ginger cookies with chocolate and apricot

Today's post is brought to you in part by the wonder bloggers/organizer extraordinaires Lindsay of Love and Olive Oil and Julie of the little kitchen. These two came up with a genius idea: The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap! What this means is that in the past week or so over 600 bloggers were elbow-deep in flour making cookies for fellow bloggers. In total, over 22,000 were to be delivered. For me, it was a total success: I sent out a dozen of these here ginger cookies to three other bloggers I don't even know, and in return I got a dozen cookies each from three different bloggers. It was an exciting week to get home from work and check the mail. :) I mean, do you know how much I like cookies? I didn't realize what a cookie monster I was until I made the tag cloud for my blog (check out the right sidebar! --->) and realized the two biggest entries by far were soup (duh!) and cookies! More about this brilliant swap later in the post...

Now for the super bizarro story of how I got these cookies made on time. I dropped my husband off at the airport as he headed off to a conference (*cough cough* *nerd summit*), then picked up a few things at the store on the way home. I settled in to get the cookies made. Christmas lights were on, festive music in the air, fuzzy slippers on, oven preheating... I totally had my evening on schedule. I started throwing the dry ingredients together, and then I hit a serious road block: I needed ginger. Not just fresh ginger, but also dried ginger. Craaaaaaap. 

So here's the thing: it had snowed recently. I hate driving in the snow. I didn't want to go back to the store -- I needed to get a run in before dark, and I sure didn't want to be late for my first appearance at an event with the Minnesota Food Bloggers -- the very first Big Veggie Night! Conveniently, the two closest grocery stores to me are two lovely coops that sell bulk spices. I turned off the oven, tossed on some running clothes, grabbed some laundry quarters, and was out the door before my dog even realized what was happening.

Just add flour, sugar, ginger, more ginger, butter, love, and SWEAT.

I ran to the coop (the one I had not just been to an hour or so ago -- for variety's sake of course), and grabbed the three tablespoons of ginger that I needed. I went up to the register. The lovely cashier totally realized what was going on, and clearly was curious about my intentions, but I had my game face on and I didn't feel like being chatty. Our conversation went something like this:

Cashier: "What do we have here?" (shakes the bag like a dirty tissue)

Me: "Ginger." (with rosy cheeks, in black spandex running ninja gear, slush melting off of running shoes)

Cashier: "And what are you going to make with your ginger?" (big smile)

Me: "Cookies." (places handful of quarters on the counter)

There were some dimes and pennies left behind in this transaction, but hey, I got the cookies in the mail the next morning, I got to go for a run (with extra purpose!),  and I made it to dinner on time.

A word on yield for this recipe: My dearly beloved cookbook told me one batch would make 48 half-tablespoon sized cookies. I wanted the cookies to be a good size, so that meant I'd get 24 one tablespoon sized cookies from a batch.  I needed to make at least 36, so I doubled the batch. Well... I somehow ended up making 82 standard sized cookies. Whups. New math? 

ginger cookies with chocolate and apricot
Every so slightly tweaked from Heidi Swanson's cookbook (obviously!), Super Natural Every Day

for one batch/48 small cookies

1/2 c. turbinado sugar
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 c. spelt flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 T. ground ginger
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/2 c. butter, cut into 1 T. pats
1/4 c. blackstrap molasses
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 T. grated fresh ginger
1 large egg, well beaten
1 c. dried apricots, cut into bitty cubes (pea sized?)

Put the turbinado sugar in a small bowl. Chop the chocolate into 1/8 inch pieces. Don't worry if they aren't uniform; it's exciting when you find a big chunk in a cookie! In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ground ginger, and salt.

Heat the butter in a saucepan until it is just barely melted. Stir in the molasses, fine-grain sugar, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, but not hot. Whisk in the egg. Pour this mixture over the flour and add the apricots. Stir until barely combined. Stir in the chocolate. Chill for at least 30 minutes (over dinner, perhaps?)

Preheat the oven to 350 F with racks in the top an bottom third of the oven. Line two making sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop out the dough in tablespoons. Tear that ball in half and roll each piece into a ball. Roll each ball in the dish with the turbinado sugar and place on the cookie sheet. Bake the cookies, two sheets at a time, for 7 to 10 minutes. They'll smell done, but also be puffy and the bottoms will be darkened. Don't worry that the cookies are still a bit mushy, they'll set as they cool. Let them cool a bit on the pan to firm up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

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Now for a big thank you to the swappers who sent me their cookies -- you really helped me get into the holiday spirit! I look forward to reading your posts, because I am going to need these recipes! I promise to keep the good karma wheel going.

