A CHRISTMAS COOKIE … WHITE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD

Posted on November 13, 2023 by admin

This is a rich, sophisticated Christmas cookie that captures the essence of the season and then lavishes it with white chocolate.   A cookie that asks you to buy the best white chocolate you can find and chop it into chunks.  White chocolate chips just wont do.

A CHRISTMAS COOKIE ... WHITE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD
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: cookie
Cuisine: baking
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: 30
An easy to make drop cook rich with white chocolate and flavored with gingerbread spices
Ingredients
  • 150g (2/3 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 200g (1 cup) dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 300g (2¼ cups) all purpose-flour
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cloves
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 300g (10½ oz) good quality white chocolate, chopped into chunks
Instructions
  1. Using your stand mixer with the paddle beat the soft butter until lightly whipped
  2. Add the sugar to the butter and beat until light and fluffy. About 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time beating well each time.
  4. In a separate large bowl whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar and continue mixing until well combined.
  6. Add the chocolate chunks and mix just until combined.
  7. Turn out the mixture into a bowl large enough to contain the dough and give you room to scoop out the dough for cookies. Cover the dough tightly with cling film and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
  8. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  9. Use your smallest size ice cream scoop to portion out the dough and space them 5 cm (2 in) apart. The recipe makes 24 to 30 cookies.
  10. Using your finger tips press each cookie lightly down
  11. Bake your cookies one tray at a time in the center of your oven for 16 minutes.
  12. Allow them to cool on the baking tray.
  13. The cookies will keep fresh for 2-3 days in tightly closed container or freeze for one month.
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The recipe calls for butter at room temperature.   This means when you press the butter with your finger tip it indents easily.  To soften butter cut it into small squares and layer between two pieces of saran wrap.  Press down on the butter with your palm several times  This will soften the butter.

This recipe was adapted from THE BOOK OF GINGERBREAD by Helen Garcia

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HAZELNUT WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Posted on September 10, 2023 by admin

. This is not a breakfast type cookie. Or an after school snack cookie. This is pure and wonderful indulgence. A cookie to be served on vintage Limoges plates when an old friend joins you for afternoon tea. This is a cookie one could serve as a dinner party dessert; along with tiny scoops of vanilla ice cream garnished with more chopped nuts and chocolate. It fulfills you longing for something rich and wonderful and completely unexpected.

HAZELNUT WHITE CHOCOLATE COOKIES
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: cookie
Cuisine: baking
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: 20-30
A delicate cookie rich with an abundance of nuts and chocolate. You can use either hazelnuts or walnuts. Cookies keep well at room temperature for six days.
Ingredients
  • 112 grams (3/4 cup) hazelnuts or walnuts
  • 113 grams (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature. The butter should be soft enough to easily show your pressed fingerprint.
  • 92.5 grams (1/2 cup) lightly packed light brown sugar
  • 67 grams (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg (60 grams)
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla
  • ½ tsp. fine sea salt
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 120 grams(1 cup) all-purpose flour
  • 120 grams3/4 cup ) good quality white chocolate chips
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 300F (150c). Place the hazelnuts on an unlined baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until toasted and brown. Roll the hazelnuts in a tea towel and briskly rub off as much of the skin as possible. If you are using walnuts simply set aside and cool them to room temperature. Nuts burn easily so watch them carefully.
  2. Increase the oven to 350F (185c) and let the oven come to temperature for at least 20-30 minutes before putting cookies in the oven.
  3. Line the same baking sheet with parchment paper.
  4. Coarsely chop the nuts
  5. In medium size bowl whisk the flour, salt, baking power and baking soda until combined. Set aside.
  6. In your stand mixer using t he paddle blade cream the butter on medium speed until light (about 3 minutes)
  7. Add the white and brown sugar and cream until well mixed.
  8. Ad the egg and vanilla and continue to mix until light and fluffy (about 4-5 minutes) scraping down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed.
  9. Add the flour mixture, the nuts and the white chocolate and mix on LOW speed for barely a minute. Do not be concerned if parts of the dough look unmixed.
  10. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and using a spatula GENTLY finish mixing the dough. Use a folding motion rather than stirring the cookie dough.
  11. Using your smallest sized ice cream scoop (or two teaspoons) form the dough into 1 inch balls the equivalent of about 2 tablespoons.
  12. Arrange on the baking sheet a generous 2 inches apart.. Be aware. These cookies do spread.
  13. Bake one sheet at a time, in the center of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes turning the sheet after 10 minutes until the cookies are golden brown. Be careful not to over-back them.
  14. Remove from the oven and place the sheet of cookies on the cooling rack for 3-4 minutes.
  15. then carefully remove the cookies from to the sheet to finish cooling to room temperature.
  16. Serve immediately or will keep up to 6 days in an air tight container at room temperature.
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THE MOST GLORIOUS OF GINGER COOKIES

