Big Soft Ginger Cookies

I worked a half day from home which allowed my a lovely afternoon for baking, catching up on emails, making a photo book of my trip to Nicaragua (post coming soon!) and generally just enjoying being home. 

This recipe was one of my favorites growing up. Soft, a little chewy, and filled with spice. It's very challenging not to eat them all in one sitting! 

The batch only makes a little over 2 dozen cookies (using a small scoop), so I usually double the recipe. 

Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Adapted from my Mamma!
Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies 

3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco or butter (I use butter, unsalted. If you use salted butter, decrease salt slightly)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses

2 1/4 cup flour (I split this half/half with whole wheat flour)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar for rolling the cookies. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover sheet pans with parchment paper. 

Combine butter and sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix to combine. Add molasses and mix to combine. 

Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and whisk to combine. 

Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients a little at a time until combined. 

Using a small scoop (or two spoons, whichever is your preference!), scoop out small balls of dough. I usually go for about a ping pong ball size or a little smaller. Make them as big or as small as you'd like.  Roll dough in sugar and place on cookie sheet. Lightly press cookies down with your fingers or palm. 

Bake for approximately 12 minutes. Rest briefly on cookie sheet (2 minutes) and then transfer to wire cooling racks. Cookies will be a little soft when they come out but will firm up slightly as it cools. 

Enjoy!

Jacked Up Banana Bread & Spiced Apple Sauce Cake

After some good travel catch-up yesterday, here are a few new recipes I tried last week:

Jacked Up Banana Bread

Modified, with lots of love, from SmittenKitchen

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed I used 2 because that's all I had. I augmented the lack of banana's with a half a cup of apple sauce left over from my spice cake.

1/3 cup melted salted butter I read this wrong and only used 1/2 a cube (4 tablespoons)... I highly recommend using the correct amount. 

3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar I used 3/4 but would have preffered it sweeter. I recommend 1 cup. 

1 egg, beaten I used 2 because that's what my usual recipe calls for. 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon bourbon

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch of ground cloves

1 1/2 cup of flour I split this half and half whole wheat flour and all purpose. 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve. 

If you are sensing a theme with where I get my recipes, you are correct. I am having a love affair with Smitten Kitchen. Although it has not quite achieved the same depths of love I have for Joy of Cooking. You just can't go wrong there!

Spiced Applesauce Cake

Modified, only slightly this time but also with love, from Smitten Kitchen

This cake came together in a cinch and with a lovely thick layer of cream cheese frosting was quite lovely. That said, I wanted a bit more punch from the spices. It came across as a very lightly flavored cake (both on the apple sauce and spice front). Therefore, I would encourage you to add more of both or perhaps chopped apples to get that good apple spice flavor. 

For cake

2 cups all-purpose flour Again, I split 50/50 with whole wheat and all purpose flour.

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon I recommend 1 tablespoon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger I recommend 1 teaspoon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves I recommend 1/4 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon nutmug

1 stick  unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 cup chopped apples, any variety (approximately 1 apple)

1/2 cup walnuts (optional), toasted, cooled, and chopped

For frosting

5 ounces cream cheese, softened Really, who is going to only use 2/3 of a cream cheese box. Induldge and just use the whole thing!

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 (1 teaspoon) teaspoon cinnamon I completely forgot to use this. I bet it would be delightful. Also, perhaps Maple Syrup extract?

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray a 8- or 9-inch square cake pan.

Make cake: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined, then stir in apples and walnuts (if using). The batter will look a little curdly and uneven but don’t worry, it will all bake up perfectly in the end.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. 

Make frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until fluffy. Sift confectioners sugar and cinnamon over cream cheese mixture, then beat at medium speed until incorporated. Spread frosting over top of cooled cake.

Restful Friday

What a glorious day to stay home and be in my jammies all day. Hubs stayed home too and we are loving every bit of this misty, fall day. Staying home all day for me almost always involves some amount (or a lot!) of baking or cooking. Today is no exception and recipes are included!

Last night (after an encouraging FB post from my cousin Joy), I made a the batter for these Pumpkin Molasses cookies. Mine didn't turn out quite as crackly as the picture leads you to believe, but they are quite moist and very yummy. Peter described them as a little round pumpkin bread. 

I modified the recipe slightly, but otherwise basically the same. I think if I made again, I would try splitting the flour with whole wheat and regular flour. 

Pumpkin Molasses Cookies

YIELD: 24 cookies (mine made closer to 36, although I probably made mine a bit smaller)

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 tsp black pepper (I ommitted the pepper, seemed weird)

8 Tbs butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup molasses

2/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 large egg (I added 2 eggs instead of one, just because)

1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

DIRECTIONS:

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

2. Working with a stand mixer, 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. 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.

