Greek Butter Cookies with Pistachios & Rose Water

Butter is a truly wonderful thing. Two sticks worth of butter in one cookie recipe is even MORE wonderful! In this greek butter cookie recipe, that is based off of Martha Stewart's mexican wedding cookies and another butter cookie recipe, more butter is definitely better. Never mind the fact that I've already eaten too many of these crunchy, perfumey, and sugar-coated little beauties - I can work it all off at the gym, right? I got the idea to make these cookies when I found a recipe for greek butter cookies at Whipped, one of the coolest food blogs out there! Caroline, the founder of Whipped, has a husband who is Greek, and they make butter cookies similar to these, scented with rose water, filled with crunchy almonds, and doused with powdered sugar. Just look at these babies....

Seeing that greek butter cookie recipe got me going on a knowledge quest for what is truly "greek" about them. Rose water (which can be found at specialty food stores, candy shops, or some grocery stores) is definitely a common thread among recipes, and the nuts go anywhere from walnuts to almonds to pistachios. I chose pistachios because they taste just so good with the buttery dough! With my butter, my rose water, and my pistachios on hand, I commenced the baking of some of the best cookies I've ever made. 

The recipe is dead simple. Just pulse together the pistachios, flour, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor (or even a blender if you don't have one). Cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and rose water, add the dry ingredients, combine, and you have a killer dough for a killer cookie. Basically, any kind of sweet, buttery baked good coated in powdered sugar is a must-have in my book....

Greek Butter Cookies
* Recipe courtesy of Martha Stewart @ marthastewartweddings.com

1/2 cup pistachios nuts (shelled)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon rose water (this is optional if you cannot find it - I found mine in a candy shop!)


To a food processor, add the pistachios, flour, salt, and cinnamon. Pulse the mixture until the pistachios are nicely chopped (if you don't have a food processor, you can easily chop the nuts separately and add to the flour, salt, and cinnamon). In the bowl of a standing mixer, or with a hand-held mixer, combine the softened butter, 1 cup of powdered sugar, vanilla, and rose water until pale and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined (do not overmix!). Place the remaining 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar in a large bowl and set aside. 


Roll 1 tablespoon of dough into a ball (dough may be crumbly) and place on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Repeat until you have 20 dough balls on the sheet (about 5 rows of 4). Press the dough down gently so the bottom is a little bit flat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges are light golden brown. Cool slightly, then coat the cookies in the 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar while they're still a bit warm. Let cool completely on a plate before enjoying!

Summer in a bowl: Giada di Laurentiis's Warm Vegetable Salad

Phew!! Summer vacation has finally arrived, and I am so incredibly glad for it! I have sadly been neglecting my little food blog for too long because of final exams, moving all of my stuff out of the dorm, and making the journey back home for a much-needed break from studying. Even though it is still technically springtime, it certainly feels like summer - here in Greensboro, NC it has been shorts-and-flip-flops weather all the way. For me, summertime means farmers markets, fresh vegetables, and getting a chance to reacquaint myself with the foods that are never available during the cold winter months. Eating a mango in December just doesn't hit the spot like eating one in the heat of summer.

And so, folks, I present to you the most incredible, fresh, and SCRUMPTIOUS warm vegetable salad I have ever eaten. And when I say "ever eaten," I mean it! The combination of sweet roasted bell peppers, red potatoes, green beans, green onions, and a lemony vinaigrette is heavenly. Like the title of this post says, it is simply all of the flavors of summer tossed lovingly together into one bowl.

These are the bell peppers after roasting and getting nice and charred! You let them steam for a few minutes so the skin can be easily peeled away from the pepper. 

I will without a doubt be making this salad again and again and again! We ate all of it! Not a scrap was left! It would be delicious cold at a picnic (no mayonnaise, so it's hot-weather friendly!), and I'll definitely be experimenting with different kind of potatoes and vegetables next time. We gobbled it up with roasted salmon on the side, and it was the perfect combination of healthy fats and vitamins from all of the veggie goodness. In other words, it was the perfect opportunity to bask in the fantastic flavors that only fresh vegetables have!

