Gingerbread Cookies ~ Christmas and all-year round!

Gingerbread Cookies are so good, I want to eat them all year round. Hmm, Valentine Gingerbread Cookies (heart-shaped for sure), Washington’s Birthday (I’m thinking little hatchets!), St. Patrick’s Day (4-leaf clovers). You get the idea.

My 9-year old grandson came to me shortly after Thanksgiving with a request for gingerbread cookies for his 4th grade class’s Christmas party. Of course, I said ‘Yes!’

I didn’t have a favorite Gingerbread Cookie recipe, so I surfed the Internet. It was on the Food Network that I found the perfect recipe, courtesy of Rick Rodgers (Christmas 101, Random House, 1999)


It was the comments as much as the recipe itself that got my attention. While the recipe itself seemed pretty traditional, it had the added attraction of 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. In the comments, some readers raved about the perfection of the recipe as is. Others doubled the spices, even adding more black pepper.

As a first time user, I chose to stick with the original recipe. If I never have the opportunity to bake the suggested variations, I’ll still be completely satisfied.

I ended up mixing and freezing the dough two weeks ahead of time, then baking them on the morning of the day my grandson was to come over to decorate them with me. What fun we had decorating, and nibbling on, those gingerbread boys.

You can find the recipe here. And here are my notes on what I discovered while making these cookies.

1 - The directions say to preheat the oven. Wait! You’ll be chilling the dough for at least three hours. Most ovens only take 5-10 minutes to preheat.

2 - You’ll be using meringue powder in the Royal Icing and the author suggests ordering it online. I’ve found it at Michaels and Walmart.

3 - When you’re ready to roll out the cookie dough and cut out shapes, the following three items will come in handy...
LONG ICING SPATULA to slide under the rolled-out dough to make sure it’s not sticking.
PASTRY BRUSH to brush away flour on top and bottom after cut out cookies
NAIL BRUSH to clean under your fingernails -- yes, the dough does manage to work its way under them. (I keep a nail brush in the bathroom and the kitchen. They come in handy every day.)

Rick Rodgers says it’s your choice to make the Gingerbread Cookies thin and crisp or thick and chewy. I made the chewy version. So easy to work with and such an amazing taste and texture!

A bonus when removing them from the oven is the wonderful aroma that fills your kitchen.



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My son was home for Christmas for the first time in many years. He’s career US Air Force and can’t always get away, but this year he was here for a week. So, we worked together on Christmas Candy Cane Cookies.

You can find the recipe and the story behind the Christmas Candy Cane Cookies here.

I make this cookie dough several weeks ahead of time, too, color half red (pink?), and freeze it until needed. My son suggested that we forgo twisting ropes of dough together to make the candy cane shapes, and instead roll them out.

We partially rolled out each dough, then cut strips from the red and laid them atop the plain. Then we rolled them together till the dough was the correct thickness. We also rolled the crushed candy canes into the dough (instead of sprinkling them on top). At that point, we used two different sized candy cane cookie cutters to cut out the shapes.

We sprinkled green sugar sprinkles and white nonpareils on some of the cookies before baking them. I had leftover Royal Icing from the Gingerbread Cookies (freezes well) and thawed it to decorate the Christmas Candy Cane Cookies. We sprinkled more green sugar and white nonpareils on the icing.

Candy Cane Cake for Christmas!

I -- lucky for me! -- discovered this scrumptious Candy Cane Cake on FoodBlogs. What an ideal addition to our family’s day-before-Christmas-eve dessert party!

You can find the original recipe for Candy Cane Cake at What’s Cooking: Happenings in the Kitchen and Around the Home.

Lots of detailed directions, but in spite of the length of the recipe, it turned out to be fairly easy to follow and just as easy to make. I’m speaking from a partially observational point of view, because although I baked the cake two weeks earlier and kept it in the freezer, on the day of the occasion I was on the ending edges of a cold (sniffle, sneeze, yuck!). My son -- home for the holidays -- lent a helping hand by preparing the icing, applying it to the cake and finishing up with the decorations. All under my tutelage, of course :)

This icing is outstanding. Use the very best white chocolate you can find and real, unsalted butter. It sets up nicely, but not rock hard like you might expect with the chocolate. This assures that you will have enough time to frost, swirl and decorate.

