You can throw this quick Homemade Taco Seasoning together in about two minutes, and it adds a TON of fabulous flavor to anything you’re using it in.
I have a very quick (but useful) recipe for you today: fast and simple Taco Seasoning.
Quick Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe
This is a pared-down recipe for those times you need some taco seasoning, but don’t have or want to locate and measure out a million spices.
You can throw it together in about two minutes, and it adds a TON of fabulous flavor to anything you’re using it on/in.
What is in Taco Seasoning?
Taco seasoning typically starts with a chili powder and cumin base alongside a variety of other spices such as onion powder, paprika, garlic, etc.
For this recipe, we’re narrowing it down to four of the most essential spices (plus salt and pepper).
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Oregano
How to Store Taco Seasoning
To store taco seasoning, keep it in a cool, dark place in an airtight container.
Spices lose their potency with age, so try to use up leftover taco seasoning within 3 months time.
Recipes using Taco Seasoning
Once you’ve made your taco seasoning, give it a try in some of these recipes:
- Chicken Fajitas
- Salsa Chicken
- Fajita Chicken Sandwiches
- Chicken Fajita Salad
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
- ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients.
Notes
This S’mores Cookie recipe takes a giant chocolate chip cookie and stuffs it full of melty milk chocolate, gooey marshmallows, and a bit of graham cracker crunch.
I have a really fun, really decadent dessert recipe for you today, a giant S’mores Cookie.
Gooey S’mores Cookie for Two
For this recipe, I took my Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe and stuffed a s’more inside because sometimes you just need more good things in the world.
The result is an already outrageously good cookie that is now filled with melty milk chocolate, gooey marshmallows, and a bit of graham cracker crunch. (It’s kind of spectacular.)
The baked cookie’s about six-inches across, so it’s definitely built for sharing. It generously serves two, but for smaller kids or adults with less of a sweet tooth, you could probably get three servings out of it.
How do you make a s’mores cookie?
Start with your cookie dough base, and then take slightly less than half the dough and form it into a disk about 2 1/2-inches across.
Place half a graham cracker on top followed by chocolate and either a handful of mini marshmallows or a regular-sized marshmallow cut in half lengthwise, arranged with the cut-sides on the chocolate.
A Note on Chocolate: I specifically call for Hershey’s chocolate pieces in these cookies because I consider it part of that classic S’mores flavor, but you can use whatever chocolate bar you prefer. I imagine a peanut butter cup would be amazing or a caramel or raspberry jam-filled chocolate square…
- Finally, take the rest of the cookie dough, shape it into a second disk, and press it over the top of the s’more, smooshing down the sides so the graham cracker and chocolate are covered. Then bake and eat. (Also don’t forget to share!)
More Favorite Cookie Recipes
- Peanut Butter Cookie for Two
- Small-batch Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Small-batch Buckeye Brownie Cookies
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Tips and Recipe Notes
- To avoid having to split a whole egg, this cookie is made with a single egg yolk. If you are sensitive to the taste of egg yolk in baked goods, you can replace the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of a whisked whole egg.
- Sometimes people use an entire egg when a recipe calls for just a yolk or an egg white, and sometimes it works fine. DO NOT do that with this recipe. It will be far too much liquid and you will end up with a cookie puddle.
- For ideas on what to do with the leftover egg white, check out my post What to Do With Leftover Egg Whites .
Ingredients
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 28g ) butter melted and slightly cooled
- ▢ 2 tablespoons ( 25g ) brown sugar
- ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon ( 18g ) granulated sugar
- ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ▢ 1 large egg yolk OR 1 tablespoon whisked whole egg
- ▢ 1/3 cup ( 40g ) all-purpose flour measured by weight or using the spoon and sweep method*
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt if using salted butter, cut salt by half
- ▢ 1/4 cup ( 1.5oz ) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ▢ 1/2 graham cracker
- ▢ 3 pieces/segments of a Hershey’s bar or chocolate of choice
- ▢ 9 mini marshmallows or 1 full-size marshmallow cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together melted and slightly cooled butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar. Add vanilla extract and egg yolk, and mix well.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and use a spoon to stir until combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Scoop out slightly less than half the dough and shape into a disk about 2 1/2 inches across (about the width of a graham cracker). Place disk on prepared baking sheet.
- Set graham cracker half on top of the dough, followed by chocolate pieces and then marshmallows.
