Gingerbread Men

It's just that time of year - time for apple cider, gingerbread, planning for thanksgiving, and wearing thick sweaters. Okay, I know I live in Texas so the thick sweaters aren't happening so much, but at all the rest is true.  And, in the spirit of fall and cool crisp weather, I decided it was time for gingerbread! This recipe comes from The Joy of Baking, and I was very happy with it. 

Gingerbread Men: 

3 cups (420 grams) all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg

2/3 cup (160 ml) unsulphured molasses

Confectioner's Sugar: 

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons milk or light cream

Assorted food colors - if you want your gingerbread men to be colorful.

For the Ginger Bread:

Start by mixing together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, then set aside. 

Next, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and molasses and beat until incorporated. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours or overnight. Preheat the oven 350 with rack in the middle of the oven - Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (or use a nonstick cookie sheet) 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Use a gingerbread cutter to cut out the cookies.  With an offset spatula lift the cut out cookies onto the baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1 inch apart. 

Bake for about 8 - 12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Small ones will take about 8 minutes, larger cookies will take about 12 minutes. And if you make really tiny ones like I did, then they take 4 to 5 minutes depending on how soft you like your cookies. They are done when they are firm and the edges are just beginning to brown.  

 

Remove the cookies from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for about 1 minute. When they are firm enough to move, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Confectioners Frosting: 

In an electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beater. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes).  Add a little more milk if too dry. Place the frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and decorate the gingerbread men as desired, or just spread the icing on with a tiny spatula.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know everyone has had one of those really rough, awful, no good, exhausting, all around bad days. Today was one of those for me - I won't whine about it here though. But after a day like that, there is only one thing that can make me feel better: gooey, warm, delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies, hot out of the oven. So today when I got home feeling utterly dejected and defeated I put on my apron and started eating the second the cookies came off the cookie sheet.

Now, I promise that this won't be the only chocolate chip cookie recipe you see on this website (as a matter of fact, there is already a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe a few posts back). I love chocolate chip cookies, and I have at least a dozen more recipes that look promising. But here is a good one to start with (from SmittenKitchen no less). I don't have many photos of this because my camera battery went dead, but that doesn't lessen the deliciousness of the cookies.

Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper. (I have a seriously amazing pan that is completely nonstick so i didn't bother with the parchment, but if you don't have an awesome pan like me, you might want to go ahead)

2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.

3. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

4. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand (i used my trusty rubber spatula). Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time (for giant cookies) or a tablespoon at a time (for smaller cookies) onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

5. Bake larger cookies for 15 to 17 minutes, or 10 to 12 minutes for smaller ones (check your cookies before they’re done; depending on your scoop size, your baking time will vary) in the preheated oven, or until the edges are just brown. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

And like magic, a bad day seems just a little bit better.

Pizza + Snickerdoodles

This morning while listening to "Yummy Yummy Yummy I've got love in my tummy" on repeat, I decided it was time to make Snickerdoodles again. The weather is finally turning cool, it's a little overcast, and it's the perfect day for something warm and cinnamony.

Of course, i turned to my favorite cooking-blog - SmittenKitchen for a recipe, and instead of simply starting my snickerdoodles, I started looking at the other recipes, and found one for pizza that I just couldn't pass up.

This Snickerdoodle recipe makes three dozen 3 to 4-inch cookies.
Ingredients are as follows:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

Start by mixing together the dry ingredients (flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt). In a separate bowl (preferably in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle blade) mix together the butter and 1 1/2 cups of the sugar till light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, add in the eggs one at a time, then stir in dry ingredients. After it's all mixed together cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.





When the dough is ready preheat the oven to 400 and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Scoop the dough out with a ice-cream scoop or cookie scoop of some sort (this helps with creating cookies of a uniform size that will cook evenly). Roll the cookies in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and place on cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between them to expand. I flattened mine with the palm of my hand so they wouldn't come out too puffy.








The rest of my day basically ended up being a sort of catastrophe, but still - it all came together in the end. After I decided I needed to make the pizza for dinner I called a couple girlfriends and planned a dinner-date. Unfortunately, once I got to the store to buy my pizza-makings, I discovered that Justin had taken my ID to the deer-lease with him for the weekend. And, given that the recipe calls for white wine, it wasn't really a good start to my cooking. After I got home I realized that the pizza probably wouldn't be enough for three people by itself, so i went back to the store, in the rain, for a second time. By the time I got home one of my friends had called and said her car wasn't working, so I drove out to pick her up. All in all, the cooking didn't get started till around 6:45 after everyone had arrived at my apartment.

The spinach artichoke dip is delicious and amazingly easy to make, but my camera has been malfunctioning and I didn't get any pictures of it at all. So, i'll post that one another time - and believe me, I will make it again!

