Goodies By Anna

Chocolate Peanut Butter Globs

This is a new-to-me cookie that I baked for Christmas and I think its a winner. Chocolate, nuts, espresso powder to bring out the chocolate flavor and mini peanut butter cups round out this chocolate cookie.

 

 

The recipe calls for peanut butter chips but when I came across those mini peanut butter cups at Trader Joe's I decided to use them instead and they turned out great! You can use an ice cream scoop for really big cookies or use a #24 scoop for medium sized cookies like mine.

 

 

Also, you can easily make this dough in advance: freeze or refrigerate dough, then bring to room temperature before scooping and baking. Super easy and very delicious. Great with coffee or hot cocoa (while watching A Christmas Story!)...Try them for your self!

 

 

You can find the entire recipe here. Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees and lining a baking sheet with parchment or silpat. Set aside. Toast the roughly chopped pecans and walnut halves and set aside to cool. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

 

 

Melt the butter, 6 ounces of the chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate (that has been chopped into small pieces) in a double boiler or do like I did and heat in the microwave on High Power for 30 second intervals, stirring after each 30 seconds until most of the chocolate is completely melted.

 

 

Remove from microwave and continue to stir until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the eggs, espresso powder and vanilla until combined.

 

 

Beat in the sugar until well combined and thickened, around 2 minutes. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg mixture  and beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer and fold in the toasted cooled nuts, mini peanut butter cups and remaining chocolate chips. You can mix them with 1 Tablespoon of flour before folding into the dough but I didn't do this and it turned out fine. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet leaving 2 inches between each dough ball. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are firm but the centers are still slightly undone. Let cookies cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini Gingerbread Houses

Mini Gingerbread House is 2" x 2"!



If last weeks Gingerbread House was just too over the top then this weeks Mini Gingerbread Houses may be just the thing for you! These teensy tiny little confections are a scant 2" x 2"!

 

Group of Mini Gingerbread Houses.

 

This clever all-in-one cookie cutter cuts out all the pieces you will need to construct your own mini gingerbread house. Mix up a batch of your favorite gingerbread cookie dough and get rolling (I used leftover dough and icing from the big gingerbread house)!

 

 

The dough should be rolled approximately 1/8" thick for cutting. I used a 3" scalloped round cookie cutter to make a gingerbread base for my little houses to sit upon.

 

 

Assemble the walls, front and sides and let dry for an hour before "gluing" onto the round base. Let dry for another hour then "glue" on the roof pieces.

 

Cookie Cutters.

 

Lots of royal icing and edible glitter, sparkling sugar and Christmas candies make for one sweet little edible house that's a terrific hostess gift, party favor or even a place setting at your holiday get together.

 

Assembly of Mini Gingerbread Houses.

 

Bag your little creations with some festive holiday candy and you are good to go! Happy Holiday Baking!

 

 

Packaging Ideas.

Gingerbread House 2012 - Goodies Bakery!

Goodies Bakery Gingerbread House

This years gingerbread house is a bakery.... Goodies Bakery! I was going for a style somewhere between a miniature Christmas village and Main St. Disneyland. What do you think? My dad is the master-mind behind this amazing construction!

 

 

I was adamant that I wanted bay windows to showcase the "goodies", so he took that info and various inspiration pics that I had collected to come up with an amazing template that created this beautiful gingerbread house!

 

 

Because the house is so big (15" tall not including the chimney) we used wooden dowels secured into the wooden base to help support the gingerbread walls. This is a great tip that I found in this fantastic book called Gingerbread For All Seasons.

 

 

The house is made of gingerbread and the "mortar" holding the structure together is a brown tinted royal icing. The brow tinted icing is great because it kind of blends in with the gingerbread instead of sticking out like white icing.

 

 

The "bricks" were made by carving lines with a rotary tool into the baked gingerbread, piping over them with royal icing, then wiping the icing off to create that great three dimensional grouted brick look.

 

 

I tried to make clear isomalt windows but they didn't turn out clear! So I kept them for the side bay windows (hey, they look like frosted glass!) and just left the front windows open. The colored windows are all made of tinted isomalt to create a holiday glow and mask the light bulbs inside the house.

 

 

My dad added the lighting feature in the bay windows using two little night lights (clever!). The main lighting is the house is a single energy efficient light bulb that stays cool. The miniature goodies are made out of pre-made gumpaste and royal icing.

