[Cookie 087] Chocolate-Ginger Leaves and Acorns

Well, well, I ain't gone yet. Technically I am, but at the very moment I'm enjoying a relaxing, peaceful stay at the JFK airport...for eight hours. Eight hour layover. I love traveling. Turns out that the student-discount website that I bought my tickets from neglected to inform me that my flight number was changed to a flight leaving an hour later than I had expected, thus giving me eight hours to hang out in the airport. If I had known sooner, I would have taken a later flight to JFK from LAX, and not had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning, but that wouldn't have been any fun now would it?

Okay, okay, it's not so bad. It could be going the other way--me missing my flight by eight hours. And hell, I'm going to AFRICA so I guess I shouldn't really be complaining. I'm doing what I can to pass the time (I bought wifi access for the day, which is how I'm writing this duhhh), and I ate at one of those ridiculous sit-down "restaurants" in the airport, the food at which was thoroughly mediocre. Maybe after this I'll watch some episodes of The Daily Show or Community, or work on my portfolio website. Oh the things I can get done! All while sitting in this vomit-colored leather chair by a window overlooking a massive jumbo British Airways jet. Productivity AND ambiance!

So let's talk about these cookies that I made like 6 weeks ago (whoops, lazy blogging--I couldn't care less). These Chocolate-Ginger Leaves and Acorns really didn't seem like the right cookie to make in July, but I had the ingredients hangin' around--minus the molasses, which warranted a quick trip to Pavilions. The recipe is very simple, even for this cookbook, and satisfied my urge to bake something. However, the resultant cookie wasn't really anything to write home about. It tastes nice, but nothing unusual. And as you can see, I didn't really feel like going out and buying leaf- and acorn-shaped cookie cutters, so I made cats, hearts, and misshapen free-form circle things!

I bet I'm not alone when I say I hate rerolling scraps of dough a million times for cookie-cutter recipes, right? So after a while I either just give up and eat the rest of the dough (NO SHAME!!!) or I roll the dough into balls and flatten them with a fork. Yeah, yeah, they don't cook the same way as the thin cookie-cutter cookies, but this way I get a few under-baked ones, which I love. Everyone's happy, especially me.

So, I guess that's all I have to say about these. I wish I had some epic, hilarious, and tragic story to tell that's related to making these, just so I could pass some more time here at Gate 6 in Terminal 7, but I don't. I guess it's time for me to start playing Farmville again...kidding!! Sort of.

Chocolate-Ginger Acorns

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

1 tablespoon peeled, grated fresh ginger

Fine sanding sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in medium bowl.

Put butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add egg, molasses, and grated ginger; mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Halve dough; shape into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic; refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-inch thick. (If dough becomes too soft at any time, freeze until firm.) Cut out shapes with 3-inch acorn- or leaf-shaped cookie cutters; space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

Score designs with a paring knife; sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until firm, 11 to 13 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 3.5/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: Yeah, I guess. I am thoroughly indifferent about these.

{Pairings}

Drink: Because they are pretty subtle in flavor, I wouldn't drink anything with these, per se.

Song: Who Knows Who Cares -- Local Natives
Activity: I could see serving these at an autumn party--a Harvest Party!! Ooh someone please do that! I'm so sad I'm going to miss fall, my favorite season...but I just don't think the leaves are going to change in Ghana all that much.

[Cookie 050] Iced Hermits

Drumroll, please.

Sound the alarms. Stop the presses.

Hire a couple of flying acrobats and white bengal tigers while you're at it, too. And one or two sword-swallowers wouldn't hurt either (well, maybe for them it would).

Yes--it's here. The big five-oh! 50 cookies! Done! Baked! Eaten! Reviewed! Blogged! Remembered! Honored!

But let's not make this a bragging festival. I'm just excited, that's all. After 50 cookies, I'm even more intent on completing this whole adventure in cookery, and I can't wait to bake all 125 I have left (and now that I've typed out "125" I realize that 50 cookies isn't really that many...uh oh). Anyway, I'm so into this. I can't wait to see how the others turn out.

And another thing. You guys. Readers. Friends, amigos, pals. I think it's pretty swell that you read my blog, I really do. I am continually surprised that people do, in fact--but that's not me fishing for compliments, honest! I love you all! And you've seriously taught me load of new stuff about baking along the way. All your tips and comments make a huge difference, and though I am terrible at responding to them, you better believe that I read each and every one of them, savoring them almost as much as I savored eating the 50th cookie I made from The Book.

