Matchstick Fries, and Lately I’ve Been Loving, Part 2

Christiana George
Match stick Fries

Apologies to those who want me to get straight to the food commentary. (Although it’s becoming apparent that I’m always kind of long-winded when it comes to writing about food, isn’t it?) Feel free to jump past this section, of course.

To all you others, lately I’ve been loving…

– Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, lemon and blueberry fro-yo to be exact. I had the pleasure of trying the salted caramel flavor this weekend, and while it was delicious and pleasantly salty, the lemon was stunning. Luckily the recipe can be found online.
– Niagara grapes, a replacement to the Muscats I can’t get on this coast.
– The perfect wedding ring has been found. It was love at first sight; I was mesmerized by the shine and didn’t want to take it off.
– The Book Thief may fall in the YA category, but it was so creative and lovingly written. Apparently, 1,249 people agreed, yowza.
– Fashion Week street style. I can’t help loving the grand display those fashion insiders put on twice a year.
– Jeanne Damas. Specifically, I love her hair. So much so, I was inspired to carve out a set of bangs for myself the other day. It soon became clear that I’m rusty in the bangs-cutting department. They turned out shorter than I would’ve liked. A LOT shorter, and crooked too. This is why there are professionals to do this sort of thing—but surely I’m not the only person in the world staunchly opposed to forking over money simply to get my bangs cut?



And the latest Pinterest love:

– This photo pretty much captures love, don’t you think?
– The perfect wedding takes place in the forests of Northern California. (I want a forest wedding!)
– This wedding veil is utterly romantic. I must get it.
– One of my favorite food photos as of late. It is so moody and evocative.

MATCHSTICK FRIES

On to today’s recipe. Chris and I got home famished, after an afternoon rummaging through the Brooklyn Flea. I remembered that we had been given a bunch of potatoes, big dusty Idahos, that had been sitting on the counter for awhile. We hardly ever have potatoes in the house, because neither of us really like them except when they’re deep-fried.

So that’s what I decided to do. I whipped up a batch of these matchstick fries in no time, doused them in salt, pulled out a couple beers from the fridge, and suddenly, happy hour had been transported home with us. Minus the lack of seats.

MATCHSTICK FRIES
MATCHSTICK FRIES

MATCHSTICK FRIES

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa
Serves 2

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil
1 Idaho potato, peeled
Salt



Directions:

Slice the potato into matchsticks of about 1/8″ thick. You can use a mandoline, but I just hand-sliced without too much difficulty.

Heat about 1/2-inch of oil on medium heat in a medium saucepan with steep sides.

When the oil starts to shimmer, gently drop enough potatoes in the pan so it’s full but not overcrowded (overcrowding will cause the potatoes to stick together). Cook until they turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain them on a paper towel. Continue cooking batches until you run out of potatoes.

Serve with your favorite condiments. Chris likes them as simple as can be, amply salted, and I like them with ketchup.



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S’Mores Oreo Cookie Dough Treats

Christiana George

Looking to keep the kids busy during summer vacation?  Try making these S’mores Oreos Cookie Dough Treats with them.  There is no baking involved, so you can keep the house cool.  And they combine two favorite flavors into one, cookie dough and s’mores.  They are half crunchy, half chewy, and 100% addictive.  You can decorate them with some cute red, white, and blue sprinkles and make them in time for your Fourth of July celebration.  The kids and the adults will love them!

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make the eggless cookie dough.  The meringue powder is the egg substitute, you just mix it with water.  I use this recipe all the time and it never fails to make people happy.  I love to eat raw cookie dough, and at least this way I know I won’t get sick.  Unless of course I eat the entire batch in one sitting.

I used my mini scoop to evenly distribute the cookie dough onto all the S’mores Oreo Cookies.  You will need to packages of the Oreos for this recipe, but there will be leftover cookies for you to taste test by themselves.  You can find these Oreos at Target.



After the treats took a quick trip to the freezer, I used Candiquik Candy Coating to cover them in chocolate.  It melts smoothly and you can melt it in the microwave in the cardboard container it comes in.  Less mess to clean up.  I also decided not to stress myself and try to dip the whole cookie and cookie dough at the same time.  Instead, I dipped the bottoms first and then placed them back in the freezer before dipping the tops and decorating.  I did it in small batches, so that by the time I was done dipping all the bottoms, I started taking out the previous batches and dipping the tops.

I found the sprinkles in the dollar bins at Target.  The Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits are from Target also.  I try to pick up a container each time I go because the kids love it on their cereal, ice cream, or as a snack.  I love how the sprinkles look like exploding firecrackers on these treats.

Let me just say, s’mores and cookie dough go very well together, not to mention the added chocolate and mini marshmallow bits just make it even better.  You can still clearly taste the different flavors.  I kept my treats in the fridge because the heat wave down here has been awfully brutal.  And I was pleasantly surprised that the cookies remained crunchy and the treats tasted just as good cold as at room temperature.  S’Mores Oreo Cookie Dough Treats were a definite winner in our household. 

S’Mores Oreo Cookie Dough Treats

by The Sweet Chick

Prep Time: 45 min-1 hr

Keywords: no bake freeze dessert snack S’mores Oreos Cookie dough candy coating July 4th cookie treat American summer



Ingredients (35 treats)

For the cookie dough

  • 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/8 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon meringue powder
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 3/4 + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

For the treats

  • 2 packages (10.7 oz.) S’Mores Oreo cookies
  • 2 packages (16 oz.) Candiquik Chocolate candy coating

Optional toppings

  • Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits
  • Sprinkles

Instructions

For the cookie dough

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars.

In a small bowl mix together the meringue powder and water, then add it to the mixer bowl, along with the vanilla and mix well.



In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Next, add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl a little at a time while mixing on low until dough starts to form.

Last, add the chocolate chips and mix until all incorporated.

For the treats

Using a mini scoop, top each Oreo cookie with a scoop of cookie dough and flatten out evenly.

Place treats in an airtight container lined with wax paper and place in the freezer for 1/2 hour to 1 hour until firm.

Once treats are ready, melt chocolate candy coating according to instructions on the package.

Dip the bottoms of the treats in the chocolate all the way up to the top of the Oreo cookie. ( I recommend doing this in small batches so the treats stay firm.)

Place the treats back into the wax paper lined container and place back into the freezer until the chocolate is set.



Once coating is hardened, dip the tops of the treats in the chocolate and allow the chocolate to set.

Optional toppings

If you are adding Mallow Bits or sprinkles to the tops of your treats, do so before the chocolate coating hardens.

Notes

Keep your treats in an airtight container. They do not need to be refrigerated, but you may do so if you like. You can always bring them back to room temperature to eat, or you can eat them cold.

Make sure you line your container with wax paper when placing the candy coated treats in it. Otherwise when the chocolate sets, it will completely stick to the container. Trust me.



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