12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 8: Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch

Today's cookies were made by Sandi Troop and can be sampled at the Annapolis Royal Library.

 

I have participated in the 12 Days of Cookies several times. Two or three times I resurrected recipes I used from library books when my kids were little or recipes that looked like ones I could make well in advance. This year I wanted one that just intrigued me to try...and I found it in The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941 – 2009. Who doesn’t love ginger, a lot? Who doesn’t love shortbread, a lot? You know that shortbread cookie covered with toffee; are you drooling yet? This recipe responds to the above questions but takes them in a new direction.

The shortbread base is really thin and not very sweet but the ginger toffee-like topping is easy peasy to make and tastes a treat. With 1 cup icing sugar it is a sweet part to the cookie, making a perfect contrast to the thin, crisp shortbread base.

Initially I thought I could get Lyle’s Golden Syrup at the local grocery store but when I went in to get it they didn’t have it. A quick Google search recommended substituting 2 parts corn syrup with one part molasses. Since the recipe only calls for 1 Tbsp in the topping I thought this would work. As far as I can tell it did; Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch is delicious!

 

Shortbread base:

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

3 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ginger

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter

Topping:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup

1 cup confection sugar

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp vanilla

 

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 13x9 metal baking pan

Make Shortbread base:

Sift together dry ingredients and blend in butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press evenly into bottom of pan (base will be thin). Bake in middle of oven until golden and crisp, 20 – 25 minutes.

Make topping just before shortbread is done:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and whisk the remaining ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring 30 seconds.

Pour Topping

Remove shortbread from oven and pour topping over, tilting pan to cover shortbread evenly.  Cool in pan on rack, then cut into small rectangles 8 by 8 or for larger cookies 4 by 9.

Notes:

It breaks easily when cutting into pieces. I think the solution would be to use a very thin, very sharp knife.

I also intend to use extra ginger, maybe ½ tsp more, in the toffee topping next time I make it. (There will be a next time.)

Finally I have been on a low carb/ high protein diet the last 4 months. I cheat, with little remorse occasionally. It helps me stay in control and choose my treats more wisely. With the Skibo Castle Ginger Crunch I was absolutely NOT in control. I had to pack the remains up and put them in a tin out of the way quickly. Even that did not prevent me from sampling them again this morning. (Only 1 though and carbs in the morning are not as bad as carbs in the evening; plus I cut the cookies small).

 

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 7: Oatmeal Bears

Made by Sue Mosher, Bookmobile, from Almost Too Cute to Eat, one of the great children’s cookbooks in our collection. Come visit the Bookmobile today in Brooklyn and Summerville for a sample.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar

1 egg

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 ½ cups quick-cooking rolled oats

mini M&Ms (Sue used mini chocolate chips)

plain M&Ms (Sue used regular chocolate chips)

icing, sprinkles, fruit roll-ups, or liquorice laces, as desired

In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed until well blended. Beat in egg; stir in vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; add to butter mixture, blending until incorporated. Stir in oats until blended.

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. For each bear, roll cookie dough into one 1 ¼” ball for head and three ½” balls for ears and snout. Place head on prepared cookie sheet; flatten slightly. Position snout ball on lower half of head. Set ears against top of head. Flatten ears and snout slightly. If using chocolate chips, press mini chocolate chips above snout, for eyes, and larger chocolate chip into snout for nose. Leave about and inch and a half between the cookies as they spread quite a bit when baking. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. If using M&Ms, immediately add mini M&Ms for eyes and plain M&Ms for nose, pressing gently to secure. Cool on cookie sheets. Use icing, sprinkles, fruit roll-ups, or liquorice laces for other decorations, as desired. (Sue cut out bows from fruit roll-ups and pressed them in place while the cookies were still warm.)

Makes approximately 18 cookies.

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 6: Bear's Own Honey-Ginger Cookies

Today's 'beary' tasty treats were made by  Community Engagement Coordinator, Angela Reynolds and can be sampled at the Port Williams branch on Wednesday (the snow is keeping our Cookie Delivery guy off the road today). From: Bear’s Winter Party by Deborah Hodge, pictures by Lisa Cinar

I love finding a recipe in a picture book! Here’s a story of a lonely bear who invites the forest animals for a party. He bakes cookies for them, but then thinks they won’t show up because they are afraid of him. But of course, they do show up, and they eat cookies together. There’s another great cookie book out this year, The Cookie Fiasco by Dan Santat, but it does not have a recipe in it. However, it is a great book to help teach fractions, so borrow both of these books, make some cookies, invite some friends over, and do some math.  You might as well add in The Doorbell Rang by Pat Hutchins for the perfect cookie day.

And now, Bear’s Cookies:

In a mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, cream together:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

Beat into the creamed mixture:

1 egg

 1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup molasses

1 1/2 tsp. vinegar

In another bowl, stir together:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

 Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beating in as much as you can with the mixer, then stir until it is well combined. With your hands, form the dough into a ball.

 Roll the dough 1/4 in thick on a lightly floured surface. Use your cookie cutters to make cutouts, then place them about 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets.

