Split Pea Soup, Round And Whole And Filling

Medically reviewed by Christiana George Updated Date: June 8, 2023

Chris and I split a can of clam chowder the other day. You know, the readymade stuff. I’d forgotten how convenient it was to prepare. You just slap it into a pot and let it come to a boil, and then it’s ready. I’d also forgotten how much I liked it. I hope you’re not shaking your head, shuddering at all the preservatives and chemicals we consumed. Seriously, when you’re in the need for a quick soup fix, canned clam chowder always hits the spot.

And with that, soup season officially began.

After the clam chowder, I immediately found myself craving split pea soup, which I didn’t realize involved tossing a part of a pig into a pot to simmer alongside green split peas and other ingredients. There’s something elusively tantalizing about the smell of smoked meat—it feels round. Round and whole and filling. I think it strikes an instinctual cord in me, the part that huddles as close to a fire as possible until the flames practically lick my hands. No, maybe not that close. I’m a tiny bit afraid of fire.

This soup is a mishmash of legume and vegetables, too. You know what they do? They soften, and sort of melt. The immersion blender finishes the job. The result reminds me of baby food. Green pea puree or something along those lines. Soupy mush in that rare not-quite-yellow, not-quite-green color. Winsome description, I know. But the flavor! I’m not so sure a baby would be able to handle such a taste explosion; it would be too much to process.

I hope you make a huge pot of this soup on a chilly day. You might want to open a couple windows, you’ll be so warmed to the soul.

SPLIT PEA SOUP

Adapted from Bon Appétit

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1-1/2 lbs. smoked pork hocks
2 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried oregano
2 cups green split peas
6 cups water

Directions:

Melt butter in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork, marjoram, and oregano; stir 1 minute. Add peas, then water, and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork and vegetables are tender peas are falling apart, stirring often, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

When ready, remove hocks. Using an immersion blender or regular blender (being careful not to overfill it), puree the soup. Cut pork off bones, dice it, and return to soup. Season with salt and pepper.

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Spiced Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

Recipes

Christiana George

Updated Date:
December 17, 2022

My house is a real disaster zone right now. I am up to my eyeballs in boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap. I have about three quarters of the house packed so far, and can’t wait to be done. In an effort to keep sane, I thought I would take a short break and make some cookies. I was in the mood for something dark and chocolatey. When Oh! Nuts sent me those dried pineapple bits and sliced guava I used for my last recipe, they had also sent a huge bag of hazelnuts. Dark chocolate and hazelnuts sounded like a great match!

I based this recipe off my Chocolate Ginger Cookies recipe. I liked how soft and chewy they were and I liked the chocolate and spice combo. But I didn’t want a ginger flavor, so I went for nutmeg this time around and I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa for a darker, deeper flavor.

The hazelnuts that Oh! Nuts sent were already skinned, so that saved me a lot of time. They taste delicious right out of the bag, but I wanted to toast them a bit in the oven before adding them to the cookies. It gave them a more woodsy flavor, which I thought would go nicely with the spices I was using. I just laid them out on a lined cookie pan and toasted them for 10 minutes at 350ºF.

If you are looking for a different nuts, seeds, or nut butters, Oh! Nuts has a wide variety. Just go to

This picture just makes me want to dig in right now and eat the dough right out of the bowl.

Wow! I think I may like nutmeg more in my cookies than ginger. It really brought the dark chocolate and toasted hazelnuts to a new level. I love all the textures too, the chewiness of the cookies themselves, the gooeyness of the dark chocolate chips, the crunchiness of the hazelnuts. They were a hit with my daughter and husband. I had to freeze some before we ate them all. We are going to need snacks on moving day.

Spiced Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies

by The Sweet Chick

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Keywords: bake dessert snack dark chocolate dark chocolate chips hazelnut nutmeg cookie American fall winter

Ingredients (36 cookies)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 large egg, beaten
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º F.

In a stand mixer, place the flour, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cocoa and sugar. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes.

Then add the butter, molasses, egg, and milk. Mix on low until well blended.

Next add oats, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts. Mix on low until all incorporated.

With a cookie scoop measure out dough and place on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Bake 8-10 minutes at 375º F ( I found that 8 minutes was enough time to keep the cookies soft and chewy with a slight crispiness on the outside, but everyone’s oven is different).

Remove from the oven and place on cooling racks until completely cooled.

Grab a glass of cold milk or a mug of coffee and a couple of cookies and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Oh! Nuts did provide me with some of the products used to make this recipe, but I was under no obligation to develop a recipe for them nor provide a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.