The joyous Jewish holiday of Purim will be celebrated this weekend, beginning Saturday at sundown. Like all of my favorite holidays, it’s celebrated with a special treat that’s both fun to bake and delicious to eat. The signature triangle pastries of Purim are called Hamantaschen. The triangle shape is said to match the three-cornered hat that Haman (the villain in the Purim story) wore. I must say, they’re best when made with Tillamook Butter and a great baking project to get the kids involved with!

Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup Tillamook Unsalted Butter
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 cups fine sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Prune, poppy seed or other fruit preserves (I used marionberry)*

*You can also make your own filling from scratch; there are tons of great recipes online!

Preparation
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, thoroughly mix butter, shortening, and sugar, then beat in the egg, milk, and vanilla. Gradually sift and mix the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Once combined, take the dough out on a flat surface and knead until smooth. If the dough sticks to the surface, add some more flour. Wrap the dough and place in the fridge for at least three hours.

Preheat oven to 350ºF and then roll the dough on a floured surface to about ⅛ inch thick. Cut into circles using a round cookie-cutter. Place a dollop of fruit preserves in the center and pinch three sides of the dough together to form a triangle shape leaving the center exposed. Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges turn golden brown.

Tillamook Cheese might make for a tasty filling to try! What will you fill your Hamantaschen with!?

By Amalya

Home Entertaining Recipepalooza: We asked some of our favorite bloggers to share a recipe and their tips for home entertaining. This recipe comes from Cara Ferguson’s blog Culinary Cara. Cara is a devout foodie, hot-rod lover, and hardcore Texan. She’s inspired by the flavors and cultures of the world, giving them a Texas twist in her dishes. See this recipe on her blog.

Tillamook “Berserka” Blueberry Mazurka

Overview
Mazurka is a traditional Polish dessert made for special occasions. Delicate, buttery strudel-like layers surround a velvety blueberry filling for a decadent treat you won’t forget.

If you don’t have time to make homemade jam, store bought varieties are also an option. Just make sure to select more natural preserves with less sugar content to keep the flavors of your pastry nice and balanced. Traditionally, this recipe calls for blueberry or apricot jam, but you can use any jam or filling you’d like. If you don’t have walnuts on hand, you could also use almonds (which are traditional) or even pecans for a Texas twist.

Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time:  1 hour, 30 minutes
Yield (number of servings): 16 bars

Ingredients
Blueberry Filling:
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
¼ cup blueberry flavored vodka
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Pastry:
1 and ¼ cups flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup rolled oats
1 stick (½ cup) Tillamook Unsalted Butter
½ cup chopped walnuts
¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation
Combine blueberry filling ingredients in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir filling for 8-10 minutes, until you see it thicken and bubble. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before assembling dessert.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix pastry ingredients together in a large bowl until most of the butter is incorporated and creates a crumbly, strudel-like texture (make sure not to let the butter melt).

Prepare an 8×8 brownie pan by lining with foil or parchment paper and grease with butter or nonstick spray. Pack half of the pastry mixture onto the bottom of the pan and spread blueberry filling over bottom layer.  Sprinkle remaining half of pastry over blueberry filling and very gently pack down, making sure not to let any filling seep to the surface. Bake for 1 hour and then allow dessert to cool before lifting out of pan. Cut into 16 bars.

About Cara:
Tips for stress-free home entertaining:
“When I entertain, I follow one motto: ‘Keep it fresh and simple.’ No need for the Thanksgiving-style spread, just make a few snacking options with a few fresh ingredients. This way, your guests will be able to converse and enjoy each other’s company!”

Kitchen advice for other moms and dads:
“Parents are always very busy, so it’s important to keep things fresh and simple. Choose a recipe that can be made in advance, and something with around a handful of ingredients. When entertaining guests at home, serve just a few great dishes, instead of assembling an entire buffet. Your wallet and your hectic schedule will thank you for it.

Follow Cara and her blog online:
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By Tillamook

Home Entertaining Recipepalooza: We asked some of our favorite bloggers to share a recipe and their tips for home entertaining. This recipe comes from Kristi Reddell, founder and editor of the blog Moms Confession. Moms Confession is a Houston, Texas mom blog dedicated to sharing family recipes, easy household tips, and tutorials for all moms, as well as featuring great products and giveaways!

