Chewy Ginger Cookies with Molasses

I had some ginger in the house and wanted to make some cookies that weren’t overly sweet. These are a great treat that taste a bit more savory because of the pepper and ginger than your average gingerbread cookie.

Ingredients:

•          2 cups of flour
•          1 tablespoon of ground ginger
•          2 teaspoon of baking soda
•          1/4 teaspoon of salt
•          1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
•          1/2 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa
•          1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
•          1 cup of granulated sugar
•          2/3 cup of vegetable oil
•          1 egg
•          1/4 cup of molasses
•          1/2 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this will help with the mess, since cookies will be stickier than most)

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, ground ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cocoa, and pepper.

In another large bowl, beat together sugar and vegetable oil till smooth. Next, beat in one egg, grated fresh ginger, and molasses until smooth. Mix in the dry mixture until well combined.

Take two small spoons and shape dough into 1-inch balls, and place on baking sheet. You can sprinkle sugar on top if like a sweeter cookie.

Bake for 7-8 minutes, and let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet, before removing to a wire rack.

Frozen Chocolate Pie

This pie is best if kept frozen in your freezer, and with a dollop of whip cream on top.
Pie Filling Ingredients:

•          4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
•          3/4 cups of sugar
•          5 tablespoons of flour
•          1/4 teaspoon of salt
•          1 1/2 cups of milk
•          1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
•          2 egg yolks, beaten slightly
•          1 tablespoon of butter

Graham Cracker Pie Crust Ingredients:

•          1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
•          1/4 cup of sugar
•          1/3 cup butter, melted

Instructions:

Mix your sugar, flour, salt, cocoa, eggs and milk (all except vanilla and butter) with a whisk in a large bowl. Transfer to a large saucepan and cook on medium until it bubbles and thickens (about ten minutes). Remove from heat and stir in your vanilla and butter.

Mix the crushed graham crackers, sugar and melted butter in another bowl. Press mixture the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. You can either refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling, or bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack before filling.

Once everything is cooled, pour the chocolate custard into the baked pie shell and place in the freezer in an air-tight container. Or if you like it a little more pudding-like, you can keep in the fridge. Both ways will last up to a week, but I don’t think the pie will last that long. Top your pie with whipped cream, cool whip, or even ice cream.

Oscar-worthy recipe

The 84th Academy Awards take place this Sunday at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, and are said to have a more comfortable feeling about them compared to award shows of the past. With a nine-time returning host (Billy Crystal) and a frontrunner film that is predicted to take home gold (“The Artist”), you can sit back and relax this year, and instead enjoy some comfort food at home.

After-Party Dessert – Midnight in Paris’ Chocolate Eclairs

·         1/2 cup of butter

·         1 cup of water

·         1 cup of all-purpose flour

·         1/4 teaspoon of salt

·         4 eggs

·         1 (5 ounce) package of instant vanilla pudding mix

·         2 1/2 cups of cold milk

·         1 cup of heavy cream

·         1/4 cup of confectioners' sugar

·         1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

·         2 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate

·         2 tablespoons of butter

·         1 cup of confectioners' sugar

·         1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

·         3 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and grease a cookie sheet. In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, stirring until butter melts completely. Reduce heat to low, and add flour and salt. Stir vigorously until mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Remove from heat. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to incorporate completely after each addition. With a spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spoon or pipe dough onto cookie sheet in 1 1/2 x 4 inch strips.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake 20 minutes more, until hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom. Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the filling, combine pudding mix and milk in medium bowl according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Fold whipped cream into pudding. Cut tops off of cooled pastry shells with a sharp knife. Fill shells with pudding mixture and replace tops.

For the icing, melt the chocolate and 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in 1 cup confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until icing is smooth and has reached desired consistency. Remove from heat, cool slightly, and drizzle over filled eclairs. Refrigerate until serving.

Continue reading on Examiner.com.

Banana Cream Pocket Pies

I got a Wilton's mini pie press and finally used it this weekend to make mini banana cream pies. I wanted something easy to make and even easier to eat. These mini pocket pies remind me of the ones I used to get during college to crave my sweet tooth, but they only had Bostom cream pies and fruit pies, but not my favorite type of pie - the banana cream pie. I modified a standard banana cream pie recipe and simplified even more by using store bought pie crust.

 
I just rolled out the crust and used the mini pie press to cut out the right size. Then, filled with the pie filling recipe below, a few thin banana slices and baked for around 20-25 mins at 400 degrees on a baking sheet.

They came out great. And for an added bonus I made some whipped cream to dip them in. So, good. My next pie? A savory one for sure.

Banana Cream Pie Filling:

• 1 ½ bananas
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup corn starch
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Fresh Apple Glazed Cookies

Recipe Created By Executive Chef Keith Roberts
Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel

 Photo reposted by Nummy Yummys

Apple Cookies Ingredients:

• 2 cups sifted All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
• ½ cup of Soft Shortening
• 1 1/3 cups of Brown Sugar
• ½ teaspoon of Salt
• 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of Ground Cloves
• ½ teaspoon of Nutmeg
• 1 Unbeaten Egg
• 1 cup of Chopped Nuts
• 1 cup of finely chopped, unpared apple
• 1 cup of Dark or Light Raisins - chopped
• ¼ cup of Apple Juice or Milk

Vanilla Glaze Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of sifted Confectioners Sugar
• 1 tablespoon of Soft Butter or Margarine
• ½ teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
• 1/8 teaspoon of of Salt
• 2 ½ tablespoon of Light Cream or Milk

Apple Cookies Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Sift Flour with baking soda.
3. Mix Shortening, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and egg until well blended
4. Stir in half of flour mixture, then nuts, apple and raisins.
5. Blend in apple juice, then remaining flour mixture
6. Drop round tsps of dough, 2in apart onto a greased cooking sheet
7. Bake 11-14 minutes or until done
8. While cookies are still hot, spread thinly with glaze.

Vanilla Glaze Instructions:
1. In a small bowl blend 1½ cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar, 1tbsp of butter or
margarine, ½ tsp of vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp of salt, and 2½ tbsp of light cream or milk

Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel
1700 Ocean Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90401
T: (310) 458-6700
Website: http://www.loewshotels.com/