A Little Spice is Nice

It's been a crazy week and I imagine it's been the same for pretty much everyone.  The holidays always feel rushed, but since Thanksgiving weekend spilled into December this year, I think we've reached a special level of chaos.  Throw in a little holiday travel gone wrong (thanks US Airways) and well, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Good times with red hots.

So, short and sweet is the name of the game today.  Without further ado...

Gingerbread Cookies & Royal Icing

Yield: 2-3 dozen cookies depending on size

Note: These are not designed to be soft and chewy, they are designed to be easy to roll and strong enough to package in bags as gifts without breaking.  See note at the end of the recipe if you want something softer.

Ingredients:

1{      1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

         3/4 cup brown sugar

         1/4 cup molasses

2{     1 egg, separated into yolk and white

3{      2 1/2 cup AP flour

         1 tablespoon ground ginger

         1 teaspoon soda

         1/2 salt 

4{     ~1 3/4 -2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Tools: Large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, small mixing bowl, measuring cups and spoons, wooden spoon, spatula, baking sheet pans, sieve

Directions:

1. Combine butter, brown sugar, and molasses into large mixing bowl.  Mix with a wooden spoon until completely homogenous.

2. Add in yolk, mix until homogenous.  Place egg white in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

3. Combine flour, ginger, soda, and salt.  Mix to distribute ingredients (no need to sift).  Add dry ingredients to butter, sugar, and yolk mixture.  Mix until flour is incorporated.

It may seem a little dry, even crumbly, but don't worry!  Roll up your sleeves, and use
your hands to finish mixing and you'll notice the dough start to come together.

4.  Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic.  Chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.  This time in the fridge will help hydrate the dough and make it easier to work with.

5.  Remove the dough from the fridge, and working with 1/4 to 1/2 the dough at a time, roll it out to 3/8" thickness with plenty of flour.  You'll learn quickly that without the flour between every 3-4 passes it will get stuck.  It's also easier if you roll it out on parchment.

The dough will inevitably soften so you can return the dough at any time to the fridge
to make it easier to roll or to to make it easier to transfer any cut out cookies.

5.  Cut out shapes! 

6.  Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet (it should fill about 3 pans).  Bake at 350°F for ~15-20 minutes.  Cookies are done when the edges are slightly darker than the rest of the cookie.

Note: This recipe is designed for a crunchy/crispy cookie that travels well, if you want a softer cookie, bake for a shorter time and roll to thicker thickness (1/4").

For Icing: 

1. Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar.  Then add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, to the egg white and mix until smooth.  If you want to pipe royal icing onto the cookies, you'll want an icing that drizzles off of your whisk or spoon in a thin, slow stream.  If you want something more spreadable, add one tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

2.  Place into a piping bag or a zip-top bag if you want to pipe it.  If you aren't going to use it immediately, make sure it's in an airtight container in the fridge otherwise it will dry out quickly.

Tie off your pastry bag with plastic wrap to keep it from leaking.

Now, I know I'm going to get some comments about raw egg white.  It is generally accepted practice in bakeries across America to use raw egg white royal icing (culinary schools also teach this).  It is completely safe to eat once it is dry due to the unfriendly environment that all that sugar creates for any lingering bacteria (which is already a very unlikely occurrence in a fresh clean egg white).  If you just aren't in a place to accept that, then just place your decorated cookies into a 160°F oven for 15 minutes.  Just make sure that the decor you use can withstand this temperature.  Certain wax-based sprinkles or chocolate probably won't make it.  When in doubt just test a few pieces first to find out.

All right kiddos, go forth and bake.  Don't forget about Santa, he'll love these.

Pumpkin Time!

It's almost Thanksgiving, and although Tom the Turkey is the official savory star of the meal, the glorious pumpkin holds its own as the leading lady during dessert.  Now, if you can find your own flavorful, heirloom pumpkin to roast at home for your final course, more power to you. But, if you prefer canned, like I do most of the time, I won't tell anyone (and neither will Henry).

My nephew: Henry the Pumpkin Hunter

Now I'm not the biggest fan of the traditional pumpkin pie, so I've included my nomination for a fun, easy pumpkin dessert that few will turn down.  It's also a fairly easy project to do with kids since they can help mix the batter and filling, and they can help sandwich them together at the end.  Maybe you can even teach them the joy of giving by not scarfing them all down immediately.... Good luck with that!  If you can't find it in your heart to ditch the conventional pie on the big day, there are 17 other days this month that could use the ego boost.  Enjoy!

Totally worth it...

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling 

Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
Yield: 12 2-inch whoopie pies

Notes: Whoopie pies can be made in advance. Store baked whoopie pies without filling in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. Store filling in fridge, for up to one week. If you want to assemble them in advance, store them in the fridge overnight. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cups AP flour (200g)
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet ingredients:

½ cup brown sugar (100g)
½ cup white sugar (100g)
½ cup vegetable oil (50g)
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (360g)
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla

Tools: large mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, measuring cups or scale, measuring spoons, spatula, whisk, baking sheet pan, small scoop, two spoons

Directions:
1. Place all dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Whisk to distribute spices evenly.
2. Place all wet ingredients in large mixing bowl. Whisk until completely smooth.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, using a spatula to mix. Stir just until everything is combined and there are no traces of dry flour.
4. Use a small scoop to create 24 small mounds on two parchment-lined baking sheet trays (12 on each).  If you don't have a scoop, but want them to be perfectly round, transfer the batter to a large zip-top or piping bag, and pipe out small rounded discs.  If you don't want to mess with a scoop or with a bag, you can always use two spoons to create rounded mounds.  Just keep in mind they will not spread very much, so you might want to flatten them out with the back of the spoon.
5. Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes (or 10-15 minutes with convection rotating after 7 minutes). Whoopie pies are done when they spring back when touched lightly with a clean finger. Allow to cool completely before filling with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Filling
Yield: Enough for filling 12 whoopie pies generously
Notes: Can be made up to a week in advance

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese (112g)
4 tablespoons butter (56g)
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups powdered sugar (180g)

Tools: Medium mixing bowl, mixer, measuring cups or scale, measuring spoons, sieve or sifter

Directions:
1. Place cream cheese, butter and vanilla in mixing bowl. Mix until completely smooth.
2. Sift powdered sugar. Add to cream cheese mixture, beat until completely smooth. Use immediately or cover and store in fridge.

Don't lick the screen, you'll be disappointed  

Cream Cheese Frosting/Filling is one of the most beautiful things on earth...

The Result: I guarantee that anyone who receives one of these treats will be very thankful.  If you don't have ground nutmeg or ginger, use anything in your pumpkin pie spice arsenal (cloves, allspice, madras curry powder).  Also, if you are wondering what I changed from the original recipe, I substituted in white sugar for half of the brown sugar because the original recipe produced a whoopie pie that was little too sticky.  If you have leftovers, you know where to find me.