Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies

 Speaking of man food (were we? yes), here is the smoky, crunchy, salty, sweet snack they've all been waiting for (and some of us girls, too.)  I just about died when I saw these in Joy's book - so awesome and up my alley!  I've got to remember to make these for the school bake sale next fall - they're like breakfast, lunch, and dessert in a sugar-coated cookie package.  Absolutely perfect.

Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies (print recipe)
Makes about 2 dozen

8 slices bacon
1 cup all-natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp molasses
1 large egg
1 tsp baking soda
Generous pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted, salted peanuts

1.  Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil and place bacon slices in a single layer.  Bake bacon until cooked through and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove from oven (keep oven on), let cool slightly, then transfer to paper towels to cool completely.  When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop the bacon and set aside.

2.  Line a clean cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

3.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the peanut butter, 1 cup of the sugar, and the molasses until thoroughly combined, about 3 minutes.  Add the egg, baking soda, and nutmeg, and mix on medium speed for another 2 minutes.

4.  Remove the paddle attachment and the bowl and use a wooden spoon to fold in the bacon and peanuts.  Roll the dough into large walnut-sized balls and roll in the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar.  Place on lined cookie sheet, and use a fork to make that distinctive peanut butter cookie crisscross pattern.  If the cookie dough begins to stick to the fork, dip it in sugar before pressing into cookie.  Dough will be a little crumbly, just press together with your fingers as necessary.

5.  Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Cookies will be crumbly and delicious!  Cookies will last up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Recipe from Joy the Baker by Joy Wilson

1 year ago:  Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
2 years ago:  Cinnamon Swirl Bread with Sweet Cinnamon Butter
3 years ago:  Strawberry Flip Cookies 

Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread

I should start a new tag/label called "Classics" - the important basics everyone needs at least one good recipe for.  Lemon Bars.  Chocolate Cake.  Cinnamon Rolls.  Whole Wheat Bread - that's what kind of recipe this is.  Homemade wheat bread is comforting beyond description.  Ed tells stories of coming home from school as a teenager on baking day:

"Mom baked bread twice a month - she made 6 to 8 white, the same number of wheat.  My brothers and I would come home and there'd be fresh, hot bread - we'd slice it, slather with butter and jelly - the four of us easily demolished two loaves in one sitting.  Mom had to shoo us out to save some for the rest of the week."

That's what kind of bread this is.  I like to eat some warm, then toast it for breakfast the next few days.  I also like to pretend I'm a pioneer woman, turning out fresh bread for my kinsfolk, with creamy butter from the churn, and a pitcher of milk to dip it in.

Many "classic" bread recipes make 2 to 3 loaves, so please note: this makes one.  Obviously simple to multiply - might as well, if you're making one anyway.  And if you've got anyone like Ed in your family, you'll need to, just to get a slice, yourself.

Whole Wheat Bread (print recipe)

Makes 1 loaf

1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup**
3 1/2 cups (14 ounces) King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 T of the water of the recipe
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 tsp salt

*Use the greater amount in winter or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer or a humid climate

**I recommend honey or maple syrup, unless you really love molasses

1.  Mix and knead all of the ingredients together to make a soft, supple dough.  Adjust the dough's consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.

2.  Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow it to rise until it's puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.

3.  Shape the dough into an 8" log.  Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or until the center ahs crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan.

4.  Bake the break in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning.  The finished loaf will register 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.

5.  Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.  If desired, rube the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust.  Hello.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

1 year ago:  Parker-Parker House Rolls
2 years ago:  Pound Cake Cupcakes with Lemon-Lime Glaze
3 years ago:  Texas Sheet Cake

Fresh Ginger Cake

 

This was another intensely delicious contender at DC: Herbs & Spices.  And not the first from David Lebovitz!  I wonder if he would like to come be our guest sometime...or at least our theme.  Hmm, something to consider.  In the meantime, this ginger cake of his is so simple and so fabulous, he says he's given it to so many people he sometimes finds it on menus when he eats out.  And yes, he orders it.  

Fresh Ginger Cake (print recipe)
Serves 10 to 12

4 ounces fresh ginger
1 cup mild molasses
1 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil, preferably peanut
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs, at room temperature

1.  Position the oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 by 3-inch round cake pan or a 9 1/2 inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. 

