Gingerbread Snowflakes

I can never resist when I see a pretty cookie idea, and these popped up just in time to be made as favors at a holiday dinner with a group of long time friends. In their December issue Sunset Magazine featured gingerbread snowflakes, and that first lovely picture was all the prompting I needed to get the mixer out. While I used the design from Sunset, we opted to try the Cooks Illustrated gingerbread cookie recipe from their 2011 holiday baking issue. This one recipe lets you make thick and chewy cookie or thin and crispy ginger snap cookie from the same dough, all you have to change is the thickness of the rolled dough and the baking time and temperature. As usual with a Cook's recipe, we were not disappointed. Our only challenge was trying to decide if we liked the soft thick cookies or the thin crispy ones best.

Thick or thin, these cookies had great ginger flavor and were really easy to make. Using a food processor for the dough made it a quick one bowl recipe, and the dough was pretty easy to work with. Although in our regular sugar cookie decorating we use royal icing, the chocolate glaze on these cookies goes really well with the ginger and spice, making for a delicious and slightly different take on the usual holiday cookies that come from our kitchen. 

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
adapted: Cooks Illustrated Holiday Baking 2011

3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cups packed brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cloves
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces softened slightly
3/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons milk.

1. In food processor, process flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves together until combines. Scatter butter pieces over the flour and process until mixture is sandy, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk, process until dough is evenly moistened and forms a soft mass. (You could use a stand mixer instead of a food processor)

2. Scrape dough onto counter; divide in half. Working with 1 portion at a time roll to an even 1/4 inch thickness between 2 sheet of parchment paper. Leave dough between parchment paper and stack on baking sheet and freeze until firm, 15-20 minutes. Or refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.

3. Adjust oven rack to upper middle and lower middle positions. Heat oven to 350f. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

4. Remove one sheet of dough from freezer place on counter and peel off the top sheet of parchment. Flip the dough over and peel off the second sheet. Cut the dough into desired shapes and transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookies sheets are full. Bake cookies until centers are just set and dough barely creates an imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8-11 minutes, rotating sheet front to back, top to bottom halfway through baking. Do not over bake. Cool cookies in sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

5. Gather scraps together; repeat rolling, cutting and baking until all dough is used. We chilled our dough after re-rolling each time. 

* For thin crispy cookies roll dough 1/8 inch thick and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes, until center is firm when pressed with finger*

Glaze, Outline and Decoration
Sunset Magazine December 2013
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon white corn syrup

For Glaze:
Put chocolate and butter in a large glass bowl. Melt in a microwave in 20-30 second intervals, stirring between each until mixture is smooth. Stir in the corn syrup. Let cool until it's body temperature and drizzles in a thick ribbon. (if it solidifies, microwave about 10 seconds and stir to liquefy).

For outline: Melt 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate until completely smooth. Pour into small parchment cone or zip lock bag with a tiny corner cut off.

Decoration: Melt 2 ounces white chocolate until smooth. Pour into small parchment cone or zip lock bag with a tiny corner cut off.

Parchment cones or zip bags are necessary, when the chocolate cools and becomes to hard to pipe, just zap it in the microwave for a few seconds until it is soft enough to use again.

Working with one cookie at a time, with the bittersweet chocolate pipe a boarder around your cookie. Using the glaze(I used a regular piping bag with a #4 tip) flood the center of your cookie. Shake or jiggle your cookie until the glaze is smooth. With the white chocolate, pipe a zig zag down the length of one arm of the snowflake quickly drag the tip of a  knife or a tooth pick through the zig zag, to the center of the cookie. Repeat zig zagging and dragging each arm of your snowflake. Try to work fairly fast; as the chocolate cools and sets it becomes more difficult to drag a smooth line without creating a lumpy mess in the dark chocolate. 
printable recipe

Sunset magazine has a video of the process and directions for making a parchment cone if you need it.

link:Foodie Friday

Hermits

In our house, food has seasons. Not just what's available at the store kind of season, but for us it's also the foods we associate with summer, and with fall. We usually don't eat strawberry short cake in December, nor do we eat pumpkin pie in July. (However, ice cream is fair game all year!)

These hermit cookies are new to my children, but something I remember well from the colder months of my own childhood. They are a soft and chewy raisin spice cookie with a sweet citrus glaze, and my mom would have a tin of them at the ready during the fall and winter seasons, for that afternoon cup of tea or to share with some unexpected holiday guests. Now that I have made them for my family, they will definitely be on the list of seasonal favorites that we look forward to every year. 

Hermits
from Cook's Holiday Baking 2013

1 cup raisins
2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
8 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Process raisins and ginger in food processor until mixture sticks together and only small pieces remain, about 10 seconds. Transfer mixture to large bowl.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat, swirling pan occasionally, until nutty brown in color, about 10 minutes. Stir in cinnamon and allspice and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir butter mixture in to raisin mixture until well combined; let cool to room temperature.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Stir brown sugar, molasses and eggs into cooled butter raisin mixture until incorporated. Fold in flour mixture (dough will be sticky) and refrigerate, covered, until firm, at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake pre heat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat

Divide dough into quarters. Transfer 1 piece of dough to lightly floured surface, roll into 10 inch log. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and use a ruler to neatly square off sides. (each sheet will contain 2 logs) Repeat with remaining dough. Bake until only shallow indentation remains on edges when touched (center will appear slightly soft), 15 to 20 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Whisk orange juice and confectioner's sugar in small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze onto cooled logs and let sit until glaze hardens, about 15 minutes. Cut logs into 2 inch bars. Cookies can be stored in airtight container room temperature for up to 5 days.
printable recipe

Links: Foodie Friday