The Cookbook Experiment: Ginger Cookies

Sometimes it is hard living in a house with family that have completely different ideas about what certain types of food we should have and others that are off limits. There is one member of my family that does NOT like chocolate chip cookies. Its a travesty, I know. I needed to find a cookie that everyone would like so I turned to my trusty church cookbook.

The recipe I found was "Ginger Cookies" by Sandy Viner. Sandy is one of the hardest working people at the church. She is the secretary, a Sunday school teacher, my mentor, my friend and a mother.  This recipe seemed like a real winner.

Ginger Cookies by Sandy Viner

(1 1/2) cups shortening, some butter added for flavor
(2) cups granulated sugar
(2) well beaten eggs
(1/2) cup molasses
(2) teaspoons soda
(2) teaspoons cinnamon
(2) teaspoons cloves
(1) teaspoon ginger
(1/2) teaspoon salt
(4) cups flour

Cream shortening and sugar together; add eggs. Sift dry ingredients together; add with molasses and beat. Chill. Form in small balls; roll in mixture of 6 tablespoons sugar and 4 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart. Bake in 375 oven for 12 to minutes.

My take-a-ways for this recipe:

• I only had cinnamon. I could not find my ginger and I did not have cloves.  I used (2 1/2) teaspoons in lieu of the (2) called for in the recipe.
• I did not let the dough chill. I had no time for that and they rolled into balls to put on the cookie sheet just fine.
• I forgot to roll them in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. They were still amazing.
• This makes a LOT of dough. My large Kitchen Aid could barely handle that this recipe made.
• I used (1) cup of butter and (1/2) cup shortening. Why? Because butter. But do not neglect putting in the shortening as it is an important ingredient.
• With my oven I baked them exactly 12 minutes and did fine. They stay soft for only a few minutes then they turn into snap cookies.
• Don't neglect to add the salt. It is an important ingredient.
• These cookies are amazing. They have become one of my families favorite cookies. 

The Cookbook Experiment: Snickerdoodles

My daughter Paulina felt like making something last night.  She chose the Snickerdoodles recipe by "Unknown".  I like Unknown....he/she never causes any problems!

Snickerdoodles by Unknown

Fun Fact: Snickerdoodles were a favorite of America's cookie-loving Dutch colonist.  No one knows where they got their funny name but, given their delicious flavor and texture, we're sure they'll be around for a few more generations.

(1) cup shortening
(1 1/2) cups sugar
(2) eggs
(2) teaspoons cream of tartar
(2 3/4) cups sifted flour
(1) teaspoon baking soda
(1/4) teaspoon sugar
(2) teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar, and eggs thoroughly.  Blend flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt.  Stir into shortening mixture.  Shape dough into 1" balls. Roll in mixture of (2) tablespoons sugar and cinnamon.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Makes 6 dozen cookies.

My take-a-ways for this recipe:

• We typically do not use cream of tartar because we do not like the taste. Instead we used (2) teaspoons of baking powder. Baking powder and baking soda together can be a substitute for cream of tartar anyway.
• These should have been called "disappearing cookies" because as soon as they came out of the oven they disappeared!
• The best part about this is that my daughter made them!

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake with Apple Cider Glaze

I am trying to clear some things out of my cupboards and the spice cake mix had to go! So did the can of pumpkin.  It sounded like a good marriage so a cake was born.

(1) Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
(1) 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree
(3) eggs
(3) tablespoons of brown sugar
(3) good shakes of cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients well and pour into a greased bundt pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let rest 10 minutes before flipping out onto a plate.

For the glaze, mix two packets of instant Alpine Hot Apple Cider Mix with approximately 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and enough hot water until it gets to a good pouring consistency, not to thin and not to thick.  Poke a few holes in the cake with a fork to let some of the glaze seep into the cake.

The cake is very moist and the apple cider glaze compliments the pumpkin very well. In hindsight I would have only used (1) packet of the cider mix as the glaze is very sweet. It will definitely require a little bit of playing around next time if I decide to make it again.  For what it was, a cabinet emptier, it is yummy and fun!

Homemade Applesauce - No Sugar Added

I am always on the look-out for recipes that work for a friend who cannot have any added sugar and that do not require me to keep anything like Splenda or any other sugar substitute on hand.  Today I am taking this friend a meal that consists of ham steaks, roasted root vegetables and applesauce.  Almost every recipe for applesauce has some form of sugar so I decided to just wing it and make my own.

