Monday, December 27, 2010

Three Christmas Cookies for 2010

I’m taking a break from the 30-year-old recipes today to record this year’s Christmas cookies. Although the recipes are not new, they’re new to me. It took a bit of searching and adjusting to get them to turn out right, so I don’t want to forget the tips and tricks I used.


Ginger Crackle Top Cookies

Ingredients
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp  ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp  salt
3/4 cup butter-flavoured shortening; or half shortening, half butter
1 cup minus 2 Tbsp  sugar (or brown sugar, or half white and half brown sugar)
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses
more sugar for topping, about 1/4 cup

Method
Combine flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and salt, set aside.
Beat together butter and sugar(s) until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, scraping down sides of bowl. Add molasses; beat well. In three additions, beat in, then stir in flour mixture just until incorporated. Chill dough.
Shape dough into 24 (or more) balls, each about 2 tbsp (30 mL). Roll balls in bowl with remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Place several inches apart on large, parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake in preheated 325ºF (160ºC) oven until just golden, 10 to 12 min. (Cookies will spread.)

Source
Adapted from the Dec. 4 entry in the Toronto Star’s 2010 Advent cookie calendar.

Comments
Cookies made from the original recipe in the Star article spread into giant, thin buttery crisps, but I wanted the thick, domed, crackle-top cookie shown in the photo that accompanied the article, and by adjusting some of the ingredients, I got that result on the second try.
Cookies that were baked a week and a half later from dough that had been refrigerated in a well-sealed container were just as good as the first day.
I haven’t found a source for molasses in Mexico (except where it’s sold in large pails as pig feed), but small amounts for cooking can be recreated with 3 to 4 parts piloncillo (crushed or grated) with 1 part water, heated together in a dish placed in hot water and stirred until the sugar is dissolved.


Chocolate Crackle Top Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or 6 oz. (170 g.) semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 c. brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup  oil
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c walnuts (lightly toasted and chopped fairly fine)
About 1/2 c. icing sugar (to roll cookies in)


Method
Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Remove from heat, add sugar and oil. Add eggs one at a time, beat well. Add vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt and add to chocolate mixture. Stir in nuts. Chill dough. Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in icing sugar. Bake at 350ºF (175ºC) until done (10 to 12 minutes).

Source
The Internet. One version can be found at cooks.com, but it doesn’t tell you to bake them!

Toasted Almond Pressed Cookies

Ingredients
2/3 cup  sugar
1 cup butter
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2–3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c ground almonds (first blanched and toasted)

Method
Beat together butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour which has been combined with salt, cinnamon and ground almonds. Mix until very well combined. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are golden.

Source
A combination of the Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker’s New Picture Cook Book, and this.

Comments
This dough turned out just right for the cookie press. It has to be neither too soft nor too dry and hard. The first three or four attempts at squeezing out cookies didn’t work, but I just kept on trying and all at once they started to press out properly and stay on the cookie sheet.
These cookies could be made in other flavours by varying the liquid flavouring (e.g. lemon, almond or maple), and the nuts (or leaving out the nuts; increase the flour to 2 1/2 cups in that case), and/or omitting the cinnamon.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Two Green Bean Salads

Bean Salad

Ingredients
18 oz (225 g) frozen or 32 oz canned beans (half green, half wax)
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp oregano
dash sugar


Method
Combine beans and mushrooms. Combine remaining ingredients and toss with vegetables. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Let stand at room temperature 20 min. before serving.

Source
Something I had copied out (probably from a newspaper or magazine) in the mid-early 1980s.

Comments
If using frozen beans, cook them first.

Oriental Green Bean Salad

Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) green beans, cooked
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp hot mustard
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp sesame seed, toasted

Method
Combine all ingredients except sesame seed. Cover and chill several hours. Let stand 20 min. at room temperature before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seed.


Source
Same as above.