Gingerbread: House for the Kids,Crisp Cookies for Adults {Recipe}

A few days ago, I shared some of our holiday crafts. I told you that my pastry-chef sister Heather baked gingerbread house pieces for Lil to decorate. Our kitchen remains sticky from the amount of frosting and candy used on that house. What I didn't reveal are the ridiculously good spoils from the house-making: Heather gave us all the trimmings from the gingerbread walls. Rough in shape, but generally slender, these perfectly crisp cookies beg to be dunked in coffee or tea. I eat a few pieces a day for a mildly sweet, spicy, crispy snack.

Sugar-coated house for kids and refined cookies for the adults - what a sweet holiday tradition!

Crisp Gingerbread

Yield: 1 # 12 oz (enough for a good-sized gingerbread house or approximately 4 dozen cookies)

4 oz (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter

4 oz (~ 1/2 cup) brown sugar

6 fl oz ( 1/2 cup) molasses

1 whole egg

12 oz (~2 2/3 cup) all purpose flour

1 teaspon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

parchment paper

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
2. Add molasses and egg, beat to combine well
3. Stir together remaining ingredients in a separate bowl
4. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, beating until just blended (Dough will be very wet.  If making for a gingerbread house, you may want to add extra flour to enable an easier roll out)
5. Gather into a disk, wrap with plastic, and refrigerate at least 1 hour (for easier rolling, freeze dough and then roll out as soon as pulling from the freezer. It will still be a wet dough, but easier to roll out)
6. Roll out to ¼ inch, using as much flour as necessary for easier rolling
7. Cut with floured cutter, or bake for gingerbread house **see note
8. Bake on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 350 until lightly browned and feels barely firm when touched

**To get clean lines for gingerbread houses:

•  First make a template out of cardboard or firm paper.  After freezing and rolling, bake before cutting out the pieces (this will work well if you roll the dough between pieces of parchment.  You can then just pick up the parchment paper, rather than trying to move the fragile dough).
• Bake partially, until the gingerbread is golden, but still slightly soft to the tough.  Pull from the oven and let cool for 3-5 minutes, or until you can cut the dough without tearing it.  Place the template on top of the dough and deeply score the desired shape with a very sharp knife (I like using an exacto knife).
• Let the dough cool entirely, then remove the excess gingerbread from the shape you cut out (wall, roof, etc.), you may have to cut the lines again, but it should be fairly easy to remove the excess gingerbread.
• After removing any excess, return the shape to the oven to dry out one more time.  You will want the gingerbread to be very firm before taking out of the oven.
• Let cool entirely and then assemble the house with a very thick royal icing (1 egg white whipped with enough powdered sugar to make a thick spread; add a splash of vinegar, or lemon juice, to help it to harden easier).  Decorate as desired.

PS. If you want to see some professional creations, I recommend the gingerbread house display at Easton Center on the second story of the mall near the AMC theater. Heather worked on The Pearl recreation with the Cameron Mitchell Catering group, pictured above.

PPS. I finally have a new laptop! After two months of scavenging time on shared computers, I have one of my own! It's taking a little time to set up all my preferences, but my first impressions of the Lenovo Twist are excellent.

Pecan Brittle Bars {Recipe}

I don't know what I was thinking when I signed on to the International Blogger Cookie Exchange 2011. My family eats sweets slowly; cookies, brownies and the like often become stale before we eat a whole batch. I am so grinch-like that I don't even have a Christmas cookie tradition. But I did sign up and receive a recipe for pecan chocolate bar cookies from Diana of Cookerati.

I made the cookies with a few adaptations. I halved the recipe to fit my baking pan and to prevent waste if they sat around too long. At Lil's suggestion, I increased the chocolate. The recipe below reflects the light brown sugar and white whole wheat flour used because that's what I had on hand.

The resulting bars are salty and sweet, rich and snappy. I have a hard time classifying these bars as cookies because the overriding crispy sweetness reminds me more of candy - good homemade candy. A small square is a filling dessert. I think the name Pecan Brittle Bars better reflects the taste and texture of this recipe.

I wasn't kidding that we don't eat cookies quickly; this batch is still going strong after four days. Brittle bars would definitely keep well for a mailed package.

I wish I could say that the recipe exchange changed me into the Christmas Cookie Queen but it didn't. I'm still a salty smoky gal. I do thank Diana for sharing a tasty recipe I will surely make again.

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Pecan Brittle Bars Adapted from Cookerati's adaptation from Fine Cooking Annual Cookbook, 2007

Makes: 12 2x2 inch squares Time: 30 minutes cooking, 15 minutes baking

1 1/2 cups raw pecans

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 cup unbleached all-purpose or white whole wheat flour 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp table salt

1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli brand)

for the brittle: 1/4 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 2 1/2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk 1/4 tsp table salt

1) Position a rack in the center of the oven at 350 degrees F.

2) In a skillet over medium heat, roast pecans until just browned and nutty smelling. Remove from heat and pulse in food processor until finely chopped. Set aside.

3) Put butter in a food processor bowl (don't bother to wash from the pecans) along with flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.  Pulse until combined.

4) Scatter the dough into an 8x8 or 6x10 inch baking pan and press evenly over the bottom.