I started with a 3-pound bag of Gala apples. Why Gala? I don't know. They looked good and I am not a big fan of Granny Smith or Red Delicious.  The price was right at the grocery store.  All but three were peeled. I like to leave the peel on three of them for added texture. All were cored, sliced into small chunks and put into a pan with two thin slices of lemon.

Why lemon? Well, I can't add sugar and a squeeze of lemon always makes my tea taste better so I decided it would probably be just the ticket to helping out with the taste of the apples.

Next I added one teaspoon of cinnamon and I grated in some nutmeg. I did not use ground nutmeg. Don't do it. It only takes a minute to run your nutmeg pod over your micro-plane to get that delicious, fresh nutmeg taste. Fresh nutmeg is often my secret ingredient in many of my dishes.

Add to all of the above about 1 1/2 cups of water and set to boil. After it boils, reduce the heat  and cover the pot. Cook for approximately twenty minutes, giving them an occasional stir.

When they are nice and tender remove the lemon slices and use your handy dandy potato masher and mash the apples.

This applesauce is hearty and earthy. It is not the sweet applesauce of your childhood. It is applesauce all grown-up.  My friends love it because he can eat what he wants without worrying about his diabetes.

Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

My amazing husband has quite the sweet tooth. I love making him happy so I set out to make a dessert with three things he really likes: raspberries, coffee and Milano cookies.  I wish that I could say I came up with this idea all by myself but alas, I cannot.  It came from a "new" cookbook found yesterday while on my thrift store marathon! It is called "Campbell's Potluck For All Occasions" by Publications International Ltd. 2007.  The recipe can also be found online right here: Campbell's Raspberry Tiramisu Trifle

It is an interesting cookbook and I was impressed with the recipes.  I got very excited when I found the trifle recipe.  I knew I had to make it for my sweet husband.  The only problem with the recipe was that I do not have a trifle bowl! How trifling! (Sorry! I could not resist!)

I started with three bricks of cream cheese, softened.

I put a second bowl and beaters in the freezer to get cold while I beat three cups of powdered sugar into the cream cheese.  I needed the other bowl and beaters cold because I was going to whip some heavy whipping cream and having a cold bowl and beaters helps the whipping go quicker and easier!

 Combining the powdered sugar and cinnamon was no easy feat for my little handheld mixer! I should have used my Kitchen Aid but I had it busy behind me whipping the heavy cream into a frenzy of fluffiness!

I added the cinnamon to my cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture and combined until it was light tan and smooth.

The heavy whipping cream that whipped all light and fluffy was folded it into the cream cheese mixture.

I began the layering.  First a layer of the cream cheese on the bottom. Next dip the Milano cookies into a cup of strong brewed coffee and place them on top.

 A sprinkle of raspberries and the the layering begins again.

I just kept dipping and layering until I reached the top! A few extra raspberries for good measure and the trifle was done! How does it taste? I have NO idea! It is in the refrigerator right now, setting up. I will let you know!!

Crack Sticks (recipe from Shabby Chicks)

This recipe kept popping up all over Facebook and I just had to try them!  All the credit and the original recipe is located here:

Shabby Chicks

I was completely mystified how on these would taste good...it was the smooshed white bread that was throwing me!! I decided the only way to know for sure was to try them!

Here are the ingredients:

(1) loaf of thin sliced white sandwich bread
(1) 8 ounce box of cream cheese
(3/4) cup confectioner's sugar
(1) cup sugar
(1-1/2) teaspoon ground cinnamon
(3/4) cup butter, melted

Remove crusts from bread.  Flatten bread with a rolling pin.

In a bowl combine cream cheese and confectioners' sugar.
In another bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
Spread about 1 tablespoon of cheese mixture on each slice of bread.

Roll up, jelly roll style.

Dip in melted butter.

Roll in the cinnamon sugar.

Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield:  approximately 16 roll-ups.  Good warm or cold. (But I would not know about the cold because they did not make it that far!)

This was an awesome recipe and I would LOVE to know how it came to be! I have visions of a desperate housewife needing a dessert in a hurry! I am sure she was very smart!