7 Things to Make in Your Food Processor You Might Not Have Thought of Yet ...

Did you know one of the best things to make in your food processor is one of the most classic recipes of all time? The chocolate chip skillet cookie “pizza,” if you will, has always been one of my favorite recipes. You know, it looks like a pizza, but it’s really a huge cookie? Those were always my favorite, out of all the kinds of chocolate chip cookies. You can make everything right in your food processor, up to the point of baking the cookie. If this doesn’t give you a reason to pull your food processor out to use it, I don’t know what will!

Serves: 10-12 slices
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (don’t use a substitute for butter)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 – 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Be sure your food processor has the S blade attached and that it’s locked into place. In your processor, place the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until blended well. Next, add in the egg and vanilla to process for a minute until it starts to clump together. It should be pale and creamy, and you may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Next, add the flour, baking soda and salt, and pulse to combine everything together. Last, add in the chocolate chips and pulse until the dough is formed. Using a cast iron skillet, or 2 miniature cast iron skillets, press the dough into the skillet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until pale and golden. Don’t overbake! Alternately, you could make this into cookies instead of a skillet by dropping spoonfuls of dough onto parchment paper placed on a baking sheet and bake them 12-14 minutes until pale and golden brown in color (until they are just set). If making cookies, this makes about 16 cookies. Serve alone or with vanilla bean ice cream.

Source: dinnerwithjulie.com

Don’t you love pizza? I always did, and though I rarely make my own at home, I never thought to take advantage of using my food processor when I did. Make things simple and try this recipe. It produces an awesome crust that you can use anytime. It could even be frozen into disposable pizza crust pie plates for storage if wrapped well.

Serves: 2 14-inch pizza crusts OR 4 9-inch pizza crusts OR 1 very large baking sheet pizza crust

Ingredients:
2 ¼ tsp. dry active yeast (or one package)
1 tsp. sugar
1 ¼ tsp. salt
pinch of onion powder
½ tsp. oregano
3 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp. olive oil
1 ⅓ cup warm water
3 teaspoons oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease two pizza pans or one baking sheet. In a small bowl, stir together the yeast and sugar, along with the warm water. Let this sit until it starts to foam, which indicates the yeast is working. This should take around 10 minutes. Next, pull out your food processor and insert the S blade. Add the flour, spices, and salt inside your processor, secure the lid, and pulse briefly to combine together. Turn machine on and pour yeast mixture into feed tube. Process about 45 seconds, until all liquid has streamed into the flour and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn off machine. Next, you’ll be adding the oil, so turn on the machine again and add the oil to the feed tube and process for another minute. If dough is sticking to sides of bowl, you can add another tablespoon of flour, one at a time, until it does leave the bowl. Remove dough very carefully from bowl. If making two 14" round pizzas, divide the dough in half. This recipe can also be divided into small pizza pans or left intact if making pizza on a very large baking sheet to make a pan-style pizza. Working with the dough for one of the pizzas, lift the dough and begin stretching and pulling, rotating the dough, working all edges. When dough is stretched, but not tearing, lay it in the center of one of the pizza pans. With fingertips, press and work dough out t the edges of the pan. If dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes, and then retry. Poke bottom of pizza crust a few times with the tines of a fork. If you wish to pre-bake your crust, place it in the oven and bake for about 6 minutes. Remove from oven and add toppings as desired. Return to oven and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes or until hot and bubbly and crust is browned. If you don't wish to pre-bake your crust, add toppings as desired on uncooked pizza dough. Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly and crust is browned.

Source: homecookingmemories.com

Bread dough is one of the best and simplest things to make in your food processor, right up until baking. Biscuits are one of the easiest things to make, and one that’s usually always sure to please. If you’re craving a hot, fluffy biscuit, no need to whip out the mixing bowls. Pull out the dusty food processor and make things simple! You could easily make these vegan if you want by using a nondairy milk and vegan butter substitute. You could even make them gluten-free if you buy a gluten-free flour mix. Either way, they’re great topped with some butter, coconut oil, or even a pat of fruit jelly. Yum!

Serves: 12-14 biscuits
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups of your choice either all purpose or gluten-free all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
6 tablespoons of either cold butter, coconut butter or vegan butter substitute cut into pieces
1 cup your choice milk

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder into the bowl of your assembled food processor. Pulse until well mixed. Keeping the butter cold, cut into pieces, then add to the flour. Pulse five to ten times, then check to see how blended it is. You are looking for your butter to still be in about pea size pieces. It should look like pebbles in your bowl. Do not overmix this, or your biscuits will be dense and heavy. If the butter is still in large chunks, pulse a few more times then check again. Open the food processor top, and quickly pour the milk over the flour mixture in a circle around the blade before replacing the cap. Pulse again five to ten times, just until it comes together. It will look wet and sticky; that's to be expected. Liberally flour a surface, and turn your dough onto it. Knead the dough through the flour ten or so times, until it starts to come together a little more. Add more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to you or the counter. Pat the biscuit dough into a rectangle about an inch thick. Do not use a rolling pin. Either using a knife cut them into squares or use a floured glass or biscuit cutter to cut them into rounds. If you do rounds, you can knead together whatever is left over to make another biscuit or two, but they will not be as fluffy as the first cut. This is why I like to make squares. Place the biscuits onto a baking sheet with a silpat. The closer you put them, the taller they will rise rather than spreading out. I place mine about a half inch or so apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until beautifully golden on top.

Source: honestandtruly.com

I’m pretty excited about this recipe! Fudge in the food processor is one thing, but low sugar, vegan, healthy fudge in the food processor? How could anyone turn this down? This recipe comes from one of my favorite blogs, Cookie and Kate, and I’ve modified it only a bit to lower the sugar. Rich, decadent fudge is awaiting, so pull our your food processor and have fudge in merely minutes!

