Cookie Palooza 2011, A Retrospective, Part 1

ultimate ginger, pb&c biscotti, triple chocolate

Original post date: Sunday, 12/5/11

Care to guess what I did today?

This being my 3-day weekend, I decided to take advantage of my time off and spend it in the kitchen, trying out new cookie recipes. We're having a cookie exchange at work next week and I can't decide what to make; too many choices, and you know I have to make something to put all other cookies to shame. To that end, I've got a stack of recipes I've been wanting to try and so I've been planning to have a cookie palooza this weekend. My best friend and her kids were originally supposed to join me, but she's not feeling well this weekend so we had to postpone. However, I've got the supplies and the burning need to make cookies... so that's what I did.

Yesterday, I made 2 loaves of cranberry bread and promptly wrapped them and put them in the freezer to make room for cookies. I then got a jump start on cookie palooza and tried out one of my new recipes, the ultimate ginger cookie. It's funny, really, because I always thought I didn't like these spicy cookies; we never made anything like them when I was growing up. The thought of making a classic gingerbread man cookie never really appealed because it's more work than I'm interested in. On the contrary, these were fairly easy to make and turned out pretty damn good; my roommate certainly liked them given the fact that she ate 2 handfuls of them this morning for breakfast.

So that brings me to today and my continued cookie experimentation: I started with a variation of a recipe that I've used before, one for biscotti. Previously, I've made them with pistachios and dried cranberries, dipped in white chocolate, but today's version was a peanut butter chocolate biscotti. Huh man. Those were some freakin' awesome cookies... perfect for dunking in a cup of coffee as the Italian's intended. While those were cooling, I got started on the next new-to-me cookie, a triple chocolate cookie. This was the pseudo-healthy recipe I had picked out to make with the kids because I know how their mother feels about baked goods and her desire to make them as low fat as possible (no butter or oil, egg substitute instead of whole eggs, and splenda where possible).

(*Side note: I have a different, decidedly decadent chocolate cookie recipe waiting in the wings, just for me. This one is NOT to be shared so the "healthy" version is the decoy version.)

Again, these cookies turned out really well. But honestly, how bad can triple chocolate cookies be? Maybe not as rich and chewy as I would have hoped for, but still. It's chocolate.

lemon ricotta with lemon glaze

The last cookie I decided to try my hand at was a light and almost fluffy lemon ricotta cookie with a lemon glaze. I'm a big fan of lemon so this was at the top of my Must Try list; I was definitely NOT disappointed. Just sweet enough with the tart bite of fresh lemon... yum. Only problem is, I still can't decide what to make for the cookie exchange we're having at work. Guess this means I need to do some more experimenting. There's always the good old stand-by recipes that I make every year: classic chocolate chip, peanut butter (with or without thumbprints), oatmeal raisin, and my all-time favorite oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.

Hmmm... what a delicious dilemma.

(Vegan) Gingerbread Scones

First of all, let me preface this by saying I did NOT enjoy making these scones. Why not? I've been eager to try these for several days now so when I got up this morning, I thought, "What the hell?" and turned the oven on to preheat before I even started my coffee brewing.

That was my first mistake.

The second mistake was in not eating breakfast before undertaking the task of mixing this very sticky dough. If you know me at all, you know that I don't function well in the morning- especially before caffeine- and that I tend to meltdown in spectacular fashion if I don't remember to eat and my blood glucose is too low. Tackling this particular baking project (a) in the morning, (b) before massive caffeine infusions, and (3) without eating first was like a perfect (shit) storm and I'm pretty sure I scared the dog when I started yelling at the dough, throwing utensils into the sink, and hurling the dishtowel across the room. Poor Kailan... he hasn't learned to ignore my ranting like Seamus used to; Kai takes everything personally.

Now, despite my meltdown and lack of enjoyment, the final product was definitely tasty. Will I make them again? I don't see that happening anytime soon.

(Vegan) Gingerbread Scones

original recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets 

by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

Ingredients:
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (I used plain soy milk)
1 Tbs. white distilled vinegar
2 1/2 Tbs. unsulphured molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed (I don't see why you couldn't use dark brown)
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup non-dairy butter, cold (I pre-cut mine into tiny cubes)
1/3 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries
2 Tbs. crystallized ginger, diced
non-dairy milk for brushing the tops (again, I used plain soy milk)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a glass measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar, molasses, and vanilla. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to allow the vinegar a chance to "activate" the milk and essentially turn it into buttermilk.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Using 2 knives (or better yet, a pastry cutter!), cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients; it should be crumbly (not pasty) with pea-sized chunks of butter. Fold in the raisins/dried cranberries and crystallized ginger before adding the wet ingredients to the dry. Stir just to combine, being careful NOT to over mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Using your hands, shape the dough into a disk, about 9" in diameter and 1/2" thick. Now, this is where I did quite a bit of cussing at the dough because it can either be too sticky or too dry, in which case you need to add more flour (as in my case) or more milk (you'd have to do that before turning it out onto the board), working quickly so the butter inside the dough stays mostly chilled. (I'm pretty sure the molasses was the cause of the ridiculous stickiness, and I ended up sprinkling on another 1/4 cup of AP flour.) Cut the disk into 8-10 slices (like a pizza) and carefully transfer each slice to a baking sheet (mine was lined with parchment paper), giving them room to grow (maybe a 1/2" apart?). Brush the tops with milk, and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick blah blah blah. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before diving in. (The original recipe also included a maple glaze which was drizzled on after the scones were cooled. I found it to be a little too sweet, so I'm leaving that part out of the recipe.)

Enjoy!