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I haven't been scrutinizing what I've been eating lately, and ate whatever I wanted to (pretty clean foods except for the cookies and rice and stuff...), but it's Christmas! After all, indulging when you want to once in a while shouldn't be something to feel guilty about. To be honest, even though I've made this lifestyle change, I don't believe I'm too hardcore about it. I'm not really restrictive about my diet and I'm naturally not drawn to processed or packaged foods. I have a major sweet tooth, and usually I just make healthier cookies or mug cakes to ease the cravings; BUT there are times when I do cave and eat pastries or cookies from the bakery or supermarket. It's easy to resist, but since I actually want to eat it, I don't hesitate.
Food feeds and warms the soul, so enjoy yourselves this holiday season :)
Here is Part Deux of my holiday baking spree: perfect gingersnaps and brown sugar almond biscotti! My hazelnut macarons are in the making and the piped rounds are still setting, so hopefully those bake well!
Elissa from 17 and Baking wrote that these gingersnaps are her most favorite cookies ever; and for that reason--and since gingersnaps seemed fitting for the holidays--I spent half a day baking about 5 dozen or so gingersnaps. I don't recall ever eating gingersnaps before, so this is a first for me--baking and eating them.
And I love them.
Not too sweet (except for the few I rolled excessively in raw sugar) and with the perfect crispy yet chewy texture, these gingersnaps are purely addicting. You can't just have one, you reach for more, and more, and more...and you lose count. I slightly burned a small batch, then gave myself the excuse that I had to eat them all so I can package the nice cookies for my friends...so I did.
Last year a friend asked me what my favorite thing to eat was, and I said cookies. He proceeded to ask me why such a simple thing as cookies and not something fancy like creme brulee, layered mousse cake, or such, and I replied "because I can't bake good cookies." Terribly true. I can't get the same chewy denseness as the store-bought chocolate chip cookies. My cookies usually turned out to be muffin tops. I couldn't call them cookies.
But these gingersnaps boosted my confidence in making cookies. Each batch baked just as perfectly as the previous one: each cookie nicely rounded with beautiful cracks and raw sugar bits studded within the grooves. I've never made so many cookies in one sitting, let alone having them turn out consistently beautiful. Nothing speaks the holidays louder than these spiced cookies, and they pair deliciously with almond milk (or plain milk if you're into that), hot cocoa, and even tea :)
Perfect Gingersnaps
adapted from 17 and Baking
yields about 5 dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves (I substituted with freshly grated nutmeg)
pinch salt
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses (I substituted with honey)
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
sugar for rolling (I used raw sugar)
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, molasses (or substitute), oil, and egg and mix until smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until the mixture comes together and is well incoporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375° F and line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Using a teaspoon, scoop up the dough and roll into balls with your palms, then roll it in the sugar and place on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for about 8 minutes for chewy gingersnaps and 9-10 minutes for crispier ones. The gingersnaps will firm up once taken out of the oven. Let cool and enjoy!
In a previous post I mentioned that I might take a hiatus. That was supposed to have happened a month ago, but I guess it will happen about a month from now, and I'm baking a lot to use up most if not all of the ingredients I have.
This is my second time baking biscotti, the first was about two years ago using a chocolate chip biscotti recipe my friend recommended. Biscotti make a great breakfast and taste wonderful dipped in coffee, milk or hot cocoa, and I tried my best making these a tad bit healthier than they would have been. I replaced white sugar with brown sugar, and omitted the excess flour, sugar, and the crystallized ginger pieces as the original recipe called for.
I really like these biscotti. These crispy, crunchy cookies are aromatic while baking in the oven, and amidst the lightly sweetened center, you detect a subtle tang from the lemon zest that ties all of the flavors together.
Speaking of which, it's 12 AM and I'm currently eating a biscotti with a cup of hot green tea. I need to break my late night eating habits, it's been like this for a few weeks now and I know it's REALLY bad but...cravings man.
Oh and Happy Late National Eggnog Day! I did find a healthier eggnog recipe, but just wasn't in the mood yesterday to make any. Merry Christmas once again and Happy Holidays :)
Brown Sugar Almond Biscotti
adapted from Martha Stewart
yields about 3 dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbs grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole almonds, unblanched
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, lemon zest, and salt. Then stir in the almonds.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and the vanilla extract, then stir this into the flour mixture. The dough will appear dry, but incorporate the wet and dry ingredients as well as you can before kneading.
- Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Divide it in half and shape them into two logs. Place the logs on the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with some more brown sugar if desired (I didn't do this).
- Bake for about 30 minutes until the logs are puffed and the outside is firm. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Using a serrated knife, slice the logs crosswise, and lay the slices down back onto the baking sheets.
- Bake until lightly golden and crisp, rotating the pans and turning the biscotti over, about 20 minutes. Remove and cool completely before serving.
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