Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

The Beats!

Everyone has a go-to playlist for a crummy day, right?  I swear by feel-good music and believe it's probably better than meds but you just have to know how to use the playlist right (i.e. sing louder and dance bigger).  Some days I just want  to feel grumpy but then "Octopus's Garden" by Raffi comes on and I'm screwed ... I'm not allowed to have a bad day anymore.  Oh, that song hasn't "come on" since you were five?  Hmmm, well me neither.  Annnnnyway, here's my "feel-good" playlist, which you can borrow.  If you don't know all of the words just lip sync louder - which takes practice, I know, but I think you'll get it.  If you're at work then dance on your way to the printer.  And right when you reach to pick up that important document do this week's move - the step snap.  You will be sooooo chill.

The Move!  

   

So the "moves" are virtually endless, but since this week we're talking about feel good music I thought the Roger Rabit, Cupid Shuffle, or The Jerk should wait for a more traditional hiphop playlist.  Those will come soon enough ... First, this video is titled "Hip Hop Moves for Kids" which means we should be mentally capable of grasping the step.  Second, it's called the Step Snap and snapping my fingers always puts me in a good mood.  I guess I don't normally snap my fingers unless I'm already in a good mood, but in any case, finger snapping and smiling go together and that's what today's post is all about.  Normally when I snap my fingers I also stick out my lips and do a chicken neck which effectively turns me into a moron and loses me street cred, so I'm going to learn to tame that down.

The Treats!  

   

I'll admit, I was a little annoyed with these cookies ... until I tried one.  For some reason, any cookie that doesn't allow you to simply plop down dough seconds after the "mix well" step just seems like too much work.  These require you to refrigerate, which I didn't realize until I saw the show go on after the "mix well", so I aborted the project until the next day.  The following afternoon I'd forgotten my irritation and finished up the recipe in a few minutes.  And then realized,  Oh Daaaang, these aren't bad.  I know ginger cookies are more of a fall treat, but if you've been reading (or living in the PNW) you'll remember that it feels like fall here.  Put these on your "to make" list if you're actually having a summer now, and keep in mind that if you're irritable, impatient, or lazy (I can be all three if I haven't listened to my playlist) you can make the dough a day in advance.

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

(makes 2 dozen)              

From Martha Stewart's Cookies
 

What you'll need ...

1 1/2 cups (plus 1 Tablespoon) flour

1 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp

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 semi-sweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch chunks

1/4 cup sugar

Spray baking sheets with cooking oil.  In a bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and fresh ginger on medium speed until lightened, about 4 minutes (just bust a move!).  Add brown sugar; beat until combined.  Add molasses; beat until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in boiling water.  Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture.  Beat in baking soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture.  Mix in chocolate (as you can see, I'm putting in a plug for TJ's humongo bar); turn onto plastic wrap.  I'm not going to lie, this was some of the most unappetizing dough I have ever seen, but don't be fooled - it looks better (and certainly tastes good) in cookie form.  Pat out to one inch thickness; seal with wrap.  Refrigerate until firm, 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 (I skipped this step).  Roll in granulated sugar.  I also flattened my dough balls out a little bit with a spatula, just don't tell Martha because that's probably taboo.  

Bake until surfaces just begin to crack, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Transfer off sheets and cool completely.  Cookies are best the day they are made, but can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 5 days.  Step and SNAP.

Snickerdoodles

The Move! 

I'm a little worried that we've been neglecting a key ingredient in this blog ... the actual dancing.  So I'm going to add a "move" for every post (or as long as it lasts).  If you've followed my "Shake It" page (if you haven't then go here now ... Shake It!) you have already mastered the Moonwalk, the Dougie, and the Robot at least to the point where you think you look good because really that's all that matters.  Now for something new - The Charleston.

The Charleston was named after Charleston, South Carolina (weird how that worked out) and became popular in the 1920's.  There are many versions of the dance and once you can recognize it, you'll see the steps in many music videos and shows - I think even Lady Gaga uses a few steps in her live performances of "Just Dance".  It's kind of like the dancing bunny ... it'll work with almost every tune.

Links to more YouTube videos ...

• A more traditional lesson in Charleston steps ...
• Charleston to Daft Punk - Around the World
• Charleston to Far East Movement - Like a G6

The Beats! 

So with that, I've put together a playlist of dance songs.  I don't care if you like the lyrics, that's not the point.  You're supposed to be practicing your moves ... which is why I even lowered myself to include Like a G6.  The song is a little better now that I know it's not Ke$sha (which I just assumed for a really long time) ... sippin' what in my ride?
   

The Treats!  

