Cooking with essential oils: 50 recipes to try

Essential oils are derived from plants - why couldn't - or shouldn't - you use it in cooking?

If you've used it as a dried or fresh herb or spice form, you can likely use an essential oil alternative - which is great in a pinch. I've managed to drizzle some dill essential oil on my salmon as it roasts, drop in lemon essential oils in my drinks and use it to substitute for buttermilk in recipes.

Be warned, though. Essential oils can't be simply substituted for fresh or dried herbs in a 1-to-1 ratio. Here is a great guide for substituting herbs with essential oils:

A good rule of thumb is: 1 tablespoon citrus zest = 8 to 14 drops of essential oil 1 tablespoon dried spice or herb = ½ – 1 drop of essential oil ½ – 1 teaspoon dried spice or herb  =  1 toothpick dip* *Dip a toothpick in the center of the dripper cap and then swirl the toothpick in your recipe or beverage.

For stronger oils such as cilantro, cinnamon bark, lavender, oregano, and thyme make sure to always start with a lesser amount and add to taste. 

If you have a little more time, check out this online cooking class featuring essential oils:

Eat up! Here are some recipes using essential oils to get you started:

Breakfast

Whole-grain blueberry muffins
Granola blueberry crisp
Power bites
Peanut butter protein bars
Lavender blueberry banana bread
"Birdseed" bars
Wild orange and cinnamon pumpkin muffins
Cinnamon almond granola
On Guard pumpkin smoothie

Main dishes

Hawaiian barbecue chicken 

Baked chicken taquitos
Cajun chicken pasta
Almond-crusted orange chicken
Ginger stir-fry
Sun-dried tomato pizza
Grilled halibut with cilantro lime butter
Lemon-orange shrimp kabobs
Roasted marinara sauce
Honey glazed ham
Vegetarian black bean burgers
Basted holiday turkey
Lime chicken and quinoa salad
Healing soup with cilantro and ginger
Roasted marinara sauce

Side dishes

Pasta salad
Garlic & herb canapes
Black  beans and Lime cilantro rice
Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Lemon broiled asparagus
Winter On Guard Quinoa Salad
Rosemary roasted red potatoes
Herbed pasta salad

Dressings & Dips

Citrus vinaigrette
Apple-walnut vinaigrette
Basil dill veggie dip
Italian bread dip
Wild Orange vinaigrette
Dill vegetable dip
Strawberry-lime fruit dip
Pico de gallo with lime essential oil
Lavender balsalmic vinaigrette

Treats & Sweets

Lemon bark
Honey peanut butter popcorn with Essential Oils
Honey lemon cake with lavender icing
Peppermint patties
Strawberry Coconut Cremes
Chocolate bliss raspberry parfait
Luscious lemon bars
Wild Orange Truffles
Whole wheat gingerbread cutouts
Pumpkin pie
Guilt-free apple pie
Strawberry orange sorbet
Tiramisu

Beverages

Strawberry citrus slush
Holiday wassail
Hot cocoa
Strawberry lemonade
Peppermint iced tea

Looking for a source for essential oils? Please consider using my online store with doTERRA essential oils. Email me at goinggreenmama at gmail if you'd like to know about saving 25% off of retail prices.

Use Up Your Granola: Chocolate Chunk Granola Cookies

I had granola to use up, and was not interested in yet another yogurt granola parfait.

Instead we added a little sweetness to our day with this Chocolate Chunk Granola Cookie recipe. I based this off a recipe for Copycat  Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies I had found on Pinterest, and it was a great way to use up not only the stale granola I had on hand but the chocolate bunnies from Easter. (Yes, it's the same chocolate as those prebagged chocolate chunks you'll buy the rest of the year - just much cheaper after Easter in that packaging!)

Even better, this was portion-controlled, only making two dozen. Enjoy!

Chocolate Chunk Granola Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup vanilla almond granola
2/3 cup chocolate chunks (or chopped chocolate bunnies or bars)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt, butter, egg and vanilla extract together. Add egg and mix until batter is smooth. Mix in granola and chocolate. Drop by heaping tablespoons on greased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes. Makes about two dozen.

Find more ideas at Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Recipe Writers and Party in Your PJs Linkups.

Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint gooey chocolate cake recipe

Girl Scout Cookies have been my life this past month: It's the curse of the Girl Scout leader.

My dad's birthday was coming up, and we were trying to come up with a unique dessert for Papa's birthday celebration. I remember we used to buy my father Thin Mints for his birthday when we were kids, and so I was on the hunt for ideas on how we could use some of our extra boxes for a good cause.