5) Bake the base until firm and lightly browned, approximately 20 minutes.

6) Remove from and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Set pan aside but don’t turn off oven.

7) As the cookie base bakes, in a saucepan melt the butter, then stir in the brown sugar, honey, cream and salt.  Simmer for a minute stirring occasionally.

8 ) Turn off the heat and stir in pecans.

9) Pour the mixture over the cookie base, spreading evenly.

10) Return to the oven and bake until the filling is bubbling throughout, about 12 – 15 minutes.

11) Let cool completely in the pan.

12) Cut carefully into squares. I found scoring the top with a butter knife and then pressing down for a second pass worked best.

13) Keeps, covered, for up to five days.

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Whole Wheat Snickerdoodle Cookies {Recipe}

I credit my mother with inspiring our family of cooks. She allowed us to prowl her cookbooks and recipe file. She encouraged us to make food for the family, despite the mess that often ensued. She (and Alex's mother) started the tradition of experiment cooking.

Because of Mom's encouragement, I started making whole wheat snickerdoodles when I was eight years old after finding a recipe in a kid’s cookbook. These cookies have a cakey texture and earthy flavor with a traditional cinnamon and sugar coating.

My cooking skills have expanded considerably since those days of messing around in Mom's kitchen, but I still prefer whole wheat snickerdoodle cookies over most others. They are just barely sweet, wholesome and a little boring. Kinda like me. ;)

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Whole Wheat Snickerdoodle Cookies Makes: 2 dozen Time: 20 minutes preparation, 10 minutes baking

½ cup unsalted butter ¾ cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon cream of tartar ¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons white sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 2. Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add egg and continue creaming until light and fluffy. 3. Stir in vanilla. 4. Measure whole wheat flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt onto creamed mixture. Stir together just until mixed completely. 5. In a small bowl, combine white sugar and cinnamon. 6. Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place in cinnamon sugar and cover dough completely. 7. Place snickerdoodles on silpat-lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. 8. Cool on a rack. Keeps well.

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Road Trip Treats: Grandma's Ginger Snaps

We are leaving for a road trip vacation to Massachusetts on Thursday. One way we conserve money and stay away from overly processed food is to make our own treats for the trip. Stay tuned for several homespun road trip ideas over the next two weeks.

My grandmother makes Ginger Crinkles, aka ginger snaps, for family gatherings. My dad, his siblings, and their kids (that is, myself, my sisters, and cousins) all love these cookies and have been known to hoard them from each other.

Ginger snaps are the favorite of Dad's side of the family with good reason: they are perfectly spiced, have a delightfully crispy texture, and pair easily with hot coffee, milk or beer.

Making Ginger Snaps

These cookies cook up easily and travel well. Lil and I make them with a single bowl and only dirty a one cup dry and 2 cup liquid measure. No mixer is required. The hardest part of the recipe is getting the sticky molasses out of the measure into the mixing bowl! My trick for this is to measure the oil into a liquid measure and pour the molasses in next so the oil acts as a nonstick barrier.

After they are baked and cooled, I store ginger snaps in a wide mouthed half gallon canning jar or plastic container. They keep this way for...well, I'm not sure. They disappear in a few days around my family!

Substitutions

This recipe is originally dairy free and can be made vegan by substituting flaxseed meal and water for the egg. Follow the link for a thorough post about making and using this substitute by GNOWFGLINS.

I have made this recipe substituting white whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour. It bakes up fine but the texture and taste is noticeably different. A 50/50 mix of white whole wheat and white is almost imperceptible.

Goofy Tayse girls enjoying gingersnaps at a rainy tie dye party last summer.

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Grandma's Ginger Crinkles, aka Ginger Snaps

2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons sugar for rolling 1 egg (or 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal and 3 tablespoons water, whisk and let stand for 5 minutes) 4 tablespoons molasses 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Measure flour, soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Stir together.

3. Measure vegetable oil, sugar, egg, and molasses into a glass liquid measure. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

4. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir together until mixed completely.

5. Drop by teaspoonfuls into a small bowl that contains the 2 tablespoons sugar. Form into balls and coat with sugar.

6. Place on a silpat lined cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.

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My grandmother is a great cook. You may also enjoy Grandma's Rhubarb Crunch recipe.

Added to Hearth and Soul Volume 43.

Kids Cook in the PreK Zone at Franklin Park

The Franklin Park Conservatory is expanding their Food Education program with the new PreK Zone.  Yours truly will be the teacher! Three to six year olds in the PreK Zone will prepare and eat simple whole foods dishes in my Kids Cook hands-on format.  Classes will highlight the seasonal ingredients uniquely available in the Scott’s Miracle Grow Community Garden Campus.  I am very excited to work with the horticulture staff at the Conservatory to make use of the produce grown there.

The series begins with two Creative Cookies classes Thursday, December 16 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. and Tuesday December 21 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in the beautiful and well equipped Education Pavilion. Each class costs $15 for conservatory members and $20 for non-members.

Registration and details about future classes are available online at http://www.fpconservatory.org/programsfoodedu.htm or by calling the Franklin Park registrar at 614.645.5923.