Recipes
CHICKEN, LEEK, AND PRUNE PIE
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 bacon slices, cut into 1/4″ pieces
- 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs
- Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
- 3 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, thinly sliced into rounds
- 2 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped
- 1/2 cup quartered pitted prunes
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus more
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- All-Butter Pie Dough
- 1 large egg, beaten to blend
Preparation
- Place a rack in lower third of oven; preheat to 375°. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook bacon, stirring often, until crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook in same skillet until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Add a splash of water to skillet. Cover, reduce heat, and cook until chicken is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Add leeks to skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water, cover, and cook until leeks are very soft, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Shred chicken and add to leeks along with thyme leaves and prunes.
- Melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in 1/3 cup flour and cook, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Whisk in broth, adding a little at a time, until smooth. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Mix sauce into leek mixture; season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
- Roll out 1 disk of dough on a lightly floured surface to a 14″ round. Transfer to a 10″ cast-iron skillet or a 9 1/2″-diameter deep pie dish. Lift up edge and let dough slump down into dish. Trim, leaving a 1″ overhang. Spoon filling into skillet. Roll out second disk of dough to 11″ round. Drape over filling and trim to a 1″ overhang. Fold overhang under; crimp with a fork. Cut a few vents in top; brush with egg.
- Bake until crust is golden brown, 50-60 minutes. Let pie cool slightly.
- Do ahead: Filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.
PLUM CAKE
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs eggs
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cups plums, pitted and quartered
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9-inch tube pan.
- Separate the eggs. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and the lemon zest.
- Stir together the flour and baking powder and then blend the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. There will only be a little over an inch of batter. Arrange the plums, skin side down, attractively over the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving.
PRUNE POWERBALLS
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups 9 ounces prunes
- 1 cup 4 3/4 ounces cashew pieces (peanuts or other nut variety would also work)
- sea salt optional
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Preparation
- Grind nut or seed in a food processor until nut pieces are very fine, but not flour-like.
- Add dried prunes and pulse until dough forms into a large ball. Taste and add sea salt, if desired, and pulse a few times again.
- Shape dough into 18 balls. Dough will be sticky, it helps to have slightly damp hands while working with dough.
- Place shredded coconut in a shallow bowl and roll prune balls in coconut to thoroughly cover ball.
- Store in a covered container, in the fridge for a couple of weeks.
VEGAN CALIFORNIA PRUNE BARS
Ingredients
California Prune Filling:
- 8 ounces California Prunes
- 1 1/2 cups apple or white grape juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Bar Crust:
- 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour*
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1–2 tablespoons water
Preparation
- Make the California Prune filling: Place the prunes, juice and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the prunes are very soft and there is little liquid left (about 2-3 tablespoons.) Let cool slightly.
- Place the prunes and remaining liquid in a food processor and puree until the mixture is thick and jammy. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly spray with cooking spray to grease. Set aside.
- Make the crust: Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add in the oil, vanilla and water and beat again.
- Slowly stir in the flour mixture and beat until the flour is just incorporated. Reserve ~3/4 cup of the dough, wrap in plastic and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Take the other remaining dough and press it into the prepared pan in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the crust from the oven and spread the prune mixture over the crust. For the remaining crust- up to you! You can dollop the remaining dough onto the prune coating or, you can roll the remaining dough into a square, then place onto the prune mixture. If you want to roll the dough, I place the dough between parchment paper and trim the edges, moving dough as needed to make a square. It doesn’t need to be perfect, as shown in these photos.
- Place the bars back into the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, another 25 minutes. Let the prune bars cool in the pan, then remove and place in on a wire cooling rack or the fridge to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Cut into squares and serve! Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the fridge.
PRUNE BREAKFAST COOKIES
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup flax meal
- 1/4 cup dry milk powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup chopped prunes
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat.
- In a large bowl whisk together the flour, flax meal, dry milk powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer beat together the softened butter, maple syrup, applesauce, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the dry ingredients beating until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in the oats and diced prunes.
- Using a 2 inch cookie scoop, scoop out balls of the dough and place them about 2 inches apart from each other on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the cookies on the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes or until set and golden around the edges. Cool on a wire rack and store in an airtight container or freeze them.
GINGERBREAD PRUNE MUFFINS
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup gluten free 1-to-1 baking flour mix
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup Diced Prunes
- ¾ cup Prune Juice
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 eggs or flax eggs
- 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Add all of the wet ingredients to a large bowl and whisk together.
- Add the dry mix to the wet mix and stir until well combined.
- Pour batter into muffin pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Let sit 10 minutes before enjoying.