Fig & Spice Granola

Granola is possibly the easiest thing to throw together, and home-made granola tastes way better than store-bought. It feels like comfort food, especially during the winter! I like to eat it with a bit of vanilla yogurt, though warm from the pan is delicious, too.


There are probably a million variations you could come up with for your favorite granola. I was inspired to make this one on a visit to Whole Foods. You could substitute the figs with dried cherries, cranberries, or even raisins.






2 c rolled oats
1/4 c firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/3 c slivered almonds
1/2 c dried figs
4 Tbs unsalted butter
4 Tbs honey

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and add the honey. In a bowl, combine oats, sugar, spices, figs and almonds. Pour the honey and butter over the oat mixture and stir to blend.

Spread the granola evenly on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crunchy, 25-30 minutes. Stored in an airtight container, the granola should keep up to 10 days.

A little bit of summer...

Michigan winters can be long. Really long.

Thumbprint cookies have always reminded me of summer, so I decided to whip up a double batch last week to escape the winter doldrums. I used both strawberry jam and peach preserves, but you can use anything you like!

Jam Thumbprints (adapted from Williams-Sonoma "Kids Cookies"):


1 batch makes about 16 cookies


1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3 Tbps sugar
3/4 t vanilla extract
big pinch of salt
1 c all-purpose flour
2-3 Tbps of jelly, jam, or preserves

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Cream the sugar, butter, vanilla and salt in the mixer on medium-high speed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the flour on low speed, beating to form a smooth dough.

Roll rounded heaping teaspoons between your palms into balls and place about 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheet.

Make an indentation with your thumb, and put your preserves or jam into the indentation with a small spoon.

Bake until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes, then remove onto cooling racks to cool completely.

Yum!

Welcome!

Me+you+baking. A winning combination. Right?

Now, I am hardly a domestic goddess. I don't clean out the lint trap in the dryer after every use nor do I always wipe the dog's wet paws before he enters from a snowy romp in the backyard. I do, however, enjoy my time in the kitchen especially when the mixer is going and I have flour all over the place.

So why "Domestic Goddesse?"

1. My favorite movie of all time is "French Kiss." If you haven't seen it, go rent it. Or Netflix it. Whatever.

2. Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking." Need I say more? Though my last chocolate loaf didn't quite make it to picture-perfection, it still tasted amazing.

3. Maybe I'll have people to hold me accountable for the lint trap since I tattled.

Baking is like a therapy for me (even when my bread dough doesn't rise properly and I have the urge to throw the KitchenAid out the door. Just kidding, Dad.). And the best part is giving away the treats and loaves to friends and family.

And who knows? Maybe I'll even get around to baking some dog treats for the resident pooch, Cooper. That'd make for one happy pup. And they'd probably be healthier than all the unbaked crumbs he finds on the floor.