Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies

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In general, I prefer soft cookies over crisp cookies. I love gingerbread cookies (especially along side a mug of hot chocolate) but they are always crunchy. Oh, how I've longed for a soft gingerbread cookie--one that could hold a gingerbread man shape. I've tried my hand at making gingerbread cookies from scratch before and haven't had success. Then I found this recipe and all my gingerbread dreams came true! A soft, delicious gingerbread man cookie!

Recipe slightly adapted from here.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into approximately 12 pieces and slightly softened
3/4 cup unsulphured molasses
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Pour flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda into a food processor, and process until the ingredients are combined. Place the butter pieces on top of the flour mixture and process until the mixture is sand-like. With the food processor running, slowly add the molasses and milk. Don't stop the machine until the dough is evenly moist and soft.*

Remove the dough from the food processor and divide it in half. Roll one half between two large pieces of parchment paper (dough will be very sticky) to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with the other half. Without removing the parchment paper, stack the dough on a cookie sheet and place in the freeze for 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or grease them with cooking spray. Remove one dough sheet from the freezer and remove the top parchment sheet. Cut dough into gingerbread people (or any other shape you desire; I also made snowflakes) and place them on cookie sheet, spacing them about an inch apart. Repeat with remaining dough. If the dough becomes too sticky, place it back in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. 

Bake for 8 to 11 minutes or until the center of the cookies set. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack.

Once the cookies have cooled to room temperature, decorate with royal icing, if desired. Store in an airtight container.

*The next time I make these, I'm not going to go it in the food processor. While it's easy clean up, my food processor barely accommodated all the ingredients. If you don't have a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda with a whisk in a large bowl. Drop in the butter pieces and with an electric mixer, combine the ingredients on medium-low speed until the mixture becomes sand-like. Reduce speed to low and slowly add molasses and milk. Mix until dough is evenly moist and soft. 

 Eric told me that the cookies were really good and to prove it he was going to eat them. I married myself a strange man.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Christmas 2013 Baking List

Cranberry Brownies

Chocolate Cover Cranberries

Honey Cake
Christmas Kiss Cookies 
Three Chocolate Truffles: Mint, Rum, and Orange

Cherry Snow Ball Cookies
The Best Sugar Cookies 
Stained Glass Cookies 

Honey Cake

Honey cakes are an acient dessert that can be traced back to Egypt, Greece, and Rome. It seems every culture has it's own verison: Arabs, Russians, Germans, even Brazilians. The Jews eat honey cakes for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Celts left the cakes as an offering to the Faery for Beltane. I've had only one honey cake in my life and it was very disappointing. Dry and not very sweet. But if I had known honey cakes could taste like this, I would have started making them years ago. The outside of the cake is both crisp and chewy while the inside is oh so moist.

Eric came home from work and asked me what I was baking because it smelled divine. Then he kept asking if it was done yet. After he tried a piece, he must have told me how amazing the cake was at least three times.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup honey
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup honey whiskey
3/4 cup warm water

Directions:
Preheat oven at 350.

Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. (I actually halved the recipe--yes, I put one and a half eggs in it--and used one 9-inch cake pan).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and all spice. Next, make a well in the center of the bowl and pour in oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, orange juice, whiskey, and water.

With your electric mixer on low, blend the ingredients together until well combined. Pour the batter into your pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Garnish the cake with powdered sugar, if so desired. Eric desired, so to make it Christmasy, I made a paper snowflake (flashback to my childhood) and used it for a stencil when dusting the cake with sugar.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Cake Recipes:

An Apple Cider Birthday Cake
Chocolate on Chocolate Cake 
Chocolate Swirl Cake (Made with Swiss Cake Rolls)
Rice Crispy Birthday Cake 
Starlight Mint Cake
Three Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frostin

Corn and Black Bean Skillet Chicken

I've been in a baking mood lately, not a cooking mood, which means that dinners around here have been pretty boring. Leftovers, boxed, or frozen. The other night I still didn't feel like cooking, but I craved real food. This is a nice quick recipe for those kinds of nights. It's got lots of flavor, it cooks in one pan, and fills you up.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned diced tomatoes with chiles, drained

Directions:
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, salt, and black pepper. Sprinkle the mixture on both sides of each chicken breast.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes, flip, and cook for another 5 minutes or until the juices run clear.

Add the black beans, corn, and tomatoes to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the veggies are hot.

Serve over rice, pasta, tortillas, or as is!