 If you like, decorate the cookies with candies, sprinkles, raisins, or chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are firm around the edges.

NOTES: I found the dough to be a little sticky, and had to use a heavily floured surface and re-flour the rolling pin several times. These are not very sweet; they are a good afternoon cookie with a cup of tea. I also found them to be less gingery than I prefer so would add a bit more ginger to the recipe, or perhaps some fresh grated ginger.

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

NOTE: DUE TO THE WEATHER, THESE COOKIES WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE TODAY. ALTERNATE STORM DAY IS  WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14.

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 5: Melt-In-Your-Mouth Shortbread

Middleton branch manager Sue Aldred made these yummy shortbread cookies from a recipe found in the December 2014 issue of All-Recipes magazine. Drop in to the Rosa M. Harvey Middleton and Area Library today for some warm smiles and a cookie.

Ingredients:

1 lb. salted butter

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

3 cups white flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla 

Whip butter until fluffy. Stir in icing sugar, cornstarch, salt, and flour. Beat on low for one minute. Add vanilla and beat on high for 3 to 4 minutes. Drop cookies by spoonsful 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

I find that I have better results if I bake them for 20 minutes at 300 degrees F. (The recipes calls for baking for a shorter time at 375 but this temperature is too hot.)

Ice with almond icing and decorate with sprinkles or chopped cherries.                  

These freeze very well.                                  

Yield: 4 dozen small cookies.

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 4: Chocolate Shortbread Meltaways

Andrea Leeson, manager of the Kingston branch, donned her baker's cap to whip up these dainty treats from Back to Baking: 200 timeless recipes to bake, share, and enjoy.

These cookies have a chocolate intensity that balances with their buttery richness, and when piped onto a baking tray, they look like chocolate kisses. 

1 cup (250 mL) unsalted butter,

   at room temperature

1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar, sifted

1 Tbsp (15 mL) vanilla extract

11/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (80 mL) Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
2 Tbsp (30 mL) cornstarch
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt

 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius) and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and icing sugar together until smooth.  Beat in the vanilla extract.

 

Add the flour, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt, and beat until evenly incorporated.

 

Spoon the soft cookie dough into a piping bag fitted with a large plain tip, and pipe 1” (2.5 cm) “kisses” onto the baking trays, leaving a 2” space between the cookies.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, until they lift away from the parchment paper without sticking.

Let the cookies cool completely on the tray before removing. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

DON"T FORGET: You can ENTER to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 3: Snickerdoodles

Drop in to the Hantsport branch today and sample an old favourite that will melt in your mouth.  The perfect cookie to pair with a glass of milk for Old Saint Nick on Christmas Eve. Baked just for you by Lois Burgess, from Company's Coming: Most Loved Cookies by Jean Pare.

 Ingredients:

*1 cup hard margarine (or butter), softened

*1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

*2 large eggs

*2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

*2 tsp. cream of tartar

*1 tsp. baking soda

*1/4 teaspoon salt

*2 tbsp. granulated sugar

*2 tsp. ground cinnamon

 Directions:

1.  Cream margarine and first amount of sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

2.  Combine next 4 ingredients in medium bowl.  Add to margarine mixture in 2 additions, mixing well after each addition until no dry flour remains.  Roll into 1 inch balls.

3.  Combine 2^nd amount of sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.  Roll each ball in cinnamon mixture until coated.  Arrange about 3inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden.

4.  Let stand on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

Tips:

1.  Refrigerate for an hour (or overnight) before baking, as the dough is very soft.

3.  Make sure the balls are 3 inches apart and not 2 inches, as in the original recipe.  They will spread!

2.  Do not overbake.  I lowered the temperature in the original recipe from 375 to 350.  These cookies will not look like they are done at the end of 8-10 minutes.  They will be very soft but will harden as they cool.

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!

12 Days of Cookies, 2016 - Day 2: Holy Smokes Heavenly Chips and Cranberry Cookies

These heavenly delights were made by Lisa Rice, manager of the Wolfville Memorial Library. The recipe can be found  on page 112 in A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies by Dede Wilson. Drop in today to say hi and have a sample.

Ingredients:

2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

¾  cup granulated sugar

¾  cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tsps vanilla extract

2  large eggs

2 cups white chocolate morsels

2 cups sweetened dried cranberries

1.     Preheat oven to 375°F.  Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2.    Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl.

3.    In a large bowl with an electric mixer  on a medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add granulated sugar and light brown sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, and scraping down bowl once or twice.  Beat in vanilla, then eggs, one at time, scraping down bowl.  Add about one-third of flour mixture, and mix on low speed.  Gradually add remaining flour mixture, mixing just until blended.   Stir in chocolate morsels and cranberries.  * Drop by ¼ cup amounts 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets; do not flatten.

4.    Bake until edges and tops just begin to turn light golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Place sheets on racks to cool for 3 minutes, then slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.

*Note  I made regular size cookies and cooked them for less time, about 11 minutes.  Makes a couple dozen.

Don't forget -- you can Enter to win a Cookie Gift Bag!!