Something Squirrelly this Way Comes

Last night about 5.30 I get the urge to bake. I have this recipe for chocolate gingerbread cookies that I haven't tried out and have been wanting to. I peruse the recipe - I have everything I need but the dough is supposed to chill for two hours in the fridge. Which would make it after at 8 before I could start baking. I ponder on it a bit and then decide to go ahead and make them. I'll just chill the dough in the Freezer to speed things up. I'm crafty like that ;)

So I unearth my stand mixer - a very helpful gift received some years ago - (thank you Santa!!) and start whipping my butter. See I didn't soften the butter and figure it could whip by itself a bit first before I grated in the ginger. I peel my ginger (when I cook with it, I often leave the peel on because most of it shreds away but since I planned on bringing these cookies into work, I took the extra minute to peel. Am I considerate or what?), dig out my grater and start grating. What a mess.

Typically I just dice it because I don't mind biting into a hunk of ginger. The grater I had bought some weeks ago with ginger specifically in mind was too small. The bits of ginger were sticking in the holes and only the juice was getting in the bowl. I tried scraping off the back but there wasn't much there. Scraping of the front was pointless because of the sharp edges. Besides I'd already grated my thumb (at the knuckle and by the wrist) and saw no need to grate my fingertips. After juicing a good inch of my ginger I gave up. I needed two tablespoons (making a double batch) but had maybe a quarter that - 90% of it being ginger juice. So I cut off another inch of ginger and finely dice it. If someone bites into a hunk o ginger, so be it.

I whip my butter and ginger and start sifting together my dry ingredients. Make sure that the bowl that's more than big enough for a single batch is big enough for a double batch. Also make sure that when sifting that all holes in your sifter are INSIDE the bowl. Makes clean up later much easier when you don't have spices, flour and cocoa all over the stove, the floor and yourself. I also take this time to nuke some water to dissolve my baking soda in (first time I've ever had to do this).

I add in the sugars and beat. One cup each of brown sugar and granulated sugar (double batch mind you). What? you say that I only should've added 1/2 cup of gran. sugar? You're right. I screwed up and doubled the amount of granulated sugar. But that's not even the best part. Read on and you'll see what I mean.

I beat in the molasses to my super sugary butter ginger mixture. Then half the dry ingredients and pour the hot water over my baking soda. Some of it dissolves. I stir it in the water but there are still obvious baking soda granules sitting on the bottom. So I put that bowl in the nuker, thinking that I'd just directly heat up the soda water. I recommend not Ever doing this! That stuff fizzes up Fast and you get baking soda residue all over your microwave and what didn't fizz up and out has now absored All the water and looks rather like globs of gelatin. I dump it out, make a new batch and pour it in despite it only being partially dissolved.

I beat in the rest of the flour mixture and the chocolate chips. I divide the dough in half and flatten with a rolling pin (dough between two pieces of plastic wrap - rolls out like a dream) to about a quarter inch thick (recipe says one inch). I place both slabs of dough in my freezer (it's 7.30) and start cleaning the kitchen. I also hunt up my holiday cookie cutters.

It's a gingerbread recipe, you're supposed to be able to cut out ginger people. Right? Not so much. This is one of those, grab a hunk of dough, roll into ball with your hands, place on sheet and flatten. I managed to make two shapes but they're barely recognizable as a tree and an ornament. The dough puffs up, obliterating most traces of a shape. plus it's very sticky and you often leave the top layer of dough inside the cutter. Perhaps if I just had cookie cutter outline shapes, not ones with details. Hmmm there's a thought.

I check the recipe to see the temperature I needed to pre-heat the oven to and if I needed to grease the pan. One version of this recipe says use parchment paper. I spend a good ten minutes trying to figure out that if you don't have parchment paper if you should grease the pan. I never did find the answer but I did find the same recipe (only slight variations) with nary a mention of parchment paper. This is when I discover that I had botched the recipe.

The granulated sugar is for Rolling the dough balls in before putting on the baking sheet! Not for mixing into the recipe!! Color me observant. Shoot I didn't even realize that I had doubled the gran. sugar until typing up this blog entry! Obviously I have issues with following directions. :)

I check the dough at 8.40ish and it's very firm. So I sprinkle some flour on the counter, unwrap the dough (leaving the top layer of plastic wrap on it - easier rolling) and flatten it out some more. Then I attempt to cut out a santa shape. No luck. His face sticks to the cutter. I don't know about you, but a santa cookie with a disfigured face just doesn't appeal to me. So I cave and just roll into balls and flatten with fork. For the record it's much easier to just roll into a ball and then flatten with your palms, not a fork.

The cookies are good, a little sweet though (imagine that!). Which is fortunate since I have over 50 of them!! Techincially I should've had 14 oz of chocolate but I only had a 12 oz bag of chips so I can't blame the sweetness on them. It's gotta be that extra cup of sugar. Although the texture is good, so at least I didn't screw that up too. The ginger is only a slight spiciness in the background of the sweetness. I'm sure if I had added ginger pulp instead of just the juice it'd be a better contrast. Well that and not adding an extra cup of sugar :) Anyway, here's the recipe.


Chocolate Gingerbread Drop Cookies

7 oz semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup dark brown sugar packed
1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar (for rolling dough in before baking)

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer,fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

3. In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

4. Heat oven to 325°. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.