CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MAGIC SHELL / May 21, 2020 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER MAGIC SHELL | dolly and oatmeal

we’ve been making ice cream around here. amesy has never been a fan, up until this point. maybe he’s getting older, and the cold doesn’t bother him anymore, but he’s been converted into a very enthusiastic ice cream lover. we made a very basic chocolate coconut milk ice cream, and added chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles - because, why not? and he loved it. almost every day now he asks to “cook ice cream”, and it nearly kills me. he’s become quite the little cook, helping me scrub veggies, bake sweet potato wedges, whiz up my coffee creamer, and bake all the things.

at 3.5 he’s becoming his own little person, and getting bigger literally before our eyes. he lets us know what he wants, and definitely lets us know what he doesn’t want. he has ideas and interests, and is so passionate and spirited about things. here are a few of my favorite amesy phrases from the past few weeks:

“daddy, you clean up, I’m going to relax my body” as he promptly sits in a chair.
“goodbye, mommy, see you next later!”
“mom, mom, STARWORKS” (aka, fireworks)

it’s just the best. he’s the best.

anywho, while we’re on the subject of ice cream and things that amesy loves, let’s talk about this delicious peanut buttery chocolate shell. it’s the perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter flavor all wrapped up in a perfectly gooey sauce to pour over everything from ice cream, to cookies, granola bars, frozen cookie balls, fresh fruit! it’s simple, easy to put together, and best part is you don’t have to wait for anything. mix it up, and pour - that’s it. it’s the perfect little touch to make an ordinary bowl of ice cream the best version of itself :)

sending positivity and hugs ❤️

chocolate peanut butter chocolate shell | v

print the recipe

| makes roughly 1/3 cup |

method

whisk together all the ingredients, taste and adjust, adding more maple syrup and/or salt.
serve over ice cream, use as a dip for fruit or cookies. as frosting for doughnut, etc.!

ingredients

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
1/4 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
2 tablespoons creamy unsweetened peanut butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

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PEANUT BUTTER MOCHI CAKE FROM "A COMMON TABLE" / January 24, 2019 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

PEANUT BUTTER MOCHI CAKE FROM "A COMMON TABLE" | Dolly and Oatmeal

i’m so excited to share this recipe with you today, it’s delicious and subtle, and the perfect thing to break up frigid winter days. i think i’m preaching to the choir when i say that peanut butter is pretty good at doing that! the first time i was acquainted with mochi was in the form of ice cream at the grocery store when frank and i were dating. frank was a big fan, so that night we went home with a box of bubbies mochi ice cream. the mochi was a smooth dough that enveloped the entire hunk of ice cream, making it the ultimate ice cream sandwich - it was such a treat! from that point on i was hooked, but i had never seen many recipes utilizing mochi until i opened the beautiful pages of cynthia’s book.

again, i’m probably preaching to the choir, when i express to you how undeniably lovely cynthia’s work is. i became a big admirer of her blog, two red bowls, back in the day (circa 2014 maybe?). we were both living not too far from each other in brooklyn, and i remember just diving in to her beautiful world. i still continue to find myself mesmerized by her ability to weave food, photography, culture, and most importantly human connection into everything she does. it’s something so rare to be able to do with such honesty.

cynthia’s book, much like her blog, is beautifully woven with recipes that pull from her chinese heritage as well as her upbringing in the south. you’ll find recipes from all sections of her book that intertwine and honor her culture. most notably (at least to me) her cheddar-scallion biscuits (which i made for thanksgiving and are out of this world delicious), a traditional swirl bread with matcha glaze, mochi pancakes (!!), kimchi quesadillas, shoyu poke, and i’m still troubleshooting a gluten-free version of her black sesame chocolate loaf!

but let’s talk peanut mochi cake because i’ve been wondering why the heck i’ve never baked with sweet rice flour until now. it’s naturally gluten-free and gives you the most springy soft texture - win, win! and this recipe couldn’t be easier to make. while cynthia mentioned a few different fillings, i went with peanut butter. when i was flipping through her book, what drew me in the most to this recipe was the perfect little dollops of peanut butter filling. the peanut butter mixture is dolloped across half the batter, then topped with the remaining batter. so when it’s all said and done, you get delightful mochi squares filled with creamy peanut butter. a dream situation, really. they’re the ideal dessert, that is satisfying, yet doesn’t leave you feeling like you’re on a sugar high. this, like every other recipe i’ve made from cynthia’s book, will leave you feeling just plain happy.