Serves: 1 8x8 pan of fudge
Ingredients:
½ cup plus 2 tbsp. raw coconut butter, melted or softened
1 tbsp. raw almond butter (or you can use peanut butter )
2 small chopped bananas or 1 cup plain pumpkin puree (for a lower sugar approach)

10 drops liquid stevia (like NuNaturals vanilla) or use ½ tsp. pure stevia powder extract
¼ cup raw cacao powder
2 tbsp. dark cocoa powder (dutch-processed)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp. cinnamon
pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Insert the S blade in your food processor and add the ingredients in the order listed. Secure the lid and processor until smooth, about 4 minutes. You might have to stop, scrape down the sides and process again. Process until you get a moist, cookie-dough like texture. Stop the machine, remove the lid, and use a spatula to scrape the mixture down into a glass baking pan. Cut into however many pieces you want, and place the container in the freezer with a lid, or foil placed on top of a baking dish to freeze up so they can harden. Don't worry, they won't get rock solid, but the fudge needs to be very cold so it retains its shape for easy removal. After 30 minutes you can remove it to store remove the pieces and store them in a sealable container in your freezer for the best effects, since it can get a little soft in the fridge. For this reason, it’s best to keep in a sealed container so they don't freezer burn, like a Tupperware container or Ziploc baggie. It should last around a month or so if well kept.

Source: cookieandkate.com

If you’re a fan of mayo, quit buying the store bought stuff! Most of it is made with cheap ingredients like soybean oil and refined sugar. Instead, just pull out your food processor and make this version. It’s easy, takes minutes, and it's at least made from more wholesome ingredients, even if they aren’t low calorie.

Serves: One 8 ounce jar
Ingredients:
1 egg yolk at room temperature
2 tsp. your choice mustard (Dijon works well)
1 tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 cup extra virgin light olive oil (has a milder taste)

Directions:
Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, place the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper and secure the lid. Turn on the food processor and pour about half of the oil into the feed tube, allowing the mayo to emulsify. Slowly add the rest of the oil. Continue processing for about 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and stir with a spatula to make sure it’s finished. If it is well blended and emulsified, you’re done. Stop and taste to make sure you don’t need to add more salt, pepper or lemon juice. You may also want to add freshly ground peppercorns at this point for texture, or even cayenne red pepper flakes if you like a spicy mayo. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Source: umamigirl.com

If you want the best butter you’ve ever had, consider making your own! It’s really quite easy to do with your food processor and produces a better flavor than store bought. Buy organic cream for the best quality and enjoy on toast, muffins, pancakes, veggies, or however else you like.

Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup of organic heavy whipping cream
ice cold water (no ice)

Directions:
Pour cream into food processor. Secure the lid and process in stages. It will start out sloshy, then frothy, and then turn to soft whipped cream, to a firm whipped cream, and finally a semi-solid state. Eventually it will clump like dough and roll around the bowl. Right at two minutes of processing, it will suddenly speed up and throw off lots of buttermilk. When the spray has died down and the liquid pools on the bottom, turn processor off. Drain off buttermilk and save, to drink or bake with. You could stop here and eat immediately, or go on to preserve what you have created. To help the butter keep beyond a day, 'wash' the butter to remove remaining buttermilk. There are several ways to do this, but we found it easiest to let the processor handle it. Pour in 1/2 cup ice cold water (no ice) and process for about 30 seconds. Pour out the liquid. Repeat washing process until water run clear or mostly clear. Using a cheesecloth or paper towels, press the remaining water out of the butter on a hard surface. You will be left with a large clump that you can now eat or otherwise spice up. To further ensure it will be preserved, work a small amount of salt into the butter. For variations, feel free to add honey for a honey butter, and maybe even cinnamon for a honey cinnamon. Or, perhaps fresh herbs for an herb butter, or even spicy ingredients for a spicy butter. Have fun with it and experiment!

Source: wewhiskaway.blogspot.com

Have you ever had a scone? They’re not a muffin, not a pancake, not a biscuit, and not a crepe. They’re like a fluffy piece of cookie pie you eat at breakfast. You can make them sweet, savory, or mild, however you like. They’re great to make during the holidays and serve up well with coffee, tea, or whatever else your enjoy. Try baking up a batch of these Cranberry Walnut Scones on Christmas morning, or even make them the night before and then just reheat in the oven for a few minutes on warm the next morning. Plus, no one would ever guess they’re so healthy for you!

Serves: 12 scones
Ingredients:
2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (not baking mix)
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ cup sugar substitute or 10 liquid drops of stevia
6 tbsp. cold butter (or coconut oil), cut into small pieces
½ cup whole cranberries, chopped before hand in the food processor
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg

Directions:
Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda to a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the stevia and then through the tube, feed in the cold butter or coconut oil through the tube and pulse 8-10 more times, until the dough starts to form. Pour into a mixing bowl to finish the recipe. Add chopped cranberries and stir. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a fork and stir in the yogurt, and vanilla together. Pour this into the flour mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon until it just comes together. Spread a little more flour on a workable surface and press the dough into a circle, about ½ inch thick. Cut this into 12 wedges. It makes small scones, but feel free to make these larger in size if you want. It will make less scones, but if you’re serving a small crowd, it won’t matter. Transfer wedges to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or greased well. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12-14 minutes, until tops are slightly browned and the scones are cooked through.

Source: vanderbiltwife.com

Have you ever made unconventional recipes in your food processor? How’d it go? If you’ve got a great idea for a recipe to make in your food processor, be sure to let me know!