Have you ever seen a ginger root? It's pretty strange looking. It's one of those things that you might have seen in a grocery store, but never knew what you would do with it. (Speaking of which, try a new game: have a friend - or a child - pick out something strange from the produce department in the grocery store and see what you can make with it!)
Here is what a ginger root looks like.
Strange, right?
To use it, you peel the root - you can use a paring knife or even a spoon for this - and you either chop it into pieces, mince it up with a knife, or grate it. For grating a ginger root, you can use a microplane...
...or the small holes on a cheese grater.
Personally, I was trying to be cool and use my fancy kitchen gadgets, so I was using the microplane. But it wasn't long before my fingers were bleeding (microplanes and clumsiness don't mix!) so I switched to the grater.
It freezes very well, so if you buy a ginger root for a recipe but then don't use it all (And who would? Besides me, that is.) you can freeze the root, peeled or unpeeled, and take out just what you need when you need it. No need to thaw it out. In fact, it's even easier to grate if frozen!
Ginger is a handy root to have around. For one thing, it is known to help cure nausea. Mythbusters even proved on TV that ginger worked as well as pharmaceuticals to help people with motion sickness! It's also said to be helpful with diarrhea and anxiety. (Sorry I just used the d-word in a recipe post.)
If you aren't feeling well, ginger makes a great Get-Well tea. My friends at Colorado College steep a ginger root in boiling water and then add a little lemon and honey. Or you could try to go another route, like another CC friend, and just chew a hunk as is! I don't really recommend that, though.
Personally, I love the flavor of ginger. Made into cake or cookies, it has a sophisticated spicy-sweetness that evokes Christmas but somehow feels grown-up.
Recently I made a couple batches of ginger cookies, and I loved every bite.
I made these - Big Soft Ginger Cookies...
...and I made these - Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies.
The Verdicts:
Big Soft Ginger Cookies:
I got this recipe off of AllRecipes.com. In the ginger cookie category, it was the clear "people's choice" winner. I adapted the recipe for high altitude and to maximize the ginger flavor. The verdict: It's exactly what you're looking for in a ginger cookie. It's pretty, mildly spicy, and soft. The flavors melded together overnight and were even better the next day.
Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies:
This recipe came from my friend Pam (thanks, Pam!) a few years ago. (A few? Probably more like 12 years ago!) Maybe you never thought about putting ginger and chocolate together, but once you taste these, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner! The verdict: These cookies take the beauty of ginger and spice cookies and do them one better! Adding the chocolate flavor, you don't lose any of the perfection of the ginger cookie; you only amplify it, and improve on it with a fudgy texture and a hit of cocoa.
Now, do yourself a favor and bake these cookies. If you throw them in the freezer as soon as they cool, you can add them to your holiday platters all season long.
Here are the recipes!
Big Soft Ginger Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
(adjusted for altitude. See the original recipe here.)
2 1/4 cups plus 1 tbsp. flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 tbsp. shortening
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp. orange juice (or water)
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
2 tbsp. sugar
Preheat oven to 375. Whisk together the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. With a mixer, cream the butter, shortening and sugar together. Add the egg, orange juice (or water), molasses, and fresh ginger. Mix well. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Roll into medium-large balls. Roll in sugar, place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until cracked on top and barely done. (Don't overbake them!)
Chewy Chocolate Ginger Cookies
Makes 2 dozen
1 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp. flour
1 1/4 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. boiling water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sugar
Whisk together the flour, ginger powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa. With a mixer, beat butter and ginger. Add brown sugar and molasses and mix well. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and boiling water. Add half the flour mixture, then the baking soda mixture, then the remaining flour mixture. Combine well. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours or overnight. Roll into medium-large balls. Roll in remaining sugar. Keep dough balls in the refrigerator while other cookies are baking. Bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes until just cracking. (Don't overbake!)
Which cookies will you try?
No comments:
Post a Comment