Tillamook Pepper Jack Macaroni & Cheese

Overview
Enjoy a family favorite with a twist that’s not only loaded with delicious flavor, but also packs a small Pepper Jack punch. Mac-N-Cheese is always #1 on the kids list so this recipe not only lets the kids enjoy it, but also gives it an adult twist!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield (number of servings): 6

Ingredients
3 tablespoons Tillamook Salted Butter
⅛ cup Tillamook Fat Free Sour Cream
1 cup Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
⅛  cup milk
2 cups macaroni noodles
4 cups water

Preparation
In a pot, heat on high until water begins to boil. Add macaroni noodles and cook for 8-10 minutes. When noodles have completely cooked, remove from heat and drain off excess water.

Once water has been drained, add Tillamook salted butter, sour cream, Pepper Jack cheese, and milk to noodles, and stir well. Serve and enjoy!

About Kristi:
Tips for stress-free home entertaining:
“Live in the moment and don’t sweat the small stuff!  Life is too short to worry, so just enjoy what you are given and the party will be a success!”

Kitchen advice for other moms and dads:
“Let the kids help! They love to be in the kitchen so let them help plan the party and even cook some of the recipes. Keep the menu simple enough to allow for kids to get in the action!”

Follow Kristi and her blog online:
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Pinterest

By Tillamook

Home Entertaining Recipepalooza: We asked some of our favorite bloggers to share a recipe and their tips for home entertaining. This recipe comes from Megan Myers, copyeditor and spatula-wielding mom seeking out the simpler life in Texas. Her blog, Stetted, focuses on her family’s experience of cooking from scratch while exploring the many options farmers provide.

Tillamook Jack Biscuit Bites Recipe

Overview
These bite-size biscuit sandwiches have a kick from Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese, and they come together quickly for any last-minute appetizer plate. I love this recipe because you can put whatever you want inside the biscuits, from leftovers to cold cuts. That way you can just use what you have in your fridge instead of needing to run out to the store for more ingredients! Plus, the Tillamook Pepper Jack adds a nice kick to the flaky biscuit bites.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield (number of servings): about 28

Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour
2 ounces Tillamook Unsalted Butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese
⅔ cup whole milk
4-5 slices of leftover roast beef, cooked chicken breast, or more Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese, quartered

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cut butter into flour using your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the butter is evenly distributed and the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Mix in shredded cheese!

Add milk a little bit at a time and mix carefully. You don’t want the dough to be too wet! Stir until the dough holds together, and then dump out onto a flour-covered surface.

Pat dough into a large circle about 1/2-inch thick. Cut out biscuits using a 1/2-inch round cutter and place biscuits on prepared baking sheet. Re-form dough scraps and cut biscuits until all dough is used.

Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown.

Let cool until easy to handle, then split biscuits and add a piece of desired filling, then sandwich and secure with a toothpick. Repeat until all biscuits are stuffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

About Megan
Tips for stress-free home entertaining:
“My secret to keeping home entertaining fun and stress free is to not take on more than you can handle. Shortcuts like making food in advance and serving less food overall will not only reduce your stress load, but will make the event more fun. Who wants to be cooped up in the kitchen during a party?!”

Kitchen advice for other moms and dads:
“In our house we let our son be involved in the party setup. He’s young, but he can fold napkins, arrange fruit, and slice cheese. He loves feeling like he is a grownup by being included, and we love the extra help!”

Follow Megan and her blog online:
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By Tillamook

All your favorite elements of a jalapeno popper in a grilled cheese

Bree Hester is a food lover and mom of three. She writes the food blog Baked Bree, where she wants you to eat well and laugh often.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4 sandwiches

Recipe Overview

A grilled cheese version of one of my favorite bar snacks, the jalapeño popper. This grilled cheese is a fun take on that snack, and would be perfect served alongside tortilla soup or chili.

Ingredients List

• 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup pickled jalapeños, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 slices Tillamook Monterey Jack Cheese
• 2 slices Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 2 slices hearty white bread
• 2oz Tillamook Unsalted Butter

Preparation/Instructions

In a small bowl combine cream cheese, green onions, and jalapeños. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Preheat skillet to medium heat. Arrange bread on a cutting board, and spread cream cheese mixture on both pieces of bread. Add a slice of Monterey Jack and a slice of cheddar. Close the sandwich and lightly butter one side. Place the buttered side down in a skillet. Let the cheese melt, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat if needed. Butter the top and flip sandwich over. Cook second side about 2 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bread is brown and toasted.