   

Snickerdoodles ... Seriously, who names a cookie Snickerdoodle?  I didn't try one until about five years ago just because the name annoyed me.  Something similar to my resistance to Scotcheroos.  I did some research on Wikipedia (because that's pretty much my unreliable source for everything) which stated that "Snickerdoodle is German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word  Schneckennudeln (literally "snail noodles"), a type of pastry." Whaaaaaat?! Anyway, once I got over my distaste for the name Snickerdoodle I realized I was a fan of the cookie, so here they are.  If I ever open a bakery I think I will just serve them as Snail Noodles ... or Schneckennudeln.  When you say it you have to extend your neck and bulge your eyes while doing the Charleston.  Daaaaang.

Snickerdoodles

(makes 1 1/2 dozen)              

From Martha Stewart's Cookies
 

What you'll need ...

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 35o degrees.  Mix together flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  Put butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar in the bowl of a mixer and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about three minutes (I don't think I ever actually let it go that long, but now's a great time to  bust a move or two).  Mix in eggs.  Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a small bowl.  Shape dough into twenty (or so) 1 3/4-inch balls - but seriously, who measures their balls of dough ... I prefer to use one of my favorite kitchen accessories - Norpro Stainless Steel Scoops (pictured at left and linked to Amazon offers).  It's a really fast way to cheat and get uniform sizes for your cookies.

Roll in cinnamon sugar.  Space three inches apart on greased baking sheets.  I like to press a slotted spatula onto each cookie to form a cross-hatch pattern, but that's just me.

Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.  Let cool.  

Cookies can be stored between layers of wax paper in airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.

Fruit Pizza

The Beats! 

Hokay, so ... I've always been a big Natalie Merchant fan.  If we were playing the game "If you could have any fill in the blank (in this case we're using voice) you wanted, whose would you choose?",  I would choose Natalie Merchant's voice.  It's soft, and deep, and almost haunting.  Which is why I used her for the soundtrack to one of my High School English presentations.  Maybe they will listen to her instead of me, right?  Last year she released her first album in several years and I fell in love with it's odd lyrics and sound.  In Leave Your Sleep, Merchant has adapted children's rhymes and lullabies, some well over a hundred years old, into songs.  Some of the included poets are Robert Graves, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and Robert Louis Stevenson (I don't really know my poets, but these guys sound important).  Bleezer's IceCream is one of my favorites (you can't really go wrong singing about ice cream) as well as The Adventures of Isabel (it reminds me of one of my favorite friends that I don't get to see often enough).  Since buying the album I've decided that if I ever have kids this is what they will spend the first year of their life listening to ... I figure we can transition into Weezy and the gang later at a more appropriate age, around year 3 or so. 

   

 

The Treats!  

    

Fruit pizza screams summer to me.  Well maybe not screams,  but it implies summer to me.  And since Seattle seems to be struggling with the concept of summer I thought it might like a subtle reminder.  I made this yesterday and this morning it's ... gray, windy, chilly, and looking like October.  Ohhh well, it's a fun, easy, and quick recipe anyway.  I only ran into one road block when I realized I had used up all my baking soda in an attempt to absorb some of the smell wafting from my soggy mountaineering boots after too many trips into the snow covered peaks.  This came with the realization that no kitchen goddess would ever use the last of her baking soda to try to erase a stench from mountaineering boots.  Fail.  I substituted in 3 times the amount with baking powder but I think it led to a slightly crispier cookie that I would have avoided otherwise.  And my boots still smell.  But it's probably not good to talk too much about bad smells when you're introducing a recipe so ... you have a couple of choices here.  You can make one big pizza or like I did, split them up into "individual" pizzas.  I ended up making four plate sized cookies, which might be a little much when you're talking about a dessert ... but not really.  The most important part is to have fun decorating with fruit.  If you're a nerd like me, it becomes like Tessellations, one of those math games where you must fit the geometrical shapes together.  Maybe that's the enginerd side of me coming out.  The point is, make it pretty.  Ok, go.

Fruit Pizza   (makes 6+ servings)              

From a variety of sources combined ...

What you'll need ...

Dough:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cups all-porpoise flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

Toppings:
Several cups of fresh, sliced fruit - kiwi, berries, peaches, etc.
1/2 cup apricot or apply jelly (for glaze, opt.)
1 Tablespoon of water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, cream together butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth.  Mix in egg.  Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; stir into creamed mixture until just blended.  I also added a tiny bit of almond extract.  Press dough into ungreased pizza pan (although in retrospect, I would recommend greasing it).

Bake in preheated oven 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Cool (this is a command, i'm not just saying "cool").  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla until light.  Spread on cooled crust.

Arrange desired fruit on top of filling.  If you want a nice shine on your fruit, heat 1/2 cup jelly with 1 Tablespoon of water until almost boiling, stir, and glaze onto fruit with pastry brush.  I prefer using apple jelly to apricot jam so you don't have to filter out the apricot chunks.  Chill (you and the fruit pizza) until ready to serve.