"G" is for Gingersnaps

Greg will usually look at a recipe and then start changing it. Drives me insane because he just seems to wing it and things always turn out pretty darn good. For this recipe, he takes no credit. It comes from "Cookies Unlimited" by Nick Malgieri, page 194, published in 2000. Chef Malgieri takes no credit either, but received the recipe from the winner of a baking contest he judged. Greg's gotten rave reviews when he bakes these so it's no wonder these were the winning entry.  


The Good Cook's Gingersnaps

Ingredients:
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
12 Tbs unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 cup sugar, plus 1/2 cup for finishing
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses


Directions:
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices in bowl and mix together. In electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix. Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then molasses. Scrape down sides of bowl and beater. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix. Remove bowl from mixer, scrape and do one final mix of dough by hand.

Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in small, shallow bowl. Use small ice cream scoop to make 1-inch balls of dough. Round out balls of dough by rolling in your hands, and then roll each dough ball in sugar. Place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until cookies have spread, colored and surface crackles slightly. Cookies should be firm to touch. Slide paper from cookie sheet onto cooling rack, but leave cookies on paper for 5 more minutes before removing. Cookies will crisp up as they cool. If you try to pull them off immediately, they usually stick to the paper.

We recommend using a coarser sugar for rolling so that you can actually see the sugar after they've baked. If you use a extra fine or even just regular sugar, it soaks right in.

Okay, Greg couldn't resist making an adjustment, but that doesn't mean it's his recipe. He adds 1/4 tsp vanilla when he adds the egg. Greg likes adding vanilla to lots of things, but that's a whole other blog post in itself.

"F" is for Fudge

This recipe comes from Greg's grandmother. She used to make it all the time and I don't even want to think about how many pans we ate over the years. She would pour the "mix" into 2 metal pie pans and we'd watch it set up so we could cut into it as soon as we could. One pan would be gone pretty much instantaneously, and the second pan would stay around long enough for us to cut into the next morning for breakfast. That second pan was usually all gone by the end of that second day. You might be thinking fudge for breakfast sounds gross - but with a cup of coffee, yum. Give it a try (you know you want to).


Grandma G's Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:
4 cup sugar
1 - 12 oz can evaporated milk
3/4 cup butter
1 lb chocolate chips
15 ounces mini marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Bring sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to a boil. Stirring constantly, continue to boil until soft ball stage (235 to 240 degrees). Take off heat.

We boil until 237 or 238 degrees.

Add chocolate, marshmallows and vanilla and stir until smooth and marshmallows are completely melted (there should not be any white streaks of marshmallow). Pour immediately into a buttered dish.

Add in chocolate and marshmallows.

Immediately pour into buttered pan.

Allow to cool before slicing. You will want to slice the entire batch at one time. If you let the batch set completely and slice only as you need, it becomes more difficult. We let it sit for about 2 hours and then start cutting. But leave it in the pan and only take out the pre-sliced pieces as you serve. If your batch will last a few days (meaning you won't eat it all by yourself for dinner), you don't want to pull it all out because the sides can dry up.

When we make it, we use a 13x9 glass baking dish and cut into small pieces - about 3/4 inch square. Now that we're older and can't eat absolutely everything in sight without repercussions, it sticks around for a number of days. You can store in the refrigerator and then take out for about an hour before serving (or snacking). It softens as it comes up to room temperature. You can also store in air tight containers in the fridge for about one month. It will dry out a little.

It sets up quickly. Don't use a knife to spread out, or your top won't be as smooth.

Muffin papers add a nice touch for serving or if you want to give as a gift.