Make your own tahini

What’s a girl to do when it’s a dreary day and she’s craving hummus?

Go to the store and buy some?

Heavens no! She makes her own! But what does she do when she realizes her recipe calls for tahini?

Now she goes to the store.

Nope, she looks up a recipe and makes her own tahini! And you can too, here’s what you need:

1/2 cup sesame seeds

2-4 Tablespoons oil of your choice (I used olive oil)

Put sesame seeds in a pan over medium heat and roast until they are a lovely golden color (you want to bring out all the nutty goodness that sesame seeds have to offer). Place seeds in a food processor with 2 Tablespoons of oil. Blend until creamy and smooth. If the tahini is too thick for your taste, add more oil. If not using right away, place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

A Pi Day to Remember

Do you know today’s date?!

It’s 3.14.15

Do you know what this means?!?!?!?!?!

Those are the first five digits of the mathematical constant pi! This is the one year that the date will be more that just the first three digits!!!!!!

Woah. I know. It’s a big deal.

So I made a pie to celebrate, an Apple, Craisin, Pecan, and Candied Ginger Pie.Here’s what ya need:

1 humongous Honeycrisp apple, cubed (it was a HUGE apple, once cored and cubed it probably was at least 2 cups worth)

1 cup craisins

1 cup candied ginger, chopped

1 cup pecans, chopped

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons Poudre Douce (or pie spice if ya don’t have that, or here’s a shameless plug, click here to buy some)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg and 2 egg yolks

pie crust for 9″ pie dish: this is up to you, if you make a wicked pie crust, please do so (and feel free to send me some tips and a recipe because I just bought some ready-to-go pie crust…).

Preheat oven to 350 F, set rack in center of oven.

Place apple, craisins, ginger, and pecans in a bowl.

Add sugars, Poudre Douce, salt, and egg. Stir until combined.

Pour this combination into your prepared crust. The verbose top crust is optional, I just love spelling things out with food. If you really want to achieve greatness you should see how many digits of pi you can fit on top of your pie.

Bake for 30 minutes. Take pie out and cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. With cover still on let cool for 20 minutes and serve!!!!

XO,

Charleston Spice Co.

Chewy Dreamy Oatmeal & Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yup, that’s a mouthful of a title, but just try these cookies and you’ll get it.

Before you make these you should know that they are better the day after they are made.

Sure, you can eat them right after they come out of the oven, but they will not be great, and you may be incredibly disappointed in me.

SO JUST WAIT FOR IT.

Hide them away after you make them and the next morning treat yourself to one for breakfast (HOWEVER if you are still in elementary or middle school don’t tell your mom I said it was okay for you to eat cookies for breakfast. You should never have cookies for breakfast (unless it’s your birthday). Oh and please don’t drink coffee yet either, save it for later in life, okay?).Here’s what you’ll need:

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon Poudre Douce (or pie spice or cinnamon)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups oats

2 OVERFLOWING cups shredded coconut, toasted

1/2 OVERFLOWING cup pecans, chopped

1 OVERFLOWING cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Beat together butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Add combined flour, Poudre Douce, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Slowly stir in oats, coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips.

Place about 2 tablespoons worth of dough a couple of inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 13 minutes, let cool on sheet for a couple of minutes then move to wire rack to continue cooling. Store in airtight container for at least 12 hours before enjoying.

Remember, some things are worth the wait,

XO

Charleston Spice Co.