3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and 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. I just left the dough in the fridge overnight, mostly because I was falling asleep. It worked just fine in the morning. 

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. Put the sugar in a small bowl. Working with one packet of dough at a time, divide it into 12 pieces, and roll each piece into a ball. Roll the balls in the sugar and use a the bottom of a glass to press down on the cookies until they are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Transfer to cookie sheets. 

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12-14 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.

7. Repeat with second batch of dough.

Having a excess of yummy apples from my Farmers Box (we use Tonnemaker Farms), I made one of Peter and my's favorite cakes, my Auntie Mel's Apple Cake. 

Auntie Mel's German Apple Cake

Modified with love

3 large eggs

1 c. oil (I use canola)

2 c. sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (my modification)

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

4 c. diced apples (be generous, this cake is fantastic if FILLED with apples)

Optional ½ to 1 c. walnuts (I dont' use any!)

Beat eggs and oil till foamy. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, soda and salt. Mix well with a mixer. Add apples (and nuts). Pour into greased pan (13 x 9) for 60 min. Bake at 350. If you are feeling indulgent (which really, why wouldn't you?), when cool, frost with icing below.

Icing

1 3 oz pkg cream cheese

1 ½ T. melted butter

½ t. vanilla

¾ to 1 c. powdered sugar

Combine until creamy. Frost cake when cool.

Perfectly delicious on a cool fall day. 

Vancouver, British Columbia

This is the view out my window today:

A bit less than a week ago, this was the view out my window:

Last weekend (and into early this week), I was in Vancouver, BC attending the Project Management Institute (PMI) Global Congress. I'm a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), so this conference was a opportunity to certified and have a chance to gain new learning in the Project Management field. It was a great conference overall with some really fantastic keynote speakers. We also had the following "entertainment" at the awards banquet Saturday night:

Just wow. All I can say. 

In addition to attending the conference, we of course had to eat! Having been to Vancouver a few times before, I had never really found any places to eat that I really liked. This time around, we did our research and didn't have a bad meal once! 

Saturday night we ate at a great sushi restaurant on West Broadway called Tojo's. Oh.em.gee. I'm not usually a huge sushi fan, but I do like rolls and I could eat edamame all day. I ordered the Northern Light Roll (Wild prawn tempura, avocado and seasonal fruit rolled in a cucumber crepe) and it was amazing! I also tried a bit of the tuna belly sashimi from my friend Katie and it was also SO-GOOD! 

Sunday night, we went to a little wine bar in Gastown called Salt Tasting Room. Tiny and down a slightly dark creepy alley, but once inside it was fantastic. Cheese, meat, condiments and wine. That's about it. But everything is beautifully paired with everything else so you get a fantastic little meal. 

With the wine bar's pairings being rather small, it was really a perfect pre-dinner kind of location. So we went down the street to a sister restaurant to Salt called the Irish Heather. Great little pub with really yummy food. I went with a Guinness and originally ordered a steak and Guinness pie, but their over went on the fritz so I ended up with a cider braised pork chop with Brussels sprouts. YUM!

My other little favorite place was a little bakery, Villaggio Cafe right along my running route (I am proud to say I ran all 4 days I was in Vancouver! Loved being able to run along the waterfront to Stanley Park!). We happened to hit it two mornings in a row right as they brought their muffins and scones out of the over. SO GOOD! 

Fried Chickin'

We stayed in last year for our anniversary instead of going out and found it to be supremely enjoyable so this year we decided to have a repeat. Peter requested Fried Chicken for our dinner this year. Our general plan to to recreate some fried chicken sliders we had a Koral in Bellevue. I did a little looking around on my favorite blogs and settled on this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Let me just tell you: WOW. All I need to say.

Oh restful weekend!

Seems I am long overdue for a blog posting! This weekend Peter and I enjoyed an oh-so-relaxing weekend that pretty much started Friday morning. We both had to work Friday but I was able to work remotely due to an afternoon appointment in Bellevue so I drove into work with Peter (we love carpooling when it works out!). This involved stopping for donuts at Top Pot, really can't go wrong there. Work day over, we finished the day in downtown Kirkland with pizza at Zeeks and a movie (The Bourne Supremacy) at home on the couch. WIN.

Saturday was the epitome of relaxation for us. Me at yoga in the morning. Pete sleeping in. Leisurely breakfast (OK brunch) at noon. Stayed in our jammies and watched another movie (Mr. & Mrs. Smith). Got a few chores done. Pete puttered on his computer and I cooked. Oh and I cooked. I love weekends when I have time to cook. I had a bunch of stone fruit so decided to make a simple tart. Just a little puff pastry and sliced fruit fanned out all pretty.