- Shape remaining dough into a disk and press it over the top of the marshmallows. Smoosh the dough down so the chocolate and graham crackers are completely covered.
- Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, until the top of the cookie looks mostly set and edges are just starting to brown. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
This easy Dulce de Leche Ice Cream recipe is a fantastic way to use up leftover heavy cream and the perfect place to start if you’ve always wanted to make ice cream at home, no ice cream maker required.
Hey, friends, remember last year when I got a little too obsessed with homemade dulce de leche and started adding it to everything? Well guess who’s back on her dulce de leche beat. Let’s make some Dulce de Leche Ice Cream!
Three-ingredient Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Recipe
This dulce de leche ice cream is an incredibly easy and fun way to make ice cream at home. You just need three ingredients and less than ten minutes of active hands-on time to mix everything together.
After an overnight freeze, you end up with an ice cream that is smooth, super creamy, and so, so good.
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Ingredients
- Heavy/Whipping Cream: The base for this ice cream is a pint of cream that you’re going to whip into fluffy, billowy peaks. Note: while either whipping cream or heavy/heavy whipping cream is fine, half-and-half and milk CANNOT be substituted here, as they won’t whip up.
- Dulce de Leche: All the sweetness in the ice cream comes from a single can of dulce de leche folded into the whipped cream, no additional sugar needed. You can use store-bought or homemade dulce de leche .
- Vanilla Extract: Just a little extract in the ice cream adds a hint of vanilla, which pairs fantastically with the dulce de leche flavor.
Recipe Ingredient Tip: If you’re having trouble finding dulce de leche at the store, it should be in the baking aisle or near the coffee and teas. It’s typically sold in cans alongside sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk (double check your can and make sure you’re coming home with the correct thing!).
How To Make Dulce de Leche Ice Cream
To make dulce de leche ice cream, you’ll beat a little cream into your dulce de leche to lighten it up and make it easier to incorporate into the cream. Then just whip your heavy cream and vanilla extract into stiff peaks and fold in 3/4 of the dulce de leche until uniform in color. Finally, you’ll swirl in the remaining dulce de leche so you get those pretty ribbons of it throughout and freeze until firm, preferably overnight. It’s that easy!
A Note on Texture
No-churn ice creams made with a heavy cream base have a higher fat content than traditional store-bought ice creams. This means they have a slightly richer and smoother texture and mouthfeel than custard-based ice creams.
This isn’t a bad thing, (it’s actually really yummy) but it can be a little surprising when you take your first bite, so I want you to go in prepared. 😉
More Dulce de Leche Recipes
- Dulce de Leche Milkshake
- Kahlua Tres Leches Cupcakes (with Dulce de Leche Drizzle)
- Dulce de Leche Latte
Recipe Notes
- If you want to make this ice cream with leftover cream , and don’t have 2 full cups, the recipe is really easy to scale down. Just use a ratio of 2 parts cream : 1 part dulce de leche. (So if you have 1 cup of cream, use 1/2 cup dulce de leche.) Stir just enough of the cream into the dulce de leche to thin it out a to a pudding-like consistency, and follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- If you don’t have dulce de leche on hand but do have a can of sweetened condensed milk, go check out my recipe on The Quicker Way to Make Dulce de Leche . It’s super easy and all you need is that can of condensed milk and a couple of hours.
Equipment
- Handheld electric mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Loaf pan or airtight freezer container with at least a 6-cup capacity
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 13.4-ounce can (about 1 heaping cup ) dulce de leche chilled or room temperature*
- ▢ 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream divided*
- ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine dulce de leche and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and beat until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine remaining heavy cream and vanilla extract. Using a handheld electric mixer, beat cream, starting on low, working up to high, until stiff peaks form (when you lift the beaters out, the peaks of cream should stand straight up without flopping over).
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in about 3/4 of the dulce de leche (reserve 1/4 to swirl in at the end), being careful not to deflate the whipped cream too much.
- Scoop half of the whipped cream mixture into a loaf pan or freezer container. Spoon half of the reserved dulce de leche over the top and use a knife to swirl the mixture into the cream.
- Add remaining whipped cream and repeat with remaining dulce de leche. Cover pan with cling wrap or lid and freeze until solid, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Quick Homemade Taco Seasoning Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together all ingredients.
