Homemade Enchilada Sauce

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Homemade enchilada sauce is so easy to make, you might not ever buy it in a can again.

It consists of spices and pantry staple items. Chances are you have everything you need to make it right now.

Whisk together a few spices, make a roux, and the rest is a delicious enchilada sauce. I’ve tried out several enchilada sauces over the years, and while they were all good, this one became a favorite with its deep flavor from the toasted spices, a slightly thicker consistency thanks to the roux rather than relying on cornstarch, and ease of making.

Is This Authentic Enchilada Sauce?

I don’t believe so. At least, it’s different than the authentic recipes I’ve seen so I’m going to say no. I’m all for authentic, but I do not have on hand the 3 different types of dried chilis called for in authentic Mexican enchilada sauce. That is why I use this recipe and now am sharing it with you. It has wonderful, deep flavor without having to track down specialty ingredients. If you’d like an authentic recipe, check out Isabel Eat’s.

Recipe by Jenny, inspired by Cookie and Kate

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp cumin

  • 1 tsp garlic powder

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

  • pinch of ground cinnamon, optional

  • 3 Tbsp / 42g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3 Tbsp / 22g all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 cups / 356g vegetable broth or water

  • 8 oz / 237g tomato sauce

  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, sugar, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon.

  2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add flour and all spices and whisk. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes, to toast spices.

  3. Slowly add in about 1/4 cup of broth while whisking continuously; mixture will thicken. Slowly add in remaining broth, stirring constantly.

  4. Add in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  5. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Allow to cool, use as desire. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Yield 12
Author
Prep time
5 Min
Cook time
25 Min
Total time
30 Min

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Homemade enchilada sauce is quick and easy to make, using pantry staples. It's healthier and tastier than store-bought!

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, sugar, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, salt, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon.
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add flour and all spices and whisk. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes, to toast spices.
  3. Slowly add in about 1/4 cup of broth while whisking continuously; mixture will thicken. Slowly add in remaining broth, stirring constantly.
  4. Add in tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove from heat and add vinegar. Allow to cool, use as desire. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

49

Fat

4 g

Sat. Fat

0 g

Carbs

4 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

3 g

Sugar

1 g

Protein

1 g

Sodium

412 mg

Cholesterol

0 mg

Nutritional info is approximate, based on 12 servings of 1/4 cup each

condiment, sauce, Mexican, wet burritos, Enchilada
condiment
Mexican
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Best Pie Pan Materials

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Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Whipped Cream

Pie dishes come in many different shapes, sizes, as well as a several different materials. More than just looks, what a pie dish is made of can have a significant impact on your pie, especially the crust.

Pie dishes (also called pie plates, pie tins, pie pans…let’s just get that out of the way!) are typically made of glass, ceramic, or metal. Each baker has their personal preference, and each material has its pros and cons.

If you’d like to read more about how to select the the best pie dish size for your needs, read here.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Best Pie Pan Materials

Glass

Pros:

  • Inexpensive

  • If made of clear glass, can easily see how well crust is turning golden

Cons:

  • Can shatter - avoid extreme temperature changes, i.e. moving a pie from the freezer to the hot oven. To avoid this, look for borosilicate glass, such as the OXO plate linked.

  • Shouldn’t be used under the broiler due to the risk of shattering

Ceramic

Pros:

  • Visually appealing

  • Best for avoiding crusts shrinking or slipping down

  • Cleans up easily

  • Can be used under the broiler

  • Can usually be transferred from freezer to oven without risk of thermal shock, but it’s always wise to double check with the manufacturer as not all ceramic or stoneware is made equally

Cons:

  • Can be expensive

  • More variety, sizes, and tend to be deeper than glass or metal, which lends to some pie recipes not adequately filling the pan

  • Usually the heaviest of the three materials

Metal:

Pros:

  • Inexpensive

  • Lightweight

  • Good for golden, crispy crusts, and fast heat conduction

  • Can be used under the broiler

  • Can be transferred from oven to freezer without risk of thermal shock

Cons:

  • Not as good for longer baking pies due to the superior heat conduction of metal, especially in darker colored metal pans

  • Can get scratched easily

  • Are sometimes non-stick. While this may be a pro as far as pies coming easily out of tins, it can also mean the pie plate is coated in controversial chemicals such as teflon. If you desire the non-stick feature but not the chemicals, look for a pie tin that is coated with silicone, like the USA Pan linked.

  • If non-stick, you should avoid using metal utensils to cut or serve the pie, as this can damage the non-stick coating.

Key Lime Pie

No matter which pie dish you choose to use, all can give you excellent results.

Ideally, one would have a few different sizes of pie dishes and materials on hand to be able to suit each recipe and type of pie, but we don’t all have that luxury. Hopefully this summary has helped you understand which pie plate material is best suited to your personal baking adventures.

What Size is a Standard Pie Dish?

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Various sizes Emile Henry pie dishes stacked

What size is a standard pie dish, anyway?

Generally speaking, a standard size pie dish is 9 inches (23 cm).

It gets tricky, though, because pie dishes are not standardized in measurements or how they’re measured. More on that later.

The Conundrum of Pie Dish Sizes

Have you ever made a pie recipe and been disappointed that the pie doesn’t adequately fill the pie dish? Or conversely, had way too much filling that you then didn’t know what to do with or maybe it came bubbling out while baking and made a mess of your oven?

Why do pies turn out looking different than the pictures in the recipe, even though you used the pie pan size called for?

While we’re at it, why are there so many different names for the round vessel in which we bake pies: pie dish, a pie pan, pie plate, and pie tin?? Which one do you say?

These are the deep questions that plague me throughout the day, bogging me down until they are satisfactorily answered. This is why I can’t simply “make a pie.” Making a pie inevitably turns into wondering which pie dish I should use, why we have at least 4 different sizes, and why there need to be so many.

Helpful recipes will specify which size pie dish is called for, but what if you don’t have that size? What if you use what you have anyway but the recipe doesn’t fill your pan or it’s too much? If you want to make that kind of pie again, do you find a new recipe, or buy a new pie dish? Or do you take the time to adjust all the measurements to better fit your pie tin?

WHY are there so many questions surrounding just one small aspect of making a pie? Let’s do our best to clear things up.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Lack of Standardization in Pie Dishes

There is no standardization in pie dish measurements which can make choosing one a bit difficult. While most would consider 9 inches (23 cm) as standard, there are several other factors that go into pie dishes that can make them differ dramatically.

You could order several different 9 inch (23 cm) pie dishes from various companies, bake the same pie recipe in each one, and the pies would probably all come out differently. Side height, the angle of the side slope, if there is and how big the lip might be, if the edge is fluted or fancy, all will affect how the final pie looks. One brand’s 9 inch (26 cm) pie pan measuring from outer edge to outer edge is quite different to another brand’s 9 inch (23 cm) pie pan measuring from inner edge to inner edge.

Since these aspects aren’t standardized, let’s dive into the various options.

four different Emile Henry pie plates side by side

Three Aspects to Consider When Choosing a Pie Dish

  1. Pie Dish Diameter: The most important aspect to consider is the pie plate’s diameter. There is some discrepancy here as some are measured from outer edge to outer edge, some inner edge to inner edge, and others the diameter of the bottom of the plate. On top of that, many manufacturers don’t specify how their pie dishes are measured.

  2. Pie Dish Depth: Pie dishes also vary in height - shallow, regular, and deep dish. This is also not standardized, but most standard dishes fall between 1.5 - 2 inches (4 - 5 cm). A shallow pie dish could be as low as 1 inch (2.5 cm), and a deep dish is often 2 inches (5 cm) or deeper.

  3. Pie Dish Capacity: Another important indicator is the capacity of a pie dish. 4-6 cups or 1 - 1.5 Qts (.95 - 1.4 L) is common, with anything less being a smaller pie pan and anything more being a bigger pie pan.

If I want to have just 1 pie dish on hand, which size should I have?

9 inches (23 cm) will be your best bet all around, with a height of 1.5 - 2 inches (4 -5 cm). Things to consider:

  • If you’re buying just one pie pan to have on hand, it would be safer to have a slightly greater capacity, so go with deep dish 9 inch (23 cm) and look for one with sides are about 2 inches (5 cm) high.

  • If you most often make fruit pies, go with a 9 inch (23 cm) with higher sides. No one likes a fruit pie that bubbles over and leaves a mess or worse, ends up dry because so much of the filling bubbled over.

  • Cream pies, often those with graham cracker crusts (key lime pie, peanut butter pies, etc.) often do better in a 9 inch (23 cm) pie plate or one with shorter sides, closer to 1.5 inches (4 cm) or even less depending on the pie. I’ve made too many cream pies that looked dwarfed by the pie pan they were made in.

Ideally, if you make pies often, you’d have two or three different pie dish sizes on hand. A shorter 9 inch (23 cm) for cream pies, a deeper 9 (23) or even 10 inch (26 cm) for fruit pies, and a more standard size 9 inch (23 cm) for everything in between.

Material Matters, Too

What pie dishes are made of is also of importance. Glass, ceramic, or metal are typical.

Everyone has their favorite material for a pie dish, for different reasons. They all have pros and cons.

My favorite to work with is ceramic, with simple beauty added to each pie and even browning of crusts. They’re also a good choice for helping to keep crusts from slipping or shrinking down.

Favorite Brand of Pie Dishes

Even beyond pie dishes, Emile Henry is one of my absolute favorite bakeware companies. Emile Henry is a French brand, made in France and very high quality.

They’re elegant, a breeze to clean, and come in various sizes. Emile Henry bakeware can be quite pricy, but their pie dishes aren’t actually too much more than other pie dishes on Amazon. For the investment, it’s well worth it.

Between my mom and I, we have four different Emile Henry pie dishes, which means I can accurately measure four different styles and compare them to their online measurements to see how they add up.

four different Emile Henry ceramic pie plates side by side

Emile Henry Pie Dishes:

Shape Code: 61.31 - 10 inches (26 cm)

My actual pie plate has stamped on the bottom that it is “26 cm” and “9 in.” When I measured the pie plate, the 26 cm is correct, which is actually 10.25 inches. This means the stamped “9 in” is incorrect. Their website lists it as 10 inches. From this I gather that their dimensions are measured from outer edge to outer edge.

  • The inner edge to inner edge measurement is 9 inches (23 cm).

  • Capacity 1.5 Qt (1.4L).

  • The sides are 2 inches tall (5 cm).

Ceramic Shape Code 61.21 - 10.25 inches (26 cm)

  • 10.25 inches (26 cm) measured from outer edge to outer edge.

  • The inner measurement 9.25 inches (23.5) cm.

  • Capacity 1.7 Qt.

  • Sides are 2.6 inches (6.5 cm) tall.

Shape Code 61.62 - 9 inches (23 cm)

This Emile Henry pie dish is no longer available on their site and I couldn’t find really any other source selling this particular shape code, so the only measurements I have to go on are my own.

  • 9 inches (23 cm) measured from outer edge to outer edge.

  • The inner edge to inner edge measurement is 8 inches (20 cm).

  • Sides are 2 inches (5 cm) at the tallest part of the lightly ruffled edge.

Shape Code 61.81

This pie dish is no longer available on the Emile Henry website, but it looks fairly similar in size to the other 10 inch plates above.

  • 10.5 inches (26.5 cm) measured outer edge to outer edge.

  • 9.25 inches (23.5 cm) measured inner edge to inner edge.

  • Sides are just shy of 2.25 inches (6 cm) tall.

four different Emile Henry ceramic pie plates side by side

Using Beets for Color in Baked Goods

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Sweet Nutella knots vibrantly colored with beets

Beets in baked goods can be finicky. Many a baker has tried their hand at beets, hoping for that vibrant hue in their baked goods, only to be disappointed by the color baking out and leaving an unexciting brown.

If you’re reading this wondering what you are doing wrong, don’t feel bad. It’s what beets like to do. It’s a natural chemical reaction that can be difficult to offset. It’s taken me years, but only after I finally came to terms with beets losing their color, did I actually have success in them keeping their color.

I’m happy to share some insight with you, although I won’t claim it to be 100% foolproof. I feel I’ve finally made friends with beet color in baking, and hope you too have better success.

