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Just Ginger Cookies, Not Gingerbread

One of the best things I've ever eaten in an airport was a ginger slice in Auckland, New Zealand. Think of a bar cookie with an almost shortbread-like crust, topped with a thick ginger icing. But this is icing with fire power -- the ginger is no afterthought and doesn't play second fiddle to molasses or cinnamon or allspice or anything else. Right about now everyone goes crazy for gingerbread with its earthy, spicy richness, chock full of molasses, nutmeg, allspice, and oh yeah, ginger. And I'm right there, too. I made a batch of molasses (really, gingerbread) cookies a couple of weekends ago from a Prudence Penny recipe from waaaaaay back. But they weren't much to talk about (um, hard and stale at the same time on day 2?). So then yesterday while doing a little DailyCandy catch up reading, I came across the Meatball Shop's Ginger Cookies recipe with a ginger lover's triple-threat: fresh, ground and, yeah crystallized. No molasses in sight! All I can say is, thank you Daniel Holzman and David Chernow.
November 13, 20110Comments

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Baking Recipes

Baked Chocolate Cake Doughnuts

After seeing all these amazing baked doughnuts on various blogs, I finally caved and bought a doughnut pan. I've made 3 batches now -- caramel apple (minus the caramel topping), and 2 chocolate ones with different cocoa. But I'm just not sold. They're more like doughnut shaped muffins. Somehow I thought this pan was going to magically make doughnut shop-like doughnuts. I can just hear Alton Brown saying, "That pan's a unitasker. You know better. A real doughnut is fried at 365 degrees for 1 minute per side." And if he said that, he would be right. But that's not where this story ends.
November 9, 20111Comment

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Main Course Recipes

Build a Better Burrito: Black Bean, Kale and Yam

  My first "Build a Better Burrito" post was more for meat eaters and focused on Alton Brown's Taco Potion #19. This time around, I'm doing a vegetarian burrito -- starring home-cooked black beans. I was a hold out on dried beans for a really long time. At New Year's, I'd make red beans and rice (yeah, I know it's technically supposed to be black-eyed peas), but I never just made beans on the regular to have them ready to go. And then, I made this pot of black beans and a light finally flicked on in my head. It took a little time, but they tasted better, cost a fraction of the canned version and froze well. I'd heard all that before, but like I said, a light flicked on.
October 27, 20110Comments

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gluten free peanut butter chocolate chip
Baking Recipes

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip
Gluten-free peanut butter chocolate chip
Is it wrong to be thinking about Christmas cookies in October? Every year holiday decorations seem to appear in stores earlier and earlier. I'm always that person who complains and shakes her head. Why can't we enjoy fall and give Halloween and Thanksgiving their due before Christmas barges in and takes over? But then again, I don't have kids yet, so Halloween passes by without much notice and for me Thanksgiving is more about the whole meal, so I'm giving myself a pass. It's ok to be thinking about Christmas cookies right now.
October 25, 20111Comment

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Main Course Recipes

Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese

Have you ever stood in the pasta aisle at your grocery store and noticed they carry 4-5 different brands of spaghetti or farfalle? Then they've got capellini, fettuccini, linguine, orecchiette, penne, orzo, and then you get down to the bottom shelf and there are the egg noodles. But where are the large elbow macaroni? Small elbows, check. Large elbows? Nope. When did the large elbow fall out of favor? Did it get pushed out by the whole wheat and rice pasta?
October 23, 20111Comment

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