2.  Peel, slice, and chop the ginger very fine with a knife (or use a grater). Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper. 

3.  Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture. Stir in the ginger. 

4.  Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter. Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking. 

5.  Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.

Recipe form David Lebovitz on Epicurious, November 1999

1 year ago:  Blackberry French Toast Casserole
2 years ago:  Chocolate Turtle Cake
3 years ago:  Yeasted Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon-Pecan Swirl

Gingerbread Mini Cakes

Ahem.  Don't mind me.  Just taking almost an entire month to get one more post written.  Looks like the days of being two months ahead on this blog are over.  Does anybody still check it?

Just in case you do, here's an easy fall treat for you.  Fall baking truly rocks, doesn't it?

Of course, we made these in the summer, and served them for a girls' tea party with friends.  We have a lot of those.  Tea parties, not friends.  It's better that way - more gingerbread cakes for us.

These are made with pumpkin, molasses, and all those warm fall spices I love.  When I see a long list of 1/2 and 1/4 tsp of lots of herbs in, say, a dinner recipe, I reject it - too much work!  But when I see a similarly long list of spices, for something like a cake or muffins, I pounce on it eagerly.  Because I know it will be delicious, and oh, so worth it.  As these mini cakes are!

Gingerbread Mini Cakes (print recipe)
Yield depends on mold size - makes 60 mini muffins or 18 canelé or standard muffins

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature plus more for muffin cups
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for muffin cups
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pure pumpkin purée
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Butter and flour 18 standard muffin cups or whatever mini cake mold you are using.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.  In a medium bowl, beat granulated sugar and butter with a wooden spoon, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Whisk in pumpkin purée until smooth, then whisk in molasses, eggs, and buttermilk.  Add to flour mixture in 3 additions, stirring well to combine.

2.  Divide batter among muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and set, 35 minutes (12-14 for mini muffins), rotating pans halfway through.  Let cool completely in pans on wire racks. 

3.  Whisk together confectioners' sugar and 2 T water.  Spoon over muffins and let glaze set, about 15 minutes, before serving.  Or dip tops of mini muffins in glaze and let extra drizzle off before setting upright to set.  (Refrigerate in an airtight container, up to 1 week.)

Nutrition per 3 mini muffins:
165 cal, 3g fat, 25mg chol, 156mg sod, 32.6carb, 0.8g fiber, 18.7g sugar, 2.6g protein

Recipe from Everyday Food, Jan 2012
1 year ago: Devil's Food Cake with Black Pepper Boiled Icing (oh, yes)
2 years ago: Sour Cream Muffins with Poppy Seed Streusel
3 years ago: Strawberry New York Cheesecake-Stuffed Blondies

Gingerbread with Lemon-Butter Sauce

 For many years in my youth, our traditional Christmas Eve dessert, served on our Christmas dessert plates with a cat curled up by a fireplace, was my Grandma Younce's bread pudding with lemon sauce.  But the bread pudding was made from very torn up soft bread, and tasted more like a ginger spoon bread, and with warm lemon sauce and fresh whipped cream, was like heaven in my mouth.  It was a lovely tradition.

Then my sister Tona, who usually made it, went off to college and got married and that was that.

I've never tried to make my Grandma's recipe; I should dig it up and give it a whirl.  But in the meantime, this delicious cake reminded me so much of it, I felt 13 again. 

 I shared it with a friend, and she was confused because in her mind gingerbread is hard, like The Gingerbread Man and gingerbread houses.  I was appalled because you can't really eat that stuff; it's never good.  How could someone not know about soft, edible, cakey gingerbread?  Oh, she was happy to be educated. 

Gingerbread with Lemon-Butter Sauce (print recipe)
Gingerbread
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup finely snipped crystallized ginger

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and lightly flour a 2-quart square baking dish (8 x 8 inches.)  Set aside

2.  In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and allspice.  Add shortening, molasses, the water and egg.  Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined.  Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in crystallized ginger.  Pour batter into the prepared baking dish, spreading evenly.