But wow. This pizza is incredible. I won't lie - i'm a completely pizza connoisseur. I'm very picky about how I want my pizza, and I won't settle for just anything. Before this pizza, I actually thought that I didn't like homemade pizza! I was wrong.

(we put extra red pepper flakes on half, in case you can't tell)

This pizza serves 1-3 people, depending on what you serve with it. I stretched it for 3 people but we had already eaten quite a bit of spinach artichoke dip as well as a salad.

Pizza:
It may seem like a lot of work to make your own dough, but in this case, it is well worth it. And really, this isn't too bad at all.

Dough
6 tablespoons warm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more water)
2 tablespoons white wine
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups flour

Assembly
Cornmeal for sprinkling
Flour for dusting counter
1/2 pound torn-up mozzarella
Few leaves of torn-up basil

Whisk wine, water and yeast in a medium bowl until yeast has dissolved. I added the yeast to the warm water, then added the wine after the yeast had dissolved. Remember, yeast needs warm, but not hot, water to activate. Add honey, salt and olive oil and stir. Add flour (it will look very dry) work it with a spoon and your fingers until it comes together as a dough. Add more water one tablespoon at a time if you need, I added 2 more tablespoons, but I really don't think it was necessary, next time I probably wont.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter and knead the dough for a minute or two.

Coat the inside of a medium bowl with olive oil. Put the dough in, cover it with plastic wrap or a dish towel, and let it rise for an hour or up to two, until it is doubled. Take heed... do NOT put the dough on the top of your stove thinking that the dough could use some extra heat to help it rise. It will cook the bottom of the dough. Yes, I did do that. And guess what - it didn't even matter! STILL DELICIOUS!

While dough is rising, make the sauce.

The sauce requires:
4 roma tomatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced (I used about a tablespoon and a half of pre-minced garlic)
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Splash of white wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt

Bring medium pot of water to a boil. Poach the tomatoes for one minute only, and then drain them. As soon as they are cooled off enough that you can touch them, peel them. The peels should come right off. The easiest way to do it is to use a knife to just make a slit in the skins then peel from there.

Drain and dry the pot. Put it back on the burner over medium heat. Pour in olive oil and let it heat completely before adding the garlic and stirring it for a minute with a wooden spoon. Add the red pepper flakes and stir it for anther minute. You do not want the garlic to brown. Put the peeled tomatoes in the pot, along with the wine, sugar and salt. Break the tomatoes up with your spoon. Be careful when breaking up the tomatoes, you don't want to splash yourself with hot oil, it hurts. (Also, I bought a wooden spoon specifically for this - i think it was worth it, it's a really pretty spoon).

Let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down. Carefully taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. I didn't find it necessary to adjust the seasonings.

While your sauce is simmering turn back to your dough.

Preheat your oven to its highest temperature - mine goes to 500, I didn't use broil. Now, the directions I have say next "If you have a pizza stone, sprinkle it with cornmeal and put it in the oven. Otherwise, sprinkle a baking pan with the same." DO NOT DO THIS. I made a horrible stench of burned cornmeal - ick. Instead put your baking pan/ pizza stone in the oven, then sprinkle with corn meal just before putting your pizza on.

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured counter and gently deflate the dough with the palm of your hands. Form it into a ball and let it rest on a floured spot with either plastic wrap over it (sprinkle the top of the dough with flour so it doesn’t stick) or an upended bowl. In 15 minutes, it is ready to roll out.

Do so on the floured counter until fairly thin (I think this can be done to taste), then lift it onto a cornmeal-sprinkled baking sheet or pizza paddle. Add the sauce, torn-up mozzarella and slivers of fresh basil. ** Note - I think it would be a good idea to blind-bake your pizza crust first. I like mine a little crispier so I will be doing so next time.

Bake for about 10 minutes, checking at 7. Slice and serve immediately.

Buttermilk Cake an Buttercream Cookies

Actually, both of these recipes are a lot easier than pie, which I frequently find to be a little bit difficult (especially if you make your own crust). The first is raspberry buttermilk cake, which is incredibly delectable but only makes about 8 slices, so it's not great for a crowd. The second is Bavarian Buttercream Cookies. One of the things that makes these cookies so wonderful is that the recipe calls for nothing other than ingredients you most likely already have in your pantry, making them the perfect cookies for spur-of-the-moment baking when you just don't feel up to the grocery store.

I would also like to take a moment to point out to all (three?) of my readers, that I am desperately in need of a job, so if you know of one... point me in the direction! Otherwise it is possible that I will be blogging from the public library and living out of a box on the corner within mere months. My blog will have to change titles of course, it will no longer be the Honey-Do Kitchen blog, instead I think I'll call it the I Live in a Box Blog, or perhaps to be more creative... the What You Can Cook Over a Steam Grate on the Street Blog. I anticipate that such a blog will have a much more limited recipe collection.

