New England Molasses Gingerbread Cookies

Another standard member of my repertoire ever since it was published, lo these many years ago. These are, quite frankly, amazing, and the recipe is large. I usually only make one batch of these every holiday season, and dole out a few in every box of cookies I give away.

They freeze very well, although be careful of the shapes you choose if you're planning to do that -- I love making these in snowflake shapes, but they tend to lose a point or two. 

Here is a link to the source.

Cookie Ingredients

6 cups (about) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup mild-flavored (light) molasses
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing Ingredients

3 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup
Water
Food coloring (optional)
Decorations (such as colored sugar crystals)

Instructions
These are the original instructions, to which I have only added numbers for readability. Personally, I do not fuss around with waxed paper, nor do I have the fridge space to tuck sheets of cookies away while they await their turn in the oven. My cookies have never seemed to suffer for this shoddy treatment.

1. Combine 5 1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend well. 
2. Using electric mixer, beat butter and shortening in large bowl to blend. 
3. Add 1 cup sugar, molasses, and lemon peel and beat until smooth. 
4. Beat in egg and buttermilk. 
5. Stir 2 teaspoons water and baking soda in small cup to blend; beat into butter mixture. 
6. Beat in flour mixture in 2 additions. Stir in more flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until slightly firm dough forms. 
7. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each into disk. Wrap disks and chill until firm enough to roll, at least 2 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften slightly before rolling out.)
8. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough between sheets of waxed paper to 16x12-inch rectangle, occasionally lifting paper to smooth out wrinkles. Using 4- to 5-inch cutters, cut out boy and girl gingerbread people. Pull away excess dough around cutouts; flatten, wrap, and chill excess dough. Slide rimless baking sheet or inverted baking sheet under waxed paper with cutouts and chill until firm. Repeat with remaining dough disks, refrigerating cutouts on waxed paper on baking sheets. Roll out excess dough and make more cookies, using all of dough. (Cutout cookies can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep chilled.)
9. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Using thin metal spatula, lift chilled cookies off waxed paper and transfer to baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. Bake until darker at edges and just firm to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheet 5 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Bake remaining cookies, 1 sheet at a time.

For icing:

1. Sift powdered sugar into medium bowl. 
2. Mix in lemon juice and corn syrup. Mix in enough water by teaspoonfuls to form smooth icing soft enough to pipe but firm enough to hold shape. Divide into 3 or 4 portions and tint with food coloring, if desired.
3. Spoon icing into pastry bag (or bags if using more than 1 color) fitted with small (1/16- to 1/8-inch) plain tip. Arrange cookies on work surface. Pipe icing onto cookies in desired patterns. Apply decorations as desired. Let cookies stand until icing is dry. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store cookies airtight between sheets of waxed paper at room temperature.)

Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies

This is the other recipe I make from Mrs. Fields. Lemon and poppy seeds are one of my favorite flavor categories for baking. These cookies are light, not too sweet, excellent with a cup of tea, and add visual interest to any baked goods platter. (Yes, I sometimes get fancy enough to think about that kind of thing. Sometimes.)

Ingredients
2 c AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
3/4 c salted butter, room temperature
1 c granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 whole egg
1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 
2. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour through poppy seeds). Mix well with a wire whisk. 
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the bowl. Make sure to really thoroughly mix the butter in; pockets of butter in this dough will be obvious in the finished cookie. 
4. Add the egg yolks, egg, and lemon extract. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. 
5. Add the flour mixture and mix at low speed until just combined. 
6. Drop rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheets, leaving about two inches between them. You can round them by hand if you want them to look more regular. 
7. Bake 23-25 minutes, until slightly brown along the edges. Immediately transfer cookies to a rack to cool. 

Risotto with Sugar Snap Peas and Spring Leeks

Or onions, since I rarely remember to buy leeks when I get the urge to make this. It got suddenly chilly and damp here in New England yesterday, and I didn't mind the idea of standing over the stove for a bit. This is another fantastically ancient Cooking Light clipping, and no, I don't know when I will figure out how to post pictures in these entries. I do kind of miss having them, but I am also constantly annoyed by how many pics food blogs seem to have these days. So maybe I will be the pictureless food blog for a bit.

Ingredients

• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups (1/2-inch thick) sliced leek
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.
2. Cook peas in boiling water for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain. (I often use frozen ones, in which case I steam them for a few minutes in the microwave before adding them.)
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. 
4. Add leek and carrot; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. 
5. Add rice; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. 
6. Stir in 1 cup broth; cook 5 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring frequently. 
7. Stir in 1/2 cup broth, vermouth, salt, and oregano. 
8. Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes). 
9. Add peas; cook 4 minutes. 
10. Stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.

The Prettiest Lemon Cake I Ever Threw Away

Last weekend seems like a lifetime ago. I've been doing a lot of nesting, whether due to the winter gloom or general anxiety over the political landscape, and I decided to take some of that energy and turn it into a cake. This beautiful lemon poppyseed cake, using a favorite recipe from one of my favorite books, Baking by Flavor.

That was the weekend the norovirus visited our family. Even the cat got sick, although that was probably not related. Days passed; even as our appetites recovered, the cake never got touched. I considered taking it to the office, but the idea of making all of my co-workers sick gave me pause.

So today I threw it away. Perhaps I will make a different one this weekend.