3.  Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

4.  Serve warm with Lemon-Butter Sauce.  If desired, garnish with Candied Lemon Slices.  Makes 9 servings.

Lemon-Butter Sauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 T cornstarch
3/4 cup half-and-half or light cream
2 T butter
1/4 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
3 T lemon juice
2 T finely snipped crystallized ginger

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch.  Stir in half-and-half and butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is bubbly.  Reduce heat; cook and stir for 1 minute more.  Remove from heat.  Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice and ginger.  Serve warm.

Candied Lemon Slices
Cut 2 small lemons into thin slices; discard seeds.  In a large skillet, bring 1 cup light-color corn syrup to boiling over medium heat.  Stir in lemon slices.  Return to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, just until lemons are tender, turning occasionally.  Cool.

Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Baking magazine, December 2010

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

These were among my top 3 favs at Dessert Club this month. Bittersweet chocolate enrobed in a crackly chewy comforting ginger cookie. When I ate it, it was just a little melty. Wow. But when I had another one the next day the chocolate had cooled to a fudgy consistency. I was delirious.

I was caused to question, why do I try so many cookie recipes? And why do I insist on giving at least four different kinds of things away on goody plates? Wouldn't someone just rather have a dozen of something AWESOME like these? Or maybe these and these? Is it even possible for me to go "quality-simple"? Because if it is, these are how I'd do it.
Chewy Chocolate-Gingerbread Cookies

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.
4. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1997/1998

Cookies made by Dessert Club member Juli B.

Click here for printable recipe

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Glaze

I have never been to Standard Baking Co. in Portland, Maine. It's a sore spot because Ed and I would love to live in Maine, or at least visit more often. And since I made these muffins, courtesy of SBC, all I can think about is tasting what else they make. And I even kind of messed them up!

Not too bad. Molasses just isn't an ingredient I use or check on a lot. When I run out, I get more, but I don't have a constant awareness of the amount left, like I do with flour and sugar. So I was making the muffins and realized I didn't have 3/4 cup molasses in my jar. I only had about half that. So I increased the spice amounts a little, and also sprinkled a little ginger sugar on top before baking to pump up the flavor. And they were AWESOME! Gorgeous texture, almost like a cupcake but still a muffin (because I want to eat it for breakfast!) Fabulous lemon pop on top as well.

Note to self: Make again for sure. And maybe toss a bit of candied ginger in the muffin and lemon zest in the glaze. And for sure the full amount of molasses. Not that they need improving; I'm just curious.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Glaze
Muffins:

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon plus1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup mild-flavored light molasses

1 1/3 cups cold water

Lemon glaze:

3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar

2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 16 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups. Whisk flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt in medium bowl to blend.

2. Using electric mixer, beat unsalted butter and sugar in large bowl to blend. Add large eggs and beat to blend. Beat in light molasses. Add half of dry ingredients, beating until blended. Beat in remaining dry ingredients. Gradually add 1 1/3 cups cold water and beat until incorporated. Divide batter equally among 16 prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake gingerbread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 10 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and place on rack over sheet of foil.

4. For lemon glaze, whisk powdered sugar and lemon juice in small bowl until smooth. Add more sugar or juice until you reach a nice glazing consistency. Spoon or brush lemon glaze over tops of warm muffins. Serve muffins warm with whipped cream, if desired, or at room temperature. Makes 16 muffins.

Recipe adapted from Standard Baking Co., Portland, ME via Bon Appétit December 2000

Click here for printable recipe

Molasses Spice Lemon Sandwich Cookies

Oh dear, these are so wonderful! They are delicate but sturdy, spicy, sweet, buttery, lemony, and fabulously soft. And they make your house smell EXACTLY like Christmas. I want to make them over and over; they are perfect for the season!

But, granted, slightly labor intensive. It just takes a long time to roll all those little balls of dough, so if you can pull in an extra pair of hands or two for that step, it will go faster and you will be glad. But just do what you can, and your audience, be they family, neighbors, classmates, etc. will exclaim at their delightful flavor and undeniable melt-in-your-mouthness.