Posted on July 21, 2023 by admin

This is no ordinary ginger cookie.  It delivers an extraordinary burst of ginger flavour and then offers more.   It has the crisp ginger snap that goes beautifully with cold milk. There’s a hit of molasses that reminds you of  gingerbread eaten fresh out of the oven on a winter day.  Notes of cinnamon and cloves deepen the flavour.  And then back notes whisper of black pepper.  This ginger cookie has caught the memories of spicy pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and a whisper of  Christmas mulled wine.
A lovely part of this outstanding ginger cookie is the ease of preparing it.  Start with a mixing bowl, a whisk  and a wooden spoon (no mixer required).  Melted butter, sugar molasses and eggs are whisked together.  Then the dry ingredients are stirred until blended.  The smallest of ice cream scoops shapes the dough that you roll in sugar and gently place on the baking tray.
Freshly baked cookies are always a delight, but this is one ginger cookie that tastes even better the next day.  The spicy flavour mellows and becomes even richer.  They keep beautifully for a week  or you can freeze them for up to three months

THE MOST GLORIOUS OF GINGER COOKIES
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: cookie
Cuisine: baking
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:
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:
: 32 cookies
A spicy ginger cookie that is chewy, tender and crisp. It comes together quickly. Just 10 minutes of prep time.
Ingredients
  • 175 g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 250 g (1¼ cups) packed demerara or dark brown sugar
  • 65 g (1/4 cup) fancy molasses
  • 1 large egg and one egg yolk beaten at room temperature
  • 335 g (2¼ cups) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 18 g (2 tbs) ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground cloves
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • sugar, for rolling the cookies
Instructions
  1. If possible use digital scales for your measurements of the ingredients. This insures your accuracy in measuring and makes clean-up easier.
  2. For the very best results use the ingredients listed. Avoid substitutions if possible.
  3. Have your cookie sheets ready and as soon as you have the dough mixed fill the first sheet and pop it in the oven. Fill the second sheet and have it ready to put in the oven when you take the first sheet out. This dough does not take kindly to sitting too long before baking..
  4. Preheat the oven to 325F (160C) and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
  5. Whisk together the melted butter, demerara (or brown) sugar, molasses, egg and egg yolk in a large mixing bowl.
  6. In a separate bowl stir the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and pepper together.
  7. Add the flour mixture all at once to the butter mixture with a wooden spoon and stir until blended. The dough will seem very slack at first but it sets up very quickly.
  8. This is a soft dough and a small ice cream scoop is a superior way to shape your dough into balls. If you are an avid cookie maker an ice cream scoop is a good investment. Lacking this handy device you can use 2 teaspoons to shape the dough. Roll each cookie gently in granulated sugar to coat and place on the prepared baking trays. Set the balls 1½ inches apart.. DO NOT PRESS THE COOKIES DOWN. This recipe makes 32 cookies. When baked the cookies measure about 3 inches across.
  9. Bake for 20 minutes minutes for soft, chewy cookies, 25 minutes for crisper cookies. The edge should brown around the edges. The cookies will puff up while baking and then collapse as they cool, developing a lovely crackled surface.
  10. LET THE COOKIES COOL ON THE TRAY sitting on a wire rack.
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These ginger cookies are made glorious with their deep, intense ginger flavour.  The recipe calls for two tablespoons of ginger.  You can use less but I suggest you put your “brave” on follow this recipe.  All of it.    The ginger flavour is accompanied with cinnamon, cloves and freshly ground black pepper.  For a tender, chewy cookie bake for twenty minutes.  A crisper, crunchy cookies takes five minutes more.

 

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THE COFFEE CAKE OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON . . . CRANBERRY ORANGE WITH STREUSEL CRUMB TOPPING

Posted on November 29, 2022 by admin

This is not your quiet, little every day coffee cake.  This is a coffee cake with attitude.  The cake is rich with sour cream and enhanced with the brilliant, tart flavour of cranberries.  There is the important streusel crumb topping.  Lavish with butter and sugars,  and a swirl of vanilla.  Together they present a coffee cake that is a fabulous. .A coffee cake both tart and  sweet.  Deeply flavoured.  Rich in texture.  A  cake to make again and again.

Make the vanilla crumb first.  Better still mix it up ahead of time if you are making this cake for breakfast. I often make a double batch of this crumb. This topping is excellent for any type of fruit crumble and will store in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Have your butter nice  and soft and cream it well with sugar before adding the eggs.  You add the flour alternatively with the sour cream and then half the cranberries.   The rest of the berries are sprinkled over the top of the cake when it is in the pan.  If you are using frozen cranberries thaw them first.  Finish the cake batter with the vanilla crumbs.