Top: Chocolate Cherry Nuggets from Backstage Balance

Bottom Left: Puerto Rican Shortbread Cookies from La Casa De Sweets

Bottom Right: Buckeye Cookies from Lace, Etc.

skillet cookies

I have a new blog crush. I recently stumbled upon 101 Cookbooks, or the blog of Heidi Swanson. I've been following it for about a week and I'm already just about to fork over the cash and get her brand-spanking-new cookbook from Amazon. Her specialty is natural, generally veggie-friendly cooking. I follow a lot of lovely blogs, but most are baking-oriented, or I have to just toss in some veggie broth instead of chicken broth, or add tofu cubes and hope it does an okay job of approximating something tasty. This blog actually is easy for me to cook from, and as a vegetarian, I am positively thankful for that. That being said, she does a little baking here and there.

So un/fortunately, here's my introduction to her fantastic cooking -- skillet cookies! Hey, at least it's whole wheat flour, right??  Have you ever want to bake cookies, but aren't too keen on some of the details, like rolling little uniform balls of dough? Well then just grease up a cast-iron skillet and press the dough into it, and you will make people smile with your giant cookie.

Oh yeah, and as I post this, I am eating the last (sad!) of my leftover Coconut Red Lentil Soup. Guess where I got the recipe.... sorry folks, no photos of it this time. Hey, dinner was ready to be served the other night at 9:30, I was hungry, and I'd just read an article confirming the glow of crappy overhead lightbulbs does in fact yield disappointing photos, so I ate my soup. 

one for the pups: cream cheese dog biscuits

     I've pretty much owned my kitchen this weekend. It's so funny,  I can't seem to find the balance of fun activities like I should. You know, friend time + cooking + crafting. But noooooo. I have just been blasting through all the clean dishes at a most impressive rate. At least I got some sweet photos so I can post some stuff here...

So I decided to bake some treats for my dog. I've been really excited about using my new cookie cutters, so this opportunity was too much fun to pass up. Here, check out our silly gingerfolks:

We're trying to get away from buying treats so much. When Tess was a puppy, we went through treats like it was going out of style -- such is life with a growing pup going through obedience class. So now we want to cool it with having so many kinds in the house. And really, I'm sure making them ourselves is going to be the cheapest option. Her enthusiasm for devouring homemade treats is encouraging as well.

Here's my dog showing off for a cookie. Her default move in hopes of getting the cookie faster is the 'solid sit':

Oh, the anticipation!!!

Easy Cream Cheese Dog Biscuits

from You Bake 'Em Dog Biscuits Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 1/4 t. dry yeast (one package)

1/4 c. warm water (100-110 F)

2 1/3 c. whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling

1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce

4 oz. cream cheese (leave it out to soften beforehand)

1 egg

1/4 c. powdered milk, plus extra for rolling

1 t. garlic powder 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Dissolve the yeast in a large bowl. Combine with all ingredients and mix into the dough (I used a hand mixer, adding the flour 1/2 c. at a time). 

3. Roll out onto a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. 

4. Sprinkle dough with extra dry milk to make it easier to roll out.

5. Cut into shapes with your favorite cookie cutters.

6. Place biscuits on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper (note: I am getting silicone mats for the next round of these -- it's handy that dogs won't judge you if the bottoms of their cookies are a little too dark!! So be sure to check on them.).

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a light, golden brown.

8. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

lemon & lavender sugar cookies

I have most definitely been meaning to post this ringer since, uhmm, before the holidays (derp!). It suits my all-encompassing obsession with all things lavender these days. It is getting pretty silly, honestly. It matches my lavender-mint tea tree shampoo and conditioner, hippy-dippy lavender shea body wash, fancy lavender tea, and my most recent -- and probably most ridiculous find: lavender lattes right up the street at the cupcake bakery and cafe! Selling point: the syrup is purple, and really, who doesn't want to try a latte that's purple?! Oh yeah, and I'm pretty danged sure my new lotion that my super-thoughtful sister-in-law got for me is lavender-chamomile-vanilla-rose-delightfulness. She and I probably agree about 75-90% of the time, so it doesn't surprise me that she picked out something that I'm so in love with. In fact, given her recommendation, I've become a pretty big fan of Lush products in general (even on facebook; then I must really mean it). It makes me feel quality.