Molasses Spice Lemon Sandwich Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
Table salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 large egg
15 T unsalted butter, divided (12 T melted and cooled for cookies, 3 T softened for frosting)
3 T lemon juice
2 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, 3/4 tsp salt, and cloves together in medium bowl. In separate bowl, stir 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, molasses, egg and melted butter together until combined. Add dry mixture to butter mixture in three batches, stirring after each addition. Cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

2. Adjust oven racks to middle-upper and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

3. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in small bowl. Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls (this is smaller than you think but just the right size; they spread out a lot while baking.) Roll balls in granulated sugar, then transfer to prepared baking sheets, spacing balls 2 inches apart. Bake until tops are just beginning to crack, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating rack position and direction of baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Use remaining dough the same way.

4. Whisk remaining 3 T butter, lemon juice, and pinch of salt together in medium bowl. Whisk in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Turn half of cooled cookies over (bottom side up) and spread each with 1 tsp lemon filling. Sandwich with another cookie. Makes 3 to 4 dozen sandwiches

Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2005

Peanut Butter Melts

Here's the next treat from Hannah Swensen's Cookie Jar (in Blueberry Muffin Murder.) Apparently the mayor of her town (I forget his name) just loves these cookies. In fact he melts for them. Ha. Ha.

I wish you could be here to taste one so I could grin and ask you to guess the secret ingredient. It's molasses, which I've never heard of putting in a peanut butter cookie. But then I thought about it, and using white sugar and molasses is basically the same as using brown sugar, which I have heard of in peanut butter cookies, so it's not that crazy.

These cookies came out a little flatter than I expected, but I was also using suspect baking powder (my cake a few days earlier completely failed to rise); I have since replaced it. But thinness aside, these were delicious - slightly crispy on the outside, gorgeously soft and chewy on the inside, even after several days in a Tupperware. Total comfort cookies and I found myself snacking on them way more than I should have. So I gave some away. But not all of them, of course. I'm not quite that disciplined.

Peanut Butter Melts

1 cup melted butter (2 sticks)

2 cups white sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 cup molasses (2 T)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

2 beaten eggs (whip with a fork)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Sugar for rolling, optional

1. Preheat oven to 375. Place oven rack in middle position.

2. Microwave the butter to melt it. Add the sugar, vanilla and molasses. Stir until it's blended, then add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

3. Measure out the peanut butter. (Spray the inside of the measuring cup with Pam so it won't stick - I do the same with the molasses.) Add it to the bowl and mix it in. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir. Then add the flour, and mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.

4. Form the dough into walnut-sized balls and arrange them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or silicone. (These spread a lot so keep it to 12 for a standard jelly roll pan.) Roll in sugar if desired (but I tried both ways and I think they're plenty sweet without the extra roll.) Flatten slightly in a criss-cross pattern with fork.

5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to finish cooling. Makes about 3 1/2 to 4 dozen

*For PBJ cookies, spread jam on one cookie and use another to make a sandwich. Or go for it and use fudge frosting or Nutella in the middle.

Recipe from Blueberry Muffin Murder by Joanne Fluke

Chocolate-Gingerbread Drops (by Kat)

When a title is followed by "(by ____)" that means the recipe was baked, written up and photographed by that guest baker. Anything from me, Kari, will be in italics at the beginning.

Guest Baker Kat was my idol and best friend in Colorado, where I lived from 1999 to 2005. I liked to think of myself as her sidekick. Much, much baking, eating, shopping and crafting was done together. She runs a very serious kitchen. Kat lives in Longmont, Colorado.
When planning a goody plate, in addition to a variety of tastes, textures and colors, I also like to come up with cookies/tastes that folks have not likely seen before. And taste is still king. These babies are a delight - each bite a surprise. The warmth of ginger, the tang of cherries, and the sweetness of the chocolate (I used semisweet instead of bittersweet) all blend so wonderfully together on the tongue. These are a great twist on a traditional gingersnap, and stay nice and chewy days after baking.