Take a good look at the photos in this post, as these will show you what to expect. Beets just work better in some things than others. Bread seems to have the best success, since the extra hydration from beets is more easily offset in bread than in cakes or other bakes where extra moisture can lead to heaviness or gumminess.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Sweet Nutella knots vibrantly colored with beets

Adding Beets for Color

This post is not a precise recipe, but will help you figure out how to add beets to your bakes to get optimal color, as well as some troubleshooting tips.

How Much Beet to Use?

For bread recipes, I find the best success with using up to 50% of the flour weight in beets. This means for a bread recipe that uses 500g (about 4 cups of flour), I would use up to 200-250g of beets (1-2 beets, depending on size).

Roast Beets

For optimal color, roast beets in their skins. Boiling beets, using beet powder, or other preparations don’t seem to work as well.

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F / 205°C.

  2. Wash beets, leaving on skins, and wrap in tinfoil.

  3. Bake for about 1 hour or until tender when a fork or knife is inserted into beet. Baking time will depend on size of beets.

  4. Allow to cool enough to handle, then remove skins, roots, and any stem stumps. Skins should slide off fairly easily.

Purée Beets

Pureed beets in mixing bowl

Once beets are roasted, cooled, and skins removed, they need to be puréed.

There are a number of ways to do this:

  1. Place the beets and some of the liquid from the recipe into a bowl and blending with an immersion blender until smooth.

    You also don’t have to use some of the liquid from the recipe with the beets, but I find it’s easier and quicker to get the beets smooth and also easier to scrape out.

  2. Place the beets and some of the liquid from the recipe into a blender and blend until smooth. This works best if you have a nice, high-powered blender.

Once beets are puréed, add something acidic to help maintain the color when baked. 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar should do the trick. You can also use citric acid, about 1/2 teaspoon.

*What does “liquid from the recipe” mean? It means using any liquid (water, milk, etc) from the recipe you’re using to help blend up the beets before adding to the recipe.

Let’s say you have a sandwich bread recipe that calls for 1 cup of water. You have 2 roasted beets you want to add to make a beautifully colored sandwich bread. You could take 1/2 cup of water from the 1 cup called for to help purée your beets. Then you can add the puréed beets into the recipe and add more of the remaining 1 cup water as needed. Beets add moisture so you may not want to add all of the called for water.

Adjust Liquid As Necessary

fuchsia colored beet bread dough

As mentioned, beets add moisture to a recipe, so you may want to hold back some of the liquid from the recipe. Another option when making bread is to simply add more flour. I’ve seen people do both. I’ve tried both also, and they both work. Just be wary of using a LOT of beets, then having to add a ton more flour. This can start to upset the balance of the recipe. Use your beet judgement. Excuse me. I meant “best” judgment.

Bake!

The only thing left to do now is finish the recipe, enjoy playing with the brilliantly colored dough or batter, and bake.

Troubleshooting a Brown Beet Bake

Why did my beet bake still turn brown?

As easy as it might seem, some beet bakes still turn brown despite our best efforts. If it was easy, or if there was a foolproof method, there wouldn’t be so many brown beet baked goods. That doesn’t mean we give up. We keep trying, experimenting.

If your bake still turned brown, try the following:

  • Make sure you used enough beets. Sometimes it’s as simple as that. Beets turn doughs/batters brilliant colors with very little added, but more is needed to KEEP the color.

  • Make sure to use an acid, or maybe try more acid if you already did. Vinegar, lemon juice, ascorbic acid.

  • I’ve read fresh beets produce a better red. I haven’t tried fresh and old beets side by side to see any difference, nor do I always know how “fresh” the beets I have are. I can say that the same batch of beets can still produce different results, even if they’re all the same “age.”

  • Make sure you are using a regular oven setting and not convection. I’ve had the same batch of dough turn different colors simply because one was baked on the convection setting.

  • Check the kind of recipe you’re making. If it’s cake, cupcakes, cookies, or similar, those can be a lot harder to get color with, and even then it’s usually more pink or pinkish brown at best. Bread is the easiest to get deep color with. Keep expectations reasonable.

My Quest for Natural Red

Over a decade ago I set out to achieve a naturally colored Red Velvet Cake. Red Velvet was having a moment and it bothered me to no end since Red Velvet as we know it now is essentially just a barely chocolate cake with a whole bottle of red artificial food dye dumped in. And if you know me, you know I’ve never liked artificial food coloring. I felt people were being duped. So, I set out to bake a natural Red Velvet Cake, so at least if you were going to eat a somewhat chocolate cake, it didn’t have to be with artificial coloring in it. I had looked up the origin of Red Velvet, discovering that it did not originally include artificial coloring, its more subtle red color owing to a chemical reaction in the cake from vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. Following this cue, I tried all the tricks I could to get the cake to keep its color, along with the help of beets. No amount of acidity seemed to help the vibrant color stay. It always baked out, leaving a pinkish hue at best. After awhile I gave it up, one can only eat so many beet cakes, you know, and anyway, I didn’t see anyone else having much success, even those who confidently had beet cake recipes published.

Fast forward to earlier this year, when my algorithms on Facebook had been completely taken over by sourdough groups even though I never joined nor even looked them up, but there they were. Doing their thing, reeling me into their sourdough troubleshooting.

I happened to see a post where beets for color came up. Inevitably, several shared how beets naturally lose their color, yet one commenter shared a photo of her bread colored with beets. It was the most vibrant, fuschia dough I had ever seen that baked into a still impressively colorful, braided Challah. She did it, and she seemed to know what she was talking about. She wasn’t sharing her photo as a first time, proud accomplishment but rather, almost in defiance of the others saying it can’t be done. It can be done, and she does it.

I made it my new goal to see if I could get my bread to look like that.

A Fresh Attempt with Beets

Feeling freshly inspired and challenged, I grabbed the last beets from my mom’s garden. Going off of the little information that had been shared about using beets successfully, I set out with more hope about beets than I had in a long time.

Beets in a Sourdough Boule

I decided to use the beets first in a loaf of classic sourdough bread. The dough was beautiful, yes, but the color all but baked out. I felt the familiar pang of disappointment. I probably did not use enough beets. You can almost tell by the color of the dough. While bright, it’s not quite vibrant enough to keep a deeper color when baked.

beet colored sourdough boule with heart scoring before baking

Beet Sourdough Boule before baking

beet colored sourdough boule with heart scoring

Sourdough Beet boule baked

beet colored sourdough boule crumb shot

Crumb shot of sourdough beet bread

Beets in Sourdough Challah

Knowing it can be done, I tried again, this time with Challah. The original commenter had done challah, King Arthur also has a beet Challah recipe posted, and I make Challah often. Seemed a fitting recipe to adjust. I used my dear friend’s recipe, while referencing King Arthur’s. I doubled my recipe to make a large braided Valentine’s heart. I still think I needed more beets.

Again, the dough was vibrant and beautiful, but an interesting change in color occurred during the final proof. You can see in the photos how the newly braided bread is a nice magenta, then after it has risen it has lightened in color. I do not know why. Once baked, the bread retained some color. I used beet powder for the finishing glaze so the contrast makes the bread look less colorful, than it really was, actually.

Better, but not there yet.

sourdough challah dough colored with beets

Challah Dough

sourdough challah dough weighed and shaped into balls, colored with beets

Challah Beet Dough, weighed, shaped into balls, awaiting rolling and stuffing with chocolate

beet colored sourdough challah braided into heart shape

Beet challah dough braided into a heart, ready for the second rise

beet colored sourdough challah braided into heart shape, fully proofed

Beet Challah Dough fully proofed, ready for baking

beet colored sourdough challah braided into heart shape, baked

Beet Challah Heart baked

beet colored sourdough challah braided into heart shape, drizzled with glaze

Beet Challah Heart finished with a beet glaze and sliced almonds

beet colored sourdough challah braided into heart shape, drizzled with glaze

Beet Challah Heart finished with a beet glaze and sliced almonds

Beets in Nutella Twists

My third attempt with this batch of beets I just went wild and added twice the amount of beets as I had added in the other recipes, since that was what I had left. I really think that did the trick.

I was starting to think there was something in my environment or my beets were not fresh enough…but the attempt I expected the least out of, turned out quite nice. Convection bake doesn’t work well for bread in general but I tried it with one batch and it actually affected the color, also.

My theory thus stands, it doesn’t take that many beets to get a rich color, but it takes a good amount of beets to keep the color through baking.

beet colored Sweet Nutella twist dough rolled out

Beet Brioche dough rolled out

beet colored Sweet Nutella twists before baking

beet brioche dough filled with nutella and shaped into various knots

Beets are persnickety, but they can be done!

Happy baking, and good luck!

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi - Four Cheese Pasta

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Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi made with orecchiette pasta

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi, or Four Cheese Pasta, is basically Italy’s more luxurious macaroni and cheese.

The ingredients couldn’t be simpler, the sauce is made from milk and four different kinds of cheese. The trick is to use the right cheeses and not overcook it, otherwise the flavors won’t be as balanced and the cheese might clump up.

If made correctly, the sauce will be velvety, smooth, and rich, perhaps with bits of cheese here and there.

Is this like the pizza ai quattro formaggi?

It’s surprisingly difficult to find a straight answer to which 4 cheeses are traditionally used in the Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi. Because of this, I’ve looked to the pizza version of quattro formaggi for inspiration to create the perfect blend of cheeses, as well as some Italian recipes, of course!

The pizza ai quattro formaggi is one of my favorite pizzas. I usually like pizzas with vegetables on them, but once you have the right pizza ai quattro formaggi, you’ll never go back. Not only is it super cheesy, but the way the four different cheeses pair together is pure magic. Yes, the Gorgonzola blue cheese, too. It makes it. Pizza ai quattro formaggi may have been the key to turn me from tolerating blue cheese in certain dishes to genuinely liking it.

Of course, today’s recipe is the pasta, not the pizza, but if you’ve had a good run in with the magical four cheeses, then you know the pasta will be (is) just as magical.

Pizza ai Quattro Formaggi vs. Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi

Pizza ai Quattro Formaggi generally uses the same cheese choices. At least, 3 are typical, the fourth is more interchangeable.

  • Mozzarella (Fior di latte or mozzarella di bufala)

  • Gorgonzola dolce

  • Parmigiano reggiano (parmesan, or occasionally other aged cheese such as pecorino)

  • A soft cheese such as Emmental (Swiss cheese), groviera (Gruyère), or fontina, or a creamy cheese such as stracchino

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi is less straightforward, with more leeway for playing with different cheeses. 2 Cheeses are generally the same, while the other two often change out depending on the recipe and mood of the creator. Mozzarella is not a good choice for pasta, since it’s classic stringy quality so desirable in pizza, does not work so well in pasta sauce.

For the pasta, these two cheeses are the cornerstones:

  • Gorgonzola dolce - it is not Quattro formaggi without it!

  • Parmigiano reggiano - the aged hard cheese of choice

The other two types of cheese have options:

  • A soft cheese - a soft taleggio is a good choice, or Brie, or other similar soft cheese (rinds removed)

  • A swiss or good melting cheese - fontina, Gruyère, etc. In Italy they sometimes use Edam or emmental, which are similar to Swiss cheese. I haven’t personally tried those (except for Gruyère) and find that the block Swiss cheese here in the States isn’t always my favorite for melting or flavor.

As long as you don’t stray too far from these guidelines, you will find yourself with the most heavenly, creamy and cheesy bowl of pasta in front of you.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all'Americana made with cavatappi pasta

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Curiously, I have two recipes on here that are very, very similar. One is the original Italian version, which is where you are, the other is also four cheese, but “Americanized”, if you will.

Why?

The Italian version is simple, with the cheese and milk sauce. However, the method can be finicky and the cheeses called for can be rather expensive in the States, not to mention hard to source. They can’t really be switched out for more economical cheeses without risking the sauce getting clumpy. This means you’re required to buy more expensive cheeses that might not be available at your local grocery stores. I can only find taleggio, for example, at specialty cheese or Italian stores in my area.