When it came time to cut the cake, I cut a circle around the tall candy canes in the center, and then cut the outer portion into wedges as you can see in the next photo.

The leftovers came home with me to serve as dessert for Christmas eve supper at my home -- an annual tradition -- for son, daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. After supper, after dessert and after opening presents, I caught my daughter back at the table with the cake plate in front of her, fork in hand. She had a spellbound look in her eyes and was attacking that center circle of cake.


You’ll want to bookmark this page or pin it for next Christmas. Or maybe for anytime of the year, because I can see using this same cake recipe (maybe with a sub for the peppermint flavor) and, definitely, the same icing -- with a different theme.

Just a reminder... the recipe for the Candy Cane Cake is can be found at What’s Cooking: Happenings in the Kitchen and Around the Home

Once-Upon-A-Christmas Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Looking through my collection of food photos, I came across a group of pictures I’d labelled “Pineapple-Marshmallow Upside-Down Cake”. Then I looked through my file folder -- that’s a real folder with all kinds of handwritten notes and recipes cut out of magazines -- I found a recipe I’d named “Once-upon-a-Christmas Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

I don’t know as either title does this cake justice. I also wonder about posting about a food that appears to be for Christmas. Obviously (I think...) I’d planned to post this one shortly after the holidays because I used up my peppermint candy canes in it. And there was the red and white theme -- candy canes, marshmallows, cherries.

The original recipe came from my Betty Crocker cookbook. Betty Crocker has been my “friend” for many years. Safe, simple and dependable. That is, until I step up and start adding whatever I can find. You’ve heard the saying... “everything but the kitchen sink”.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE ENLARGED VERSIONS.


So, if this recipe were to be properly named, listing all the ingredients, it might be called

ONCE-UPON-A-CHRISTMAS PINEAPPLE, MARSHMALLOW, PEPPERMINT CANDY CANE, WALNUT, MARASCHINO CHERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE.

That’s just too wordy, so I’m sticking to OUAC-Pineapple Upside-Down Cake.

Ingredients...

1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk (any)
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 six-inch peppermint candy canes
7 large marshmallows
20-ounce can sliced pineapple
8 maraschino cherries (stems removed)


Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Blend flour, white sugar, shortening, milk, baking powder, salt and egg for thirty seconds. Mix on low mixer setting for three minutes. Set aside.

3. Melt butter in oven in the pan you’ll be using to make the upside-down cake. (I used a 7-inch x 11-inch x 1.5-inch glass pan.) Remove from oven.

4. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly on melted butter, then top with walnuts.

5. Crush candy canes. Small chunks are best. I put mine in a plastic bag and whacked them gently with a small hammer. Sprinkle evenly over butter-brown sugar mixture.

6. Cut each marshmallow into four thin circles, for a total of twenty-eight. Space evenly over ingredients already in pan.

7. Arrange pineapple slices evenly in pan. It may be necessary to cut at least one in half to make the fit.

8. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring.

9. Pour batter carefully over top of all the other ingredients in the pan.

10. Bake 45 - 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

11. Place a heatproof serving plate/platter over the pan and turn the whole assembly upside down. Important: Leave the cake pan in place for 5 - 6 minutes. Carefully remove the pan and let the cake cool about 15 minutes before serving.

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One of my favorite food blogs is Bam’s Kitchen. In a recent posting she added a video on How to Peel a Head of Garlic in less than 10 seconds. No muss, no fuss, no stinky fingers, this is perfect for those of you who crave fresh garlic.

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Christmas Candy Cane Cookies

Candy Cane Cookies have been a long-time tradition in my house. They started the year my son was born, thirty-nine years ago! When he grew up, I continued to make them and shipped them to him. Seems like I’ve sent them every Christmas, but I can’t swear to that.