I had stopped at the farmers market in Woodinville after yoga and picked up some veggies. Those added with some from the garden and I had a beautiful start to a Pasta Primavera. Just roasted them in the over with a little EVOO, salt, pepper, garlic and chili flakes and oh-my-sweet-lord delicious. Because it was Saturday and I had the time, I broke out the pasta maker and made homemade pasta (really much easier when you have something to do the rolling).

Sunday we decided to be a bit more productive and take a hike. I've had this book on my bookshelf for years but really never used it. We decided to pick Big Lake Grieder. It's about an hour or so drive from us to the trail head (or so we thought, but I'll get there). The drive is really pretty out Highway 2 to Sultan and drives out along Lake Spada (the parking lot is right next to Lake Spada). 

Our book indicated the trail head was basically .2 miles from the parking lot. Well, as it turns out the road used to go right up to the trail head but hasn't actually been in service for who knows how long (lesson learned: always look up current trail information). So what was supposed to be a 2.5 mile hike to the lake ended up being a 3 mile hike to the trail head. By the time we got to the real trail head, we didn't really have enough time (mostly due to the time of day) to hike all the way up to the lake, hang out and then hike the 6+ miles back to the car. We'd really only planned on a 5 mile day not a 10+ mile day. Oh well, the hike to the trail head was actually rather pleasant and we got some lovely views of Lake Spada instead. 

And there is just something about a good hike that makes me want nice greasy food. So we finished our day and our weekend at the Blazing Onion in Mill Creek for dinner. YUMMY!

Double Barbecue Pizza

Last week, Peter and I had our oh-so-favorite BBQ at Stan's in Issaquah. Amazing. We intentionally ordered a lot so we'd have leftovers (because leftover Stan's is almost equally as good as the first time around). Although instead of just eating the leftovers cold, dipped in BBQ sauce we decided to make a BBQ pizza. I called it Double Barbecue Pizza because we used BBQ and we cooked the pizza on the grill. I seriously LOVE my pizza stone.

We actually made two pizza's on Sunday Night, the BBQ pizza and a simple margarita. The margarita was good, but the BBQ pizza was simply amazing. When we made the pizza again on Wednesday, we used the rib meet instead of the pulled pork and cut the apple slices a little thicker. Both were excellent modifications!

When I make home-made pizza, I either use the Joy of Cooking pizza recipe or one I got from a class at Sur la Table.

Pizza Dough
Modified from Sur La Table class. Original Recipe from Peter Reihart's Artisan Breads Every Day

4 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I use 00 Italian flour when I have it)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil

Recipe Notes: In the original recipe both the honey and olive oil are optional. I always add them and love the flavor. Also, the original recipe called for 5 1/3 cups bread flour. I really like the 00 flour and recently have really enjoyed subbing one cup of whole wheat flour. Adds a nice earthly bite to the crust.

The recipe is simple enough, you can just put all the ingredients in a Kitchen Aid bowl, mix for approximately 1 minute, rest for 5 minutes, then switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes. The last time I made this dough, I briefly let the yeast bloom in the warm water with the honey and then added it to the other ingredients.

After mixing, spread a little olive oil on your work surface and transfer dough to the oiled surface. Briefly (and I mean briefly) shape the dough into a ball. Divide the dough into desired sizes. The batch makes approximately 5 or 6 twelve inch pizzas (of the super thin variety). You can then more or less use the dough immediately (although I usually let the dough rest for about an hour) or throw it in some small plastic bags (spritzed with cooking spray) and then put 'em in the freezer. They last in the freezer for several months and defrost very easily.

Double Barbecue Pizza

1 pizza dough
Pulled Pork or Rib Meat removed from the bone
Chopped or thinly sliced red onions
BBQ Sauce (we used something on the spicy side)
Roasted Garlic (whole heads of garlic roasted in the oven for about an hour)
Sliced Apples
Fresh Mozzarella
Freshly grated parm
Basil (chopped and added just after the pizza comes out of the oven or grill)

Lightly dust a board or pizza peel with flour and place your pizza dough. Shape dough as desired. I usually light push the pizza dough outward with my fingers. Rolling pins work great too!
As to the toppings, I just eye balled all the amounts. Whatever looks yummy to you! As the crust was pretty thin, I tried not to pile the toppings too high.

I cook my pizza on a pizza stone. I highly recommend purchasing one. They are usually under $50 and make the biggest difference in the crust. I believe you can achieve a similar result by using a sheet pan flipped over although I have never tried. I use my pizza stone in the oven and on the grill. In either case, I pre-heat the stone for 30+ minutes on the high (500 degrees in the over or just high on the grill).

Once the oven or grill is hot and the pizza is topped with yummy goodness, gently slide the pizza off the peel or board onto the stone (this is why the flour on the board is important!). Cook until the cheese is bubbly and the bottom looks brown. It's usually approximately 10 minutes for my grill and more like 15 minutes for my oven.