Jalapeño cream cheese mixture

Piling on the yummy

Grilled to perfection!

By Tillamook

Want to take your grilled cheese to a whole new level? Try triple cheese bread. Yum!

Liren Baker is the voice behind the blog Kitchen Confidante, where she shares taste and inspiration in the kitchen. It’s her way of welcoming you into her home, where she loves to shares recipes and images that remind her of her heritage, her childhood in New York, and the vibrant culinary culture she has learned to embrace in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she currently lives. She considers herself a late bloomer when it comes to enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches, but has embraced its cheesy goodness wholeheartedly and has made up for a childhood missed. This sandwich is just one example of how she loves to put two of her favorite things together: bread and cheese.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Total time: 15 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): Serves 4

Recipe Overview

The distinct, salty Ibérico ham pairs nicely with the mellow Colby Jack Tillamook cheese and the sweet roasted red peppers. But the sandwich is made even more special when you use Triple Cheese Bread, made with, yes, Tillamook Cheese. It will ooze from the inside out!

Ingredients List

• 8 slices Triple Cheese Bread
• Melted Tillamook Unsalted Butter
• 8 slices Tillamook Colby Jack Cheese
• 2 fire roasted red bell peppers, halved (jarred is fine)
• 4 to 8 slices Ibérico Ham

Preparation/Instructions

Lightly brush both sides of all the bread slices with melted butter. Lay one slice of cheese on one slice of bread. Layer slices of roasted red bell peppers, along with a thin layer of ham. Top with one more slice of cheese, followed by the second slice of bread. Repeat for remaining sandwiches.

On a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium-low heat, cook the sandwiches until the bread is golden brown on both sides, and the cheese just melted. If the sandwich is thick, it may help to transfer the sandwiches onto an ovenproof plate and place into a 350 degree oven to help melt the cheese.

Slice the sandwich in half on the diagonal and serve immediately.

By Tillamook

Sweet, savory and oh so cheesy!

Blogger Barbara Kiebel loves sharing the food she makes with her family and friends both at her table and on her blog, Creative Culinary, through photos and recipes.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): One serving

Recipe Overview

Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese is combined with fresh apple slices, savory pancetta and a sweet and savory spread on a buttery grilled croissant.

Ingredients List

• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
• 2 tablespoons Tillamook Unsalted Butter for grilling
• 1 large croissant, sliced in half
• 2 slices Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 2 slices pancetta
• One half apple, cored and sliced

Preparation/Instructions

To make the cranberry spread, blend together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey and dried cranberries and set aside.

Place the pancetta in a pan or on a flat grill heated to medium. Cook until brown and starting to crisp. Drain. Wipe off pan or grill.

Melt 1 teaspoon of butter in medium heated pan or on flat grill. Place cut edges face down on butter until slightly toasted; approximately 1 minute. Remove from pan.

Melt another teaspoon of butter on pan or grill and place bottom of croissant in pan, toasted side facing up. Layer 1 slice of cheese, apple slices, pancetta and a 2nd slice of cheese on top of croissant. Spread the inside of the top piece of croissant with the cranberry spread and place it with spread face down on layered ingredients.

Lower heat and cover the sandwich with a lid or aluminum foil until the cheese starts to melt; carefully watching the underside so as not to burn. Carefully flip the sandwich over and repeat. Remove from heat, cut in half and enjoy.

Let the grilling begin!

By Tillamook

Local Texas ingredients + two kinds of Tillamook Cheese = YUM!

J. Black’s Feel Good Kitchen & Lounge talented and creative Executive Chef, Josie Paredes, combines her experience and passion for exceptional food to create a delicious selection of starters, sharing plates and artisan pizzas at their two locations in Austin, Texas and Dallas, Texas. Chef Paredes has had a passion for food ever since she saw her mother cooking at 7 years old in South Texas. Chef Paredes has been with J. Black’s since 2007.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 5 Minutes
• Total time: 8 Minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 1

Recipe Overview:

In celebration of Austin Grill Cheese Week, J. Black’s The Feel Good Lounge has put together the Open Faced Grilled Cheese B.A.T., featuring an overload of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack, topped with Niman Ranch Bacon, local Texas baby arugula and Texas tomatoes on a fresh thick cut of Challah bread.

