TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

Two words: crazy good. Heather of Sherry Trifle chose Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread for our Tuesdays with Dorie recipe this week. For my gingerbread I chose to leave off the chocolate glaze.

I know. I left off the chocolate?! Yes. In this case, I did. I also made mini cakes as you can see, for cute little personal servings. The reason I left off the chocolate glaze was simply because I wanted to see what this combination would be like.

It may seem like an odd combination, bananas and gingerbread, but it is just so good. You really have to try this some time. I was inspired by Peabody to top make the mini cakes topped with good vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce (and you really ought to follow that link and see why). All together, this is one surprisingly light and still delicious and sweet treat. The only other change I made to the original recipe was to leave out the stem ginger since that was no where to be found at our grocery store.

I will definitely make this recipe again since I love the chocolate and ginger combination. Make sure to see how everyone else's gingerbread came out by going to the Tuesdays with Dorie blogroll!

Blogging by Mail & Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Well, I am very excited to say that I participated in the Blogging by Mail Event - hosted by Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness. This is an event that looked like a whole lot of fun - and guess what? it really was!! I was lucky enough to be able to send my package off to Erin of Erin Go Blog! (and what a great blog name is that?!). So, to find out what I sent to Erin, you'll have to just keep checking her blog but, I hope she really enjoys it! I sent her some of my favorite things as well as some things I thought she would be a fan of.

A part of what I sent was a dozen of these insanely good cookies - Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies from Martha Stewart's Cookies - these are the cookies on the cover of the book, but mine look a bit smaller and puffier. These are spicy, sweet and chocolately. When I heard that Sugar High Friday, that wonderful event created by Jennifer the Domestic Goddess, this month is all about spice, gingerbread was the first thing that came to my mind - with all the ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves it is a virtual spice lovefest - so I am sending these (sorry, virtually only ;) to Anita, aka Pastrygirl at Dessert First for Sugar High Friday - Spice! Basically, these cookies are perfectly wonderful and totally deceptive - you think, oh it is a yummy chocolate cookie - then you get your first taste and surprise! The flavor is so much more! I hope Erin enjoys them!

I was also really lucky to be sent a wonderful package from Natalie at Natalie's Sentiments. Natalie makes the most darling jewelry and I couldn't have been more excited when she emailed to say she would be sending me a package. Jewelry is one of those things I dearly love (especially earrings - yay!!) but that I rarely get to splurge on for myself. So, I was hoping she would hook me up - and Natalie didn't disappoint! I am now the proud owner of some darling earrings from Paisley Lane (great name!!). Seriously, her jewelry is gorgeous - there are lots of choices for necklaces and earrings too (early holiday shopping anyone!). No Natalie didn't ask me to plug her Etsy Shop - but I'm going to anyway because she is so amazingly crafty and who would want to buy the same earrings that everyone else on the planet ends up with from the department stores and other shops when you could get something hand made!!

Natalie also was darling enough to wrap all my little packages, which really made opening the box a lot of fun (sorry Erin! I wasn't that creative! I am such a dork I didn't even remember to include my letter to Erin! Such. A. Dork.).

So, not to put too fine a point on it, but since I was so darn excited, I can't say much more than, here is the fun list of my loot I received from Natalie including her letter of explanation. Thanks Natalie!!!

My Loot!!

1. Chocolate. Not a lot of explanation needed there. Nope. Not a lot of explanation needed at all. Just give me a minute while I tear this one open right now!
2. Napkin rings - I love Target and entertaining. Target is a pretty great store. I don't get to entertain much lately, but I know these cute rings are going to be making appearances on this blog!
3. Dish towel and recipe cards - I love to cook. I have already used one of my recipe cards. They are so darn cute! Obviously I love to cook too and this towel is so cute!
4. Candles - These are my two favorite Yankee candle scents. Both scents smells so fresh and well, refreshing! Just what I need!
5. Snowman with earrings - I love Christmas and wearing festive jewelry (especially when I make it myself!) Hooray for darling earrings!!! That little snowman is going to be very cute in some upcoming Christmas cookie pictures - I just know it!
6. Cookies - I love the Northwest - especially the mountains. My five year old has confiscated these cookies from me! We got some of these at Yellowstone on vacation last year and he loved them. I would tell you how they are, but I am serious. He has taken them over!
7. Mascara and eye shadow- Eye makeup is my most important beauty item and this brand is fabulous. Now for the sake of honesty... I rarely wear makeup. It is part laziness and part not ever having any. I love to wear makeup and have been wanting to get some fresh makeup so I was SUPER excited to see this!!
8. Eye makeup remover - at night there is nothing I like better than taking that makeup off! Probably part of the reason I don't wear makeup as often is because I never have a good way to remove it or know what to get. I was a bit of a tom-boy growing up and have only enjoyed being a girl more in the past several years - just late enough to feel fashionably stumped most of the time. Having others choose things for me is my favorite thing!
9. Simple scarf mesh - this is my favorite way to make a scarf - but it looks great as thin scarf on its own. (And a bit of my favorite herbal tea to enjoy while making your scarf.) See #8 above. Yay! for someone else picking my accessories! I am excited to try making this scarf, but may have to email Natalie for technical support if I can't figure it out.
10. Glass pumpkin - Something tiny to place somewhere to remind you to be grateful of your blessings this Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love that she included this and loves Thanksgiving too! I am a huge fan of Thanksgiving and have already found a safe place for my darling little pumpkin!