Notes:

• The order of mixing things seems a little odd, but totally works so just fight the urge to cream the sugar and shortening together first and follow the recipe.
• I had no trouble incorporating all of the flour with my mixer - I don't know if the motor on a hand-held electric mixer would have trouble, but my Kitchenaid had no problem with it.
• The next time I make these - and yes, there will definitely be many "next times" - I'm going to use a little less ginger (for me it was just a tad too strong) and a little more chocolate (for me it was just a tad too sparse) - and yes, I'm sticking to semisweet because that's how I like my chocolate. Milk would be too sweet for these cookies, but I don't think bittersweet would be sweet enough. Mini chocolate chips would be a nice alternative to chopping up baking chocolate, although hitting a big chunk once in awhile is part of the fun!

Chocolate-Gingerbread Drops
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried tart red cherries
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening on medium to high for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, baking soda, ginger, allspice and salt. Beat until well combined. Beat in molasses and egg until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon. Stir in cherries and chocolate.

2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons (a cookie scoop worked great with this dough) onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 8 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 3 dozen cookies

To store: Layer cookies between sheets of waxed paper in an airtight container; cover. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies magazine, December 2009

500 Kinds of Popcorn

My friend Shanna makes the best caramel popcorn. Whenever there is a movie night I insist she make a double batch - one for me, one for everyone else. It is soft, sticky, buttery and delectable. She gave me the recipe and I tried to make it once. I overcooked it of course but then she came over and made it with me and I think I'll do better next time - it takes a few times of practice to get it right on your own stove, she says.

Well last week we hosted a Popcorn Night for some ladies from church. Shanna made the corn, I provided the setting - I admit, my kitchen is awesome for cooking demos - all I'm missing is the mirror overhead.So below are the four kinds we tried. Sorry it's not really five hundred. Shanna made "Mom's" ahead and brought it for snacking. I made "Jello" ahead. Then with the audience she made "Shanna's" and "Coconut-Almond." Everyone ate plenty of popcorn, and we sent baggies home. Fun and yum all in one night!Tips:
* Always start with fresh air-popped corn. Check the expiration date on your jar!
* Don't ever put the full amount of popcorn in the bowl in the beginning. Start pouring the sauce and add popcorn as you need it. That way, the popcorn will be nicely coated instead of patchy.
* Don't overcook the sauce. This may take a few tries to get the feel of it right but even mistake batches are tasty.
* Always lay popcorn out on wax paper to cool so it's not a big clump.

Mom's Soft Caramel Corn
This one is Shanna's favorite because of good memories eating it growing up. But it takes the longest to make - about 40 minutes - and I find the molasses flavor strong.

2 gallons popped corn
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup cream or milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Have popcorn popped and ready. Bring brown sugar, white sugar, evaporated milk, cream/milk, and butter to a boil. Add molasses, corn syrup and salt. Boil stirring constantly, until it forms a medium firm ball (228 to 230 degrees.) Add baking soda and stir until foamy. Pour and stir evenly over popcorn. Pour out on wax paper to cool.
Jello Popcorn
I got the recipe from Shanna's sister, and when I naturally messed up the first batch, I checked the Jello website; they were pretty close. My problem had been getting the Jello and the sugar to dissolve into the small amount of liquid. So on my second batch, the green one pictured, I tried sugar-free Jello. It meant less sugar to dissolve, but still had a bright, strong, sweet flavor due to the added sugar in the recipe.

What's so fun about Jello popcorn is you can make it any color Jello comes in! Try green and red for Christmas. How about orange, drizzled with chocolate, for Halloween? Or pink and blue for baby showers? You see where I'm going. My sister had the idea of doing orange Jello, add orange zest, and cashews or pecans. Really - improvise like crazy!

8 cups popped popcorn
1 cup nuts, optional
1/4 cup butter
3 T corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg (4 serving size) any flavor Jello (sugar-free is fine, too!)

Optional - If you want it crispy, preheat oven to 300. Line large cookie sheet with silpat, foil or wax paper.

Place butter and syrup in small saucepan; cook on low heat until butter is melted. Add sugar and Jello; stir until gelatin is dissolved - about 8 minutes. Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 2 to 3 minutes. Pour immediately over popcorn mixture and toss to coat well. If you want it soft and gooey, spread out on wax paper to cool. If you want it crispy, spread onto prepared cookie sheet and bake for about 10 minutes. Cool, remove from pan, break into small pieces.
Shanna's Awesome Ooey Gooey Caramel Corn
Shanna calls this "Suzanne's Caramel Corn" after her sister but hello, I don't know Suzanne and Shanna is the one that makes it for me! This is my oh-so-favorite yummy yummy favorite movie snack! One time she made it for me and I saved some in a ziploc bag. I brought it in the car to church the next day and it was a heavenly snack on the way to and from church. This batch was nut-free but try it with almonds - my favorite!