Inspired by a post doing a takeoff on butter cake with Thin Mints and Andes Mint pieces, we came up with a recipe for an amazingly chocolately concoction that made the birthday boy happy. (Photo at right is it before its baked; it all melts together in gooey deliciousness)

Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint gooey chocolate cake
Ingredients
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 stick butter
1 large egg
1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
1 box Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, broken into bits.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Beat cake mix, butter and egg until dough forms; spread into the pan. Top with chocolate chips then condensed milk. Sprinkle with the crushed Thin Mints.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool before enjoying.

Wild Mushroom and Yellow Potato Pizza Recipe

This Potato Mushroom Pizza recipe was adapted from a recipe in "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking in a moment of panic this week. We were counting the days until payday, and the house was admittedly quite bare. I had made bread for the kids' sandwiches as I had the ingredients, and was looking at the contents of the kitchen counter: a pound of bread dough, four meager yellow potatoes, some garlic. The fridge was even less promising, as we had just returned from nearly a week at our in-laws.

Fortunately I had stumbled on a recipe for Rustic Wild Mushroom and Potato Pizza Provencal. With a few herb changes, some reconstituted dried oyster mushrooms, a cheese swap and omission of sun-dried tomatoes, we had a winner in our house. Adding a drizzle of white truffle oil, a gift from a friend that's been far too long unused, made it even better.

Wild Mushroom and Yellow Potato Pizza
Ingredients

1 pound pizza dough

4 yellow potatoes, thinly sliced

1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oils

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons dried basil

red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

3 oz. Parmesan cheese

white truffle oil (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 500. Saute mushrooms and potatoes in olive oil. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper.

Roll out dough and add toppings and herbs. Sprinkle cheese on. Bake at 500 for 10-15 minutes.* Cool and drizzle with white truffle oil before serving.

* In the book, the authors warn you to turn on your exhaust because of smoking. Since I had omitted the cornmeal as originally called for, I figured I was home free. No such luck. Do turn on your exhaust fan!

Rock star party cookies

Blinged-out buttery cookies for a rock star party are a must-have! It's also a great way to rid yourself of holiday sprinkles.

Rock star party cookies
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
5 cups flour
1 package Hershey Hugs
red decorator sugar (or any other decorator sprinkles)

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs until evenly mixed, then add vanilla and salt.

Stir in flour, about a third at a time, until blended.

Refrigerate dough if desired for easier handling.

Preheat oven to 375. Roll dough into balls, then roll balls into the red decorator sugar. Place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven, then lightly press an unwrapped Hershey's Hug in the middle of the cookie. Cool before eating.

Snowman bread

As much as I enjoy holiday baking, there comes a time when you're just tired of getting and giving plates of cookies to others. Which makes Snowman Bread a fun alternative for holiday baking.

I found this recipe on Family Fun's Web site and figured it was worth a try. You'll need to set aside about two hours for this project, once you factor in the need for the dough to rise and time for baking the bread. But it's a very simple project, and for the effort of one batch of dough, you end up with four breads that you can wrap up, decorate with a ribbon "scarf," share or just enjoy yourself.

In case you're curious, the nose is a dried apricot and the eyes and buttons are dried blueberries. I did find that while the recipe calls for them to be placed on the bread before going in the oven, the fruits all fell off as the dough rised in baking. Instead, I'd recommend, after baking, gluing them on with a small amount of powdered sugar mixed with milk.

Based on the size and what our family eats, I'd guess one bread feeds about four at dinner. Happy baking!

Christmas cookie recipe - 6 generations of munching!

Christmas cookies - everyone has the "must have" recipe. In our family, we've happily munched for decades on my great-grandmother's sugar cookie recipe. And while the recipe says "Christmas," it wasn't just for that. Each year, when we came up to visit my grandmother in Wisconsin, she would trot up a coffee can filled with these cookies from the freezer, just so we wouldn't starve on the way home.

I'll preface this by saying that this makes a lot of cookies. And I mean a lot. Even with my inpatience of simply making these into balls and flattening them, I still counted more than 5 dozen of these larger than normal cookies. Enjoy! We have for years - and our kids are, now, too.


Grandma Johnson’s XMAS Cookies
2 cups sugar
2 cups shortening
4 eggs
2/3 cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons salt
6 cups flour or a little more

Mix altogether. Roll out on a floured board. Cut with cookie cutter and bake in 375 degree oven until light brown. Frost when cool, or sprinkle with sugar before baking.

Fudging my daughter's "food of love"

While the “food of love” thing may work for Emeril, it always makes for interesting experiences in the kitchen. It’s a simple expectation that the more cooks in the kitchen, the more flour, sugar and frosting will become accent colors on the tablecloth, the floor, the kids.

This morning, I talked with my daughter about the fact her grandparents would be up this weekend, and that her Mama would be having a birthday. Her response? Make a cake, of course.
An Elmo cake, no less.