For this reason, I created the “American” version, starting with a roux. This method is more forgiving for using a wider variety of cheeses, including more budget friendly ones. I almost always have Parmesan or Parmigiano on hand, sometimes have Gorgonzola and gruyère, but rarely do I have Taleggio or some of the other suitable substitutes.

Click here for the Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all”Americana Recipe

It would cost me less than $4 to make the American Four Cheese using mozzarella, Parmesan, Gorgonzola, and cream cheese, while the most recent time I made the Italian version it cost about $20 in cheese. That was even using American Parmesan and not authentic Parmigiano Reggiano. You can see where the American version is more approachable, at least for those not living in Italy.

Both of these recipes I have made several times. I have yet to mess up the American version, no matter how careless I get. I have messed up the Italian version more times than I care to confess as someone who publishes and develops recipes. Troubleshooting seemed to be amiss on other recipes, so I am happy to share with you what I learned in my trial and error!

The con to the American version is that it is thickened with flour, which means that the sauce has gluten in it. Pasta itself is made with flour and definitely not gluten-free, but it is easily switched out with any gluten-free pasta readily available at any grocery store

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi made with orecchiette pasta

Serves 4-6

  • 1 lb / 500g short pasta of choice

  • 1 1/4 cups / 296g whole milk

  • 5.5 oz / 156g Gorgonzola (dolce), rind removed, cut into chunks

  • 4.5 oz / 128g soft Taleggio, rind removed, cut into chunks

  • 4.5 oz / 128g Gruyère, shredded

  • 4.5 oz / 128g Parmigiano reggiano, shredded

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta 1 minute less than according to package directions.

  2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat milk over low heat until almost simmering. Do not let milk boil. Whisk in gorgonzola, stirring until mostly smooth. Add in taleggio, whisking until melted and almost smooth. Stir in Gruyère, again stirring until mostly melted and smooth. Turn off heat and stir in Parmesan until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  3. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water. Combine pasta and cheese sauce, along with about 1/2 cup of pasta water, mixing to evenly coat pasta. Add more water if a thinner sauce is desired. Continue mixing for a few minutes until sauce is creamy and clinging to pasta. Serve immediately.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Is your sauce ending up with chewy cheese chunks instead of a smooth sauce? You might be overheating the cheese when making the sauce. Keep your heat on the lowest setting, stir constantly, and make sure the milk isn’t boiling when you add the cheese.

  • I’m all for switching out ingredients for healthier alternatives, but this is one recipe I would not suggest you sub in any lower fat or other varieties of milk. If anything, sub in half & half or cream!

  • Like most Italian pasta dishes, this dish is best eaten right away, and not intended for leftovers.

  • While some cheeses can be switched out, choose wisely, as not all cheeses melt homogeneously into a smooth sauce. The cheeses in this recipe are chosen for their melting qualities and balanced flavors.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi
Yield 6-8
Author
Prep time
5 Min
Cook time
25 Min
Total time
30 Min

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi

Classic Italian Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi, or Four Cheese Pasta, features perfectly cooked pasta in an ultra velvety cheese sauce made with four different, perfectly balanced cheeses.

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta 1 minute less than according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, in a medium pot, heat milk over low heat until almost simmering. Do not let milk boil. Whisk in gorgonzola, stirring until mostly smooth. Add in taleggio, whisking until melted and almost smooth. Stir in Gruyère, again stirring until mostly melted and smooth. Turn off heat and stir in Parmesan until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Drain pasta, reserving about 1 cup of pasta water. Combine pasta and cheese sauce, along with about 1/2 cup of pasta water, mixing to evenly coat pasta. Add more water if a thinner sauce is desired. Continue mixing for a few minutes until sauce is creamy and clinging to pasta. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Is your sauce ending up with chewy cheese chunks instead of a smooth sauce? You might be overheating the cheese when making the sauce. Keep your heat on the lowest setting, stir constantly, and make sure the milk isn’t boiling when you add the cheese.
  • I’m all for switching out ingredients for healthier alternatives, but this is one recipe I would not suggest you sub in any lower fat or other varieties of milk. If anything, sub in half & half or cream!
  • Like most Italian pasta dishes, this dish is best eaten right away, and not intended for leftovers.
  • While some cheeses can be switched out, choose wisely, as not all cheeses melt homogeneously into a smooth sauce. The cheeses in this recipe are chosen for their melting qualities and balanced flavors.


Nutrition Facts

Calories

635

Fat

28 g

Sat. Fat

17 g

Carbs

60 g

Fiber

2 g

Net carbs

58 g

Sugar

5 g

Protein

35 g

Sodium

1098 mg

Cholesterol

80 mg

Nutritional information is approximate and based on 6 servings.

Classic Italian Four Cheese Pasta, Traditional Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi, quick pasta dinner
dinner
Italian
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Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi made with orecchiette pasta

Atlantic Beach Pie

/
Slice of Atlantic Beach with a saltine crust, lemon lime filling, topped with whipped cream

Atlantic Beach Pie is a sweet and creamy citrus pie topped with a pile of whipped cream. It’s much like key lime pie, and will be adored by any who love a good citrus dessert.

A saltine crust

The crust is made of saltines, which almost immediately raises eyebrows. It did mine, and was one of the original reasons I decided I had to try this. The saltines lend a crispety saltiness that pairs quite well with the zing of the citrus.

A filling akin to key lime pie

The filling is basically the filling for key lime pie, except that it is made with lemon juice and lime juice.

Slice of Atlantic Beach Pie

One of my big qualms with key lime pie recipes is when only one can of sweetened condensed milk is used, and you end up with a flat little pie. Seeing that happening here, I doubled the filling, and also added lemon and lime zest. The first time I made this I thought, “key lime pie” - but missing something. It’s the zest. It was missing zest.

The recipe below includes zest for that added zing. Zany, isn’t it? If you don’t like zesting citrus or are short on time, know you can leave it out, even the original recipe doesn’t use it. However, it really is that much better with some real zest in there.

A cloud of whipped cream

Top a sweet and salty crust and a sunshine citrus filling with a mountain of whipped cream and you have a winner.

Recipe adapted from Bill Smith’s creation from his time vacationing in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, where local lore held that only citrus desserts could be eaten after eating seafood

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Atlantic Beach Pie

Serves about 12

Ingredients:

Looking down on Atlantic Beach and coffee

For the Saltine Crust

  • 1 sleeve (about 37) saltine crackers

  • 6 Tbsp / 85g unsalted butter, melted

  • 3 Tbsp / 37g granulated sugar

For the Lemon-Lime Filling

  • 2 - 14oz cans / 792g sweetened condensed milk

  • 8 egg yolks

  • 1/2 cup / 119g fresh lemon juice

  • 1/2 cup / 119g fresh lime juice

  • Zest of 1 lemon

  • Zest of 2 limes

For the Whipped Cream Topping

  • 2 cups / 474g heavy whipping cream

  • 1/4 cup / 50g granulated sugar

  • 2 tsp / 10g vanilla extract

Directions:

Make the Saltine Crust

Oven 350°F / 177°C. 1 ungreased 9-inch pie plate.

  1. Crush saltine crackers finely or somewhat finely, as desired. This can be done with a rolling pin or in a food processor.

  2. Add butter and sugar and mix until cracker crumbs are thoroughly coated.

  3. Press evenly into bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate.

  4. Freeze for 20 minutes.

  5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fragrant and just starting to turn golden on the edges.

  6. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare filling.

Make the Lemon-Lime Filling

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Stir in lemon and lime juices and zest until well incorporated.

  2. Pour into warm crust.

  3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling is mostly set, a slight jiggle is ok.

  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 hour before placing in fridge and chilling completely, about 2 hours.

Make the Whipped Cream

  1. Place whipping cream in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium-high until soft peaks form.

  2. Add sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form.

  3. Evenly spread over chilled pie; serve.

Atlantic Beach Pie
Yield 12
Author
Prep time
35 Min
Cook time
55 Min
Inactive time
3 H & 20 M
Total time
4 H & 50 M

Atlantic Beach Pie

Atlantic Beach Pie has a crunchy, sweet and salty saltine crust, a creamy, tangy, lemon-lime filling, all topped with a cloud of fresh whipped cream. Dreamy!

Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

For the Saltine Crust
For the Lemon-Lime Filling
For the Whipped Cream Topping

Instructions

Make the Saltine Crust
  1. Oven 350°F / 177°C. 1 ungreased 9-inch pie plate.
  2. Crush saltine crackers finely or somewhat finely, as desired. This can be done with a rolling pin or in a food processor.
  3. Add butter and sugar and mix until cracker crumbs are thoroughly coated.
  4. Press evenly into bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
  5. Freeze for 20 minutes.
  6. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fragrant and just starting to turn golden on the edges.
  7. Remove from oven and let cool while you prepare filling.
Make the Lemon-Lime Filling
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. Stir in lemon and lime juices and zest until well incorporated.
  2. Pour into warm crust.
  3. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling is mostly set, a slight jiggle is ok.
  4. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1 hour before placing in fridge and chilling completely, about 2 hours.
Make the Whipped Cream
  1. Place whipping cream in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium-high until soft peaks form.
  2. Add sugar and vanilla and whip until stiff peaks form.
  3. Evenly spread over chilled pie; serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

324

Fat

25 g

Sat. Fat

15 g

Carbs

22 g

Fiber

0 g

Net carbs

22 g

Sugar

19 g

Protein

5 g

Sodium

44 mg

Cholesterol

196 mg

Nutritional information is approximate and based on 12 servings.

atlantic beach pie, atlantic beach, north carolina, lemon lime pie, saltine crust, whipped cream topping, Bill Smith
dessert
American
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Slice of Atlantic Beach with a saltine crust, lemon lime filling, topped with whipped cream

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

/
Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

This creamy lemon pesto orzo first came into our lives when my brother made us dinner one night. He periodically treats us to dinner, and this quickly became a requested favorite.

Orzo, if you’re not familiar with it, is just a very small shape of pasta. Imagine little chewy bites of pasta in a creamy, flavorful sauce with bright notes of lemon, white beans here and there and bites of kale.

This orzo was so good, that the occasional brother-cooking-dinner just wasn’t enough, especially since we didn’t want to bore him by requesting the same dish every time and squash his culinary explorations. So, we got our hands on the recipe, adjusted what needed to be adjusted and changed a couple things to our tastes, and voilà. I can make it anytime I want. Now my brother, mom, and I all make this frequently, and we’re all happy to eat it when the other has made it. We all have our own versions of this absolutely delightfully creamy, lemony, pesto orzo with kale. It has become my new favorite comfort food and it has its regular place on our dinner rotation.

Oh, and this all comes together in one pot, so it really doesn’t get much better than this!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

Serves 4-6

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp / 14g cooking oil

  • 1 shallot or small onion, chopped small

  • 4-6 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 Tbsp / 28g butter or more cooking oil

  • 1 cup / 210g orzo

  • 6 cups / 1,422g chicken or vegetable broth

  • 1 parmesan rind, optional

  • 1 can (15 oz / 425g) white beans, drained

  • 1 can (13.5oz / 383g) coconut milk. full-fat or lite

  • 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

  • 1/2 cup / 100g basil pesto

  • 1 cup / 100g grated parmesan cheese

  • zest and juice of 1 lemon

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • Garnish ideas, optional: Fresh lemon wedges, fresh basil, fresh dill, more grated Parmesan, more basil pesto for drizzling, extra virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, lemon zest

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until starting to turn translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.

  2. Add butter and allow to melt. Add orzo and cook for 1-3 minutes, stirring frequently, to toast.

  3. Increase heat to medium-high, add broth and parmesan rind, if using. Bring to a boil. Simmer orzo for 8-9 minutes or until al dente.

  4. Stir in white beans and coconut milk, cook until heated through and simmering.

  5. Add kale, stirring until all is immersed.

  6. Remove from heat, remove parmesan rind, if desired. Add pesto, grated parmesan, zest, and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste

  7. Serve immediately with garnishes, as desired.

Jenny’s Notes:

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

  • This creamy orzo will continue to thicken up the longer it sits. For a more soup-like consistency, add an additional 2 cups of broth or water, more as needed.