ENJOY!

Foodie Pen Pals | April Edition

I am behind the times! This month has been so crazy I almost forgot to post about my Foodie Pen Pal for this month! Eeek!

For this month, I was paired with two lovely ladies. I sent my box to Sarah at the Smart Kitchen. You can check out what I sent her here. I was lucky enough to receive a box from Beatriz from Delectable Nonsense. Check out what she sent me!

 My lovely little assortment! Lots of yummy sweet items!

These are almost melt in your mouth deliciousness. I may or may have not eaten the whole box.

I told Beatriz that I loved lemon and she got this lovely green tea with lemon. She recommended it was lovely when she is sick for helping with a sour throat. I love tea and I love lemon, so this is perfect!

Okay, seriously. Raspberry Peach CHAMPAGNE jam. OK, I die. So yummy sounding. Can't wait to make scones so I can try  with them! Also, the Chili Con Queso sounds amazing too! What I love about both these products is they are all natural and have no weird ingredients. Fabulous!

Seriously, the largest whoopee pie I have ever seen and it's Red Velvet people. It got a little squished on the plane trip over, but otherwise totally awesome. You know you want one.

A great month for Foodie Pen Pals! I will be skipping the month of May as I will be on vacation when I need to send the box out, but if you are interested in participating, check out the details below!

Farmers Markets!

As I'm slowly getting my yard and garden ready for Spring and Summer, I'm also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Farmers Markets! We have a couple year-round markets in Seattle, but for the most part our Farmers Markets are limited to late spring, summer and early fall. I'm a regular at at least three! I keep them all on my calendar in case I happen to be in a different neighborhood. I also love that we have Farmers Markets that occur during the week. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Saturday market, but they are usually VERY crowded and honestly, I don't want to get up early enough to avoid the crowds. 

Here are my favorites and ones I visit the most!

Mukilteo

Wednesdays, June - September, 3-7pm

Right on the waterfront, in "downtown" Mukilteo. I usually go after work, get some Whidbey Island Ice Cream, fresh fruit and veggies and of course some flowers!

Bellevue

Thursdays, May 10 - Oct 11,  3-7 pm

Love this market! It's a little bit bigger, lots of veggie vendors and usually lots of good restaurants set-up so you can have dinner at the market. If you are lucky, Molly Moon shows up as well.

Juanita

Fridays, May 11 - October 5, 3-7pm

This one is in the neighborhood I grew up in. I usually go with my parents, pick up stuff for dinner, then head back to their house to relax. On the smaller side, but it's a nice neighborhood market.

Woodinville

Saturdays, May - October, 9am-3pm

This is actually the closest market to me, but it's very small. I think most of the vendors in the area are over at the Redmond market which is MUCH bigger. But I still like the Woodinville market because it's close to home and I can always get some pretty flowers.

Ballard

Sunday, Year-Round ,10am-3 pm

The Ballard market actually meets all year, but in the summer I've found it to have lots more vendors and it is oh-so-fun! If I'm heading into town for a Farmers Market, then this one is my favorite. As a bonus, it's located right in historic old Ballard so there are tons of other fun little shops and restaurants.

Edmonds

Saturdays, May - October, 9am-3pm

This can be a very busy market as well, but is quite wonderful, especially if you want an "Edmonds kind of day!" Can't go to wrong here. Great to just wander around, then walk down to the Edmonds waterfront, catch a ferry or have picnic. 

A few other good links for other local markets:

Seattle Markets

Snohomish County Markets

Enjoy!

Foodie Pen Pals March

It's time for Foodie Pen Pals! This month I was paired with two lovely ladies (one to send to and one to received from). I sent a box to Ms. Travel Expert Rachel over at Travel Challenge. Check out her blog to see what I sent her! If you missed it, part of my box to Julia was a special travel tribute a posted a few weeks back. You can check that out here.

I received a box from the oh-so-lovely Julia at A Girl with a Stethoscope. She sent me an ah-may-zing box! So fun! She sent me a box of fabulous snacky goodness including some of my favorites (and soon to be NEW favorites). Check out the details below:

Look at all that yumminess!

How did she know I LOVE these two flavors??

Seriously, Sleepytime Vanilla is the BEST. I haven't tried the Acai Mango yet, but I love anything by Celestial Seasonings.

New favorite! These are addicting and delicious. So light but such a good munchie snack!

Really, who doesn't love some animal crackers? Plus those almonds are super yummy too!

Oh-so-sweet note from Julia!

Thank you Julia for such a great box! You couldn't have picked better items for me. My desk at work is filled with your snacks and I am enjoying them daily! THANK YOU!

Do you want to be a Foodie Pen Pal? I promise, you will love it! Check out the details here.