Right, so yes, COOKIES. Here's the scoop: The recipe comes from the Nov/Dec 2010 edition of Cook's Illustrated for 'Chewy Sugar Cookies', and the lemon and lavender idea comes from their Holiday 2009 special edition, under 'Glazed Butter Cookies'. The butter cookies kind of freaked me out (so. much. butter!), and the sugar cookies looked really pretty with a perfect crackle texture on top, so I went with it.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. sugar, plus 1/3 c. for rolling
2 oz. cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 T. unsalted butter, melted and still warm
1/3 c. veggie oil
1 large egg
1 T. milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. lemon juice
2 t. grated lemon zest
1 t. ground dried lavender (cheap-cheap in bulk spice as dried flowers -- makes your pantry smell awesome! Mash 'em up with a mortar and pestle, or the MacGuyver way, with the butt end of the ice cream scoop in a small bowl. Nobody judges a person who puts flowers in their cookies!)

Directions:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 F. Line two large rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and slat together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

2. Place 1 1/2 c. sugar, cream cheese, anad lavender in a lage bowl. Place remaining 1/3 c. sugar along with the lemon zest in a shallow baking dish or pie plate and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in the oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla, continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until soft homogeneous dough forms.

3. Take 2 T. of dough at a time. Using hands, roll dough into a ball. Roll the ball in the zest/sugar mix to coat and evenly space onto prepared baking sheet. There will be 12 balls per sheet (no joke!).

4. Here comes the fun part! Using the bottom of a drinking glass (a juice glass is perfect for this), flatten the dough balls until they are two inches in diameter. Fix any massive cracks in the dough, then sprinkle with any leftover zest/sugar mix.

5. Bake until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating the trays halfway (switch racks plus a 180 degree turn). Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

salty chocolate cookies

You need to make these cookies. 

Warning: Once you share them at a social event, you will be expected to make them pretty much every time. Seriously, once I made a double batch (~80 cookies) and they were gone. I was impressed.  I'd probably make them for an upcoming holiday potluck, but I'll all out of brown sugar from making hot buttered rum. Poor me. ;)

Salty Chocolate Cookies (of deliciousness)

tweaked from post on Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. flour

1/6 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/6 c. dark cocoa powder

1/2 t. baking soda

11 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature (very important! don't rush it!!)

2/3 c. dark brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla extract

kosher salt for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour, cocoa and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add both sugars, the salt and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes more.
3. With the mixer off, add the dry ingredients. Turn the mixer on and off low speed (pulse) for a second or two about 5 times so that the flour mixture gets incorporated. Then mix on low speed for about 30 seconds, just until the flour disappears into the dough (the dough will look crumbly).
4. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide it in two. Shape each half into a 9-inch log (oh yes, you know what this looks like). Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (Sometimes I make the batter logs before bedtime and bake 'em over breakfast the next day. The dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you’ve frozen the dough, you don’t need to defrost before baking – just slice the logs into cookies and baking the cookies 1 minute longer. Brilliance!)
5. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
6. Using a sharp thin knife, slice the logs into rounds that are ½-inch thick (really, I use a ruler!). Arrange the rounds on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between them. Sprinkle a small amount of extra salt on top of each round.
7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 8-10 minutes – they won’t look done, and won’t be firm, but that’s how they should be. I take them out once they are puffy; don't wait too long or you get some very sad looking burnt wafers.
8. Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack and let the cookies rest until they are only just warm, at which point you can serve them or let them reach room temperature. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Must. Use. Peanut. Butter.

Coupon clipping, while well-intentioned, can sometimes incite some problems. And by problems, I mean, things taking over my pantry. I thought we didn't have any peanut butter (smooth, that is, for me, baking, cooking, and the dog), so I got two jars, saved some pocket change with a coupon. Turns out, I'd thought the exact same thing about ten days before that. Plus the already opened jar, there were five jars of peanut butter in my pantry. It isn't like people come over to judge me on the status of my pantry, but I feel compelled to whittle down my stock as fast as possible just in case someone decides to point and yell at me about saving up for the next Y2K or something.

So, peanut butter everything! I needed a recipe that required a large quantity of peanut butter (none of this 1/3 cup or less business). Ask, and ye shall receive! The next morning or so, this beautiful concoction was sitting in my Google Reader homepage. I followed the recipe as written and they came out just right.