This December my baby boy is celebrating his 21st year in the United States Air Force. Congratulations, Senior Master Sgt. His candy canes are packed in little tea tins and ready to pop in the mail tomorrow along with a few other goodies.



I know there are all sorts of recipes out there for these cookies, but I give full credit to Betty Crocker. Thanks Betty...

Ingredients...

1 cup plus 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon each vanilla and peppermint flavoring
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
red food coloring
peppermint candy


Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut parchment paper to fit cookie sheets. Best to use parchment so you don’t have to scrub the cookie sheets after baking each batch.
3. In large bowl, cream 1 cup (save the 2 T. for later) sugar and the softened butter.
4. Mix in milk, egg and flavorings.
5. Whisk together in medium bowl: flour, baking powder and salt. Add to liquid ingredients and mix well.
6. Divide dough in half and color one with the red food coloring.

7. Form long rolls with each color. I usually make up the cookie dough a week or two ahead of time, roll it up, wrap it in plastic and foil, and freeze it until I’m read to bake and mail.


8. Cut each roll into 16 pieces. Roll each piece separately to desired size; twist two colors together, place on cookie sheet and curve one end. Leave plenty of space around each cookie.

9. Bake 8 minutes, remove pan from oven. Sprinkle each cookies with a mixture made of 3 tablespoons of crushed peppermint candy canes and 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake 2 more minutes. Remove from oven and cool. At this point you’ll understand why I recommended using parchment paper. Not all the sugar and crushed candy stays on the cookies.


I forgot to count, but this recipe made 40 or 50 cookies.

Since I forgot to pick up some peppermint flavoring, I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.

Experiment with the sizes and the way you shape your candy canes. Every year I seem to do them a bit differently. This year I took a piece of each dough, rolled them together, twisted them, and rolled them a bit more. Whatever works for you is okay.




Just to let you know what’s coming up, sometime, if I every catch up with my cooking... mushroom grilled cheese sandwiches, cranberry chocolate cheesecake, roasted butternut squash, and spinach brownies. That’s right, Spinach Brownies! A great appetizer for Christmas or New Year’s parties and not a drop of chocolate.

Merry Christmas!


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BAKE SALE SUCCESS

No ingredients, no directions today. Just some photos to induce drooling, like the Soft Orange Marmalade Cookies pictured above.





I spent the morning and part of the afternoon at a Senior Center Christmas Craft and Bake Sale. I actually didn’t bake anything. Sold some crafts I made instead.



Banana Bread


All those baked goodies looked so-o yummy that I couldn’t resist taking pictures and decided to send them your way. Maybe inspire you to look for some of the recipes needed to create these lovelies.



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread



Bite-sized frosted cookies



Frosted Cinnamon Buns



Apple Cake


The first part of the sale was slow, but eventually took off. All the Bake Sale items were sold, with people lining up trying to be the first to get the huge raspberry and blueberry pies which went for only $6!



Apple Pie, made with fresh apples not a canned filling



Black Raspberry, also made with the real fruit and not a can of filling


Now don't you wish you had been there? Look around. With Christmas fast approaching, there has to be a bake sale, and a craft sale, somewhere in sight.


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PIE CRUST PREP ~ Part 2

My previous entry went through the steps leading up to forming uncooked pie dough in disc shapes, wrapping them in plastic and aluminum foil, and then freezing them for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Today, the day before Thanksgiving, I pulled out two discs to make pie shells for pumpkin pie. I actually let them thaw in the refrigerator all night, then removed them from the frig about twenty minutes before I used them. One thing I now know, having made the pies, is that the dough would have rolled better if I’d added maybe another teaspoon or two of water. They didn’t roll quite as thin as I would have liked, but having tasted it cooked -- a small piece broke off -- I can tell it’s going to be flaky and yummy.



You can see in the photo above, and in the next three photos, that there are tiny bits of shortening and bigger pieces of butter throughout the disc. That’s what makes the pie crust flaky.