xo, friends!

peanut butter mochi cake | gf (with a dairy-free option*)

from: A Common Table, by: Cynthia Chen McTernan

| makes one 8-inch square cake |

6 tablespoons peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1 1/2 cups (225 grams) sweet rice flour, like mochiko blue star
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil or other neutral oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

*dairy-free option:

replace the 1 cup of whole milk with full-fat coconut milk

method

preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. in a small bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth. set aside.
in a medium bowl, combine the the sweet rice flour, milk, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. you don’t need to worry about overworking the batter and making the cake dense, because sweet rice flour doesn’t contain gluten - mochi cake is dense to begin with! small lumps will appear in the batter at first, but they will dissipate as you whisk.
pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish. drop small spoonfuls of the peanut butter filling evenly across the batter, then pour the remaining batter over the peanut butter filling. bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
while the mochi is baking, place the peanuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until crumbly. remove the mochi from the oven, and sprinkle the crushed peanuts across the top, then return the cake to the oven and bake until the center bounces back when pressed, an additional 15-20 minutes. enjoy warm or at room temperature. the mochi will slice much more cleanly when cooled, but there’s nothing like enjoying a piece warm from the oven.

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Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles / July 13, 2017 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

Shelly's Chilled Peanut Noodles | dolly and oatmeal

it's hard to believe that july is at its mid point already. it seems like forever ago that frank and i were thinking about a little summer getaway, and here we are! later on this week we're driving to palm springs for a long weekend with my brother, sis-in-law, and their (almost 1-year old!) son, nico. the last "vacation" we took was when we were living in NYC, amesy was 3 months old, and we thought it was a good idea to fly to california. big mistake. if you remember a few of my posts from then, you'll remember that that trip was an epic disaster in many respects. that preeeetty much scared the crap out of us, so the idea of driving or flying anywhere for an extended period of time was definitely out of the question this time around. and while we are more beach-y kind of people, the idea of staying contained in a house, and having a pool right outside our door seemed very much our speed at this moment in life.

i'm not sure about you, but the abundance of beautiful cookbooks coming out this summer is everything i need to get me out of my creative rut and get cooking. i'm sure you know shelly from the blog, vegetarian ventures. her debut cookbook, vegetarian heartland came out last month and plain and simple, it's a beauty. it's centered around something i know little about: the midwest. at first glance the book is vibrant and inviting; shelly's photography is totally stunning. but the book is more than beautiful photography. it's divided by seasons of the year and in that, things like: campfire recipes (and a how-to on building one!), cozy snow day recipes, and picnic recipes. i have so many recipes dogeared for times in the future when we feel more ready to take weekend jaunts camping or have a proper picnic. the book is vegetarian, there are some gluten free recipes, and some vegan ones, but i can imagine that you could adapt many of them as well :)

wishing you all sweet summer adventures! xo

chilled peanut noodles

recipe from Vegetarian Heartland, by Shelly Westerhausen

i used 100% buckwheat soba noodles here. they tend to stick to each other a bit more after the chilling period, but they taste just as good ;) i also subbed green beans for snap peas, and added roughly 3/4 teaspoon salt to the peanut sauce since the recipe doesn't have any.

| serves 4 |

8oz (230g) soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup (100g) snap peas
1/2 cup (130g) peanut butter
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons hot chile sauce (such as sriracha)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup (80ml) water
1 green bell pepper, seeded, deribbed, and thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cup (140g) peanuts, chopped, for garnish
fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

method

bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. add the soba and cook until almost al dente, 7 to 10 minutes. add the snap peas and let boil for 1 minute more. drain the soba and snap peas and transfer to a large bowl.
in a high-speed blender, combine the peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, honey, chile sauce, lime juice, and water and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds. pour over the soba, add the bell pepper and carrots, and toss until everything is completely coated in peanut sauce. transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator or a small portable cooler for up to 4 hours. just before serving, garnish with peanuts and cilantro.