Pumpkin Molasses Sandwich Cookies

By My Baking Addiction
YIELD: 24 sandwich cookies 
PREP TIME: 20 minutes plus chill time COOK TIME: 7-9 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the Cookies

2 1/3 cups Gold Medal all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon homemade pumpkin pie spice
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup molasses
2/3 cup pure pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

For the Filling

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

For the Cookies

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

2. Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar, molasses, and pumpkin puree and beat for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg and beat for 1 minute more.

3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the flour and spices disappear. If flour remains in the bottom of the bowl, mix the last of the dry ingredients by hand to avoid over beating. You will have a very soft dough.

4. Divide the dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, or refrigerate for at least 1 hour. The dough is sticky, so the longer time it can chill the easier it is to work with.

5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 24 pieces (or use a small cookie scoop), and roll each piece into a ball. Roll the balls in the sugar, then place dough balls on prepared cookie sheets and use a the bottom of a glass to ever-so-gently press down on the cookies. Do not over crowd.

7. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 7-9 minutes, or until the top feels set to the touch. Remove baking sheets from the oven. Let cookies cool 5 minutes on the sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack.

8. Repeat with second batch of dough.

For the Filling

1. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and confectioners' sugar. Mix on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, increase speed to medium-high and mix for about one minute. Add in vanilla and continue mixing on low speed until vanilla in fully incorporated.

2. To assemble the cookies, pipe or spread the filling on the bottom of one cookie. Top with another cookie and press together gently to create a sandwich cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies.

NOTES:

- Cookies will keep in an airtight within the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

YIELD: about 5 tablespoons

INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice

1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine spices in a small bow, mix well to combine. Store in a small jar or spice container.

Copyright © My Baking Addiction

Scones and/or Short Bread w/ Strawberries & Cream

I just love scones. For some reason, I can’t eat things that are too sweet. I guess that’s a good thing for me regarding weight. Scones are buttery and hit the spot but I can’t seem to make them right.  I have tried with varying degrees of success but perhaps I wasn’t putting enough emphasis on cold ingredients, how much or fast to mix and how long to bake. As a beginner cook, I am realizing just how important these techniques are along with these variables.

The best scones I’ve ever had was at an English Tea hosted by Old Westbury Gardens located in Old Westbury, NY. The scones were tinted brown so I must assume they used brown sugar and/or molasses. Sugar was sprinkled on top and they were so moist and flakey. I am going to attempt to make them once again and we’ll see how I do.

This 2012 Christmas Season, Old Westbury Gardens expanded their Cream Tea schedule from one night to a few during the week. Reservations are necessary. Included are tea, clotted cream and scones. "Cream Tea and Tour 11:00 am  Call a group of friends and relatives and enjoy a cream tea, which features scones, clotted cream and jam, and tea.  Then take a tour with one of our wonderful Volunteer Docents of the Magical Westbury House.  Each room is designed and decorated by our very talented horticultural staff.  Natural greenery is used extensively adding a wonderful aroma of the season.  What a wonderful way to get everyone together at holiday time.  End the tour shopping in our unique Gift Shop. Reservations only - please state date and time.  $15.00 per person; groups of 10 or more and members $13.00.  For registration please call (516) 333-0048 Ext. 301

I saw this recipe, courtesy of Ina Garten, which is really for short cakes but can be used for scones as well. Add whipped cream to a martini glass and fresh cut strawberries on top to serve with the short cakes and you have a new version of Strawberry Shortcake.

Ingredients

12 TBs (2 sticks of butter) Cold, diced

2 cups flour

2 TBS sugar

1 TB Baking Powder

1 Tsp Salt

½ cup heavy cream

3 eggs (2 for the mixture)

PREP: 

Cut the cold butter the long way. Turn and cut the short ways until you have diced, squares of butter. Mix 2 eggs and the heavy cream together.

DRY INGREDIENTS:

Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the sifter and sift right into the Kitchen Aid bowl. Add cold butter and mix slowly with mixer until the butter is pea sized. When the dough is perfect, add the wet ingredients slowly as it’s mixing. Don’t over mix!

TIP

Adding the diced cold butter, helps it stay in bits in the dough so that the steam from baking melts it, making the dough rise so it’s light and flakey.

Put some flour on a board and place roll the dough in the flour, into a ball so some of the flour gets into it. When the dough is sticky, the dough is good.

If you’re making scones, pinch off a good sized piece and add to a greased cookie sheet. For the Strawberry Shortcakes, cut the dough with a round, cookie cutter and placed on a greased cookie sheet. Add the egg wash (see below) and bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. DO THIS ALL QUICKLY SO THE BUTTER DOESN’T HAVE TIME TO MELT.

