Triple Ginger-Ginger Snaps and Homemade Candied Ginger

I am a gingersnapaholic. I could eat those cookies by the handful. I was on the search for the best gingersnap recipe, the last ones I made didn’t make the cut. Happy to say that I have found the ginger snap recipe to end the search for ginger snap recipes. Thanks is owed to Alton Brown. If you don’t know who that is, I am truly sorry. These cookies have the perfect amount of spice and snap, nice and crispy edges with a crispy-crewy center. This was the first baking recipe I have made using a scale. I rather liked measuring the ingredients out by the ounce… It was quick and accurate. I made minimal adjustments to the recipe, which is uncharacteristic of me, but I am learning to stick to the recipe when baking… Slowly but surely and after many a kitchen failure. (FYI- using oat flour and flax in crepes turns into a ball of goo that doesn’t look like a crepe in the least. Or so I hear. Not that I tried that.)

Triple Ginger-Ginger Snaps

adapted from Alton Brown’s Ginger Snaps 

Ingredients

• 9 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (I used about 3 oz of whole wheat to give them a little more substance.)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 7 ounces cane sugar
• 5 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 ounces molasses, by weight
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 4 ounces finely chopped candied ginger (tossed in sugar)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cardamom, clove and salt.

Place the brown sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the molasses, egg and fresh ginger and beat on medium for 1 minute. Add the crystallized ginger and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.

With a 2-teaspoon sized scoop, drop the dough onto a parchment lined half sheet pan approximately 2-inches apart. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 12 minutes for slightly chewy cookies or 15 minutes for more crisp cookies. Rotate the pan halfway through cooking. I rolled some of mine in the leftover “ginger sugar” from making the candied ginger. Others I topped with crushed candy cane which was super-tasty.

Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to stay on the sheet pan for 30 seconds before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with all of the dough. Store in an airtight container for up 10 days. If desired, you may scoop and freeze the cookie dough on a sheet pan and once frozen, place in a resealable bag to store. Bake directly from the freezer as above.

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I made my own candied ginger from David Lebovitz’s recipe. Another big food name who I recently discovered. I just ordered his book “Living the Sweet Life in Paris” for some Christmas break reading =). Honestly, I really didn’t follow the recipe. I followed the instructions, but not the quantities… But it turned out great anyways! Below is the recipe, with measurements, for those of you who don’t like to “eyeball it” like Rachel Ray says.

Candied Ginger

from David Lebovitz

No candy thermometer required! When the liquid is the consistency of thin honey, it’s set.

• 1 pound (500g) fresh ginger, peeled
• 4 cups (800g) sugar, plus additional sugar for coating the ginger slices, if desired
• 4 cups (1l) water
• pinch of salt

1. Slice the ginger as thinly as possible. It can’t be too thin, so use a sharp knife.

2. Put the ginger slices in a non-reactive pot, add enough water to cover the ginger, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let ginger simmer for ten minutes. Drain, and repeat, simmering the ginger slices one more time.

3. Mix the sugar and 4 cups (1l) water in the pot, along with a pinch of salt and the ginger slices, and cook until the temperature reaches 225F (106C.)

4. Remove from heat and let stand for at least an hour, although I often let it sit overnight. Or if you want to coat the slices with sugar, drain very well while the ginger is hot, so the syrup will drain away better.

5. Store ginger slices in its syrup, or toss the drained slices in granulated sugar. Shake off excess sugar, and spread the ginger slices on a cooling rack overnight, until they’re somewhat dry. The sugar can be reused in a batter or ice cream base, or for another purpose.

Storage: The ginger, packed in its syrup, can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one year. If you’re concerned with it crystallizing, add a tablespoon or two of corn syrup or glucose to the sugar syrup at the beginning of step #3. If tossed in sugar, the pieces can be stored at room temperature for a few months.

Rustic Quince-Apple Tart

• Pie Crust
• 3 Quince
• 2 Small Apples
• Sugar
• Lime Juice
• Honey
• Powdered Ginger

Peel and thinly slice the apples and quinces, mix them with lime juice, sugar, ginger and honey to taste. Roll the pie dough into a long, thin rectangle. Arrange the fruit on the pie dough in layers. Bake at 350 until the fruit is soft and crust browned. Boil equal parts of sugar and water with ginger to make a simple syrup. Serve with a drizzle of syrup and vanilla ice cream.

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About quince. Quince is kind of like an apple, but with a spongier more defined flavor. Like a pear, a little grainy, but more sour than a pear. I don’t know, just try it. I picked a few up from the discount produce rack at Meijer because I had never tried them before and they were cheap. I sliced one and cooked it in a simple syrup with ginger, then served it over ice cream. It was SO TASTY. My quince for the tart turned out a bit chewy, you may want to cook them a bit before baking.

I know this is a vague post, but I didn’t have a recipe. I will be posting more of these “lack of a recipe” dessert or meal ideas…I have been going off ideas from recipes I come across here and there, and they have been turning out rather well! I made an amazing “recipe-less” chicken white bean pumpkin chili the other night… That I will be remaking and posting soon!

 

 

Watermelon Ginger Smoothies and Homemade Wheat Thins

Friday night I made Homemade Wheat Thins from Kitchen Stewardship. Never need to buy Wheat Thins again! Admittedly, they do take time+effort. The upside is that they are cheaper and healthier. They are tricky to bake, I burned batch #2, but I will be making these often!

The next day for lunch I had a watermelon smoothie and wheat thins with evoo+herbs and olives for lunch.

Last summer I got hooked on cubed watermelon+ginger+lime juice. Best summertime snack. Ginger is so good for you, and watermelon is low in calories. So I made a smoothie out of it.

Ingredients

Cubed Watermelon (about a cup per serving)
Ice (for consistency and chill)
Freshly Grated Ginger (start with about 1/2 tsp per serving… it’s strong!)
Freshly Squeezed Lemon and Lime Juice
Carrots (vitamins+sweetness)
Don’t add celery like I did. Unless you like tasting celery in your smoothie. I read that spinach is the least obtrusive “green” add in for smoothies. It has the lightest flavor, and you can add it to smoothies and hardly taste it. I didn’t want a green-tinted watermelon smoothie though.
Chia Seeds, add these after. They get pulverized in the blender.

Put it all in the blender, adding ingredients to taste. Personally I like a lot of Ginger and Lime. Another good option is freezing the watermelon, so you don’t have to use ice and can get a more flavorful smoothie.