  • If using boxed broth, using 6 cups may leave you with an unwanted 2 cups of broth. You may choose to add the additional 2 cups for more of a soup, as mentioned above, or simply use 1 container (4 cups / 1 liter) of broth with an additional 2 cups of water. This orzo has plenty of flavor to do so.

  • For an extra creamy, tangy kick, add 3-4 oz of goat cheese along with the ingredients in step 6.

  • Using a parmesan rind imparts extra flavor and creaminess, while using a part of cheese that would otherwise be tossed. Depending on the parmesan rind used, it often will melt into smaller chunks while others will remain one whole rind. Either way, you may choose to fish out the rind before serving, or not, as desired.

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale
Yield 4-6
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Cook time
30 Min
Total time
40 Min

Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

Comforting orzo in a creamy pesto sauce with bright notes of lemon, white beans, and bites of kale.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until starting to turn translucent, 1-2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute.
  2. Add butter and allow to melt. Add orzo and cook for 1-3 minutes, stirring frequently, to toast.
  3. Increase heat to medium-high, add broth and parmesan rind, if using. Bring to a boil. Simmer orzo for 8-9 minutes or until al dente.
  4. Stir in white beans and coconut milk, cook until heated through and simmering.
  5. Add kale, stirring until all is immersed.
  6. Remove from heat, remove parmesan rind, if desired. Add pesto, grated parmesan, zest, and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste
  7. Serve immediately with garnishes, as desired.

Notes

  • This creamy orzo will continue to thicken up the longer it sits. For a more soup-like consistency, add an additional 2 cups of broth or water, more as needed.
  • If using boxed broth, using 6 cups may leave you with an unwanted 2 cups of broth. You may choose to add the additional 2 cups for more of a soup, as mentioned above, or simply use 1 container (4 cups / 1 liter) of broth with an additional 2 cups of water. This orzo has plenty of flavor to do so.
  • For an extra creamy, tangy kick, add 3-4 oz of goat cheese along with the ingredients in step 6.
  • Using a parmesan rind imparts extra flavor and creaminess, while using a part of cheese that would otherwise be tossed. Depending on the parmesan rind used, it often will melt into smaller chunks while others will remain one whole rind. Either way, you may choose to fish out the rind before serving, or not, as desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

590

Fat

38 g

Sat. Fat

19 g

Carbs

47 g

Fiber

7 g

Net carbs

40 g

Sugar

6 g

Protein

17 g

Sodium

1485 mg

Cholesterol

16 mg

Nutritional information is approximate and based on 6 servings, using full fat coconut milk and parmesan rind

creamy lemon orzo kale pesto soup
dinner
American
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Creamy Lemon Pesto Orzo with Kale

Masala Chai

/
homemade masala chai in pottery mugs

Pottery from Schyler the Potter, a local Traverse City Artist

Masala Chai is a rich blend of warm and inviting spices simmered with sweetened black tea and milk, hailing from India.

It is often called simply chai, or chai tea, but the latter is redundant since “chai” actually means “tea” in Hindi. Essentially, “chai tea” is like saying “tea tea.” Another example of queso cheese for you.

You might find it interesting that masala chai and chai tea/chai tea latte are not the same thing. The spices used are similar, but the key difference is that masala chai has the spices simmered in the tea and milk, where cha tea latte has the spices simmered in just the tea, then milk is added later. Thus, masala chai is richer having the spices fully infuse all the through the milk, and chai tea is not quite as flavorful with the milk toning down the tea.

What Kind of Tea to Use?

Loose leaf tea is a good choice, but tea bags can also be used. Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri are common choices.

whole spices: cloves, cinnamon sticks, star anise, ginger root, peppercorns, cardamom

Typical Spices

The spices used can vary depending on the region in India. Typical spices include grated ginger, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, star anise, peppercorns, whole cloves, and sometimes lemongrass or even mint or holy basil.

Common Sweeteners

White sugar, brown sugar, Demerara, coconut sugar, honey, and jaggory are all common sweeteners, but you can use whichever you prefer. I like to use maple syrup or honey.

Milk Choices

Water buffalo milk is a traditional choice in India, but that might not be available to you, so whole milk would be the next most authentic choice. Otherwise, use whichever kind of milk or milk alternative you typically use. Half & half makes for an extra creamy and rich treat, or oat milk, soy milk, etc. keeps it dairy free.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Masala Chai

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

homemade masala chai in pottery mugs

  • 4 cups water

  • 2 (3 inch / 7cm) sticks of cinnamon

  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger

  • 4 cardamom pods, seeds removed (roughly 30 seeds)

  • 12 whole cloves

  • 20 peppercorns

  • Seeds from 1 star anise, optional

  • 8 black tea bags, or 4 tsp loose leaf black tea

  • 4 cups milk of choice

  • Sugar, honey, or maple syrup to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat so water simmers, rather than boiling.

  2. Add all spices and black tea to water; simmer for 5 minutes.

  3. Increase heat and add milk; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.

  4. Strain tea into a large heat-proof pitcher or container, discard spices and tea. Add sweetener of choice to taste. Pour into mugs and serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Boiling the spices before adding the milk is important as ginger can curdle milk otherwise.

  • Another option instead of straining the tea, is to gather all the spices into some cheesecloth and tying it closed with some food-safe string. This is called a bouquet garni, and keeps the spices contained. After simmering for 15 minutes, the bouquet garni can simply be removed, gently squeezed between two spoons, and discarded.

  • The star anise is optional since not everyone loves its black licorice flavor. I do not care for star anise, but I do actually enjoy it in this recipe, as it melds well with the other flavors and is not distinct.

  • While maybe not traditional, I like to add a teaspoon or two of grated orange zest and even vanilla extract.

Masala Chai
Yield 6-8
Author
Cook time
30 Min
Total time
30 Min

Masala Chai

Authentic Masala Chai is a creamy, spicy tea drink original to India but enjoyed around the world.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat so water is simmering, rather than boiling.
  2. Add all spices and black tea to water; simmer for 5 minutes.
  3. Increase heat and add milk; bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  4. Strain tea into a large heat-proof pitcher or container, discard spices and tea. Add sweetener of choice to taste. Pour into mugs and serve. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Notes

  • Boiling the spices before adding the milk is important as ginger can curdle milk otherwise.
  • Another option instead of straining the tea, is to gather all the spices into some cheesecloth and tying it closed with some food-safe string. This is called a bouquet garni, and keeps the spices contained. After simmering for 15 minutes, the bouquet garni can simply be removed, gently squeezed between two spoons, and discarded.
  • The star anise is optional since not everyone loves its black licorice flavor. I do not care for star anise, but I do actually enjoy it in this recipe, as it melds well with the other flavors and is not distinct.
  • While maybe not traditional, I like to add a teaspoon or two of grated orange zest and even vanilla extract.


Nutrition Facts

Calories

162

Fat

5 g

Sat. Fat

3 g

Carbs

24 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

22 g

Sugar

20 g

Protein

6 g

Sodium

73 mg

Cholesterol

20 mg

Nutritional information is approximate; based on 6 servings using whole milk and 1 Tbsp of maple syrup per serving.

masala chai, chai tea latte, authentic Indian chai, homemade chai tea
beverage, breakfast
Indian
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5 Cup Fruit Salad

/
five cup fruit salad

5-Cup Fruit Salad is a delightfully simple fruit salad consisting of just 5 ingredients: mandarin oranges, pineapple, coconut, mini marshmallows, all tossed in plain yogurt or sour cream. A bit of pineapple juice is used to lightly sweeten the yogurt/sour cream, bringing the whole thing together in a simply sweet way.

This fruit salad has been a part of family dinners and holidays since I was a teenager. It couldn’t be quicker to pull together, it’s inexpensive, and it’s fruit based, while still being delicious (creamy!) and fun (marshmallows!). The coconut gives texture, the fruit is juicy, and the mini marshmallows soften, melting in your mouth.

This 5 Cup Fruit Salad uses canned fruit to keep prep time and costs down, but feel free to use fresh fruit where you wish!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

5 Cup Fruit Salad

five cup fruit salad

Serves 3-5

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15oz/425g) mandarin orange segments, drained

  • 1 can (8oz/226g) pineapple chunks or tidbits, drained and 1 Tbsp juice reserved

  • 1 cup / 57g mini marshmallows

  • 1 cup / 80g shredded unsweetened coconut

  • 1 cup (8oz/226g) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, combine oranges, pineapple, marshmallows, and coconut. Toss lightly to combine.

  2. Add sour cream and reserved pineapple juice and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served day of making.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Sweetened coconut can be used in place of the unsweetened. Unsweetened may be harder to find than sweetened, but it keeps the sugar down and lets the fruit really shine.

five cup fruit salad
5 Cup Fruit Salad
Yield 3-5
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Total time
10 Min

5 Cup Fruit Salad

Easy, creamy, tropical fruit salad with just five inexpensive ingredients is perfect for holidays or anytime!
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine oranges, pineapple, marshmallows, and coconut. Toss lightly to combine.
  2. Add sour cream and reserved pineapple juice and toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. Best served day of making.

Notes

  • Sweetened coconut can be used in place of the unsweetened. Unsweetened may be harder to find than sweetened, but it keeps the sugar down and lets the fruit really shine.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

458

Fat

21 g

Sat. Fat

18 g

Carbs

64 g

Fiber

10 g

Net carbs

55 g

Sugar

50 g

Protein

11 g

Sodium

52 mg

Cholesterol

3 mg

Nutritional information is approximate; based on 3 servings.

tropical fruit salad, retro five cup fruit salad
side dish, dessert
American
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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

/
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana chocolate chip muffins are always a good idea.

Probably my favorite way to use up overripe bananas, these muffins are moist, easy on the sugar because they’re already sweet from the bananas, and chocolatey. They’re simple enough to make that even my 2 year old can help make them.

banana chocolate chip muffins

We love them because they make sure our older bananas don’t go to waste and sourdough discard gets used up. This recipe also doesn’t require dirtying a bowl just to mash bananas. Often banana recipes instruct to mash bananas separately before adding into the already-mixed wet ingredients. Here, the bananas are mashed then the wet ingredients are added right in to the banana bowl.

Muffins require no fancy tools beyond a muffin tin. Muffins are my go-to for a quick bake with tasty results.

Use up sourdough discard

As mentioned above, muffins are a great way to use up sourdough discard. I find using up to 1/2 cup keeps the taste and texture subtle. Otherwise up to 1 cup discard can be used, although the taste will be more pronounced and the texture of the muffins will start to get a bit more bread like.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes about 12 muffins

Ingredients:

banana chocolate chip muffins

  • 1 3/4 cup / 210g flour

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 3/4 cup / 128g mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping

  • 3-4 very ripe bananas

  • 1/2 cup / 113g oil

  • 1/2 cup / 100g sugar

  • 1 egg

  • 1 tsp / 5g vanilla extract

  • up to 1/2 cup / 125g sourdough discard, optional

Directions:

Oven preheated to 375°F / 190°C. 1 muffin pan greased or lined with muffin liners.

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.

  2. In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and discard, if using. Mix well.

  3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Don’t over-mix.

  4. Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan, filling until just about even with pan. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips, if desired.

  5. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until muffins no longer look wet and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Depending on size of bananas and if sourdough discard is used, this recipe may make a bit more than 12 muffins.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Yield 12
Author
Prep time
20 Min
Cook time
19 Min
Total time
39 Min

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Moist banana chocolate chip muffins are lightly sweet with pops of chocolate, perfect for breakfast, a snack, or on the go. This recipe is quick and easy with the option of using sourdough discard.
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Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven preheated to 375°F / 190°C. 1 muffin pan greased or lined with muffin liners.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
  3. In a large bowl, mash bananas. Add oil, sugar, egg, vanilla, and discard, if using. Mix well.
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing until just moistened. Don’t over-mix.
  5. Scoop batter into prepared muffin pan, filling until just about even with pan. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips, if desired.
  6. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until muffins no longer look wet and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool.