TIP

Make an egg wash for the top of the short cakes and/or scones. It will brown them nicely. Also, add sugar on top to make then crunchy.

PREP: Egg wash

Add 1 egg with 2 TB of water and mix it up well. Take a pastry brush and do the tops of the short cakes or scones.

FOR STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES:

Add whip cream to a martini or wine glass and add fresh cut strawberries on top. Serve with the short cakes as a new spin on Strawberry short cake.

SCONES:

Add some brown sugar in place of the regular sugar.

French String Bean Salad by Ina Garten

Ingredients

1 ½ cups of French String Beans

2 TB good Dijon Mustard

2 TB White Wine Vinegar

½ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Fresh ground black pepper

2 TB Olive Oil

2 TB fresh, chopped Dill

Pour string beans into a pot of boiling water for around one minute or until they are tender but still a bit crisp, not soggy. Remove beans from water and place into a bowl of icy water.

TIP

Placing hot, boiled beans (or broccoli) in icy water stops them from cooking and it maintains the green color.

To make the dressing, add the Dijon Mustard to a glass bowl. Then add the white wine vinegar, salt and ground black pepper. Whisk together and then slowly add the olive oil while whisking which will make an emulsion.

Drizzle over the string beans and add fresh, chopped Dill on top.

TIP
A mixture of one liquid with another with which it cannot normally combine smoothly — oil and water being the classic example. Emulsifying is done by slowly (sometimes drop-by-drop) adding one ingredient to another while at the same time mixing rapidly. This disperses and suspends minute droplets of one liquid throughout the other. Emulsified mixtures are usually thick and satiny in texture. Mayonnaise (an uncooked combination of oil, egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice) and HOLLANDAISE SAUCE (a cooked mixture of butter, egg yolks and vinegar or lemon juice) are two of the best-known emulsions.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry#ixzz1vYP3kqqg

Easy Oven Risotto

I feel like a bear. No, that's not a misspelling. I didn’t mean beer although I've never tried cooking while drinking. THAT could be interesting. I meant like a bear because I’ve been in hibernation all winter and haven’t added much to my cooking blog. Well, I am BACK and ready to add more recipes including a TIPS section as am I learning more about the process of cooking as I go along.

Some of the recipes I was going to add as winter dishes was my mom’s split pea and dumpling soup, KooKoo which is like polenta with split pea, her home made bread and fish broth. All of these are West Indian inspired as my parents are from Grenada W. I.

For today, I am sticking with the basics and since I have left over Chicken breasts, I am going to make this easy recipe for Risotto. I just love this moist, pasta like rice but it’s a pain to make with all the stirring that goes into it. I can make it easily in my pressure cooker but I'm not always around a pressure cooker. I was inspired by this oven baked recipe from Barefoot Contessa. It’s easy and it works! The risotto is al dente as it should be without all the stirring and fussing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 ½ cup Arborio Rice

4 cups of Chicken Stock –preferably home made

½ white wine (sugg. Pinot Grigio)

3 TB butter diced up

1 cup Parmesan cheese-the key to Risotto

Green peas, artichoke, broccoli bits or spinach

2 Tsp salt

1 Tsp pepper

Pour the rice and just 3 cups of chicken stock into a dutch oven pot and place in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. When it is done, it’s should be al dente, add last cup of stock which is kept warm.

Next add the white wine, diced butter so it melts into the Risotto, Parmesan, salt and pepper and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Next you can add frozen peas or bits of cooked broccoli or spinach and stir. 

Mexican inspired, Healthy Meatloaf

Boring? Meatloaf? Nah. Not when you can jazz it up! And, make it healthy while you're at it. I use ground turkey instead of ground beef so there's less fat and cholesterol. But, it's never as good as ground beef and more mushy. So, I add more ingredients such as SALT, to make it taste more like the real thing. Then I add some pinto beans, chili powder and other ingredients, and I have to say, it tastes quite good. It's easy to make and well, not all that boring either!


Ingredients
-ground turkey 1/2 lb.
-1 egg
-half cup of milk (or more until you get the proper consistency)
-1 cup bread crumbs
-chopped onion
-minced garlic
-2 tsp salt or to taste
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tsp ground mustard
-1 tsp Sage
-1 tsp Cilantro
-1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Place in loaf pan. I use the, Perfect Meatloaf pan so the fat drains out of the meatloaf and to the bottom of the pan. Put ketchup on top and some honey BBQ sauce. 

Bake for 1 hour. Serve with corn bread for a real, Mexican-esqe pairing. 

Enjoy

How to Chop an Onion

How to Chop an Onion-YouTube Video by Gordon Ramsay