 

 

My dad made the mini cupcake tier out of 3 round pieces of tin and a nail, then he sprayed it white. All the lattice work and the porch rails are made of piped royal icing. The log holder is made from some wire sprayed gold and the logs are cut pieces of cinnamon sticks stacked together.

 

House Template made by my dad.

 

The hanging sign and the board sign in front are made of gumpaste. This house took about a week to finish and is around 15" tall and 13" wide. If I've inspired you to create your own gingerbread house I highly recommend this great book called Gingerbread For All Seasons.

 

 

This book has tons of ideas, instructions and templates for creating all kinds of gingerbread houses and is great for beginners as well as experienced gingerbread house builders. Happy Holidays! And Happy Baking!

 

Decorating of bay windows.

 

Lights for bay windows.

 

Adding back stairs and roof.

 

Tools for assembly!

 

Adding mini goodies to the bay window.

 

Hanging of the "Goodies Bakery" sign! Now I have my own bakery!

 

 

You can also see the other gingerbread houses that I've made for more inspiration: 2008 Gingerbread House, 2009 Gingerbread House, 2010 Gingerbread House, 2011 Gingerbread House.

Spicy Gingerbread Twigs

The December issue of Better Homes and Gardens showcases an interesting twist on gingerbread with these Spicy Gingerbread Twig cookies! The  long, thin crispy twigs of spicy gingerbread are decked out with sparkling sugar to create a festive and tasty addition to any cocktail party.

 

 

The spicy kick in these not too sweet cookies is the addition of cayenne pepper to the ginger and molasses dough. I've found that these cookies are best served on the day they are baked so that they are crisp and stand upright. The cookies tend to get softer when they sit overnight.

 

 

Serve these in a pretty glass or mug so that people can help themselves.  If you are looking for something a little different then these Spicy Gingerbread Twigs are for you! Here is how you can make your own.

Spicy Gingerbread Twigs From Better Homes and Gardens Dec. 2012


2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 packed dark brown sugar
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/3 cup butter (melted and cooled)
1/3 cup of mild or medium molasses (not blackstrap)
1/4 cup brewed coffee, cooled
1/3 cup coarse clear or green sugar or turbinado sugar or
white or clear edible decorating glitter (optional)

 

 

1. Position a rack in the middle of oven; preheat to 350.  Set aside 2 large baking sheets and four 15 inch pieces of parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl stir together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, allspice and cayenne until well blended.  Thoroughly mash out sugar lumps with the back of a spoon.
3. In a small bowl whisk together butter, molasses, and coffee until well blended.  Immediately, add butter mixture to flour mixture stirring vigorously, until evening incorporated.
4. Turn dough onto floured surface.  Knead with your hands for 30 seconds to make it smoother and more maliable.  If  dough is too dry and crumbly work in a few drops of water until it holds.  If dough is too wet knead in 1-2 tbls of flour.

 

 

5. Divide dough in half.  Roll each portion between two sheets of parchment paper in a 6x 12 inch rectangle.  peel off top parchment.  Evenly sprinkle each rectangle with 3 Tbsp of coarse sugar and about 1 Tblsp of edible glitter if using.  Lay parchment over top and gently press sugar into the dough. Remove top parchment.

 

 

6. Using a pizza cutter cut each rectangle into 1/4 to 1/3 inch strips.  It’s okay to have uneven edges.
7. Working with one rectangle at  time, bake for 13 minutes to 16 minutes or until just firm when the pressed in the center and browned at the edges.  Immediately slide rectangle and parchment onto a cutting board.  Quickly (before it cools and becomes brittle, retrace the cuts between the strips and cut of uneven edges.  If necessary, return to the oven and warm until soft enough to work with.

 

 

8. Reduce oven heat to 200.  When rectangle is cool enough to handle, use your hands to gentle separate strips.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake additional ten minutes.  Slide strips and parchment onto a wire rack.  cool completely.
(avoid storing crispy and soft cookies in the same container.  Do not place in storage until completely cool or the water is trapped and cookies get soggy.)


Notes: I didn't trim the the tops of my cookies but kept them uneven to make them look a little more like twigs and I used coarse sparkling sugar and some gold edible glitter for decoration. These cookies are tastiest when baked until crisp so that the twigs keep their shape and have a nice crunchy texture. These cookies are best served the day they are baked.