Notes

  • Depending on size of bananas and if sourdough discard is used, this recipe may make a bit more than 12 muffins.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

274

Fat

13 g

Sat. Fat

3 g

Carbs

35 g

Fiber

2 g

Net carbs

33 g

Sugar

11 g

Protein

3 g

Sodium

215 mg

Cholesterol

15 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 muffin if recipe makes 12, not including sourdough discard.

best ever easy banana chocolate chip muffins,
breakfast, snack
American
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banana chocolate chip muffins

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

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Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes have been a family favorite since 2010. They’re rich, nutritious, and just a tad bit fussy for potatoes, which makes them a favorite for Thanksgiving and other holidays.

Most recipes for sweet potatoes play on their sweetness, turning them into sweet potato casserole or sweet twice baked potatoes. While I love me some sweet potato casserole (I’m team pecan crumble/streusel on top!), this recipe is refreshing because sweet potatoes are wonderful in savory recipes and this one really lets them shine.

This recipe is adapted from Williams Sonoma’s “Savoring America” cookbook. I was gifted this cookbook as a teenager and several recipes in there have become staples in my family over the last decade plus. This recipe is one of my favorites from there.

This Fluffy Key Lime Pie is from the “Savoring America” cookbook, also!

I’ve adapted this recipe to keep all the flavor while lightening it up a bit. Since we often make these for holidays or around the holiday season, we didn’t feel the need to have these so decadent when there is so much other rich and decadent food. This version uses less butter and milk instead of heavy cream. Bacon is optional, with the original calling for 4 chopped slices that get cooked along with the onion and garlic. Bacon, while delicious, can overtake dishes. We don’t normally add it, and don’t miss it! These are plenty flavorful without it.

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Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Serves about 8

Ingredients:

  • 4 sweet potatoes, unpeeled

  • 2 Tbsp / 28g cooking oil

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

  • 6 oz / 180g (about 4 cups) chopped spinach or other similar green

  • 2/3 cup / 158g chicken or vegetable broth

  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

  • 4 Tbsp / 56g butter, softened

  • 1/3 cup / 79g milk

  • 1/2 cup / 50g grated Parmesan cheese

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 1/2 cup / 57g shredded Swiss or Gruyère cheese

Directions:

Oven 350°F / 177°C.

Bake the Sweet Potatoes

  1. Poke the surface of each sweet potato all over with the tines of a fork.

  2. Bake in preheated oven until soft and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven.

  3. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place in the bowl of a food processor or regular bowl, leaving a thin lining of flesh in the skin about 1/4” thick.

Make the Filling

  1. Heat oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, a couple of minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.

  2. Add spinach and broth, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and broth has mostly evaporated, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat.

  3. Pulse sweet potato flesh with rosemary in a food processor until smooth, or use a handheld mixer. Add butter, milk, and Parmesan and pulse or beat until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Add spinach mixture to sweet potato mixture and mix until combined.

  5. Divide evenly among sweet potato skins and top with Swiss cheese.

  6. Bake until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Spinach is my favorite and readily available option for these, but some other options include collard greens, swiss chard, or any other of your favorite greens. Cooking time may vary, depending on green chosen and how long it takes to become tender.

  • Any good melting cheese that you desire can be used on top of these.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
Yield 8
Author
Prep time
45 Min
Cook time
1 H & 45 M
Total time
2 H & 30 M

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Savory Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes are both rich and delicious with a smooth, cheesy filling with herbs and greens, perfect for holidays or any time.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

Bake the Sweet Potatoes
  1. Oven 350°F / 177°C.
  2. Poke the surface of each sweet potato all over with the tines of a fork.
  3. Bake in preheated oven until soft and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 - 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven.
  4. When cool enough to handle, cut each potato in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place in the bowl of a food processor or regular bowl, leaving a thin lining of flesh in the skin about 1/4” thick.
Make the Filling
  1. Heat oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, a couple of minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
  2. Add spinach and broth, stirring occasionally, until spinach is wilted and broth has mostly evaporated, about 5-7 minutes. Turn off heat.
  3. Pulse sweet potato flesh with rosemary in a food processor until smooth, or use a handheld mixer. Add butter, milk, and Parmesan and pulse or beat until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Add spinach mixture to sweet potato mixture and mix until combined.
  5. Divide evenly among sweet potato skins and top with Swiss cheese.
  6. Bake until potatoes are heated through and cheese is melted, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Spinach is my favorite and readily available option for these, but some other options include collard greens, swiss chard, or any other of your favorite greens. Cooking time may vary, depending on green chosen and how long it takes to become tender.
  • Any good melting cheese that you desire can be used on top of these.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

258

Fat

14 g

Sat. Fat

7 g

Carbs

27 g

Fiber

4 g

Net carbs

22 g

Sugar

6 g

Protein

7 g

Sodium

400 mg

Cholesterol

31 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 half potato.

savory twice baked sweet potatoes, cheesy sweet potatoes, Thanksgiving sides
dinner
American
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Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Also known as MMM Cookies, or Magical Marvelous Memorable Cookies.

These cookies are sweet, salty, and have little crunchies in them from granola and pecans. Many people pick them up thinking they’re just a normal chocolate chip cookie only to ask, “hey, what’s in here?” when they realize there are some delightful little sweet and salty add-ins dotting the chocolate chip landscape.

The recipe that inspired these cookies is called “Magical, Marvelous, Memorable Cookies”. I like to think of the pretzels as magical, the pecans as marvelous, and the granola as memorable. Irony of ironies, I could never remember the whole title and would always forget “memorable.” I decided to give them a little bit easier and more descriptive name. While I do enjoy the original more whimsical one, it is harder to remember and gives no indication as to what is in these cookies or what they will taste like.

Cookies that unite

Somehow, their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-esque ingredient list works really well together. They unite people, when you think they would divide, especially when they include things like pretzels and nuts. I’m not normally one to like pretzels in my desserts. The pretzels are one of my favorite parts. My mom doesn’t like nuts in her cookies. She likes the pecans in these.

Granola? In cookies?

The recipe calls for granola, which might seem ambiguous in light of all of the different kinds of granola out there, store-bought and homemade. Use whatever kind you’d like! Yes, each time the cookies will be a bit different, but as long as you like the granola you’re using, the cookies should turn out delightful. It doesn’t even have to be pure granola. Recently I’ve been using Post Great Grains Crunchy Pecan and it works very well.

Likewise, pecans are one of my favorite nuts in dessert (if I want nuts), but you can use your favorite nut here, if you don’t have or don’t want to use pecans.

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Recipe inspired by Food52

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup / 225g Butter, softened OR 3/4 cup / 169g Neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g Granulated sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g Brown sugar

  • 2 Eggs

  • 2 tsp / 10g Vanilla extract

  • 2 1/4 cup / 270g All-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp Baking soda

  • 1 tsp Salt

  • 1 cup / 170g Semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • 1 cup / 120g Granola or granola-like cereal

  • 1/2 cup / 50g Pecans, chopped

  • 1/2 cup / 20g Pretzels, crushed

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 177°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets

  1. In bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. If using oil, simply mix oil and sugars.

  2. Beat in eggs and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.

  3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

  4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.

  5. Stir in chocolate chips, granola, pecans, and pretzels until evenly distributed.

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn golden and centers still look a bit soft.

  7. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Any variety of pretzels can be used, as long as they can be broken into small pieces. Sticks or tiny twists (mini) are probably the easiest to work with.

  • The options for what kind of granola to use in these is almost endless. You could use store-bought or homemade, any flavor you like.

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield 24-30
Author
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
35 Min

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies with the addition of pretzels, pecans, and granola. The ingredients might sound a bit "everything but the kitchen sink" but surprise everyone with just how tasty they are.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375°F / 177°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets
  2. In bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. If using oil, simply mix oil and sugars.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.
  4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips, granola, pecans, and pretzels until evenly distributed.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn golden and centers still look a bit soft.
  8. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Notes

  • Any variety of pretzels can be used, as long as they can be broken into small pieces. Sticks or tiny twists (mini) are probably the easiest to work with.
  • The options for what kind of granola to use in these is almost endless. You could use store-bought or homemade, any flavor you like.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

268

Fat

15 g

Sat. Fat

3 g

Carbs

31 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

29 g

Sugar

17 g

Protein

3 g

Sodium

180 mg

Cholesterol

14 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 cookie from a 24-cookie batch.

no chill chocolate chip cookies, everything but the kitchen sink cookies, magical marvelous memorable cookies
dessert
American
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Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies are very much like a classic chocolate chip cookie, but with two important differences: They have butterscotch chips and dark chocolate chips instead of the classic semi-sweet. Also, a sprinkling of sea salt on top gives these an extra little sweet and salty kick.

The orange and dark chocolate give these an autumnal, even Halloween look. I love that a simple, quick to make cookie can still look subtly festive without having to make cutout cookies with icing and such.

A Note on Chips:

These cookies call for butterscotch chips. I recommend checking the ingredients of butterscotch chips before buying as some brands include artificial colors. While butterscotch chips may not be the most wholesome thing on the market, some options are still better than others. I’ve found butterscotch chips at Aldi that use natural coloring and for one of the better prices, too!

While any flavor of chocolate chips can be used in these, milk, semi-sweet, or dark, I really enjoy dark chocolate chips or chunks. The bitterness from the dark chocolate helps to cut the sweetness of the butterscotch chips while also complimenting the sea salt.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup / 168g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g brown sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tsp / 5g vanilla extract

  • 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 cup / 170g butterscotch chips

  • 1 cup / 170g dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • sea salt, for sprinkling, optional

Directions:

Oven 375° / 190°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets.

  1. In a large bowl, combine oil, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well with a spoon for about 30 seconds - 1 minute.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

  3. Add dry ingredients along with butterscotch and chocolate chips to wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.

  4. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn light golden brown and centers look mostly set.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • While cookie recipes never include notes about needing to add more flour, like bread recipes often do, I often find it necessary to add more flour to get the consistency I like. If you can see cookie dough spreading in the bowl after mixing, rather than staying mostly in a mounded shape, it’s probably too soft. Add 1/4 cup flour at a time until desired thickness is achieved. If in doubt, you can always bake off a test cookie. Scoop out enough dough for just one cookie onto cookie sheet and bake, adding more flour if cookie spreads too thin. Conversely, if cookie is too thick and doesn’t spread much at all, next time add less flour.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield 24-30
Author
Prep time
15 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
25 Min

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy cookies with dark chocolate, butterscotch, and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375° / 190°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, combine oil, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well with a spoon for about 30 seconds - 1 minute.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients along with butterscotch and chocolate chips to wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.
  5. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn light golden brown and centers look mostly set.

Notes

  • While cookie recipes never include notes about needing to add more flour, like bread recipes often do, I often find it necessary to add more flour to get the consistency I like. If you can see cookie dough spreading in the bowl after mixing, rather than staying mostly in a mounded shape, it’s probably too soft. Add 1/4 cup flour at a time until desired thickness is achieved. If in doubt, you can always bake off a test cookie. Scoop out enough dough for just one cookie onto cookie sheet and bake, adding more flour if cookie spreads too thin. Conversely, if cookie is too thick and doesn’t spread much at all, next time add less flour.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

235

Fat

11 g

Sat. Fat

2 g

Carbs

31 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

30 g

Sugar

15 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

193 mg

Cholesterol

15 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 cookie if recipe makes 24.

no chill cookies, chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch chip cookies, sea salt cookies, crackly cookies
dessert
American
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Sourdough Tools: The Essentials for Beginners

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What are the tools you need to get started making your own sourdough bread at home?

Not much, honestly! Part of the beauty of sourdough is its simplicity. It’s extremely simple to make, needing only flour, water, salt, and some sourdough starter (which itself is made from just water and flour). There are many, many factors that will affect your bread, which is where it can get complicated and scientific, but it is a beautiful and addicting process that I hope you embark on and enjoy!

If you’re brand new to sourdough, maybe you’ve never made a loaf before or not even entirely sure what it is, I’ll walk you through what you need to get started. As already stated above, you probably already have everything!

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Sourdough Ingredients:

  • Flour - either all-purpose flour or bread flour. Small percentages of whole wheat and other types of flour can be added in, as desired. For the sake of simplicity, it’s nice to start out with 1 - 2 flours.

