Notes about Recipes in this book

• Tahini monster cookies

  • tarae1204 on January 06, 2023

    Had to try these based on my best friend's recommendation. I used Trader Joe's tahini which is thicker than Soom, and Trader Joe's quick steel-cut oats. I tend to bake my cookies until they are not wet on top, and I do not recommend that approach for this cookie. I think they'll continue to cook and firm up. Also, when you overbake them slightly as I did, you lose the flavor of the pistachios. I shaped the cookies with my fingers prior to baking them and they came out circular enough for home consumption.

  • luluinphilly on November 24, 2022

    I have made these now four times and they are crave-able. I cannot say they are a cute cookie. Molly recommends the "cookie scoot' technique with these to ease them back into shape. For the life of me, I can't get this to work out. if you get over the ugly factor, these are otherwise crowd pleasers- delicious, nutty, gluten free and can be made vegan with a flax egg. Note- I used Soom brand tahini since it is more liquid and consistent, and gave it a quick zap with the immersion blender before adding it to the mix.

  • kshell on July 16, 2023

    I don't feel strongly one way or another about this cookie. They were fine, I guess? But oddly I don't find myself seeking them out to have another bite. I liked that they could be mixed by hand and I had success with the inverted bowl technique at the end to whip them back into shape. I made them on a hot day and it was hard to shape by hand. Use a scoop if the coconut oil is liquid straight from the pantry.

• Hot dog chop with avocado ranch

  • tarae1204 on November 17, 2022

    This was good, based on my own flavor preferences. The pumpernickel and hot dog give it a lot of tang, balanced with the creamy ranch and hard boiled egg. Watch the salt.

  • mdagl on July 15, 2023

    We enjoyed this, even though we didn’t know what to expect as we went into it! Would cut the red onions a little bigger as it ended up being big bites of just red onion at the bottoms of our bowls.

• Chicken shawarma meatballs

  • tarae1204 on November 03, 2022

    Decent recipe that offers speed and ease of prep at the cost of slight depth of flavor. I would’ve liked more specific instructions on the size of the meatballs. I made 36. These require a very close eye as they started to blacken during the browning phase when the pan grew very hot. Also, during the roasting phase, they surpassed the recommended internal temp of 165 before the 7 min. Just watch closely! I found an extra teaspoon of spice and an extra half teaspoon kosher salt was needed for flavor. Extra green herbs for sprinkling over is also nice.

• Pickle chicken with toum

  • tarae1204 on November 05, 2022

    The chicken was easy and delicious, and I know the recipe will come to mind whenever I want to roast a chicken with a little advance planning. We all loved it. The aroma was incredible and the chicken was perfectly succulent. We enjoyed it with store-bought toum, so I cannot speak to that portion of the recipe.

• Falafel turkey burgers

  • tarae1204 on November 13, 2022

    The recipe delivers on its promise for something different in the tired turkey burger category, and much of it could be done ahead. It could be prepared as meatballs or falafel size patties too- I might prefer them made that way with rice/pilaf, pickles, etc rather than as a burger. The whole spices seem like an odd choice but work in the end for flavor and texture. Pickles and a really good bun are necessary here.

• Caesar salad French bread pizza

  • lean1 on April 26, 2023

    Excellent flavor. Easy to put together. Used a baguette that was a bit stale and it was fine. Also used spring mix instead of romaine. Cut into quarters. Great as a quick snack. Only needed 7 min in the oven.

• Caesar dressing

  • lean1 on April 26, 2023

    Made with Non-fat Greek yogurt. Was a bit too thick so I added 1/8 cup water. Just right. Lots of flavor. A keeper

• Tahini chicken salad

  • lean1 on April 26, 2023

    only used half the amount of dressing. It seemed to be enough

• Crunchy Asian slaw

  • Jviney on October 25, 2022

    Lovely lunch salad - the dressing is light and flavorful, and it was a great use of the other half of the Napa cabbage bought for the potsticker noodles (thanks for the note on the noodles, Molly!). I thought my cabbage was a good size but there was a lot of leftover dressing at the bottom of the bowl. I subbed sriracha for the sambal, and topped it with peanuts, toasted ramen noodles, and sesame seeds. Highly recommend!

• Broccolini soup with breadcrumbs and poached eggs

  • Jviney on November 03, 2022

    This wasn’t much different from other broccoli soups, but the poached egg/panko/sriracha topping suggestions made it a pretty excellent lunch. I added some more Gruyère than was called for because I love cheese.

• Cookie dough oat bars

  • Jviney on October 20, 2022

    Yes, these are delicious. I made them as written and in a 5x10 loaf pan. I got eleven thin bars so next time I’ll size down a loaf pan so they’re a little thicker. They really do taste like cookie dough…

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Good make ahead snack

  • kshell on February 04, 2023

    Tasty. As tasty as cookie dough? For me, no. But I don't necessarily want cookie dough for breakfast so this straddles the sweet but not too sweet line. Held together but it was a tad dry. I saw her use this as a base for a tart (on Food Network) with some sort of yogurt topping and it would probably be really good with that on top.

• Hand-pulled noodles with potsticker filling sauce

  • Jviney on October 31, 2022

    I used the pappardelle shortcut but this was good. Subtle heat from the sambal (I only had sriracha on hand) and the cabbage cooked way down, I would add even more next time. I’ll make it again!

