Tag Archives: #homemade

triple ginger cookies

These cookies are not for the faint of heart…they are heady, complex, and spicy with three different kinds of ginger-fresh, ground, and candied-so if you don’t like ginger, it’s probably not for you.  However, if you love ginger like I do, then these cookies won’t disappoint.

They are labor intensive, and if they weren’t my favorite winter cookie, I probably wouldn’t bother.  At a time of year when gingerbread and ginger cookie recipes abound, these are a different sort.  The bite of the cookie is complemented by the lemony frosting.

triple ginger cookies

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softenend

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup candied ginger, minced

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced

turbinado, or raw, sugar

icing:

2 cups powdered sugar

2 Tbsp powdered egg whites

1 Tbsp milk

zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Whisk flour spices, soda, salt, and pepper together in a bowl, set aside.  Cream butter and both sugars with a mixer until smooth.  Add egg, beat until incorporated into butter and sugars.  Add molasses, candied ginger, and fresh ginger.  Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just combined.  Chill dough until slightly firm, about an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop or roll dough into large balls, approximately 2 1/2 inches. Coat with turbinado sugar and place on cookie sheet, spacing  about 3 inches apart.

Flatten the balls with the bottom of a measuring cup.  Keep some water in a slightly larger measuring cup or a shallow dish.  Dip the cup you are using to flatten the balls in the water  every 3-4 cookies or you will want to kill me the cup will stick to the dough.

Bake 15-18 minutes, or until set.  Let cookies cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Whisk all ingredients for the icing together until smooth, then spread approximately a Tbsp of icing on each cookie.

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not quite Greek pizza

I haven’t been cooking much lately.

Blame it on my husband being on business trips/meetings/at football games.  Blame it on the fact that working long shifts at the hospital (me) means that there are no hot meals happening at my house (my husband doesn’t cook for those of you that don’t know me or are new to my blog).  It could also be the insane amount of rain we’ve had over the past few months, which puts a damper on grilling.

Whatever the reason, it seemed like a good day to make a pizza and throw a bunch of stuff on it.  This pizza dough recipe comes from my friend, Maggie, who is a wonderful cook.  She makes a double batch for calzones.  You can make a double batch and freeze it, if you’d like.

Maggie’s herb pizza crust

Mix together:

1 Tblsp of honey, 1 cup of warm water, 1 Tbsp. of yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes until bubbly.

Add:
1 Tblsp oregano
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 Tblsp. of basil
1 Tblsp. of salt
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour.

Mix until smooth, elastic ball of dough is formed. Let rise for an hour or so. Knead on a floured surface for a few minutes and then roll out to the desired size (In this case, I made a rectangle of no particular size).

for the pizza

Mix together 1/8 cup olive oil and 1 clove crushed garlic.  If you are using jarred sun dried tomatoes, as I did, you may add 1-2 tsp. of the oil from the jar.  At this point, you may also add 1 Tbsp. organic mayo and spread it over the crust much like a tomato pizza sauce, not extending it to the outer edges of the crust.  If you decide to leave the mayo out, brush the olive oil/garlic mixture over the entire crust with a pastry brush.

Carmelize your onions.

I often joke that I love onions so much that I could eat them like an apple.  While this may be a bit of an exaggeration, I am of the opinion that most things are improved by the addition of onion and will add them every chance I have.

Cut your onion  in half and then slice very thin, using a mandolin if available.  Saute them in a small skillet with a bit of olive oil until a deep golden brown.

Add the rest of your toppings to your prepared pizza crust.   Be creative…work with what you have on hand to make a your own tasty creation.  I had feta cheese, sun dried tomatoes in oil, spinach (added at the end of baking), and toasted pine nuts which made it almost (not quite-no olives) Greek Pizza. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, Remove from oven and add the spinach (adding it too soon will cause it to be very limp and stringy).  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.