  • Water - sourdough likes spring water, filtered purified water, bottled water…it doesn’t do as well on distilled water, tap water that has been treated, or hard water.

  • Salt

  • Sourdough starter - you can purchase one, find a friend who will share with you, or start your own. Soon I’ll put up a little guide to starting your own starter. It’s very simple, but sometimes can require a little troubleshooting. You only need flour and water.

Sourdough Tools

Getting Started

To make a basic loaf of sourdough bread, you’ll need:

Simple, right? With these things, you can make sourdough bread. It is more than possible, and a good place to start before investing in more tools. It may not be the perfect loaves you see in bakeries or in pictures, but even if you start with allll the tools, your first loaves probably wouldn’t be perfect anyway.

*It IS possible to make sourdough without a scale or Dutch oven. However, the vast majority of recipes are by weight, as this is key to understanding sourdough. So while there are a few kind souls out there who have shared sourdough recipes that include weight and cups/teaspoon measurements, it is really worth getting a scale. You can find inexpensive ones for less than $15. Same goes for a dutch oven. Starting without one may offer more discouraging results than encouraging. Yes, you definitely can bake sourdough straight on a pizza stone, baking steel, or even a cookie sheet, but it’s trickier to get the proper amount of steam for optimal bread when you open bake like this. Starting with a dutch oven eliminates one more variable you may have to work with.

Not to mention, with both a scale and dutch oven, they are multi-purpose. Even if you don’t continue with sourdough bread, scales offer more consistent results for baking, and dutch ovens are wonderful for cooking.

If using a scale doesn’t appeal to you, for sourdough or any baking, consider reading this article to understand the benefits to baking with a scale.

There is not much between you and your first loaves of sourdough bread. Honestly, sourdough baking may seem intimidating, but if you can take that first step and simply try it, a whole new world of fun will be open to you, not to mention fresh, homemade, healthier bread.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all'Americana - Four Cheese Pasta

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Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi is an Italian dish, luxuriously creamy yet deceptively simple to make. It simply requires boiling pasta, melting four different cheeses into some milk, then tossing the pasta in the cheesy sauce. Voila. Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi.

For the authentic Italian version, click here.

This is essentially the same dish, but Americanized. Instead of simply melting cheese into milk, this version takes the roux route. A few more ingredients, a touch more time, but more foolproof and able to be more inexpensive. Allow me to elaborate.

More flexibility on the cheeses

Because the Italian version melts cheese straight into milk, you have to be more mindful of which cheeses you’re using lest you end up with gummy chunks of cheese in the sauce. The cheeses used are often taleggio, Parmigiano reggiano, gorgonzola, and gruyère. Other alternatives include brie, pecorino, grana padano, fontina, emmental, Edam, stracchino or robiola.

Do you know what all of those cheeses have in common? They are all specialty cheeses, highly unlikely to be found in the cheese aisle at any grocery store. If you’re lucky, your grocery store might have a specialty cheese section where you can find all or some of these. Otherwise you’ll have to go to a specialty cheese place to find them. This makes this dish both expensive and elusive to make.

Enter, the Americanized version. When you make a cheese sauce with a roux, it’s more forgiving of which cheeses you add. Now, I still wouldn’t be reaching for fresh mozzarella, but it frees you up to use a combination of four different cheeses that might not normally work in the Italian version.

That said, two cheeses that seem to be classic in quattro formaggi, whether it’s the pasta or the pizza: Gorgonzola and Parmigiano. Sure, use the American made parmesan (just not the plastic-y pre shredded or grated kind though, ok?) rather than exclusively Parmigiano, but still use some kind of real parmesan. The other two cheeses you can be more flexible with. Sometimes I’ll use Asiago or mozzarella (low moisture, not fresh), Monterey, cream cheese, or other inexpensive yet decent melting cheeses.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb / 500g short pasta of choice

  • 2 Tbsp / 28g butter

  • 2 Tbsp / 15g all-purpose flour

  • 2 cups / 474g milk

  • 2 oz / 57g low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

  • 2 oz / 57g parmesan, shredded

  • 2 oz / 57g Gorgonzola crumbles

  • 2 oz / 57g cream cheese

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta according to package directions, just 1-2 minutes less than stated cooking time.

  2. In a medium-large pot over medium heat, melt better. Add flour, stirring for 1-2 minutes until flour is absorbed and lightly toasted. Add about 1/4 cup of milk, whisking briskly. When milk is mixed in and mixture has thickened, add in another 1/4 cup milk, whisking constantly. Continue adding in milk slowly, whisking all the while. Bring to a simmer.

  3. Add in cheeses and stir until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup water. Add pasta to cheese sauce and mix to evenly coat pasta. Add some reserved pasta water as desired, to thin out and create an even creamier sauce, mixing for a couple more minutes until sauce coats and clings to pasta.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • The four cheeses can be swapped out, however to stay tastefully close to the Italian version, keep the Parmesan and Gorgonzola.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana
Yield 4-6
Author
Prep time
5 Min
Cook time
25 Min
Total time
30 Min

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Four Cheese Pasta inspired by the Italian classic "Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi" with an American twist: made with a roux and cheeses that can be interchanged more easily. This dish is luxurious and cheesy, and easy enough for quick weeknight meals.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta according to package directions, just 1-2 minutes less than stated cooking time.
  2. In a medium-large pot over medium heat, melt better. Add flour, stirring for 1-2 minutes until flour is absorbed and lightly toasted. Add about 1/4 cup of milk, whisking briskly. When milk is mixed in and mixture has thickened, add in another 1/4 cup milk, whisking constantly. Continue adding in milk slowly, whisking all the while. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Add in cheeses and stir until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup water. Add pasta to cheese sauce and mix to evenly coat pasta. Add some reserved pasta water as desired, to thin out and create an even creamier sauce, mixing for a couple more minutes until sauce coats and clings to pasta.

Notes

  • The four cheeses can be swapped out, however to stay tastefully close to the Italian version, keep the Parmesan and Gorgonzola.

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 4 servings.

four cheese pasta, quick easy weeknight meal, dinner party pasta, Italian cheese pasta, pasta ai quattro formaggi
dinner, pasta
Italian, American
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Adding Inclusions to Sourdough Bread

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Last updated October 8, 2024

Sourdough bread is delicious, but once you start playing with flavors and inclusions, a whole new world opens up. From cheddar jalapeño, pesto, or rosemary garlic, to double chocolate, lemon lavender or pumpkin, the options are endless.

The three main questions when it comes to inclusions are how much to add in, when to add them in, and how to add them in.

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How much to add?

There is a general rule of adding not more than 20% of your flour weight in inclusions.

This is a good place to start, but certainly not where you have to stay. There is also confusion on this rule, as some say it’s 20% of the flour weight while a few say it’s 20% of the total dough weight. I actually read the latter way when I first started adding inclusions, and I must say everything turned out fine, for adding more than I was “supposed” to. Really fine, actually.

The best way to find out how much you should add is to try it out in your dough and environment with the inclusions you have in mind. You can start with 20% of flour weight, and work form there. Too much really only exists when your loaf starts getting too flat (for your tastes) or the flavor is too strong.

I noticed from the moment I learned the 20% rule that what seemed like every. Single. Recipe for flavored sourdough included more than the 20% rule, and I was really wondering why have a rule at all if everyone is going to break it anyway?

Cheddar Jalapeño with different percentage inclusions

I’ve played around with different percentages and found that I like 30% of flour weight. Anything above 30%, and my loaves start to get flatter than I prefer. Lower than 30%, and I don’t get enough of the inclusions. I like to use Kirkland’s (Costco) all-purpose flour (protein 11.5%) because it is organic, but I could probably push the inclusion percentage a bit more if I were to use King Arthur’s Bread Flour (protein content 12.7%). Stronger flours and lower hydrations can help hold more inclusions.

As with anything sourdough, there are many variables that go into this conclusion, so you’re welcome to try out 30% but also don’t be surprised if that’s not your favorite. It depends on what the inclusions are, how strong your flour is, how well the loaves are fermented, etc.

For some visuals, I baked off 4 different loaves, all cheddar jalapeño, but each with a different percentage of inclusions. First I went all out and did 48% and 36%, then another batch with 35% and 30%. I love lots of cheese in my bread, so didn’t prefer to go below 30%.

First batch with 48% and 36%:

36% (left) and 48% (right)

36%

48%

Second batch with 35% and 30%:

Scoring to help differentiate between loaves: a wheat stalk with 3 spikes on each side and one with five on each side, for 35%. The 30% loaf had just one wheat stalk with three spikes.

35% (left) and 30% (right)

30% (left) and 35% (right)

35% (left) and 30% (right)

30% (left) and 35% (right)

It’s fairly easy to see the dough with the most inclusions is the flattest, while the dough with the least is the highest.

When to add in inclusions?

Inclusions can be added at 3 points, really. Which one you choose depends largely on what you are adding.

  1. They can be mixed in right when you mix your dough.

    This is best for smaller amounts or lighter inclusions, such as citrus zest, extracts, sugar, cocoa powder, etc. Heavier inclusions such as cheese chunks or even spices like cinnamon can have a negative effect on the bulk fermentation and it’s best to wait.

  2. They can be added during bulk fermentation (during stretch and folds or coil folds)

    I often do 4 sets of stretch and folds and find the sweet spot for adding in inclusions is the 2nd or 3rd set. This gives them time to get decently incorporated while still giving the dough a leg up in bulk fermentation. When I have too many things going and don’t get the inclusions added in until the 4th stretch and fold, the inclusions don’t get dispersed quite as well.

  3. They can be added in during the shaping.

    If you do a pre-shape, you can add them in then. If not, then you can add them in while you fold and roll your dough into its final shape, before placing it in its banneton.

For a small example of what it looks like to add inclusions in at different times and how that affects the final loaf, here are two loaves of pesto bread.

One has mixed the pesto in right at the beginning, with all the other ingredients.

The other, the pesto is laminated in instead of doing a 4th set of stretch and folds.

Lamination created a bit of a swirl effect, but it was harder to work with. Any time the oily pesto would pop through during shaping, the dough wouldn’t want to hold its shape, and it was difficult to shape it with the proper surface tension. You can see that I had difficulty shaping it by it’s slightly flatter profile, compared to the other loaf.

Mixing pesto in at the beginning creates a loaf with pesto evenly distributed, and was much easier to work with. In fact, the oil in the pesto getting mixed straight in even made the crumb a bit more tender, and was really lovely.

Taste overall was very similar, but for ease of making and the extra tender crumb, I would definitely just mix pesto straight in at the beginning rather than laminating.

While this is certainly not indicative of all inclusions, it’s a small insight into when and how you add inclusions can affect the final loaf.

How to Incorporate Inclusions?

How you incorporate inclusions depends on when you add them.

If making a chocolate espresso loaf, for example, you’d just mix in cocoa powder and espresso at the same time you’re kneading everything else together for your dough.

Otherwise, for chunkier things like cheese, fruit, etc, you can add them in during stretch and folds/coil folds as mentioned above or you can laminate them in.

To add during stretch and folds:

Start by sprinkling about a 1/4 of the inclusions over your dough in the bowl, then performing one stretch and fold/coil fold, stretching dough over inclusions and gently pressing dough into dough in other side to seal it shut. Sprinkle another 1/4 of inclusions on top and repeat a stretch and fold. Continue two more times until all inclusions have been added and each side has been stretched and folded.

If performing coil folds, it’s a similar idea, adding a little at a time while you pick up and coil your dough down, doing your best to get the inclusions evenly dispersed.

laminating dough

To add during lamination:

Lamination is a technique used in sourdough to strengthen the dough and is a great time to add in inclusions.

Spreading pesto over dough before folding back up

Start by lightly misting a clean workspace, then stretching the dough in as large and thin a rectangle as you can, being careful not to tear the dough. Evenly sprinkle inclusions over dough, then fold dough several times to get a tight and neat little ball again.

Lamination is my favorite way to get evenly distributed inclusions. I enjoy the lamination process, but it does take a bit extra work to clean a work space before and after rather than just adding the inclusions straight into the bowl with the dough for a stretch and fold. Lamination also isn’t as friendly when working with large batches of dough.