So, there you have it!! Am I one lucky girl or what?! Much thanks to Natalie for my package and especially thanks to Stephanie for letting me play along and for hosting such an extraordinary event!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies
(Source: Martha Stewart's Cookies)

Makes 2 dozen

1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 Tablespoon freshly grated peeled ginger
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water
7 oz best quality semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and fresh ginger on medium speed until lightened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water. Beat half of the flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in the baking soda mixture, then add the remaining flour mixture. Mix in chocolate and turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat out to a 1-inch thick disk and wrap in the plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Chill 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until surfaces just begin to crack, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

RFJ: Ginger Orange Madeleines with Fresh Orange Glaze

I was hopping around the food blogs on this rainy day and, since it is raining so much, I've been in a real baking mood. I decided to check out the ingredients for the Royal Foodie Joust and was instantly inspired when I read that the ingredients were whole grains, citrus and ginger. I love these ingredients and instantly decided it was time to whip together (ok, as quickly as they can be whipped together anyway) some madeleines using these ingredients.

I have been practising my madeleine making skills for a little while now, but this is the first time I've branched out and tried to adapt a recipe into my own creation. So, while this was meant to be my entry into the Joust, I think I may have been looking at the ingredients after the deadline (not sure) and missed the boat. Either way, these were fun to make and it was really fun to think outside the box for me.

For the citrus I used fresh orange zest (in the madeleines) and fresh orange juice in the glaze. For the ginger, I wavered between using ground ginger and fresh, but since I had fresh ginger and it is still (technically, weather aside today) still summer, I decided to go with freshly grated ginger as well. My whole grains of choice were whole wheat pastry flour (which I checked to make sure was whole grain, but did not mill myself) and old-fashioned whole oats (which I did mill myself). It was super fun to mill the oats myself and use some healthier ingredients in the madeleines. I also added some dark brown sugar, well, because I am a serious fan of all things brown sugar. I hope you will give these a try. They really turned out pretty wonderful!

Whole Grain Ginger Orange Madeleines with Fresh Orange Glaze
(Method and recipe adapted from La Tartine Gourmand)

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
2 oz whole oats, ground into flour
2 1/4 oz whole wheat pastry flour
1 stick salted butter (4 oz), melted and cooled
1 oz dark brown sugar
3.5 oz fine sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
Melt the butter and set aside to let cool.

In a small bowl, sift together the wheat and oat flours with the baking powder. Set aside.

Place the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until thick.

Add the sugars, orange zest and finely grated ginger and beat until very light in color and texture.

Remove the bowl and add the sifted flours and baking powder. Mix together gently with wooden spoon or spatula. Gently add the melted, cooled butter using the spoon or spatula. Mix until well combined.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 420 F.

Grease madeleine molds and fill 3/4 full. Do not overfill.

Bake for 5 to 6 minutes (to get the bump); reduce the oven temperature to 350 F and continue to bake for about 4 to 5 minutes more.

Remove the madeleines from the oven and unmold to cool on a rack. Allow to cool almost completely before dipping the "shell" side into the glaze. Place back on the racks and allow the glaze to set.

For the Glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh orange juice

Whisk together well til smooth and combined - glaze should be fairly thin. Heat briefly in microwave to melt sugar and warm the glaze.

Makes about 20 large madeleines or 30 minis.

TWD: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

Here we are once again with more cobbler. We had a fabulous chocolately week last week and we are back with more fruit. Yes, we recently made cobbler. My point? This is like no other cobbler I've made or had before. The topping is different, the fruit combination is unique, the spices are slightly more exotic than your average cobbler - so really, other than some of the method and name - there really isn't anything of repetitiveness (is that even really a word) in this week's pick from Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake.

For the sake of full disclosure, I didn't really try the fruit (again, I really don't like cooked fruit - it's a texture thing more than a flavor thing for me). I still like working with them as an ingredient because they are just so darn pretty (beautiful, beautiful cherries!). I did try some of the topping with the sauce made from the fruit and it was really good. I added some raw sugar to the top of the biscuits for extra sweetness and crunch.

The topping has a more "toothsome" texture to it and nutty flavor due to the use of whole wheat flour (Bob's Red Mill Whole Wheat Pastry Flour is what I used). The crust was really pretty incredible and different than a regular cobbler crust. It was almost like getting a "crisp" topping flavor in cobbler form. In fact, next time I use this recipe I may try mixing in some oat flour as well.

The main spice flavor used was the ground ginger. The ginger scent and flavor was pretty prominent, but not overwhelmingly so. I actually followed the recipe exactly for once (ok, almost exactly) and didn't switch out any components or flavors - other than using some Rainier Cherries - basically just for more color and a little twist - because we all know I can't ever leave well enough alone! The only other thing I did differently was to just use a small cookie dough scoop to make the balls of dough (so that I wouldn't overwork it at all).

Those that tried the whole thing really liked this - in fact, the hubby at first just said it was fine - then (as he continued to devour it) said it was "really pretty good" - which is actually pretty high praise from him.

I know I'll make it again, probably with peaches or something I like better. I was able to find some rhubarb and got a good deal (great deal really) on the cherries - almost 3 lbs at the Farmer's Market for $4.

Don't forget to check out all the other delicious cobblers this week by going to the Tuesdays with Dorie site and clicking away (you can even subscribe through bloglines and get updates all week long from this fantastic crowd of baking obsessed bloggers!).

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