Warm Vegetable Salad

*Recipe courtesy of Giada di Laurentiis @ foodnetwork.com

2 whole red peppers

1 1/2 pound assorted red and white new potatoes

3/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and halved

1 bunch scallions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chopped oregano leaves

1 lemon, zested and juiced

2 tablespoons white or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

pinch red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the broiler. Place the red peppers on a foil lined baking sheet. Place the red peppers under the boiler. Turning every 2 to 3 minutes cook the peppers until the skin is blistered, about 8 to 9 minutes total (Keep an eye on them!). Put the roasted peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit for about 10 minutes so the skin will peel off easily and the peppers cool slightly. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the potatoes to a cutting board. Add the green beans to the pot. Cook the green beans until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the green beans to a large bowl. Slice the potatoes in half while still warm and combine them with the green beans in the large bowl. Remove the peppers from the plastic bag. Peel off the skin from the peppers. Slice the pepper flesh into wide strips and remove the seeds and veins. Place them in the bowl with the potatoes. Add the scallions and toss to combine.

In a small bowl combine the garlic, oregano, lemon juice and zest, and white wine vinegar, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the salt and pepper. Toss the warm vegetables with the herb vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Lately, I have been on the biggest strawberry-eating kick ever. The grocery store was selling them for $5 for four pounds (!!!), and I can honestly say that was one of the best ideas a grocery store has ever had. I've been eating gobs of them, and although enjoying them pure and simple is perfect, one of my roommates suggested making a strawberry spinach salad for dinner tonight. Homegirl knows her stuff! All we had to do was grab a to-go box of baby spinach, feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette from the dining hall, and I ran to the store to pick up some chopped pecans and a cheesy baguette to complete the meal. We threw everything together and dinner was served!

I cannot tell you how many recipes are out there for this salad, so many of you may have already tried making something like this or have had something similar at a restaurant. But there is a reason for this. This salad is so amazingly delicious, healthy, and simple that no wonder so many people have published recipes for it. You could just as easily use sliced pears or even some fresh sliced peaches (ohmygosh GRILLED peaches would be amazing!!!) instead of the strawberries. The possibilities are endless! 

Strawberry Spinach Salad (serves 2 people)

Distributed among 2 large plates layer:

     2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach

    1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

    3 tablespoons chopped pecans (toasted, if you like)

    1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries 

    1/4 cup store-bought or homemade balsamic vinaigrette

Eat immediately with some slices of toasted baguette! Sooo yummy!

*If you're feeling adventurous, try these substitutions:

    Sliced pears, tart apples, peaches, nectarines instead of strawberries

    Crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese instead of feta

    Walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds instead of pecans

    Arugula, watercress, mixed greens instead of spinach

Individual Chocolate Pudding Dump Cakes

Folks, I've got a fever... and the only prescription... is more chocolate! I'm not kidding. I've had an insatiable craving for chocolate since I woke up this morning, and although I was going to save making these cakes for later in the week, I couldn't help myself. Chocolate is kind of my weakness. 

You will not believe how easy, quick, and bleeping delicious these chocolate pudding dump cakes are! Okay, so a "dump" cake doesn't really sound that appetizing, I completely understand, but one of my favorite food bloggers (Jenna from Eat, Live, Run) posted a recipe for this stuff the other day, and suffice it to say I wanted it right then and there. Basically, this pudding cake, which is composed of solely chocolate pudding and chocolate cakes mixes and some milk to bind it together, kicks chocolate cravings to the curb like some sort of chocolate ninja! One of the best things about these is that they have no eggs, which is even more incentive to both lick the spoon after mixing, and to let them stay ever so slightly gooey on the inside. No salmonella here!

What else can I say? If your chocolate cravings are as intense as mine, why not whip these out and dig in? 

Individual Chocolate Pudding Dump Cakes
* You can also make this in a 13x9-inch baking pan, just make sure to bake it for 30 minutes, or until the edges pull away slightly from the sides of the pan


1 small package chocolate pudding mix (I used Jello brand Devil's Food flavor)
1 box chocolate cake mix (I love Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines, but any brand will work)
1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk or regular milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the pudding mix and milk according to package directions. Add the cake mix and stir to combine - the batter will be very thick. Spray a 6-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Spoon the batter evenly into each cup and smooth the tops. Sprinkle evenly with the chocolate chips. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the edges pull away slightly from the sides of the muffin cups. Cool slightly (if you have the will power, unlike myself) and serve.