Happy New Year!

Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Roast

This roast was just something fun so we could have leftovers that weren't turkey. Turned out so great, my grandfather didn't have any turkey in the first place!

The would work just as well with a boneless roast, but I think the bones add a bit more flavor. And they fall right off anyway. If you can't find apple soda, go ahead with some apple juice. But I think the juice is a bit sweeter.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Roast

1 2lb bone-in pork roast
1/2 cup applesauce
1 can apple soda
1/4 cup Red Apple Balsamic
2 medium onions
1/4 cup brown sugar

Quarter the onions and toss them into the slow cooker. Put the roast on top, fatty side down. Pour the apple soda over the top.

Cook on medium heat for 6-8 hours.

Add the applesauce, balsamic and the brown sugar to a small saucepan and bring it to a medium low heat. Stir often until the sugar is dissolved. It should only take a couple minutes. The mixture should be thick and a bit sticky.

Remove the roast from the crock pot. Mine was falling apart, so I did it in sections. Peel out the bones if your roast has them. Spread with the balsamic sauce and serve with extra on the side. Tent with foil until you are ready to serve.

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

The original recipe I adapted this from was my sister in law's signature thanksgiving cookie. She makes these with chocolate chips. Chocolate is nice....But I thought these would go better with butterscotch!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Vanilla Olive Oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (optional)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, the sugar and the egg together until creamy. Gently stir in the pumpkin and molasses. Take all the rest of the dry ingredients and whisk them together in a medium sized bowl. Combine that with the wet ingredients slowly, mixing well in between each addition so that it is well combined.  Stir in the chips.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheets in rounded tablespoonfulls. Bake 12-13 minutes. Their color is already a bit darker because of the pumpkin, so don't wait too long for them to brown.

Apricot Sugar Drop Cookies

These sugar cookies were a last minute thing. I made an apricot paste for thumbprint cookies but found out that the intended recipient was allergic to apricots! In the interest of not killing them, I used some of our Fig Jam instead, but it did leave me with a bunch of apricot paste. I contemplated sandwich cookies, but I was out of time.

So this is another cookie made from a box. With Vanilla Olive Oil of course. But still from a box. I still have a bunch of apricot paste leftover from this. Look for some more recipes with it coming up. I'm thinking chicken! But then, I always think chicken.

Apricot Sugar Drop Cookies 

1 bag of sugar cookie mix
the eggs it calls for
instead of butter or vegetable oil, use Vanilla Olive Oil in the same amount
1/2 cup apricot paste

The apricot paste makes these too sticky to roll out into shapes. But a drop cookie is nothing to be sneezed at.

Bake for the recommended time. Checking at the minimum time to make sure the apricots aren't burning.

Apricot Paste

1 1/3 cup (8 ounces) dried apricots, finely diced
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup white sugar

Put the apricots and water in a small heavy bottomed sauce pan. Heat up to just under a boil and simmer until the water is mostly absorbed and the apricots are just about falling apart. Stir every few minutes so that it doesn't scorch. Should take about 20 minutes.

Add sugar and reduce the heat just a little bit. Stir constantly until it forms a thick paste. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Can be kept for a few weeks in the fridge or a week or so out of it.

Blood Orange Brownies

These are easy enough to make with a box of mix, some oil and a couple eggs. I'll give you the full from scratch recipe I was going to use though. If only I hadn't run out of cocoa powder!

Blood Orange Brownies

from scratch version

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup Blood Orange Olive Oil

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 9x13 inch pan.

Cream the eggs, sugar and olive oil together in a large bowl. Gently add the dry ingredients one at a time, stirring until fully combined.

Pour into your greased pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

For the easy version, grab a box of brownie mix. Mix it all up according to the directions, except where it says to use vegetable oil. Use the olive oil instead. And you are done.

Oatmeal Cookies with Goji Berries and Pecans

You can make these cookies with any berry and any nut. I happened to have pecans and a whole bag of dried goji berries hanging around. And I love they way they taste together. Nutty and sweet, but in a more subtle way than a cranberry.

Oatmeal Cookies with Goji Berries and Pecans

3/4 cup Casa Ligaro VERDONE Olive Oil
1 cup, packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup goji berries
1/2 cup warm water or bourbon

In a small bowl, stir the goji berries and the water or bourbon together. By the time you need them, they should be ready.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a large bowl, combine the olive oil with the sugars, stirring until the oil is well incorporated. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla until smooth.

In a separate bowl, stir all the dry ingredients together, except the pecans. Slowly add them to the olive oil and sugar mixture. When combined, fold in the pecans. Drain the excess liquid from the goji berries and fold them in as well.

Drop in tablespoon sized rounds on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart. They do not spread over-much, but it is always better to be safe than to have giant blob cookies.

Bake for about 11-13 minutes. They should be golden brown.

Christmas Cookies

The recipes are coming tomorrow. This is just the preview. A little torture for you.

I cheated with the brownies and used a box mix. I just subbed our Blood Orange Olive Oil for the vegetable oil that it called for. Cooks exactly the same. Smells amazing! Tastes even better.

For the oatmeal cookies, I did use some of our oils. One of our stronger varietals, but I love the way the olive oil tastes with the pecans and the nutty goji berries.

The apricot sugar cookies have some Vanilla Olive Oil inside, but I cheated and used a bag of mix with that one too. The secret is the apricot paste I made to fill other cookies. But it turned out the person those cookies were meant for was allergic to apricots!

The pumpkin butterscotch also have Vanilla Olive Oil. I just love vanilla with everything.

Tomorrow!