Happy Thanksgiving
It’s a typical thanksgiving day at the geek house. The genius husband is upgrading our laptops to the Ignorant Ibex…otherwise known throughout the land as the Intrepid Ibex. Dexter woke up and said “pie me”. I downed my usual massive dose of caffeine and then settled at the table to read yesterday’s food section as I ate a delectable piece of pecan pie, and Dave and Alex have already had pie too. In our house thanksgiving is an incredibly laid back day in which we eat pie whenever we want and then around 2:00 we dig into a simple meal of turkey, stuffing (that is not stuffed), green beans, gravy, and dinner rolls. Yes it is a carb fest and you might as well know right now that if the men had their way the green beans would be shunned and banished…they’re for me, as is the weirdly delicious cranberry chutney.
I enjoyed the If Pilgrims Went To Business School article in the NY Times. I’ll be delegating a few chores today too. Sweet Husband will load the dishwasher multiple times, Alex is in charge of beverages, Dex will set the table, and Lovejoy is like the crazy old Aunt…always getting in the way and demanding to go in and out.
Thanksgiving is all about managing expectations…as long as you realize that the meal will not be perfect and the presentation and any familial interactions will not in any way resemble anything that has, is, or will be iconically represented in the pages of a glossy magazine, then you too can enjoy the great American holiday.
Here’s my recipe for success:
4 pies in store bought crusts the night before…they’ve had plenty of time to chill.
Serve a unique and tasty cranberry chutney from this recipe.
Make these simple dinner rolls.
Make a delicious and simple stuffing using bread cubes, onions, celery, and herbs…it is perfect.
Roast the turkey (breast down) until the instant-read Thermapen reads 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don’t over-indulge on champagne…serve just the right amount throughout the day.
Don’t bother with food no one cares about (mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes…jello!!!).
Equal Pay For Equal Work Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
I know that over the years there has been much talk on the internets regarding the lack of accuracy in Martha Stewart’s recipes. I always figured there was some truth to it but that some portion could be attributed to personal tastes, preferences, and perceptions and it was no biggie. I rarely follow a recipe and so I’ve never had an issue with it. But a few months ago I checked out Martha Stewart’s Cookies book from the library and I loved it, so much that I returned it overdue and had to pay a fine. Last week I bought a copy for myself thinking I would use it as I always do, a reference to guide me.
Typically I choose an item to bake and then I pull 3 or 4 recipes from my bookshelf, the internets, and the library. I compare and contrast the components of each, make adjustments, and add my own something-something that screams Vanessa. I scribble it down in my notebook, bake it up, and move on. However, that’s a time consuming practice fraught with the perils of distraction wherein I lose hours browsing my way through books and the internets on subjects far from my intended topic.
As I’ve been kind of busy lately I just decided to throw caution to the wind and follow the recipe exactly. Wouldn’t you know the damn thing confounded me with two descriptions that just seemed totally inappropriate and I ended up making adjustments and noting them in the margins. Honestly, that will be the last time I ditch my method and follow a recipe blindly. Despite all that I still love Martha, mostly because she’s a kick-ass, alpha female… smart, tough, and talented. But since I reworked the recipe I decided to rename it too…my prerogative.
I love Martha’s technique for rolling the cookies in granulated sugar before rolling them in the powdered sugar. It makes the powdered sugar really cling to the cookies. I don’t understand why except that perhaps it provides more texture? Any ideas out there? The overnight stay in the refrigerator helps make the insides chewy and dense. Beating the eggs, butter, and sugar until fluffy and light gives them that high dome and lightness. This cookie has it all, deep rich chocolate flavor, a chewy middle and crispy outside surfaces, powdered sugar to get all over your face, plus they politely remind us about the wage disparity issue…all good things.
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
printer friendly version
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup milk
1 cup powdered sugar for rolling
1 cup granulated sugar for rolling
Note: Once the cookie dough is mixed it will need to chill for at least a few hours… I recommend an overnight stay in Chez Refrigerator.
Put the chocolate in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave. Cook for 2 minutes on temperature level 7. Set it aside.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Using a mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together until they are well combines. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the melted chocolate and mix to combine well. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined.
The dough should be pretty thick and heavy now. Leave it in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator for its overnight stay or at least until really very firm (see note above).
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the dough when it is properly chilled and using either a tablespoon cookie scoop or just a normal tablespoon shovel up heaping tablespoons of dough and then roll them in your hands to create a ball (about ¾ the size of a ping pong ball). Drop it into a bowl of granulated sugar and roll it around to cover it then transfer it to a bowl of powdered sugar and roll it around again. Place it on a parchment or a silpat lined baking sheet, spacing each cookie about 1.5 inches apart. Bake for about 11-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them rest for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.
Hermit cookies
I think we’re about two weeks out from Thanksgiving, about 5 weeks from the Christmas season, and about 31 business days from the end of the year. All of which indicates that it’s time to bake cookies. I’m going to bake cookies this year and I’m going to bake cookies I’ve never baked before.
I’m starting off with the hermit cookie because as I read through the recipe it was obvious that they would offer an incredible spicy flavor and a chewy texture; the combination of the two promises a comforting sweet treat that is perfect for these dark, late fall days.
Naturally I substituted dried cranberries for the traditional raisins and I tossed in some pecans because it seemed like the right thing to do. The finished product is deeply and intensely spicy with a texture that is addictive. I especially like the brown sugar frosting that gives away with a bit of crunch an instant before your teeth sink into the dense ginger interior. If you like ginger then these easy-peasy bar cookies are for you.
Hermit Cookies
printer-friendly version
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup pecans, rough chopped
Brown Sugar Icing
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, plus more if needed
Preheat oven to 350º. Line the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and butter the sides.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and cloves and set aside.
Fit your mixer with the paddle attachment and cream the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add the eggs and mix until light and fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla and mix well. Add the flour mixture and mix just long enough to combine thoroughly. Dump in the cranberries and pecans and whirl about for 30 seconds or so…juest enough to get good distribution.
Now comes the hard part…this recipe is much more suited to a drop cookie because of its denseness…but it excels as a bar cookie …so dump the cookie dough into 4 piles on the baking sheet and slowly and methodically spread it out until it cover the entire sheet. Patience will pay off here. Bake for about 15 minutes and then cool on a rack.
For the icing you’ll cook the brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; whisk in vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. If icing is too thick to drizzle, stir in more milk, a teaspoon at a time. If icing is too thin, stir in more confectioners’ sugar, a teaspoon at a time. Let cool slightly.
Drizzle bars with icing. Let them sit for at least 15 minutes before cutting into bars.
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