Ingredients List

• 1oz Tillamook Unsalted Butter
• 2oz Tillamook Sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 2oz Tillamook Monterey Jack, shredded
• 1 thick cut slice of Challah bread
• 3 slices of Niman Ranch Bacon
• 2oz baby arugula
• 2 – 3 tomatoes slices

Preparation/Instructions

Lightly butter one side of thick sliced Challah bread and place it butter side down on medium heated pan or flat grill. Place shredded Sharp Cheddar and Monterey Jack Cheese on bread. Let cheese melt while checking the underside so as not to burn. In a separate pan cook the bacon until crispy. Once desired melted cheese consistency has been reached, remove from heat and top with baby arugula, bacon and tomatoes. Serve and enjoy.

By Tillamook

Albacore Tuna Melt from the guys at Bunk Bar

Tillamook Kitchen’s Tommy Habetz and Nick Wood fused their love of food and sandwiches together to open Bunk Sandwiches and Bunk Bar in Portland, Oregon. While Tommy’s love is Italian cooking and Nick has a knack for Southern cuisine, when you’re at Bunk none of the labels matter because everything coming out of their kitchen is tasty.

Recipe Details

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Total time: 20 minutes
• Yield (number of servings): 4

Recipe Overview

Perfect for a rainy Portland day, this classic sandwich gets a Northwest makeover. Oregon Albacore tuna meets mustard, pickles, balsamic vinegar and a melty layer of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar.

Ingredients List

• 2 - 6 oz cans albacore tuna
• ¼ cup finely diced red onion
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced basil
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 ciabatta rolls, split
• Dijon mustard and mayonnaise, for spreading
• 8 - ¼-inch-thick slices of Tillamook Sharp Cheddar or Tillamook Swiss Cheese
• 24 slices garlic dill pickles
• 2 tablespoons (1 oz) Tillamook Unsalted Butter, softened

Preparation/Instructions

In a medium bowl, mix the tuna with the onion, olive oil, vinegar, basil, and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a panini press or griddle. Spread the cut sides of the rolls with mustard and mayonnaise and top each roll half with a slice of cheese. Spread the tuna salad on the bottoms and cover with the pickles. Close the sandwiches and spread the outsides of the rolls with butter.

Place the sandwiches on the press or griddle and cook over moderate heat until the cheese is melted, about 6 minutes. To make sure the sandwiches are fully cooked, open them up and place in a 450°F oven for about 1 minute. Remove from oven, close sandwiches, cut in half, and serve.

By Tillamook

Salted Butter vs. Unsalted Butter - what's the difference?

As you probably know, butter generally comes in two varieties: salted butter and unsalted butter. But what’s the difference between the two?

Salted butter is generally used as a condiment because of its strong taste and longer shelf life, whereas unsalted butter is usually used for baking and cooking so that the cook can better control the sodium content and flavor in their dish!

The creamy-salty flavor of Tillamook Salted Butter enhances whatever food item it is spread on. Try it on a piece of toast or on a warm muffin for an extra kick, or even put it on a sandwich instead of a different type of spread to bring out all of the flavors!

Tillamook Unsalted Butter is the product of simply churning milk and separating the cream and butterfat. It is one of the simplest dairy products ingredient-wise (besides plain milk). Because it contains no salt or other preservatives, it tends to have a shorter shelf life than other forms of butter or margarine and needs to be kept in the refrigerator at most times. I swear by unsalted butter in most baking recipes because it tends to make the resulting baked good taste sweeter and even have a better consistency.

Speaking of baked goods, people like baking with our butter so much that they even tweet about it! @LunaRaven13 says:

”This butter is fantastic! I have never seen it in the Bay Area before so I bought enough to keep in my freezer for flavor explosion emergencies. Hands down the best cookies I ever made were with this butter. If you can get your hands on some, do it!”

We recommend you take her advice. There’s no doubt about it – whether you like unsalted butter or salted butter, Tillamook Butter is the way to go!

By Loafy