I used my Wilton Roll & Cut Mat and love that it has circles on it going out inch by inch. I usually turn my pan pan upside down then add 2-3 inches to the measurement and that’s the diameter for my dough circle.



After sprinkling flour on the mat, the rolling pin and the disc, I roll the dough beyond the circle size I want, then trim it off. Believe me when I say, these circles never roll out to a perfect configuration (Does this word work here? I like the sound of it.). After carefully loosening the circle with a spatula, the choices are to fold it into quarters or roll it around the rolling pin.



It easy to see in this picture that the dough could have been thinner. I stopped at that thickness because it didn’t want to hold together if I pressed it any further. By the way, rolling dough calls for light pressure. Don’t lean into it.

To make repairs in the uncooked pastry dough, rub a tiny bit of cold water on the part of the pie to which you are going to add a "patch".

After placing the rolled out pastry in a pie pan, gently manipulate it to fit. Don’t stretch it. Trim it off to 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang. Tuck under the excess. Gently press down around the edge with index fingers.



Now that the pastry is ready, cover it with plastic wrap and place the pan back in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling. Follow baking directions according to whatever pie you are making.

If you have any leftover dough, leave it in whatever shape it is when you cut it off the circle. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake on a cookie sheet in the oven till nicely browned. My mother used to do this. I don't remember any of her pies, but I do remember the pieces of pastry sprinkle and baked with cinnamon sugar. It's been a while since I've done this myself, but I think it will take about 10-15 minutes. Remember, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on the dough before you put it on the cookie sheet. Otherwise, it will probably burn onto the pan and you'll have a mess to scrub off.



My pies are Pumpkins and Chocolate Pumpkin.

Happy Thanksgiving!


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HOLIDAY PIE CRUST PREP

I’m baking pies for Thanksgiving dinner at my daughter’s house. Another opportunity to use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This machine does big loads, so I tripled the recipe, using the ingredients and amounts listed in the Kitchen Aid book. The ingredients are what I’ve always used in pie crusts: flour, salt, shortening, butter and water. Sometimes I’ve used only shortening; other times only butter.

What I’m blogging about today is just the preparation of the pie pastry. Rolling out the pastry and assembling the pies will come later... maybe. Depends on how busy I get, and on what the crusts look like when I start rolling them out. Maybe I’ll take photos even if the pastry looks terrible after being rolled out. The nice thing about pie crusts is that most it is hidden and if not, can be easily patched and prettied.



Pie pastry, ingredients for two crusts...
2-1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening, well chilled
2 tablespoons butter, well chilled
5-6 tablespoons ice water

Pie pastry, ingredients for six crusts...
6-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 cups shortening, well chilled
6 tablespoons butter, well chilled
15-18 tablespoons ice water



Directions...
1. Measure flour and salt into large mixing bowl; whisk together. Cover and refrigerate.
2. Measure shortening; cover and refrigerate.
3. Measure butter; cut in small pieces and refrigerate.
4. Measure ice water and refrigerate.
5. Check refrigerated shortening after several hours (or let sit in refrigerator overnight). When hard enough, cut into small pieces. Place back in frig for at least one more hour.
6. Add cut-up shortening and butter to flour/salt mix. Combine quickly till shortening is size of small peas.
7. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time until pastry is moistened and dough begins to hold together.
8. Using your hands, quickly shape the dough so that it can be cut into equal amounts.



9. Pat each piece into a flat disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, then foil. (Keep pastry covered with a damp paper towel, taking out enough for one disc at a time.)



10. If using the same day, or the next, refrigerate. At this time, too, the packages can be placed in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.



Notice the references to “chill” and “refrigerate” throughout this piece? That’s because it’s important to keep the ingredients cold, before and after assembling them. That’s also why you have to work quickly.

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer and it worked so much better for the larger quantity of ingredients. Optional methods of mixing are to use a pastry blender or a couple of knives (works well with smaller amounts of pastry dough).

Six pastry discs are ready and chilling in my freezer. Three or four will go into this week’s baking and the rest will await my pleasure. Maybe Christmas pies?


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