Tips for success when adding inclusions:

  • Play around with the percentage you like. It might not be the same for all inclusions!

  • If your loaf is going flat, you might have exaggerated with the amount of inclusions. Otherwise, rule out any other factors such as a weak starter, under or over fermented dough, lack of proper gluten development, lack of proper shaping, etc.

  • Using a stronger flour (higher protein content) can help to hold inclusions better.

  • Keep in mind that some inclusions will add moisture to your dough. You may want to lower dough hydration accordingly. I find great success with lowering hydration to under 70% when working with heavier and wetter inclusions such as cheese and fruit.

  • Some inclusions will affect the fermentation. Fruit and sugar will cause dough to ferment faster, so start checking your dough earlier than you normally would.

  • Try to keep inclusion chunks away from the outside of the dough when it bakes, otherwise they can burn. This is especially true of sugary things like fruit, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc. You can help this by simply sticking any outside pieces back under and into the dough when doing the pre and/or final shape.

  • I would recommend against using silicone bread slings for sourdough with any kind of messy inclusions, and stick with parchment paper. The slings are designed to just barely cover the bottom of loaves, avoiding leaving any kind of indentations on the bread. However, the edges of the loaf then often come into contact with the dutch oven, which can bake cheese, fruit juices, etc. right onto your dutch oven. Not fun to clean. Using parchment paper will skip the mess and keep your dutch ovens cleaner.

Is an Autolysis Necessary for Sourdough Bread?

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When I first started making sourdough loaves at home, I wanted to have as much success as possible right from the get go, so I started by using as many techniques and tricks as I could, rather than starting with a basic recipe and adding in techniques as needed. Spoiler alert, my bread wasn’t perfect, and I ended up working in the opposite direction. Rather than adding in more things to make my bread better, I started taking out certain steps and techniques one by one, to see if they were really serving their purpose, or just wasting my time.

One such technique was the autolyse method. Some of the people I respect most in the sourdough world use an autolysis. So I did, too. It wasn’t until one day, reading another respected sourdough person who went off on a bit of a rant, that they claimed that autolyse isn’t necessary, and in fact they do not recommend it. As they said, autolysis is a process developed and intended for breads made with commercial yeast, whose rise time is shorter and would benefit from an autolysis. Since sourdough bread has much longer fermentation times, autolysis isn’t as beneficial, or so this person was saying. I haven’t been able to locate any one reliable source that states anything as clearly as “autolysis was developed for commercial bread products and yeast, not so much sourdough”, but let’s run with it for the purpose of this mini experiment.

This intrigued me, and in a way, relieved me. I’ve heard many a baker explain and laud the praises of an autolysis, and yet, I secretly did not enjoy the autolysis process. It just felt…cumbersome. Adding on more time. Harder to mix the dough. More on that later.

King Arthur has an interesting article on using an autolysis, including experiments with both sourdough and instant yeast. Their article tends to give confirmation toward an autolysis being the most beneficial for commerical yeast over sourdough.

On the other hand, Maurizio of The Perfect Loaf does a similar experiment, but with his loaves showing a marked difference with autolyse. He also really gets more into the science of autolysis and explains it very well.

What is an autolysis?

Autolysis (noun) - Autolyse (verb)

Simply, an autolysis is simply mixing flour and water together and letting them sit for a period of time. The water helps to activate some of the enzymes in the flour, developing gluten, before adding other ingredients which can have an effect on gluten. Adding salt “tightens” the dough, and adding the starter commences fermentation. When just flour and water are combined, they are free to act in a way they otherwise wouldn’t when salt and starter are present.

While I had already been wanting to experiment and see what the difference might be between a loaf that got an autolysis and one that didn’t, I felt spurred into action when that knowledgeable sourdough person said they don’t recommend autolysis. Now I knew that, should I decide to not always faithfully autolyse, I wouldn’t be alone in that camp.

I’ve now done this experiment two separate times. In my first experiment the result didn’t feel overly conclusive to me, as there were several other factors going on that affected the fermentation and bake. It didn’t feel safe to say one way or another if the autolysis was the reason for the differing outcomes, but now that I’ve done this experiment twice, I feel a little safer in sharing my results.

Before we finally get into my little mini experiment, a couple of things to note:

  1. Sourdough is highly dependent on environment, ingredients, etc. so while I hope you find the results below interesting and informative, I would encourage you to do your own experiments for your own kitchen environment!

  2. The results below are tested solely on unbleached white flours. One of the benefits of autolysis is that it can help break down bran, so may show more benefits in breads that use some percentage of whole grain flours.

More Read-ables and Make-ables:
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Why Do My Sourdough Loaves Spread When Tipped Out of Bannetons?
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Why Is My Sourdough Sticking to the Banneton?
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Using Beets for Color in Baked Goods
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Does Sourdough Bread Need to be Kneaded?
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Sourdough Tools: The Essentials and the Non-Essentials
IMG_4286.jpg
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
IMG_9223.jpg
The 5-Minute Score Method for Sourdough
IMG_2623.jpg
How to Test Your Flour's Hydration Capacity
IMG_4395.jpg
Cold Retard: Does It Matter How the Dough Is Covered?
IMG_4405.jpg
Avoiding the Sourdough Dark Bottom Crust
IMG_8389.jpg
Sourdough Tools: The Essentials for Beginners
IMG_3987.jpg
Adding Inclusions to Sourdough Bread

Autolyse vs No Autolyse #1

Method:

  • Both loaves were made with 100% Kirkland organic all-purpose flour, 71% hydration, 1.6% salt, 20% starter.

  • For the autolyse loaf, water and flour were mixed together and let rest for 1 hour before adding in salt and starter.

    For the No-autolyse loaf, all ingredients were mixed together.

  • Both loaves got 3 sets of stretch & folds

  • Autolyse loaf temped at 74°F, while No-autolyse loaf was at 77°F after the 1st set of stretch & fold and 75°F by the end of all stretch & folds.

  • Both loaves bulk fermented for 8 hours, pre-shaped for 35 minutes, then final shape for 35 minutes before into fridge for cold retard overnight.

  • Both loaves were baked in dutch ovens in oven preheated to 450°F for 35 minutes with lid on.

Observations:

Mixing the Flour and Water for the autolysis is not my favorite. I don’t enjoy using the autolysis technique when making bread for this reason. Unless working with high hydration doughs, which I don’t often go higher than 75%, it takes a few minutes to adequately mix the flour and water. Usually a bit of water is reserved from the autolysis to help mix in the salt after the autolysis is done. This means you’re mixing the dough without it having its full hydration, thus a stiffer dough. Then after autolyse, trying to mix just salt, a bit of water, and starter into an already formed and fairly stiff dough is not easy and may not get mixed in as well.

The Autolyse Loaf gets an advantage in gluten development. Because of the thorough mixing just mentioned above in order to incorporate all ingredients after the autolysis, the dough gets a leg up in gluten development. The No-autolyse loaf dough comes together easily and thus doesn’t require the same amount of mixing. During the stretch & folds this was quite apparent, with the Autolyse dough already showing good gluten-development and the No-autolyse loaf still being quite loose and elastic. By the end of the third stretch & fold set, however, the doughs felt quite similar; the No-autolyse loaf had mostly caught up.

Despite Bulk Fermentation starting at the same time for both doughs, they were not the same temperature. The reason for this is simple, and I really should’ve taken this into account for this experiment. I was using water that was slightly warmer than room temperature. When the bulk of the water is added for an autolysis, the time the dough is resting allows the water to cool to room temp, so by the time you add the starter and bulk ferment starts, everything is nicely at room temperature. Without doing an autolysis, the warmer water is added right in with the starter and all other ingredients, so the dough and bulk ferment temperature starts a bit warmer, although it will inevitably cool to room temperature over time. Because of this, my doughs had differing temperatures and thus different projected bulk ferment times.

Both loaves slightly over-fermented. Using the wisdom and work of Tom Cucuzza from the Sourdough Journey, I usually reference his chart for bulk fermentation times and rise %, although my starter does tend to ferment slightly faster than said chart. Despite my (even written down) projected bulk ferment times for each dough and times to start checking them, time got away from me and my three young children were needing me. By the time I was able to get to the dough it was already almost 2 hours after when I had originally planned to start checking the dough, and 1 hour after the realistic time of when it probably would have been ready. I pre-shaped both doughs at the same time since they were both already slightly over, with the No-autolyse being a little more over-fermented than the Autolyse dough.

Conclusion:

Despite some of the above noted variables, I loosely concluded that including an autolysis did not provide a noticeable difference in end product due to over-fermenting the dough. I decided to repeat this experiment, and specifically to get the doughs fermenting at the same temperature with a better targeted bulk ferment so it might be more obvious the effect of autolyse on the crumb rather than fermentation problems.

Autolyse vs. No-Autolyse Experiment #2

Autolyse on left, No-Autolyse on Right

Method:

  • Both loaves were made with 100% Kirkland organic all-purpose flour, 71% hydration, 1.6% salt, 20% starter.

  • For the autolyse loaf, water and flour were mixed together and let rest for 1 hour before adding in salt and starter.

    For the No-autolyse loaf, all ingredients were mixed together.

  • Both loaves received 2 sets of stretch & folds.

  • Autolyse Loaf temped at 77°F at beginning of bulk ferment, 75°F by end of second set of stretch & folds, then 76°F again at end of bulk ferment.

    No-Autolyse Loaf temped at 76°F at beginning of bulk ferment, 75°F by end of second set of stretch & folds, then 78°F by end of bulk ferment.

  • Both loaves bulk fermented for a total of 6 hours 10 minutes. Autolyse loaf had a rise of approximately 70% while the Autolyse loaf rose approximately 45-50%. (Very much eyeballing that, so take that with a grain of salt.)

  • Both loaves were pre-shaped and rested for 20 minutes, then final shape into bannetons, rested 10 minutes, and into fridge for cold retard overnight.

  • Both loaves were baked in dutch ovens in oven preheated to 450°F for 35 minutes with lid on.

Autolyse Loaf (wheat design to mimic an "A" for Autolyse, if you will

No-Autolyse Loaf, wheat design mimicking an "n"

Observations:

Intersetingly, temperatures varied quite a bit between the 2 loaves. Despite being very careful this time around to use all ingredients at room temperature, the temperature varied not only between the two loaves but also at different times. Sure, it’s late summer so my kitchen ends up a few degrees warmer by mid and end of day, but the two loaves did not reflect this consistently. This leaves me with more questions unanswered than answered.

Why did the Autolyse Loaf end up 1 degree warmer still at start of bulk ferment? You would think, if perhaps the water from the measuring cup I was using was 1 degree warmer, the 1 hour that the dough sits to autolyse would be more than enough to bring the dough to room temperature. And IF the water was 1 degree warmer, the No-Autolyse Loaf would have ended up the 1 degree warmer since it gets all of its water at the beginning of bulk ferment. Not to mention, I used a large measuring cup of water, measured out for the Autolyse Loaf, and that water also sat out on the counter for an hour. It doesn’t get any more room temperature than that!

Moreso, why did the No-Autolyse Loaf end up a few degrees warmer by end of bulk ferment? The two bowls were side by side, no drafts or sun or any other factor that I am aware of would have heated up or cooled down one dough over the other. The Autolyse Loaf maintained temperature at 76°F while the No-Autolyse Loaf increased temperature by 3 degrees during bulk ferment. Fascinating. Its rise clearly reflected the warmer temperature, as it was significantly puffier than the Autolyse Loaf.

Despite the difference in rise % between the two loaves, I ended bulk ferment at the same time. I was trying to maintain absolute consistency between these loaves in method, rather than guessing different bulk ferments, pulling them at different times based on rise, temperature, and time. The bulk ferments were intended to be identical after all, as the doughs were made identically save autolyse, but the temperature fluctuations threw me for a loop!

The crumb ended up quite similar. Noting the difference in rise % and temperature between the two doughs, they still ended up with a very similar crumb. Reading the crumb and trying to ignore that information, I would not have guessed that.

