Previous Entry | Next Entry

Boozy Woozy Timey Wimey Cookies

  • Dec. 13th, 2011 at 1:06 PM
Sugarcoated
Last year, I gave jennawaterford this:

This year, I am filling it with cookies (she knows this... I promise I am not ruining a surprise!) The Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Ginger Cookies, with modifications. I started making a test batch this morning, but I questioned my molasses, and the crystallized ginger was hard as rocks.

I remedied the ginger problem by soaking it in warm bourbon. Might have been drunk on fumes when I added too much butter to the batter, then had to compensate with extra flour and leavening.

Worried as I was, the test batch turned out GORGEOUS and ginger-spicy, with a hint of the bourbon in the back.

(not my actual cookies, but damn close. My cracks are smaller. AHAHAHAHAH-my-cracks-are-smaller. *wheeze*)

And I might totally sandwich two of them together with the husband's HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM for the best ice cream sammich evar.

*OM NOM NOM NOM*

*crumbs*

Whoops.

*will be making more batter tomorrow... yanno, for actual cookies to Jennifer*

Tags:

Comments

( 20 comments — Leave a comment )
kathleenfoucart
Dec. 13th, 2011 10:02 pm (UTC)
Glad to know it's a good recipe! Hubby made a ton of ginger yesterday so we could make these :)
| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:15 pm (UTC)
Excellent! I added a bit of butter, to get the batter to come together, and tweaked the spices. (That just sounded like a LOT of nutmeg to me!)
| Reply | Parent | Thread
kathleenfoucart
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:21 pm (UTC)
Ooh, thanks, I'll keep that in mind! :)
| Reply | Parent | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:23 pm (UTC)
Definitely bring the batter together as directed and THEN decide about the butter, though... I have a feeling it depends on ingredients and humidity.
| Reply | Parent | Thread
custard_kisses
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:43 pm (UTC)
I have the TARDIS cookie jar too. Mine is full of Biscotti :)

| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:50 pm (UTC)
I APPROVE!!

(And I have no idea how I do _not_ have one. *perplexed*)
| Reply | Parent | Thread
custard_kisses
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:55 pm (UTC)
Icon love, should have used mine. I deleted a lot of my good 10 ones to make way for my 11 ones.
| Reply | Parent | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 13th, 2011 11:57 pm (UTC)
I need Matt icons. THE PERPLEXING CONTINUES!
| Reply | Parent | Thread
tltrent
Dec. 14th, 2011 12:12 am (UTC)
I want all of that SO HARD.
| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 12:14 am (UTC)
Last year, I somehow managed to leverage my ThinkGeek points to the Nth degree. This year has been a total fail. *sigh*
| Reply | Parent | Thread
jennawaterford
Dec. 14th, 2011 02:08 am (UTC)
I looooove youuuuu!
| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:10 am (UTC)
I LOVE YOU TOOOOOooOOOoooo. *L*
| Reply | Parent | Thread
kristine_smith
Dec. 14th, 2011 02:44 am (UTC)
One of my favorite cookie recipes, that.

I have used the hard ginger chips in the past, but they seemed to soften upon baking. But I like the idea of the bourbon soak. In the past, I have added a couple of tablespoons of dark rum--I substitute white whole wheat flour for half the all-purpose, and it soaks up so much liquid that I can get away with adding more.
| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:10 am (UTC)
I think I got the recipe from you last year! :D And I like the idea of swapping out the WWF for half the AP. Maybe I will try that with the next batch. Does it change the texture much?

(I did half water and half bourbon, then warmed it up a bit before dumping the fruit in... all told, it was about 1/3 cup of liquid, and I strained the fruit out and reserved the boozy goodness for cocktails that have yet to be concocted. *heh*)
| Reply | Parent | Thread
kristine_smith
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:30 am (UTC)
You really toyed with the recipe. *g*

I follow it more closely. No water or butter. I do whip the hell out of the molasses/oil/sugar--I use turbinado sugar, which takes a while to dissolve. I have gotten consistencies ranging from crumbly to very wet. The last batch I made, I used soft crystallized ginger instead of my usual dry chips, and wound up with the wettest dough yet. Very sticky, but I rolled the dough balls in sugar, and they became much easier to handle. Nice, chewy consistency.

I'm finding that half AP/WWW makes for a slightly drier cookie--crispier outside, not as chewy. Addition of a few tablespoons rum helped. You may need to play with the proportions to get a cookie that suits. The white whole wheat is softer than regular whole wheat, and the KA folks advise substituting up to half AP flour with it.
| Reply | Parent | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:32 am (UTC)
I used the butter the first time I made it, because I couldn't get the batter to come together at all. *might need to cream the oil and sugars longer, though*

I got the loveliest chunky raw sugar to roll the next batch in, though. *glee!*
| Reply | Parent | Thread
kristine_smith
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:37 am (UTC)
You need to beat the heck out of the dough. It does seem to pass through a crumbly stage before finally coming together. But I have made cookies from crumbly dough, and they baked up okay. They were a little hard, but I liked them.

Do you use a stand mixer or a hand held? I've used both, and I found that I really needed the oomph that the stand mixer provides.
| Reply | Parent | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 03:40 am (UTC)
I like mine chewier, so I'm thinking of tossing more of the bourbon soaking liquid in.

And I'm using my KitchenAid... the whole machine rocks when the dry ingredients go in!
| Reply | Parent | Thread
laureljay
Dec. 14th, 2011 05:13 am (UTC)
Oh my gosh that just sounds so delicious!! I really need to bake more, all I do is late night chocolate chip cookies with my sister. That's gonna be a great present!
| Reply | Thread
lisamantchev
Dec. 14th, 2011 04:15 pm (UTC)
Late night chocolate chip cookies! <3
| Reply | Parent | Thread
( 20 comments — Leave a comment )