recipes

- brown butter cinnamon chip cookies

brown butter cinnamon chip cookies

added July 22, 2025

using my tried and true brown butter salted chocolate chip cookie recipe, but modified to join the snickerdoodle family. first time making these infused, but would be just as tasty with regular butter!

ingredients (makes 24 cookies)

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup)
  • 1.5 cups dark brown sugar
  • 0.5 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • generous dollop of vanilla bean paste (or extract)
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2.25 cups all purpose flour
  • half teaspoon of kosher salt
  • 1 cup cinnamon chips (see below for recipe)
  • cinnamon sugar for rolling

homemade cinnamon chips

combine 2/3 cup sugar, 1 tbsp molasses, 2 tbsp melted butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt, and 3 tbsp ground cinnamon. spread in a thin layer (about 1/4 inch thick) on a parchment lined baking sheet. bake at 250F for about 30 minutes. let cool and crumble into storage container. initially made for a cinnamon swirl loaf of bread, these chips are a great addition to other baked goods.

directions

  1. 1. brown butter in a saucepan over medium heat. keep stirring, keep eye on it. once brown bits form on the bottom, keep stirring and remove from heat. set aside to cool.
  2. 2. combine sugars, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl. add browned butter and mix.
  3. 3. in a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. mix well.
  4. 4. in two to three portions, add the dry ingredients to the wet. add cinnamon chips once combined (crumbly bits/powdery consistency is ok! this will give you swirls instead of chunks of sweet cinnamon).
  5. 5. refrigerate for a few hours until firm, up to 36 hours.
  6. 6. preheat oven to 350F. if left overnight, allow dough to sit on counter for 20 mins before forming walnut sized balls (about 2 tbsp dough), placed onto lined baking sheet.
  7. 7. roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar. if they become too soft, let rest (on baking sheet) in freezer for 20 minutes. transfer directly to middle rack of oven.
  8. 8. bake for 9-11 minutes. once edges look solid, remove the tray from the oven and smack on counter once or twice. then return to oven for another 3 minutes.
  9. 9. once fully cooked, let cool slightly on sheet pan before transferring to cooling rack. enjoyyyyy~

-- crispy oven baked tofu

oven baked tofu (meal prep fav)

added July 31, 2025

i make this about once a week, and each block of tofu gives me about 3 servings! it's perfect with stir fried veggies, rice, noodles, poke, fried rice, etc.

ingredients (makes 3 servings)

  • 1 block of tofu (extra or super firm)
  • 2 tbsp tamari soy sauce (can sub regular soy sauce)
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • splash of toasted sesame oil
  • pinch of sugar
  • optional (but suggested): chili crisp plus oil
  • corn starch
  • olive oil

directions

  1. 1. press tofu between two plates lined with paper towel for 20-30 minutes. weigh down with a bag of flour/potatoes/whatever you got on hand
  2. 2. cut tofu into small rectangles (i usually cut into 3 slices length-wise and then into 6 portions width-wise, giving me 18 pieces)
  3. 3. around this point i preheat the oven to 450F. you know your oven best though.... i guess this could be done in an air fryer but idk about the time/temp so you'd have to experiment. usually i'll start my rice on the stove around this time as well.
  4. 4. in a zip lock bag or tupperware container, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and chili crisp. lightly agitate to mix.
  5. 5. add tofu pieces and lay as flat as you can. i prefer to do this in a bag because i can press the tofu down and it absorbs the marinade like a sponge. after about 15 minuts, flip the tofu so the other side can be coated.
  6. 6. drain excess marinade.
  7. 7. throw some corn starch on a plate, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. pour some olive oil on the baking sheet (about 1/4 cup).
  8. 8. with one hand, coat the tofu in corn starch. using your other hand, dip each side in the oil and arrange on the pan. not the cleanest set-up, but less clean-up B)
  9. 9. bake tofu for 10-12 minutes and flip. bake for another 10 minutes.
  10. 10. let cool for 5 minutes, serve with the rest of your meal! enjoyyyyy~