cooking process to ensure even crispiness.
If desired you can add a sauce toward the end of the cooking process and flip tofu over to coat and allow sauce to brown at the edges. If planning to add sauce during cooking process, use slightly less oil while frying to avoid splattering and an overly oily sauce.
How To Scramble Tofu
- Temperature: medium high heat
- How long: 15-17 minutes
- How to know it’s done: tofu pieces are browned and crispy
Scrambled tofu is similar to pan fried tofu, but instead of large pieces, the result is flavorful crispy bits of tofu that can be added to tacos, casseroles, bowls, and salads.
Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add pressed and sliced tofu to the pan. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break or ‘scramble’ the tofu into small pieces.
Once the tofu is scrambled, add some sauce or seasoning to the pan. Cook for about 3-4 minutes stirring or until all the tofu has been evenly coated in the seasoning or sauce and it has started to absorb into the tofu.
Then allow tofu to cook, undisturbed for about 4 minutes. This allows the tofu to become crispy. Give the tofu another quick stir to redistribute the cooking surface, and allow to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the tofu has achieved the desired crispiness. The longer you let the tofu cook undisturbed, the crispier the tofu will get.
Do You Have To Cook Tofu?
Technically, tofu does not need to be cooked. It is ready to eat straight out of the package.
The most common tofu to eat raw is silken tofu. It’s often used in vegan desserts to achieve a creamy texture. For example, this mind-blowing vegan chocolate pie.
Firm tofu, while able to eat raw, is best used in various cooking applications.
How Do You Press Tofu?
Tofu contains a large amount of water when it comes out of the package. In order to bake, fry, or scramble tofu, it’s best to press out as much water as possible before cooking. The longer you press your tofu, the firmer the texture will be and the easier it will be to achieve a nice crispy texture.
If you make a lot of tofu, you may want to purchase a tofu press designed specifically for pressing out the water from tofu.
If you do not have a tofu press, you can use standard kitchen items to help with this process.
- Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towel
- Drain your tofu block and place on top of paper towel lined baking sheet
- Place 2-3 more layers of paper towel on top of tofu block
- Place a heavy skillet or second baking sheet on top
- Weight the skillet down with a few canned goods
- Allow tofu to press for about 30 minutes
- If pressing longer, place baking sheet set up in the refrigerator while it presses
This pressing method works best on firm or extra firm tofu. It is not recommended to press silken or soft tofu.
How Do You Cut Tofu?
Tofu can be cut in a variety of shapes and sizes. Once you have pressed your tofu, most shapes start by cutting the block of tofu into 1/4 inch – 1/2 inch thick slices.
From there, you can cut the tofu into small cubes, triangles, or leave them as slices for more of a tofu steak. Cubes of tofu are very versatile and can pretty much be used in most cooking applications.
What Kind of Tofu Should I Use?
Tofu comes in a range of firmness from silken to extra firm.
- Extra firm tofu has the tightest curds and can stand up to hearty cooking methods, such as pan frying and baking.
- Firm tofu is often used in traditional Asian soups such as hot and sour soup and miso soup.
- Silken Tofu is perfect for making creamy, vegan desserts or any in any recipe that requires the tofu to be blended.
TOFU RECIPES WE LOVE:
Spicy Sesame Zoodles with Crispy Tofu
Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme
Honey Ginger Tofu Veggie Stir Fry
Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps
5-Ingredient Green Curry
Mind-Blowing Vegan Chocolate Pie
Dynamite Plant Power Sushi Bowls
Spicy Sofritas Veggie Bowls
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