• Stovetop yogurt mac and cheese

  • Jviney on October 25, 2022

    This was really yummy, and super quick for a weeknight meal. I used mozzarella and cheddar, quantities somewhat unknown as the dog counter-surfed at least half of the cheddar before I caught him. The mini shells are a delight.

• Cream cheese chicken enchiladas

  • Jviney on October 15, 2022

    These are pure comfort food and we enjoyed them. The enchiladas by themselves lack an acid tang, so the suggested pickled red onions and jalapeños (I used pickled as well) went a long way in terms of flavor.

• Cheese-and-olive stuffed pita

  • Jviney on November 19, 2022

    These were fine. The dough was very loose and sticky before the first rise, but easy enough to work with after that. I added the garlic butter too. No complaints, but maybe not exceptional enough to warrant another try. I served it with her suggested matbucha, also fine.

• Bamba marshmallow squares

  • Jviney on February 12, 2023

    I was intrigued by this recipe, having never seen Bamba before…but there it was in the Target grocery so I went for it. The resulting bars, to me, were too thick and awkward to eat easily and the ratio of marshmallow and chocolate wasn’t enough to hold it together. My six year old tried a bar and said they were good but maybe I shouldn’t take them to the Super Bowl party…

• Marzipan chocolate chip cookies

  • Jviney on November 20, 2022

    These are yummy, lots going on in them with the chopped almonds and almond paste. It was difficult for me to tell when they were done as they were very very soft at 15 minutes so I took them out and they firmed up quite a bit.

• Pistachio cookie bars

  • Jviney on March 14, 2023

    These were yummy, loved the green color and the almond flavor. I chopped my pistachios quite finely and my cook time was 24 minutes but I might pull them out a bit earlier next time. Still not dry, but might try it a little less done.

• Sloppy Joe pitas

  • vglong29 on September 04, 2023

    These are quite tasty. Didn't add any of the toppings, but I think they would take this to the next level.

• Pumpkin scone loaf

  • vglong29 on November 01, 2022

    This has the potential to be good, but baking it at 400 for 50 minutes is too hot and too long. I took it out 10 minutes early and it was already overbaked. Next time I will bake at 350 and check early.

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Made this twice using metric weights and it was very very dry both times

• Blueberry cashew cookie smoothie

  • luluinphilly on October 10, 2022

    For whatever reason, this was the first recipe I was craving from this book! It was fine, but needed honey or something to sweeten it up. I think I will stick with Mollys more decadent choices in the future.

• Preserved lemon yogurt loaf cake

  • luluinphilly on October 14, 2022

    This was stupendous ! It is a true one bowl cake and minimal fuss (other than chopping preserved lemons which is quick work in the cuisinart) The cake is exactly as promised: dense plush, lemon-y and hits all the nostalgic notes while retaining a modern edge. The recipe calls for lots of lemon juice and zest, so I suspect it would be delicious without the preserved lemon in a pinch (see her instructions for the omission)

• Preserved lemon pappardelle with fried pine nuts, zucchini, mint, and feta

  • ethedens on June 04, 2023

    Really tasty, though the zucchini took longer than the recipe indicated.

• Avocado and salami toast

  • ethedens on June 19, 2023

    I agree with the sentiment that butter fried toast is better. Overall, quite good but not my personal favorite avocado toast.

• Orange blossom dream smoothie

  • sayeater on May 28, 2023

    A nice bright combo of flavors. Sweeter than my norm type of smoothie (but I may like things less sweet than most). I like my smoothies frosty cold and the frozen pineapple in this one wasn't quite enough to get it that cold once you consider all the other ingredients. Next time will throw a few ice cubes in the mix. Kids would def like this one!

• Strawberry rose halva smoothie

  • sayeater on May 28, 2023

    A surprising, decadent tickle your taste buds smoothie. I would never have thought of this combo on my own (and I do a lot of veggie/fruit smoothies). The halvah made this so special. Definitely sweeter than my usual green smoothies, I would have no problem marking this as dessert. Not something I'd drink daily but most definitely will make again as a treat!

• Rhubarb shrub

  • sayeater on May 28, 2023

    So, so good. Will make this every spring!! I love it drizzled in my seltzer over ice. Rhubarb has such a great sweet tart profile, totally enhanced by the ACV. Feels so special, yet so simple to make.

• Rainbow couscous salad with chickpeas and feta

  • mdagl on August 17, 2023

    Turned out decent, but kind of felt like just an average Mediterranean pasta salad situation.

• Veggie supreme white bean hotdish

  • bwilcox on July 28, 2023

    Weirdly soupy

• Crusty chocolate chip bread

  • kshell on February 13, 2023

    I absolutely devoured this. Excellent. I have made a lot of similar recipes for bread dough and this does not deviate much in that sense, but folding chocolate chips in (and such a generous amount, too!) is clutch. Very chocolaty. I use a mix of several different chips that I keep in a big plastic container and I suspect my blend skews a bit more dark chocolate/bittersweet than the 50/50 mix called for.

• Sheet pan roasted squash soup

  • kshell on February 04, 2023

    Loved this, both for ease and flavor. Have made twice now. I prefer to put squash on one quarter sheet pan, all other items to roast on second quarter sheet pan. No parchment paper, seems a waste. The pans don't get too dirty. I dump ingredients when ready into pot and use immersion blender.

• Classic Tot hotdish

  • kshell on February 13, 2023

    Not being familiar with hotdish, I expected a bit more in the flavor department for going the homemade route. It was fine. Comforting, hearty. It did not wow us. If I made this with a can of condensed cream of something or other soup I expect a similar end result.