Now, back to the raspberry buttermilk cake. This could really be made with any berry you wanted. I've also made it with blackberries. The recipe (from smittenkitchen of course) is as follows:

Preheat the oven to 400 with the rack in the middle and butter and flour a 9" round cake pan.

You'll need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk*
1 cup fresh raspberries (or other berries)

*You can make your own buttermilk, my Mother says to use 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup of milk, let stand until it looks curdled (maybe 8 to 10 minutes). I will point out however, that some people think that this kind of buttermilk isn't as good *coughJustincough*



Start (as usual) by whisking together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and setting this aside. Then in a larger bowl beat the butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, for about 2 minutes, then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest. Add the egg and beat well.

At a low speed mix in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Begin and end with the flour and mix until just combined. Spoon the batter into the cake pan and smooth the top. Then, scatter raspberries evenly over top and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar.


Now, I think i've already given you all my opinion about scattering things. As you can see, I chose to place my raspberries in concentric circles (is this the right term?). It looked much prettier and far more orderly, plus that way no piece of cake got shorted on fruit.

Bake until the cake is golden and a tooth-pick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool.





Next for the cookies. I got this recipe off of cooks.com after watching Stranger than Fiction. I am absolutely in love with Maggie Gyllenhaal's character in that movie. Sometimes when I'm baking I like to pretend that I'm really hot and have lots of cool tattoos. Anyway, at the end of the movie she mentions some sort of Bavarian cookie, which I honestly can't remember the name of anymore. But these were the closest thing I could find, and they are so yummy.

Like I said before, you'll probably already have everything you need for these cookies.

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla



Preheat the oven to 350.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. (Notice, in almost all recipes you will mix together the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients, then add the dry to the wet. There is some sort of scientific chemical reason for this, but I don't know it) Set aside the dry ingredients.

At medium speed beat sugar and butter until blended, then crank it up to high speed till it's light and fluffy. In yet another bowl beat the egg yolks until thick and pale yellow.



Add the egg yolks and vanilla to the butter and sugar, then stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Shape the dough into 1" balls (or thereabouts) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes.



Next up: Lime Tart! (i think).

Beach Food: Part Deaux

A few things are on my order of business today - such as leaving for the beach. As predicted, I haven't packed, haven't finished cooking, and am tremendously disappointed about my swimsuit. The reason I'm disappointed though, is that I'm not going to get it! Turns out that they canceled the order. LAME.

However, what is not lame, is the recipe for Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that I am about to share with you. This is a recipe that was originally a Betty Crocker recipe for plain old chocolate chip cookies. which are fine, just a little anticlimactic. These cookies however, are awesome, especially because the recipe was modified by none other than my Granny. Try them out and see if you don't agree.

Granny's Chocolate chip oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose or whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon water
12 oz of semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups oatmeal

Preheat your oven to 375. In a large bowl mix together sugars, shortening, egg, and vanilla, then stir in remaining ingredients (chocolate chips and oatmeal last). I do have a few words to the wise on this recipe: only make this with an electric mixer if you have something kind of industrial, like a kitchenaid stand mixer. I almost burnt out my parents hand mixer a few years ago trying to stir in the chocolate chips and oats.



sorry these photos are a little dark, my kitchen doesn't have amazing lighting and these were taken around midnight last night.



Drop the dough by rounded teaspoonfuls (or if you're like me then just use your fingers) onto the ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until light brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen. That's a lot of cookies folks!



I actually made my dough and about half the cookies last night, and just finished them up this morning. But my main project for today was Raspberry-topped Lemon Muffins, again, recipe courtesy of www.smittenkitchen.com (can you tell how much i love that website?). However, when i went to the store this morning, the raspberries sucked. They were mushy and gross looking, so instead, I bought blackberries. Believe me, the muffins are just as fabulous, really you could probably make them with just about any berry.

Blackberry-topped Lemon Muffins
Yield: 14 large or 56 miniature muffins

1 1/8 cups sugar, divided
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (from two large lemons)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 1/2-pint containers (about) fresh raspberries, or in my case, blackberries.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 14 standard muffin cups (or 56 minis) with paper liners. Muddle 1/8 cup sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until sugar is slightly moist. Something like this:



Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg. Beat in buttermilk, then vanilla and lemon sugar. Beat in flour mixture.



Divide batter among muffin cups. Smitten Kitchen says to top each large muffin with 4 raspberries (or mini muffins with one each). However, since i used blackberries, which were much larger, i just played it by ear, some of the muffins got 4 berries and some got 2. Bake muffins until lightly browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes (baking time is supposed to be on the shy side of 20 minutes for mini muffins).



As Rachel Ray would say... YUM-O. okay, i promise i wont ever say that again.

Now, I know you'll all miss me while I'm gone at the coast, at least, all two people who have ever seen this blog will maybe miss me a little. But, don't worry, I'll be back Tuesday, and rest-assured that I will be posting again soon!