Baked: Cocoa Cookies

I found these cocoa cookies one evening when I had an urge for cookies, but found myself low on baking ingredients. I didn't love them at first because they seemed like a poor man's drier, less sweet, and Nutella-less version of the Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies I had made before, but they've since really grown on me. (I would have made the thumbprint cookies but I didn't have icing sugar or enough eggs.) They have a nice light cocoa flavour, but a satisfyingly heavy texture. They go great with a cup of tea or coffee.

I admit: I thumbprinted in them in case they needed the Nutella

From The Boston Globe

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• Extra sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions

1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In an electric mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar gradually, beating until smooth. Add the vanilla and eggs, one by one, beating until thoroughly blended.
4. With the mixer set on low speed, beat in the flour mixture. You'll have to finish mixing with your hands; the batter is quite stiff.
5. Spoon rounded tablespoons of batter into your palms and roll into 1-inch balls. Set on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Press down with the tines of a fork, once in each direction, to create a crisscross pattern. Continue until all the cookies are shaped and marked.
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly brown. While they are hot, sprinkle the tops with extra sugar. Cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Baked: Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Continuing the fall theme, I thought I'd take a stab at these ginger cookies. OK, I suppose ginger cookies are more of a Christmas thing, but anyway. It's a great comfort cookie.

Whoops. That would be a ginger cat.

Small oven -> Small cookie sheet -> Square cookies

I tried replacing the ground ginger with a few tablespoons of grated fresh ginger, but it still wasn't gingery enough for my liking. So I wouldn't recommend it.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Baked: Chocolate Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

This was the weekly recipe on August Cooks, a cooking blog in which I contribute.

I haven't had Nutella since I was a kid, and had almost forgotten how good it is.

 
Delicious. Go and make these. Right now.

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso (optional) [I used coffee liqueur instead]
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted [I skipped these]
• 1/3 cup hazelnut-chocolate spread (such as Nutella)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir with a whisk. Place butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Stir egg yolks with a whisk, adding espresso, if desired. Add the yolk mixture and vanilla to butter; beat well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. [I mixed it in with a fork; if you beat it, the dry ingredients will go flying.]

3. Turn dough out onto a sheet of wax paper; knead 6 times or until smooth and shiny. Shape dough into 28 (1-inch) balls. Roll sides of balls in nuts, pressing gently. Arrange balls 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Press thumb into center of each cookie, leaving an indentation. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 10 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks. Spoon a scant 1/2 teaspoon hazelnut-chocolate spread into center of each cookie.

Baked: Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Ever since we remodeled our kitchen back in April, spending time in the kitchen has been much more enjoyable. As a result, I've been doing a lot more baking. Cookies are my favourite.

Last week, I had a hunkering for something lemony, so I whipped up a batch of Giada De Laurentiis' Lemon Ricotta Cookies.

Yields: 44 cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
    * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1 teaspoon baking powder
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
    * 2 cups sugar
    * 2 eggs
    * 1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
    * 3 tablespoons lemon juice
    * 1 lemon, zested

Glaze
    * 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
    * 3 tablespoons lemon juice
    * 1 lemon, zested

Directions
Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze
Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.

The result

The cookies turned out light, airy and moist, almost like ladyfingers, but also had a really nice richness from the ricotta. I loved the cookies on their own and didn't feel that they needed the glaze. The glaze was intense - like lemon candy - and it really overpowers the cookie, even though I had doubled the lemon juice in the cookie. Depending on what you want, I'd suggest trying the cookies on their own before deciding whether or not to add the glaze. (I think that the naked cookies are great with a cup of tea, but perhaps you like candy-like cookies, as my husband does!) You could also try substituting some of the lemon juice in the glaze with water.

One more subtle tip about the directions: you'll make your life a little easier if you beat the butter first, before mixing in the sugar. This is the standard procedure in Better Homes and Gardens recipes that I always use; it's a good way to cheat if you're like me and always forget to let the butter thaw.