It Goes with Everything

The first cookies that I remember making entirely on my own were some chewy gingersnaps (is that a contradiction?). My mother found the recipe in Yankee Magazine. I always thought the cookies were best when baked to a very light brown and allowed to cool completely. I then would eat them with a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream. To me, it always tasted perfect.

The magazine article in which the recipe was contained suggested peach ice cream with the cookies. I think some nice, ripe peaches in season would be even better. Gingersnaps are also great with coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or even chocolate icing. They really do seem to go with almost anything for dessert. And I have noticed that non-dessert eaters (I will never understand these types)love fresh-baked gingersnaps.

I have since looked for the recipe on the Yankee Magazine website, but none of the gingersnap recipes available match what I remembered. For the past month or so, I have been looking for the perfect gingersnap recipe. I personally don't like cookies that have whole pieces of ginger in the recipe, as I think this makes the flavor overwhelming. The cookies should also not be too hard, as this reminds me of the kind that you buy in the grocery store, in the brown bags. They taste stale, in my opinion.

The fist gingersnap recipe I tried during this search called for 1 1/2 sticks of butter. Normally, I prefer to use butter more than any other type of fat. But the end result of these cookies was a batter that was too thin. I put the dough in the refrigerator for half an hour to try to remedy this problem. While this made the dough more pliable, the cookies were too thin when they came out of the oven. As you can see in the picture below, the they spread pretty badly in the oven. I wasn't happy with their looks, and the texture was way off.




A gingersnap should have nice cracks in the surface. They tasted great, though. As I remembered that the original recipe containing shortening, this was the ingredient that I turned to for a rebake.

Gingersnap Cookies

This is adapted from a recipe that I found on the Yankee Magazine website. I made a few adjustments so they would be similar to the cookies I had in mind.

3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup white sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose white flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the molasses and egg and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, soda, salt, and spices. Add to the creamed mixture and blend well.

Refrigerate the dough for an hour to one day.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease three or four baking sheets. Place about one cup of sugar on a plate or shallow bowl.

Roll dough into a ball about the size of a quarter. Roll the ball in sugar. Continue this process, placing the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Do not press the balls down.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Watch the baking cookies carefully, as they will burn rather easily. Allow to rest on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Serve with your favorite ice cream, coffee, fresh fruit, or whatever else you like.

No More Than a Pretty Face...

I had really high hopes for these cookies, as found on The Wednesday Chef. Despite all of the chocolate and butter the recipe contains, the flavor really isn't there.

However, they look perfect.




After reviewing other recipes online, I've found that the majority of chocolate crinkle cookies contain espresso, vanilla, or cognac. I have to assume that this additional flavoring is what is missing from the San Andreas cookies. However, I have attempted an espresso-chocolate crinkle cookie from the December 2008 issue of Cooking Light. This recipe called for instant espresso granules, which I couldn't find. Since several commenters stated that they used a shot of espresso instead, this is what I used. The cookies tasted fairly good, but they were not pretty to look at, and I didn't care for the texture.

However, the point of this post is not to complain about failed attempts at chocolate crinkle cookies. I want to perfect a recipe for these cookies, maybe using cognac, though espresso or vanilla would be easier. Does anyone have any ideas or alternate, better recipes for such cookies? I am not an extremely experienced baker, so I am not entirely sure where to begin here, except to add vanilla to the San Andreas recipe. As you can probably tell from the picture, these cookies look beautiful, so the flour and baking powder ratio is correct, I think. In place of almond meal, I crushed some slivered almonds in a zip-lock bag with a rolling pin. This doesn't really add to the flavor, but it does lend a nice, crunchy texture to the otherwise rather cake-like cookies.

I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips, which I have had success with before, and they melt down (and taste) much better than most chocolate chips. However, now I am wondering if that was a good idea.

If anyone has any thoughts, or experiences making this type of cookie, please share. I'd love to find a way to make them more flavorful. When I make them again, I will report back to record my progress. I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas.

An Imperfect Recipe?

Today, I am presenting a recipe that seems to be rather flawed. However, it is so delicious that I feel it deserves some mention. My original intention was to make this . I have been reading a lot of Orangette. The writing is just so good, and the stories are really entertaining. The recipes that are featured really appeal to me. I especially liked the idea of a rich chocolate cake like this one, but then I came across a similar recipe in one of my cookbooks. This second recipe uses fewer eggs and less sugar, so I figured it would be less filling, but it would taste richer.
As the cake came out of the oven, it smelled delicious. However, it looked a little dry. When it came time to serve dessert, the cake proved to be dryer than I would have liked, though there were pockets of moist (how I hate that word), rich cake. It was really similar in texture to a brownie, but the flavor was more sophisticated than most brownies I have tasted. While it crumbled apart and was impossible to eat with anything but a spoon, it was undeniably delicious.
My belief is that the temperature of my oven is off, and the delicate nature of this cake could not properly endure the extra heat. As a result,the cake was slightly overcooked. I intend to buy an oven thermometer to prevent future problems like this one.
At some point, I would like to try this cake again, in order to perfect the texture. If this doesn't work, then I will turn to the Orangette recipe above. The extra eggs should prevent dryness in this type of cake. And so, though I have ideas on how to fix this problem (and it really is worth it!), the cost of ingredients and the calories of the recipe discourage me from remaking it right away. When I do, however, I promise to tell you about it. Does anyone else have thoughts on how the cake could be less crumbly?
I have reprinted the original recipe below.

Charlie's Afternoon Chocolate Cake
reprinted from Chocolate Ephiphany by Francois Payard.

Ingredients:
Vegetable cooking spray, for the pan
All-purpose flour, for the pan
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 oz. (usually two bakers' chocolate bars) 60% chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs
2/3 cup of sugar
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the sides and bottom of a round 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Dust with flour, shaking off the excess, and set aside.
Bring the butter to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to prevent from burning. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate to the pan. Stir the mixture until the chocolate is melted and smooth
Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl, until well-combined. Add the flour and mix well. Add the chocolate to the batter and stir until the mixture is just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 300 degrees and bake for an additional eight minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan. Unmold, and serve.

Makes one 9 inch cake; serves eight to ten.
Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or powdered sugar, if desired. This cake freezes well.