recipe: dipped chocolate cookie bites

This year, one of America’s favorite cookies—more than 7.5 billions Oreos are consumed every day—celebrates its 100th Birthday. Congratulations!

18 oz Oreo cookies
8 oz cream cheese
12 oz white chocolate chips
1 tbsp butter
double boiler or microwave

Directions:
1. Crush the package of cookies and set aside.

2. Mix the cream cheese in a mixer until fluffy, then add cookie crumbs and mix until well blended.

3. Roll the ‘dough’ into 1” balls, place on wax paper and freeze for 2 hours.

4. In a double boiler—or microwave on 50% power and stirring every 30 seconds—melt the butter and chocolate chips.

5. Dunk the balls in the warm chocolate, allow the shell to cool and enjoy!

Special thanks to anna, product manager’s assistant, for contributing.

recipe: hearty banana bread

photo by: whitneyinchicago 1-1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 C pure cane sugar
2 very ripe bananas
3/4 C walnuts, chopped
1/2 C Greek yogurt
1 stick unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
just under 1 tsp of sea salt

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F, butter sides of a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Using a pastry cutter, blend the sugar and butter in a medium to large bowl.
3. Add the eggs, yogurt, bananas and mix with a fork to smash the bananas.
4. Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
6. Pierce with a toothpick and consider the bread done when the it comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and—to help keep it moist—cover with a kitchen cloth while it cools.

recipe: irish soda bread

photo by: TheLizardQueen4 C whole wheat flour, stone-ground
2 C all-purpose flour
2 C buttermilk
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1-1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Mix the flours, soda and salt in a bowl.

2. Form the mixture into a bowl shape and gradually pour the buttermilk into the center—about a cup to start. Mix ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula, then by hand as it gets firmer.

3. Knead a bit on a floured counter surface then, on a lightly floured baking sheet, pat down the ball of dough and cut a deep cross on top using a knife dipped in flour—to avoid sticking and pulling the dough—the cross-cut will make it easier to break apart later.

4. Lightly sprinkle the top with flour and bake in a pre-heated oven at 425°F for about 25 minutes, then 350°F for about 15 minutes.

hints:
—let it sit on a baking rack until it’s cooled and if the crust seems too hard, wrap the loaf in a clean, damp kitchen towel.
—unless you’ll be eating the whole loaf right away, don’t cut into it until it’s set, which is about 6 hours after it comes out of the oven. This will keep it moist instead of drying out quickly.
—for more soda bread recipes, go to sodabread.us/recipes.

recipe: lucky leprechaun

3 oz lemonade, or sour mix
1-1/2 oz vodka
1 oz limoncello
1/2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 tsp simple syrup
a squeeze of a lemon
a drop of green Crème de Menthe
garnish with good luck

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake until it’s so cold you can’t hold onto the shaker—when it gets frosty on the outside.
3. Strain into a martini glass and garnish—with a four-leaf clover if you’ve got one.

recipe: arancini

to make the risotto:
3-4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 C arborio rice
1/2 C dry white wine

1. Place chicken stock in saucepan over low heat. Lightly grease 8x8” baking pan and set aside.

2 Warm olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and stir for about 5 minutes. Add rice and cook another 5 minutes then deglaze the pan with the wine.

3 Lower heat to medium and add a ladle of warm broth and stir until its absorbed. Continue stirring and adding stock—a ladleful at a time—until rice becomes soft but retains a little bite, for about 20 minutes.

4 Remove from heat, gently stir in butter and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, season with salt and pepper. Spread on the baking pan and refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight.

to make the arancini:
2 tblsp unsalted butter
3/4 C Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
4 oz part-skim mozzarella, diced into 1/4” pieces
1 C all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 C Panko bread crumbs
handful of basil leaves for garnish

1. Once the risotto is chilled, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and heat 2-3” of oil in a sauce pan fitted with a candy thermometer to 350°F.

2. Shape a small amount of risotto into a ball. Press a chunk of mozzarella into the center—recovering it with risotto—and place on the parchment paper.

3. Place flour and eggs in separate dishes—in another, combine bread crumbs and the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Lightly coat each ball in the flour, shake off excess, dip in the eggs and then dredge into the bread crumb mixture.

4. Fry in batches for 5-6 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels and season with salt and pepper. While they cool, fry the basil leaves in the hot oil for 10-20 seconds. Quickly remove and drain them on paper towels. Serve arancini warm, garnished with fried basil.

Adam’s hints:
—if you’re short on time you can skip making a homemade risotto and use box mix. Just make sure to chill the cooked risotto before forming it onto balls.
—I love serving it with fried basil, or even your favorite tomato sauce.
—I first had these in Italy—we would walk down the streets in Rome and EAT EAT EAT—so as soon as I was home I knew I had to make them. Trust me, guests will go crazy for them!