Grapefruit olive oil loaf and other things using eggs!

There have been a lot of things in flux recently in my life. It has been a moment that I anticipated for a long while, but as everyone knows you can never really prepare yourself for change. 

I've always been really big at retrospectively making sense of my life, seeing an ebb an flow (in energy, happiness, money, whatever) as part of the natural trend of life. But letting go of things is never an easy thing. No matter how much I can retroactively say "yes, of course that was a good thing, yes I needed that break, how cathartic was that, bla bla," I can't feel at ease when I decide to let go. It feels sad, and it feels like a failure, and it feel like time is an enemy out to get me.

And then some things happen that truly don't make any sense at all, and make you feel suddenly  amputated from any line of rationality or faith or world design. Then I just bake, because there's a certain chemistry and magic in baking that is soothing and undeniable, and maybe if I could do math I'd solve math problems instead but for now I bake.

I still botched the first batch of these cookies, but realized my puny little eggs were just too puny to count as one large egg on their own, so I added another and these crumbly peanut butter cookies held together. Chemistry.

I'm a lucky girl too, I made these delicious snacks and had great friends to share them with and I hope you can just feel that love through the spindly interweb. Feel it!

Best (and easiest) Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!!!!!!!!

1 cup of all natural PB (no sugar added nuts only!)

1 cup of brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup of chocolate chips

1tsp vanilla

drop by the spoonful onto a baking sheet and "shape"... bake for 10-12 min at 350... ENJOY! : )

Mini Almond Cakes
(adapted from David Lebowitz's recipe below)

• 1 1/3 cups (265g) sugar
• 8 ounces (225g) almond paste
• 3/4, plus 1/4 cup (140g total) flour
• 1 cup (8 ounces, 225g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature

I made this recipe with a cupcake tin instead of as a full cake, which meant that I baked it for a little bit shorter, but man they were tastyyy.

1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF (162ºC). Grease a 9- or 10-inch (23-25 cm) cake or spring form pan with butter, dust it with flour and tap out any excess. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper. (See Note, below.)

2. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the sugar, almond paste, and 1/4 cup (35g) of flour until the almond paste is finely ground and the mixture resembles sand.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup (105g) of flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Once the almond paste is completely broken up, add the cubes of butter and the vanilla and almond extracts, then process until the batter is very smooth and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs one at a time, processing a bit before the next addition. (You may wish to open the machine and scrape the sides down to make sure the eggs are getting fully incorporated.)

After you add all the eggs, the mixture may look curdled. Don’t worry; it’ll come back together after the next step.

6. Add half the flour mixture and pulse the machine a few times, then add the rest, pulsing the machine until the drying ingredients are just incorporated, but do not overmix. (You can also transfer the batter to a bowl and mix the dry ingredients in, which ensures the dry ingredients get incorporated evenly and you don’t overbeat it.)

7. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake the cake for 65 minutes, or until the top is deep brown and feels set when you press in the center.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp or serrated knife around the perimeter, loosing the cake from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool completely in the pan.

Grapefruit Olive Oil Loaf

(adapted from the indolent cook, I tripled the ingredients because this is for a mini loaf!)

3/4 cup self raising flour
1/4 cup raw sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pinch salt

Preheat oven to 375 deg F.

Combine self-rising flour and raw sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Set aside.

In another bowl, lightly whisk egg, then add grapefruit juice, zest, olive oil and salt. Continue whisking till well-mixed.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well of dry ingredients. Stir together until just combined - do not overmix.
Pour the batter into a greased mini loaf pan (or other mini cake pan) and bake in the oven for approximately 25 minutes or until it boasts a lovely tan.
Let the cake cool slightly for 10 minutes