Gingerbread Cookies

Its the most wonderfullll timeee of the year!! To me that means family & loves ones, lots of shopping, and even more amounts of cooking a baking. I make Gingerbread cookies almost every year. Here's the recipe I use for classic gingerbread cookies and royal icing. Merry Christmas everyone!

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 Tbs. ground ginger
• 4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp. allspice
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 16 Tbs. (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses
• 1 egg
• Decorating sugars and pastes as desired

Directions:

• Have all the ingredients at room temperature.
• Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium-high speed until fluffy and pale yellow, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the brown and granulated sugars and beat for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to low and add the molasses, beating until well combined, about 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Add the flour mixture in 4 additions, beating in each addition before adding more. Beat just until combined, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Using floured hands, form the dough into a smooth mound and divide into 4 equal portions. Shape each into a disk and wrap separately with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
• Preheat an oven to 400ºF. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove 1 dough disk at a time from the refrigerator and let stand for 10 minutes. Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or waxed paper and roll out to a thickness of 1/4 to 3/8 inch. 
• Press cookie cutters into dough to cut desired shape. Using an offset spatula, carefully transfer the cutouts to the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough. Gather up the scraps, reroll them and cut out additional cookies. For best results, do not reroll scraps more than once. Refrigerate the cookies until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Bake the cookies until lightly browned on the bottom, about 7 min.
• Let the cookies cool completely on the baking sheets, then decorate as desired and assemble (see tips below). Makes 4 or 5 of each type of cookie.

Royal Icing

Ingredients:

• 3 egg whites, at room temperature
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
• Pinch of salt
• A few drops of vanilla extract or fresh
   lemon juice (optional)

Directions:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites, confectioners' sugar, cream of tartar and salt on medium-low speed until blended. Add the vanilla or lemon juice, increase the speed to medium-high, and continue beating until stiff peaks form and the mixture is nearly triple in volume, 7 to 8 minutes. 
• Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to use, up to 6 hours.
• Makes 5 to 6 cups.

Three Cheese Baked Mac & Cheese

I have to say, this is the BEST mac & cheese I have EVER had! I take it to almost every party/potluck because it is definitely a crowd-pleaser. I figured it's about time I add it to the blog. So here we go...

Three Cheese Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 8 oz butter
• 8 oz flour
• 3 cups of whole milk warmed
• 12 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded
• 6 oz Gruyere cheese shredded
• 6 oz fontina cheese shredded or white cheddar
• 1 lb. elbow pasta
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• olive oil

Method

• In a stock pot cook the pasta half way, until al dente
• In a second large stock pot, melt the butter and add the flour little by little (I use a sifter so that I can control the amount that falls in and reduce clumps). Cook flour until golden. This is called a "roux".
• Slowly whisk and add the warm milk to the roux. The addition of the milk will make the consistancy change from creamy to chunky- like mashed potatoes. This is normal, just keep adding the milk little by little and keep whisking. 
• Once smooth, whisk the cheeses in until melted.
• Add in the pasta and season with salt n pepper
• Transfer the mixture in to a baking casserole
• Mix bread crumbs about about 1/2 cup shredded cheese if you still have any. Sprinkle bread crumb mixture on top and drizzle with ~ 2 tbsp. olive oil, to later create a crispy crust when you bake.
• Bake for 30 min at 400 or until golden
• Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 min

Candy-Cane Petit Fours

I found this recipe in BH&G Magazine (Holiday Recipes edition) and thought it was an easy and cute little treat to take to a holiday party. I made a big mistake when I bought the wrong icing (I bought butter cream which did not mix well with the white chocolate- it totally separated and was a mess!) so my cakes are covered in 100% white chocolate. Still came out good but i'm curious to see what would have happened if I mixed the two the way the recipe calls. Let me know if you decide to make this one!

 

Ingredients

• 1 10.75-ounce  frozen loaf pound cake, thawed
• 1 16-ounce can  vanilla frosting
• 2 to 3 drops  peppermint extract
• 1 drop  red food coloring
• 4 ounces  white chocolate baking squares with cocoa butter, chopped
• 1/4  teaspoon  peppermint extract
•  54 small peppermint candy pillows (optional)

Method

• Using a serrated knife, cut cake into ten 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.
• For peppermint filling, in a bowl, stir together 1/4 cup of the frosting, 2 to 3 drops peppermint extract, and the red food coloring. Spread five of the cake slices with the filling. Top each with a plain cake slice, making a sandwich. Cut each sandwich into 3 pieces, starting from center of one long side and cutting to each opposite corner, making 15 triangular-shaped pieces; set aside.
• For icing, in a small heavy saucepan, cook and stir chopped white chocolate over low heat until melted. Add remaining frosting; heat over low heat, stirring until smooth. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract.
• Insert a fork into the side of a cake piece. Holding the cake over the saucepan, spoon on enough icing to cover sides and top. Using another fork, gently push the cake piece onto a wire rack set over a piece of waxed paper. If necessary, spoon icing onto side of cake where fork was inserted. If desired, arrange three peppermint candies on each cake. Repeat with remaining cake pieces, icing, and peppermint candies. Let stand until icing sets. 

 

 

 

Classic Tiramisu

Contrary to popular belief, Tiramisu is incredibly easy to make. It takes no time at all to put together (< 1 hour). Really, most of the time occupied by this dish is letting it set/cool, and eating it! Try this one next time you have a sweet tooth.

Ingredients:

• 6 eggs (yolks)
• 1 pint - real whipping cream
• 1 large package (50+ count) - Lady fingers (use the dry italian kind)
• 1 pound -  mascarpone cheese
• 10 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 14 shots - brewed espresso (or 10 shots espresso plus 6 oz. strong coffee)
• ~ 2-3 tablespoons- powdered cocoa

Method: 

• Brew coffee/espresso (about 5 cups), add sugar to taste, pour coffee onto a plate and set aside, let cool slightly. 
• Beat mascarpone cheese and 10 tablespoons of sugar until no longer granular (~3-5 min), then mix in egg yolks, set in frig mix for another 3 minutes (this mixture should be dense).
• Take lady fingers and dip in espresso, you want the lady finger to soak up the coffee but, you do not want it to get soggy. The Lady finger should keep its shape (Error on the dry side, you do not want a soggy tiramisu).
• In a decent size casserole pan, make a layer of lady fingers that have been dipped in espresso.
• Take your mascarpone mixture and layer on the coffee lady fingers.
• Do one more layer of lady fingers soaked in espresso on top of the mascarpone mixture. So after this point you should have lady fingers then cheese mixture and then one more layer of lady fingers.
• Take your whipping cream, and mix on high until you get the fluffy consistency. When it is fluffy (~10 minutes) add powdered sugar and fold through. Try not to mix too roughly or the whipped cream will not be as fluffy. 
• Top the tiramisu with the whipping cream
• Sift a layer of good cocoa over the top.
• Let sit in refrigerator at least 6 hours preferably over night. Then serve.