The problem with empowering your kids in the kitchen is that they have definite ideas of what should be done. Worse, if you provide colorful kids cookbooks for them to flip through, they’ll be all over the dessert planning. Because you have to have priorities.

So yes, buried in the back of the Sesame Street cookbook is a page with a chocolate cake, with sprinkles, and an Elmo. Thankfully there is no Elmo on top of the cake. That in itself brings on headaches in a mother whose child doesn’t understand why we can’t have a cake like on “Ace of Cakes.”

I look at the ingredient list. Most are normal ingredients. And then there’s yogurt, and powdered sugar, and cocoa powder, and applesauce. And I think to myself, that’s a heck of a lot of stuff for a cake. Not to mention a lot of steps when you're dealing with the attention span of a preschooler.

A box of cake mix never sounded so good. In fact, I realized, the expense and trash generated from this “homemade” variety far exceeds that of the lowly box. It may be marginally healthier, but I figure what's a few non-healthy slices of cake each year?

So, Mama, I hate to tell you this, but I think Elmo’s “recipe” calls for one box of cake mix, a few eggs, a bit of oil, and a little fudge. You can pick your favorite type.

Do the Amish really use plastic bags?

Last week at our women's group at church, a member of our group brough in Amish Friendship Bread. For the few people in this world who haven't heard of it, it's a sweet bread that takes a 10-day process of fermenting.

It's great for the kids to mush on and play with, but it requires patience. And timing. Because at the end of the 10-day process, you actually create four more starters and start the whole process over again.

So in the end, according to the recipe I got, you have 2 loaves of bread, four starters to make an additional eight loves of bread and 5 unloved, funky plastic gallon-size Ziploc bags.

Which got me to wondering this morning, as I'm frantically mixing the dough and popping in the oven before I left for work: Do the Amish really use plastic bags?

I have a hard time seeing that the Amish, a largely simple culture eschewing the "American" ways of life, would grasp on the time-saver/trash-creator of Ziploc and incorporate it into their breadmaking routine. Is it me, or am I crazy?

In the end, I ended up dumping the four starters' worth because I had no time, no plastic bags on hand. And frankly, the little-known secret of Amish Friendship Bread is that no one wants to hurt your feelings, but they don't want to mess with the 10-day process and the bunny-like reproduction of the starters!

Apparently I'm not the only one thinking this way. I read this morning on Fake Plastic Fish:

You can also "feed" it less on the 10th day and not have so much starter. I
cut it down to 1/4 the recommended amount and have enough for the batch I'm
baking and one starter for next time. I use a glass Pyrex baking dish with a
glass lid. Also if you do an Internet search you can find a lot of other recipes
that use the same starter.

Want to make the bread but don't want to mess with plastic? Learn how Fake Plastic Fish de-bagged the process.

Searching for the perfect cinnamon roll

Last weekend, in a fit of inspiration or insanity - I'm not sure which - I decided my daughter and I would bake cinnamon rolls as a treat. Little did I know.


You see, I'm the girl whose idea of baking cinnamon rolls is:

1. Take container out of fridge.
2. Pop it open.
3. Place each of the eight perfectly round circles on the cookie sheet.
4. Bake.
5. Open perfectly round circle of premade frosting and coat the rolls.

It's about as healthy for us as it is for the environment. I didn't care. It's the occasional splurge when we have company.

Then I saw in a parenting magazine a recipe for cinnamon rolls. And I of course thought, if this 5 year old girl in the picture can do it, my culinarily blessed child certainly can!

So I ripped out the article, gave the rest of the magazine to the hospital, and promptly lost the instructions.

I did find a recipe for cinnamon rolls at Family Fun online. OK, it's a kids site, so how difficult could it be? I reasoned.

Difficult it's not. Time-consuming, it is. Mix. Wait 5, 15 or more minutes. Mix some more. Wait some more. For a 3 year old, it's pure torture. And starting right after dinner and not being done by bedtime made it worse. It took so long she was willing to go to bed before they were baked. And frankly, so was I.

The next morning, the cinnamon rolls waited, perfectly cooled, on their tray, and we whipped up the frosting, which my daughter proudly coated on each piece. The four of us - yes, even the little guy ate a small one - savored a roll for Sunday breakfast. I don't know whether it was the work involved or just better ingredients, but this was nothing like our quickie rolls from the tube. And with sticky faces and stickier fingers, we each ate our rolls to the last bite.

And then we packaged the rest, two by two, on plates to take to the church bake sale, the main reason for my jaunt into baking insanity. And my daughter, all of 3, puffed up her chest proudly as she told the volunteer that she made those rolls.

There could be nothing sweeter!