I am referring to, of course, these Iced Hermits (how'd ya like that for a seamless transition between topics)! Yeah, I spent a good long while trying to pick out the perfect recipe to celebrate this milestone, and in the end, I have no idea why I chose these. Partly because I wanted to make the Rum Balls but didn't have any rum, and partly because these had peaked my interest. And partly because in my art history class we've been obsessing over Jackson Pollock.

See? Look! It's "Autumn Rhythm"! Ahaha! Okay, sorry for the terrible, awful, art-nerd joke. I remember when I shouted it out after drizzling the delicious icing over the uncut cookies, and my friends seriously died. And not out of laughter--it was more of a cringe-induced death. Terrible.

Anyways, I digress. These cookies actually totally deserve the title of 50th cookie. They are fantastically delicious. Absolutely perfect for fall/winter, easy to make, look great, store well, and taste fantastic (especially after you store them away for a few days--like a hermit!). The ginger-flavor deepens after a day or so, and because of the huge amount of molasses and brown sugar, the cookies stay soft and chewy for a good long while. I bet they'd ship pretty well too, so keep that in mind for the holidays I guess.

So, in conclusion, a toast the 50 down, 125 to go. Cheers!

Iced Hermits

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for baking sheet
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup chopped candied ginger, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/4 cups packed dark-brown sugar
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more if needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar, plus more if needed

Directions

1. Make bars: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet. Line bottom with parchment paper, and butter parchment; set aside. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cloves in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Put butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and yolk, and molasses. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Mix in 1/2 cup candied ginger and the raisins.
3. Spread dough evenly onto prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until firm, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool completely in baking sheet on a wire rack.
4. Make icing: Put brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla and confectioners sugar. If icing is too thick to drizzle, stir in more milk, a teaspoon at a time. If icing is too thin, stir in more confectioners sugar, a teaspoon at a time. Let cool slightly.
5. Drizzle bars with icing; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup candied ginger. Let stand until icing has set, about 15 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares. Bars can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 3/5 (Spreading out the dough on the cookie sheet is a little annoying, but just be diligent! It is worth it!)
Ingredient Accessibility: 2.5/5
Tastiness: 5/5 (Yeah, I went there--the big 5 for the big 5-0)
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: Yessir!

{Pairings}
Drink: I bet they would be great with some Chamomile or Rooibos Tea

Song: Back to the Sea -- The Sandwitches
Activity: Celebrating my success.

[Cookie 003] Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Hi.

So, basically, here's the deal. These cookies rocked. Severely. I know they are only the 3rd cookie I have blogged about, but so far they earn the coveted 1st place blue ribbon in my heart. But don't take my word for it, some of my (highly respected) friends coined these cookies as "magical" and begged me to make them again, essentially urging me to abandon my task of only baking each cookie once (part of my effort towards making every cookie from this book). Yeah. That good.

Granted, you do have to work for it. There is a lot of waiting around in this recipe: lots of chilling and rechilling, which can lead to impatient guests who take their crankiness out on you for inviting them over and not actually supplying any cookies. What can I say, I didn't really read the recipe in advance, so my friends only got bits of cookie dough to munch on and had to come back the following day (after the dough had chilled) in order to get the highly anticipated cookies. But it was worth it, they say. I have to agree.

One of the best parts of this recipe was having to roll the balls of uncooked dough in granulated sugar before baking. This gives the cookie an AMAZING texture once baked: crystalized outsides, crunchy edges, and soft, chewy, delicious insides. One bite, and you'll get what I mean. And although it is extremely tempting to eat a cookie as soon as the tray comes out of the oven (and you should), I recommend saving a few to eat after they have cooled and set a bit. The chewiness really gets better after they have had time to harden up a bit.

Next time I want to use much higher quality cocoa, and I actually didn't put any freshly grated ginger in these (yeah I know, I suck), but they still tasted gingery and delicious.

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Roll dough into 2-inch balls; place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll dough balls in granulated sugar and return to baking sheets. Transfer to oven and bake until surfaces crack slightly, about 18 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 5/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: DO IT!