Generously flour and butter your pan. You can bake this in a deep 9-inch square cake pan, or a 9-inch spring form pan.  I prefer to use a spring form pan.  It makes for better presentation of your cake.  If you use a spring form pan set it on a cookie sheet or something that will catch any moisture from the cake.  The cake will keep well for a couple of days  – if it lasts that long.

THE COFFEE CAKE OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON . . . CRANBERRY ORANGE WITH STREUSEL CRUMB TOPPING
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: coffee cake
Cuisine: breakfast
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: 10
A rich coffee cake that is sweet and nicely tangy with tart ingredients of sour cream, cranberries and orange zest.
Ingredients
  • VANILLA CRUMB
  • makes 2 cups
  • 1 cup(120g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup (42.5g) packed brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ cup(68g) unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • THE CAKE
  • 1 generous tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature for the cake pan
  • 1¾ cups (219g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt
  • ½ cup (68g) unsalted butter
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • zest of a large orange
  • 2 large eggs (105g)
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (123g) sour cram
  • 2 cups )200g) cranberries fresh or frozen. If frozen thaw before using.
Instructions
  1. VANILLA CRUMB
  2. Combine the flour, sugars, salt and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low-speed until the texture of coarse crumbs. Drizzle the vanilla over the mixture and mix briefly. Empty into a medium sized bowl and set aside.
  3. FOR THE CAKE
  4. Preheat oven to 350F
  5. Generously butter a 9 inch square baking pan or a 9 inch spring form pan.
  6. Sift the flour, baking power, baking soda and salt together in a medium sized bowl.
  7. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream the butter well. Add the sugar and orange and cream for about 2-3 minutes.
  8. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
  9. Add the vanilla.
  10. Stir in the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. With each addition of the flour and sour cream mix until just a few wisps of the flour and sour cream are visible. DO NOT OVER MIX. By the time you add the last portion of flour these wisps will be combined.
  11. Fold in one cup of cranberries using a heavy wooden spoon. The cake mixture will be quite stiff.
  12. Spread the mixture into your prepared cake pan. Smooth the top with a soft spatula.
  13. Distribute the remaining one cup of cranberries over the cake.
  14. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cranberries
  15. Bake for about one hour or until lightly golden and firm on top - especially the center of the cake. About ten minutes before finished baking time check your cake using a thin wooden skewer. Insert it into the center of the cake. It should come out dry..
  16. Cool the cake on a rack for 30 minutes, then remove the side of the top of the spring form pan.
  17. Store wrapped in plastic wrap. The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 - 3 days.
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Posted in Baking, Breakfast and Brunch, Christmas Food Ideas, Desserts, Desserts and sweets | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

FREEZER ENGLISH CUCUMBER PICKS . . . QUICK AND SIMPLE TO MAKE

Posted on September 29, 2022 by admin

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Slender, delicate, refreshing English cucumbers. Beloved in cucumber sandwiches. Adored in Salads. Admired in pickles. And wonderful lavished on burgers.   English cucumbers piled in glorious green pyramids at the vegetable markets. I fill my shopping basket with them. Cucumbers … Continue reading →

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THE VERY VERY BEST TOMATO SAUCE . . . thank you Marcella Hazan

Posted on September 12, 2022 by admin

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Early morning. I’ve walked out to the garden to harvest tomatoes. My farmer neighbour is cutting hay in the field near by. The swaths lay in military straight rows. The air is filled with the perfume of the freshly cut … Continue reading →

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RHUBARB CRUMB CAKE WITH SUMAC CRUMB . . . THE PERFECT SNACKING CAKE

Posted on June 3, 2022 by admin

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I walk to the garden past hedges heavy with fragrant with wild roses and awash with cow parsley. Blackbirds, wrens, robins and song thrushes fill the air with glorious song. The early morning sun catches glittering drops of dew suspended … Continue reading →

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CHOCOLATEY CHOCOLATE CAKE . . . WITH BUTTERCREAM FLUFFY FROSTING

Posted on May 3, 2022 by admin

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This rich,dense, spectacularly chocolate cake in every is my absolute favorite of all cakes.    It has a delicate moist crumb and the dream-like chocolate buttercream frosting stays light and fluffy to the very last slice.   This is the cake … Continue reading →

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THE UBIQUITOUS ITALIAN TART . . . SPICED BLUE BERRY CROSTATA

Posted on April 6, 2022 by admin

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If I could make only one type of pie a crostata would be my choice. It is spectacular in presentation with a sublime choice of fillings. Its professional appearance belies the simplicity of its construction. A dessert to swoon over … Continue reading →

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APPLE CINNAMON AND CARDAMON CAKE . . . A CAKE TO KEEP THE WOLF FROM THE DOOR

Posted on March 12, 2022 by admin

A wind like wolves prowling across the fields. Growling at windows and doors. Snarling down the fireplace chimney. The kind of rainy, dark, dismal day that cried out for a kitchen perfumed with the fragrance of exotic spices. A cake! … Continue reading →

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