12 cups popped corn
3 cups chopped nuts (especially almonds and pecans)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Cook the sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt over medium heat, stirring occasionally until just starting to bubble around the edges. Start timing - cook from this point, stirring, for 4 minutes - NO LONGER! Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda until foamy. Pour over popcorn and nuts (see tips above.) Pour out onto wax paper to cool. If you want it crunchy, bake 1 hour in 200 degree oven, stirring every 15 minutes.

Coconut-Almond Popcorn
You already know my favorite but this popcorn was the smash of the evening. Almost everyone proclaimed it was their favorite, and with reason. It is really, really divine and some people had the idea to add almond or coconut extract with or instead of the vanilla to boost it even more. Truly, if you're going to try one popcorn from this post, try this one. Everyone will love it!

1 lb butter (4 sticks - it makes a lot!)
2 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup white corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lb. chopped almonds
1/2 lb. shredded coconut
A lot of popped popcorn (the recipe that was handed out did not specify amount, but look at the silver bowl in the sink in the picture - about enough to nearly fill it)

Melt butter on low heat. Add sugar and corn syrup; cook on medium heat. Boil until butter mixes in, then boil for 1 1/2 minutes more. Add vanilla. Pour over popped corn, adding almonds and coconut and mixing. Mix well and pour out on wax paper to cool.

BONUS: Aunt Karen's Honey Popcorn
We didn't make this corn, and I've never had it, but it was included on the recipe sheet Shanna handed out, so I'm putting it out there. My candy thermometer has marked what temperature soft ball stage is; otherwise I would have no clue since I'm still new with cooking sugar. But yum, I love honey so I bet this is good.

9 qt. Popped corn
3 cups sugar
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups cream

Cook sugar, honey and cream to soft ball stage. Pour over popcorn. Spread onto wax paper to cool. Cook a bit longer if you want to do popcorn balls. Wrap in saran wrap to keep ball form.

Molasses Gingersnaps

Gingersnaps are simply a classic, but it's amazing how often we just buy them instead of making them, especially considering how inferior the store-boughts are (except for Trader Joe's Triple Gingersnaps which are in a class by themselves.) Here's the recipe I grew up eating and making, straight from the kitchen of Florence Manwaring (see this post for more on Florence.)

1 cup sugar

¾ cup shortening

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

2 cups flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Mix together sugar, shortening, molasses and egg, scraping down sides.

3. Add flour, salt, soda and spices; mix well.

4. Roll the dough in 1-inch balls, dip in sugar and flatten slightly on greased cookie sheet. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Ginger Chocolate Cookies

Anything with 2 1/2 tablespoons of ground ginger and 8 ounces of bittersweet chocolate is ok by me. The other ingredients could be monkey brains and rotten onions and I would still make it. Luckily, the other ingredients here are things like butter, sugar, molasses and cocoa powder, so we don't have to test that claim.

These cookies are like the best of both worlds for people like my husband Red, who LOVES molasses gingersnaps almost as much as he LOVES chocolate chip cookies. But they're also more than the sum of those parts - spicy, sweet, chocolatey, dark. I admit not everyone I gave them to liked them. There are strong, some may even say competing, flavors in there. But I looooved them. You just have to try them yourself.

We made these on our biggest snow day of the winter - talk about comfort food! Hot gooey cookies on a snowy day are hard to beat, not to mention the tempting smells that fill the whole house. Be sure to let them rest on the cookie sheet a full 5 minutes before trying to move them to the cooling rack; otherwise they might fall apart.

And then, oh darn, you might have to eat that one. OK, do whatever you want. I won't tell.

2 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 T ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk flour through salt (dry ingredients) until thoroughly combined.

2. In an electric mixer bowl beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 3 minutes. Add molasses, egg, and vanilla; beat to combine.

