Ginger Molasses Cookies

I never know whether I should use my limited free time to try new cookie recipes for Christmastime or stick with the recipes I know well, guaranteeing delicious results. I somewhat split the difference with these Ginger Molasses Cookies: these aren’t cookies I make regularly, but they probably should be.

 

There are lots of ways to make Ginger Molasses Cookies or various other ginger cookies or various other molasses cookies. I just settled on this one somewhat randomly, reduced the batch size, and substituted butter for the shortening.

I rarely have shortening in the house, so the butter swap was really more of a convenience than a hard-core culinary decision. I think I can taste the butter in the cookies, though, where perhaps the shortening would be close to flavorless. The shortening may also make a puffier cookie, where mine were thin and very soft and chewy.

 

I loved the big punch from the ginger in these cookies and the dark background of molasses. I suppose rolling the cookie dough in coarse sugar before baking isn’t absolutely necessary, but it gives the cookies a crunchy coating. And, frankly, it makes them pretty. I had a coarse, unrefined sugar on hand, but I think the sparkliest sugar you can find would make the prettiest cookies. While yumminess rules when it comes to any cookies, you know that a little bit of pretty goes a long way with your holiday sweets. Enjoy!

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

You can shape the dough or part of the dough into a disk, wrap it well, and refrigerate it for a few days or even freeze it.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground ginger

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup molasses

About ½ cup coarse sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare cookie sheets by lightly greasing or lining with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine well. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup granulated sugar and beat until well-combined, scraping the bowl at least once.

4. Beat in the egg and molasses scrape the bowl again and beat until smooth. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until completely combined.

5. Pour the coarse sugar into a small bowl. Shape the dough into balls about 1-1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll the dough balls in the coarse sugar to coat. Arrange the dough on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

6. Bake at 350 F for 8-11 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges and the tops look crackled and dry. Cool on the pan at least 1 minute. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack. The cookies will be thin and chewy.

Makes about 40 cookies.

Other recipes like this one: Chai Spice Cashew Butter Cookies, Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

 

Let the cookie-ing begin! Okay, I know. These aren’t fussy, fancy holiday works of art that everybody seems to enjoy, nay, expect, this time of year. They’re admittedly humble-looking for a Christmas cookie. They do have at least one advantage over some of those fussy, fancy concoctions, however: they taste at least as good as (if not better than) they look!

 

 

These Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies also have another advantage for some folks, and that is that, being entirely flourless, they are gluten free. Hey, why should those of us who can tolerate gluten have all the fun over the holidays? And speaking of advantages, as a gluten free option, these cookies have one more. They were never trying to substitute gluten with anything, and so do not suffer in texture the way that some (many?) baked goods made with gluten-free flours can.

I love peanut butter, so I was destined to love this recipe. The cookies get gently crisp on the outside, while staying fairly moist and just a bit sugary on the inside. The peanuts give them a nice crunch and even more delicious peanut flavor and the chocolate chunks are, as always, a totally welcome accompaniment to peanut butter. You could use chocolate chips instead, or you could gourmet things up by chopping a fancy chocolate bar and stirring that into the dough instead.

These cookies are very easy to make. While I used a stand mixer to prepare the dough, which took, like, seconds, that dough would also be very easy to make in a big bowl with a wooden spoon. I used a small cookie scoop to portion out the dough, but you could use any spoon and shape the dough into balls to make your cookies nice and round. The dough is sticky, however, but wetting your hands before handling the dough should help with that.

I found this to be a great cookie recipe to kick off my holiday cookie madness. It’s really quick and easy. I shared the cookies with a friend who avoids gluten. They got rave reviews from my own private, ahem, peanut gallery. I love peanut butter and chocolate. Winner, winner, cookie dinner!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Every Day Food Magazine

If you need this recipe to be strictly gluten free, be sure to check ingredient lists on the packages for the recipe ingredients like chocolate chips, peanut butter, and roasted peanuts to be sure they are gluten free.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon fine salt

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

½ cup roasted salted peanuts (I used lightly salted cocktail peanuts)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda, and salt. Stir until well-combined. Stir in the chocolate chunks and peanuts.

2. Lightly grease cookie sheets. Scoop the dough by heaping tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place the dough mounds about 2 inches apart. If desired, you can take the time to make more rounded balls. Gently press down on the dough mounds to flatten slightly.

3. Bake at 350 F for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the cookies are very slightly browned on the edges and the tops appear dry. Cool on the cookie sheets 3-5 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 20-24 cookies.

Other recipes like this one: Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Cups, PeanutButter Butterfinger Blondies, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Revel Bars, Chocolate Peanut Drop Cookies

One year ago: Overnight Yeasted Belgian Waffles

Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry

Here’s one more November-y recipe before I dive into the treats of December (or at least the plans for some. It looks like it’s going to be a busy month.) It’s even a fairly healthy recipe, relatively low in calories and stuffed with vegetables. It’s a spicy stir fry with spaghetti squash at its center. Really.

I found myself intrigued by several recipes I came across on the internet for spaghetti squash Chow Mein.  I was all set to gather ingredients, when I thought: why have Chow Mein when I could have Kung Pao? And so I tapped into this chicken stir fry recipe for a spicier sauce, replacing ingredients based on what I had on hand, and coming up with a rather satisfying supper.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this dish. It turns out that spaghetti squash is a really good player in stir fry. It keeps its shape, rather than turning to mush in the wok, but has a delicate texture on the tongue, not feeling stringy or extra fibrous. Its flavor is gently sweet, but mild, so that takes on the flavors of the sauce surrounding it.

In addition to the fragrant, spicy sauce (which you can vary in spiciness as desired), I threw in some other vegetables, but nothing too fancy. I think bell peppers would be a good addition, as would thinly-sliced bok choy. Whatever goes in this dish, the spaghetti squash is really the surprising star. Cooked spaghetti squash in a hot wok with a spicy sauce. Who knew? Well, now we all do!

Spicy Spaghetti Squash Stir Fry

While I like this method of roasting spaghetti squash to get the tender, noodle-like strands, use whatever method you like. Also, feel free to cook the squash ahead of time to streamline your dinner-time prep.

1 medium spaghetti squash (about 2 ½ - 3 pounds)

½ cup Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

¼ cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons honey

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

4-6 dried red chile peppers

1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, sliced or chopped

1 cup chopped green onion

½ cup peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Pierce the skin of the spaghetti squash. Place the squash on a baking sheet or in a roasting pan. Roast at 350 F for 20 minutes. Remove the squash from the oven and let cool until easy to handle. (The squash should now be easier to cut.) Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and seed membranes.

2. Return the squash to the oven and roast another 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the flesh of the squash can be scraped out to form strands. Cool the squash until easy to handle and scrape the flesh into a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a small bowl, combine the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar. Whisk in the cornstarch until the mixture is very smooth. Add the sesame oil. Set this sauce mixture aside.

4. Pour the canola or peanut oil into a wok or large skillet. Heat on high heat until very hot. Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is browned. Stir in the garlic, ginger and chiles. Cook about 30 seconds more, being careful not to burn the chiles.

5. Add the cooked spaghetti squash and water chestnuts. Cook and stir until the squash has begun to brown. Stir in the green onions and cook about 1 minute more.

6. Pour the sauce mixture into the pan and stir. Bring to a boil and cook until slightly thickened. (It should boil quickly.) Stir in the peanuts. Remove from the heat. Serve with rice.

Makes about 4 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Root Vegetable and Cabbage Stir Fry with Ginger and Lemon, Spicy Cabbage and Noodle Stir Fry, Spicy Chicken Stir Fry