To be honest, I didn't think Eric would love this meal. He's generally not a fan of black beans. But he devoured it! I definitely will be making this again.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chicken Recipes:
Baked Garlic Chicken
Chicken Enchiladas with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
Chicken with a Honey Mustard Sauce
Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Lime Mustard Chicken
Orange Chicken in a Slow Cooker
Parmesan-Seared Chicken
Provincial Chicken
Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Tomato and Artichoke Chicken

Orange Slices Dipped in Chocolate

I had oranges in the fridge, I had chocolate chips in the pantry, and I thought why not. I usually pack Eric a lunch for work and they've been pretty boring lately. I thought at least the chocolate covered orange slices would be a nice change. Now, he doesn't like salted chocolate or caramel. I, however, do. So I salted half the orange and left the other half plain chocolate.

Ingredients:
1 small orange
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used sem-sweet because that's what I had.)
Sea salt, if desired

Directions:
Peel the orange and carefully separate the slices. 

In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed.

Dip half of each slice in the chocolate and place on a waxed paper lined plate or cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt if desire. Refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.

Eric said his little lunch surprise made him laugh--then he devoured them.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Fruit Recipes:
Yogurt-Covered Blueberries
Chocolate Covered Cranberries
White Chocolate Filled Raspberries
Chocolate Covered Cherries 
Candied Citrus Peels
Baked Apple Chips
Banana Chips

Sour Cream Dinner Rolls

My mom couldn't face another holiday dinner with crescent rolls (we have them every single Thanksgiving and Christmas) so along with cranberry brownies and chocolate covered cranberries, I also brought these homemade dinner rolls made with sour cream. My brother, who is an insanely picking eater, missed the crescent rolls, but no one else did. Eric has also discovered the rolls work great for making sandwiches with leftover turkey.

Recipe adopted from here.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low fat)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoon butter, melted (optional)

Directions:
In the mixing bowl of a standing mixer, add 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup lukewarm water, and dry yeast and mix. Let sit at room temperature until it's bubbly and has a sponge-like texture. In a different bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water.

Attatch the dough hook to your mixer and with the mixer on low, add the sour cream mixture to the yeast mixture. Slowly add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time. When all the flour is incorporated, pour in the 4 tablespoons of cooled melted butter. Increase the mixer's speed from low to high.

Mix for 2 to 3 minutes then turn off the mixer. With a wood spoon, scrap the dough down from the sides of the bowl. Mix for another 2 to 3 minutes on medium to high speed or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Grease a large bowl with butter or cooking spray and transfer dough to greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in voulme.

Punch down the dough with a floured fist then place it on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 20 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place them on a cookie sheet (or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for future use). Cover once more with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Bake rolls for 20 minutes or until golden. Brush with melted butter if so desired.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Bread Recipes:
Homemade Bread Sticks
Pumpkin Ale Bread
Pumpkin Bread!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug

Dark Chocolate Covered Cranberries

A Winter Thanksgiving

I have totally become addicted to these little things! You put them in your mouth and you have the sweetness of the chocolate, then you bite into them and you get this burst of tartness. I meant to bring a bunch of these to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house, but instead they only got a small tasting because I could not stop eating them. Well, I should say my mom got a small tasting. After trying one, she put them aside and said "These are for me." I doubt my dad even got to try them.

I covered mine in dark chocolate, but you could do white chocolate, milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate. 

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh whole cranberries, rinsed and dried
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or any kind of chips you'd like)

Directions:
Line cookie pan with waxed paper.

Melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed until chocolate is melted.

Pour the cranberries into the melted chocolate and gentle stir with a spatula until all the cranberries are covered in chocolate. With a fork, transfer the cranberries one by one to the cookie sheet. Place into the refrigerator until chocolate hardens.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Fruit Recipes:
Yogurt-Covered Blueberries
White Chocolate Filled Raspberries
Chocolate Covered Cherries 
Candied Citrus Peels
Baked Apple Chips
Banana Chips

Michigan Cranberry Brownies

Every October I go crazy with the pumpkin recipes. Well, I think from now on November is going to be my month to go cranberry crazy. I have always loved everything cranberry--cranberry juice, homemade cranberry sauce, cranberry jelly from a can . . . This year I'm coming across all kinds of cranberry recipes and I'm loving it--I want to try them all! So I started with this one to bring as dessert to Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. These brownies are so sweet and fudgy . . . then you bite into a cranberry and you get this pleasing tart taste that perfectly offsets all the sweetness. I love that I got to use locally grown cranberries too!

Ingredients:
4 ounces Baker's Unsweetened Chocolate
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cup fresh whole cranberries, rinsed and dried

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with foil, leaving excess foil over the ends of the dish. Grease the foil with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave on high. To ensure you don't burn the chocolate, microwave the chocolate for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat as needed.

Stir the sugar into the mixture. Add the eggs and vanilla, and with an electric handmixer blend together on low. Add flour and combine. Gentle fold in the cranberries with a spatula or spoon.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs.

Allow to cool completely then use foil to remove the brownies from the pan. Cut into squares. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Brownie Recipes:
Brownie in a Mug
Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies with a Strawberry Sauce
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
Skinny Peanut Butter Brownies