3. Mix in dry ingredients gently but thoroughly, scraping down sides as needed. Stir in chopped chocolate until well combined.

4. Form batter into 1 1/2 inch balls, roll each ball in granulated sugar, and place 12 balls on prepared baking sheet. Use a glass or flat-bottom bowl to flatten balls to 1/4-inch thick. Dip glass in water if necessary to prevent sticking.

5. Bake cookies 5 minutes, turn pan 180 degrees, and bake until just set, 5 minutes more. Cool on pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks. Repeat. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Per cookie: 133 calories, 6.4g fat, 16mg chol, 108mg sod, 1.5g protein, 0.6g fiber
from Sunset, October 2007

Gingerbread Pancakes with Bananas and Whipped Cream

Last December in Brooklyn we went out for breakfast one morning and, feeling festive, I ordered gingerbread pancakes. They were dry and a little disappointing, but this recipe from my friend Shanna has redeemed the concept. Serve with any toppings you like, but we had them with bananas and whipped cream.

(mine)

(Ed's)

Gingerbread Pancakes (or waffles)

2 cups flour (white, whole wheat or a combination)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
6 T oil
1 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl and then gently stir into dry ingredients. Cook on hot greased griddle, top and eat. Makes about 20

VGP #23 Magi's Turbans

Here's a new take on two classics:
the gingersnap meets the peanut butter blossom.

And gets a really cool name in the process.

It's really just a molasses gingersnap cookie with a Hershey's Hug plopped in the middle. The recipe here is pretty good but your favorite gingersnap recipe will do just as well. They smell awesome, they look striking, and the flavors of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, milk and white chocolate are a pleasure to partake of.

Remember to let them cool all the way before touching or storing. When you press the candy into the hot cookie, the heat travels all the way up the chocolate and melts it pretty good. But it will hold its shape if you let it sit for an hour or two to cool off.

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp each ground cinnamon and ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup light molasses
1 large egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
56 Hershey's Hugs (from a 13 oz. bag), unwrapped

1. Beat butter, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until well blended and paler in color. Beat in molasses and egg. Reduce speed to low and gradually add in flour just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour or until firm enough to handle.

2. Heat oven to 350. Have baking sheets ready. Put granulated sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoons of dough into 1-1/4 inch balls; roll in sugar to coat. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.

3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until tops crack but cookies are still soft to touch. Place baking sheet on wire rack. Immediately press a Hugs in center of each cookie. Transfer cookies from baking sheet to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container at cool room temperature up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 3 months.

Recipe from Woman's Day Holiday Cookies magazine

VGP #13 Peppermint Molasses Cookies

What? Yes, you read that right. It's nearly impossible to get more Christmasy than peppermint and spice cookies. Maybe that seems a strange combination - it did to me at first. But they compliment each other perfectly and the result is a holiday treat that could easily become a family tradition.

Tips:

- To easily crush peppermint candy, freeze them first. Then place them in double ziploc bags and smash with the flat side of a meat tenderizer. They'll shatter like glass.
- To drizzle peppermint icing evenly, use a spoon or fork or something. I put it in a ziploc bag and snipped off one corner like a piping bag, but it kept getting clogged with candy pieces. The I cut the hole bigger and it fell out too fast in globs. Artistique, non? Well, it still tastes delicious.2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup crushed hard peppermint candy such as Starlights or candy canes

Peppermint icing (see recipe below)

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 2/3 cup butter, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg and molasses and beat until well blended.

2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt. Stir into butter mixture, then beat just until dough comes together. Stir in peppermint candy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls or scoop with cookie scoop and place about 2 inches apart on buttered (or parchment-lined) baking sheets.

4. Bake cookies in a 350-degree oven until lightly browned, about 13 minutes. Allow to rest for about 1minute on sheet before moving to a wire cooling rack with spatula. When cool, drizzle with Peppermint Icing.

Peppermint Icing: In a bowl, mix 1 cup powdered sugar, 2 T milk, and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract until well blended. If too thick to drizzle, mix in more milk, 1/2 tsp at a time, until thin enough. Stir in 1 T finely crushed hard peppermint candy and 1 to 2 drops red food coloring if desired.

Makes about 3 dozen