Crumbshot, No-Autolyse Loaf on left, Autolyse loaf on Right

The Autolyse Loaf ended up with a slightly wonky shape. While overall I don’t think it has too much bearing on this experiment, it still bears noting. As you can see in the overhead shot of the Autolyse Loaf both before and after baking, its shape is not symmetrical. This is possibly due to shaping error, or also likely, the linen lining the banneton was pressing into the dough on one side and left an impression. I tend to think this caused the rise during the cold retard to more easily expand on the side where the linen wasn’t holding it down.

Conclusion:

Four loaves of bread is hardly conclusive. Again, and always with sourdough, there are variabilities. My home kitchen is not temperature controlled, sometimes life and children pull me away, among so many other nuances. However, I still enjoyed this experiment and thought you might find it interesting as well, so I thought it still worth sharing.

Overall, I think I will find myself skipping autolysis more often now, but will still include it in some instances.

Happy baking, friends!

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

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Last Updated September 28, 2024

Ranch. The quintessential American dressing and dip. It’s white and creamy, tangy, and flavorful from the herbs and garlic.

Many Americans use Ranch on everything from their pizza and chicken tenders to their vegetables and salads. Some feel very strongly about it, they must have it to eat certain foods. In Italy, I had some American friends who would always request big jugs of Ranch if anyone was coming over to visit them.

Once when I was in Austria in a supermarket, I saw some bottles of salad dressing, one of which was named “American.” Why of course, if in America we have Italian dressing, French dressing, then other countries would have an American dressing. And yes, it was white and creamy so I can only surmise that it was some version of Ranch.

I like Ranch, but have never really understood the hype around it. I’d rather eat my pizza and taste pizza rather than eat pizza and taste Ranch, you know? Especially when you look at the ingredients in a bottle of Ranch or even Ranch packets that you make at home, the ingredients are not the best.

That’s where homemade Ranch comes into play. Not only is it super simple to make, but you know exactly what ingredients are going into your dressing, and it tastes fresher and better. After making this, you may never go back to store-bought again!

Use Ranch on salads, as a dip for vegetables, and yes, even on your pizza or however you like it best! I just made a quart of this the other day and mixed some with Frank’s Hot Sauce as a dressing for some buffalo pasta salad, yum!

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Recipe from my mama

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch

Makes about 1 quart

  • 2 cups mayonnaise

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/4 tsp finely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a quart jar or container with a lid and shake well to combine.

  2. Serve or refrigerate.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch
Yield 24
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Total time
10 Min

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch

Creamy, tangy, homemade Ranch is healthier than its store-bought counterpart and as simple as mixing together 7 ingredients.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a quart jar or container with a lid and shake well to combine.
  2. Serve or refrigerate.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

133.34

Fat

14.29 g

Sat. Fat

2.37 g

Carbs

0.64 g

Fiber

0.01 g

Net carbs

0.62 g

Sugar

0.6 g

Protein

0.51 g

Sodium

226.03 mg

Cholesterol

8.94 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 24 servings of approximately 2 Tbsp each.

homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, ranch veggie dip, creamy American dressing, tangy vegetable dip
snack, condiment
American
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Using All-Purpose Flour vs. Bread Flour in Sourdough Bread

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Last Updated May 4, 2025

When it comes to making sourdough bread, does it matter if you’re using all-purpose flour or bread flour?

Simple answer: yes.

Longer answer. It depends.

It comes down to the protein content in bread, how much gluten can be developed, and how much hydration it can handle. Not all flours that parade under the name “all-purpose” are equal, nor are all flours that parade under the name “bread flour” equal.

It also depends on what you want out of your bread. Different flours will yield different results, but that doesn’t necessarily make them “bad.”

If any of the terms in this article feel foreign or you’ve just forgotten what they mean, check out this article on Sourdough Terminology, in alphabetical order.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Protein content in flour

The main difference between flours of different names is their protein content. The higher the protein content, the stronger the flour, and usually the better for making bread. In the US we have basically five different categories of flour, as far as protein content goes:

  • Cake flour is the most delicate flour, usually with a protein content of 5-10%. It is made with soft red or white wheat of a fine grind.

  • Pastry flour is another more delicate flour with a lower protein content, 8-10%. This flour will give you flaky and tender pie crusts, cakes, etc. It is made from soft red or white wheat with a fine grind.

  • All-purpose flour is more middle of the road with a moderate protein content, anywhere from 8-12%. Can be used for the widest range of baked goods while still yielding good results, if not always the most tender crusts or highest rising breads. All-purpose is made from hard red wheat or a blend of hard and soft wheats.

  • Bread flour has a higher protein content, 11-13% and suitable for breads where you want higher rises and higher hydration levels. It is milled usually from hard spring wheat.

  • High-protein bread flour is bread flour with the highest protein contents, 13 or 14% or higher, best for pushing the limits for high hydration breads and open crumbs. It is milled from hard spring wheat.

There doesn’t seem to be an industry standard for flours, at least here in the States, as you can see with the percentage range for each kind of flour.

Even when using the same kind of flour from the same brand there can be noticeable discrepancies when baking bread with different bags of flour.

While variabilities exist across some brands, others are just as good at maintaining consistency. A good example of this would be King Arthur. Their protein content is proudly labeled on each bag of flour, tested, and trusted by consumers, myself included.

There is also an overlap with all-purpose and bread flour. Some all-purpose flours have a higher protein content than bread flour. At the end of the day, it’s more important to know what the protein content of the flour you’re using is than if it’s labeled as all-purpose or bread flour.

Another thing to consider is where in the world you are. For example, I’ve heard from some Canadians that their all-purpose flour is consistently around 13% or even higher in protein. That’s better than most bread flours here in the US! Let’s not even get into trying to buy flour in certain other countries, where they sell flour more by variety and grind than labeling it for its purpose. That’s how flour is sold in Italy, and I had a lot to learn about flour when I first moved there! I couldn’t even bake off a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies without first learning about soft and hard wheat and grind 00, etc…and in another language. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I wrote a couple articles on that to decipher the flours in Italy, and honestly, it’s not bad information to know if you’re really going to get into bread making and understanding how flours work beyond labels. This one will walk you down the flours that are sold in Italy, while this one walks you through the kinds of wheat grown.

Which to Use for Making Sourdough?

If you’ve been making sourdough bread and are happy with your results, then it probably doesn’t matter so much which one you’re using.

However, if you’re looking for a higher oven spring, a rounder belly, a stronger dough to hold inclusions, or wanting to play with higher hydration doughs, you should consider trying a flour with a higher protein content.

Loaf made with Bread Flour (L) and Loaf made with AP Flour (R)

The Side by side comparison

For a visual, I made two loaves of sourdough side by side, identical in every way, except for one uses all-purpose flour and the other uses bread flour.

The process went like this:

  • One loaf used exclusively Kirkland Signature Organic all-purpose flour (Costco brand, 11.5% protein content). The other loaf used King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein content.)

  • 72% hydration, 20% starter, 1.6% salt

  • All ingredients were mixed well together for each loaf.

  • 30 minute rest, then 4 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes.

  • Bulk ferment lasted a total of 7 hours 20 minutes with dough temperature starting at 75°F / 24°C at the beginning and trending downwards at 73°F / 23°C by the end of stretch and folds.

  • Pre-shape for 20 minutes, then final shape before placing into fridge for retard overnight.

  • Next morning, baked loaves in oven preheated to 450°F / 232°C with dutch ovens for 35 minutes with lids on and steam.

As you can see in the photos, the end result immediately gives away that the bread flour loaf got a better oven spring, a bigger and smoother belly.

The AP loaf, while not ugly, is a little lower, a little flatter. If you look at the belly, you can see signs where the dough tore, spreading more sideways than fully upwards. The gluten wasn’t built up as easily, even with the same amount of mixing, to get the same rise as the bread flour.

All-Purpose Flour

bread flour

All-purpose Flour

bread flour

As far as working with the dough, I could see similar tearing happening even from the beginning. While doing stretch and folds, the bread flour dough came together smoothly and beautifully. The AP dough, while still smooth, would show signs of micro tears as I was working with it. It’s possible the Kirkland organic AP would do better with a slightly lower hydration, but these loaves aren’t really high hydration at 72%.

All-purpose flour

Bread flour

The crumb is curiously different, with the bread flour loaf having a few larger bubbles. I liked the evenness of the AP crumb.

As far as these two loaves go in this mini experiment, the bottom line is they were both delicious loaves of homemade bread. It would be up to you to decide if you prefer the more aesthetic, higher rise of the bread flour, or if you put more importance on eating organic flour, for about the same price.

all-purpose flour

bread flour

S'mores Cookies

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Last Updated September 22, 2024

An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summer goodness.

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven.

There are a couple of different ways to make these cookies, depending on if you prefer to whip up cookies using ingredients you probably already have on hand, or if you don’t mind planning a bit ahead to make it as close to a real s’more as possible.

The Chocolate

Classic s’mores call for Hershey’s milk chocolate. The thin, milk chocolate 1.55oz bars. Not thick ones, not the minis given out at Halloween. For some reason, s’mores need that specific thickness and size of Hershey’s. For this reason, to get the closest to classic s’mores as possible, use the 1.55oz Hershey’s milk chocolate bars.

For a slightly more convenient option, use milk chocolate chips. It’s still milk chocolate, even if it doesn’t have the unique taste of Hershey’s milk chocolate.

In a pinch, you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in these, but those options are not as s’mores-esque as milk chocolate.

The Marshmallows

Classic s’mores call for regular sized marshmallows, but cutting up marshmallows is sticky and not so fun. Mini marshmallows are the way to go. Here I do highly recommend you do not skip nor forget to line your cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper, as any marshmallows that come into contact with the cookie sheet while baking will want to stay attached for life. The marshmallows get all chewy in the cookies and delicious, so can be worth any potential mess.

S'mores cookies made with milk chocolate chips and dehydrated marshmallows

Another option is to use dehydrated marshmallows. They still give the marshmallow flavor without getting too sticky. They might not be as readily available as regular or mini marshmallows, but they have become more mainstream than when I first discovered them years ago. My local Meijer grocery store carries them! If you aren’t able to find them locally, they can be found on Amazon if all else fails, although probably more expensive than a grocery store.

The Graham Crackers

You’ll want to use classic, or regular graham crackers for these, or whatever you’d normally use to make s’mores. They lend a subtle, but buttery graham flavor to the cookies that completes the trio of s’mores flavors. They’ll need to be ground up to make fine crumbs, almost flour-like in consistency, or at least as fine as you can get them. Using a food processor is quickest, but you can also grind them up with a rolling pin.

If you’re thinking that adding 18 sheets (270g), of graham crackers feels like a lot, especially when the recipe already calls for 2 cups of flour, rest assured it is the correct amount. In fact, when I first began playing with this recipe I started with less graham crackers because I thought it might be too much. It wasn’t, and I was able to easily square off the recipe with using an even two packages (9 each) of graham crackers.

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S’mores Cookies

Makes about 26-32 cookies

Cookies and 2 year old drawings in the background, does it get any sweeter?

  • 3/4 cup / 169g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g brown sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 18 sheets / 270g graham crackers, finely ground

  • 2 cups / 240g all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 cup / 175g milk chocolate chips OR 4 (1.55oz bars) Hershey’s milk chocolate candy bars, roughly chopped

  • 1 cup / 50g dehydrated marshmallows OR 2 cups / 114g mini marshmallows

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

  1. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.

  2. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.

  3. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.

  4. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

S'mores Cookies
Yield 26-32
Author
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
35 Min

S'mores Cookies

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven. An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summery goodness.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
  2. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.
  4. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.
  5. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Notes

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

227.73

Fat

9.98 g

Sat. Fat

2.05 g

Carbs

30.67 g

Fiber

0.59 g

Net carbs

30.08 g

Sugar

13.51 g

Protein

2.35 g

Sodium

231.19 mg

Cholesterol

18.89 mg

Nutritional information is approximate, based on 26 servings.

s'mores cookies, toasted marshmallows, Hershey's milk chocolate, graham cracker cookies, summer dessert
dessert
American
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