I am generally not a fan of making roll and cut cookies. I find them to be time-consuming and a hassle in general. I also had a specific reason for being pessimistic about making the Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookie recipe from Baked Explorations; something went wrong with my Ginger Rum Molasses Cookies from the same cookbook and I had to resort to scooping out the dough -- even though those cookies were also supposed to be rolled and cut.
The dough for the cookies is easy to make; beat softened butter and shortening, add dark brown sugar and beat until fluffy, add an egg, molasses, and melted bittersweet chocolate, and then add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in three additions. You divide the dough into three parts, form each one into a disk, and wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
I couldn't believe how quickly and easily this dough rolled out, without any cracking, stretching or sticking. I rolled it out between sheets of parchment and needed only a small amount of flour; the scraps were also a breeze to re-roll. The recipe instructs you to use a 4- to 5-inch cookie cutter, which seemed ginormous, so I used a butterfly cutter that was 3.25 inches across at the widest part. I got 27 cookies from the recipe.
The Baked boys included a royal frosting recipe, and while I am terrible at any sort of decorating work that requires actual artistic skills, I did manage to pipe out solid shapes to make butterfly wings. I had to mix two batches of frosting to decorate all of the cookies.
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I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I liked these cookies. To me, they tasted like chocolate gingerbread. The cookies were soft and moist, but sturdy enough to store and transport without any problems. I think chocolate and ginger is a wonderful combination that is woefully underutilized (this double-ginger chocolate chunk cookie is one of my absolute favorites), and this cookie nicely showcases both flavors. Plus, I have to love a roll and cut cookie that is so easy to make. I will definitely be making these again!
Recipe: "Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies" from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
Previous Post: "Baked Sunday Mornings: Joe Froggers," October 21, 2012.
The dough for the cookies is easy to make; beat softened butter and shortening, add dark brown sugar and beat until fluffy, add an egg, molasses, and melted bittersweet chocolate, and then add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, powdered ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, salt) in three additions. You divide the dough into three parts, form each one into a disk, and wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.
I couldn't believe how quickly and easily this dough rolled out, without any cracking, stretching or sticking. I rolled it out between sheets of parchment and needed only a small amount of flour; the scraps were also a breeze to re-roll. The recipe instructs you to use a 4- to 5-inch cookie cutter, which seemed ginormous, so I used a butterfly cutter that was 3.25 inches across at the widest part. I got 27 cookies from the recipe.
The Baked boys included a royal frosting recipe, and while I am terrible at any sort of decorating work that requires actual artistic skills, I did manage to pipe out solid shapes to make butterfly wings. I had to mix two batches of frosting to decorate all of the cookies.
.JPG)
Recipe: "Chocolate Ginger Molasses Cookies" from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented, by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. Recipe available here at Baked Sunday Mornings.
Previous Post: "Baked Sunday Mornings: Joe Froggers," October 21, 2012.
Comments
Love your blog! This comment isn't related to this particular post, hope that is ok. I actually found your blog while doing a Google search for the Bananas Cake on page 198 in Baked Elements. I believe it is also the cake on the cover of the book too.
I'm going to be making this cake for an upcoming special occasion. Have you made this particular cake? If so, was it as awesome as it sounds?
Thanks for your time!