Ginger Molasses Cookies---Soft & Chew Goodness!

Ginger and Molasses just were meant to be together...they are a perfect couple. Being a texture kind of gal, I personally prefer a crunch ginger snap cookie but I couldn't help but fall in love with this recipe! Oh, the ooey gooey goodness of molasses and spices of ginger, clove and cinnamon....uhmmmm!  My spin on this recipe is that I used sorghum molasses that I bought at the Country View Mennonite store while home in TN during Thanksgiving. I can honestly say that I'm convinced the fresh sorghum made these cookies the divine little chewy gems that they are. So make a batch of these and hide a few for yourself to enjoy with a cup of coffee (or Tea my friend Kathy!) on the porch before everyone else wakes up. It will be a perfect start to your day! Enjoy :)

 Ultimate Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses (I used pure sorghum molasses)
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces)
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Turn the mixer to low speed, add the egg, and beat for 1 minute. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat for 1 more minute. With the mixer still on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons or a small ice cream scoop. With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Note: I thought the dough was too soft to roll up by hand so I just dropped the dough by good spoonfuls onto the baking sheet and sprinkled the tops with some sugar before putting into the oven. Turned out great!

Soft Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies :) YUM

***The original recipe for this cookie is from:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/ultimate-ginger-cookie-recipe/index.html

THE Kahlua Cake

Oh there are so many stories about this cake. I'll share just one or two. First, the original recipe I found many years ago had 1/4 cup of Kahlua. My version uses 3/4 cup and then requires another 1/4 cup for sipping while you bake this cake! uhmm uhmm uhmm!

I usually make this at Thanksgiving. One year, while baking at my daughters, I used a new measuring cup that was actually a 4 cup and not the 2 cup typically found in her kitchen which shouldn't matter except that I totally missed the measuring of the Kahlua and added 1 and 3/4 cup of Kahlua. You know the alcohol does cook out of the cake or so we've been told. Apparently NOT if you add this much alcohol. What we noticed was that after eating a piece of this cake, everyone's cheeks became flushed. I did finally figure out what had happened but you know, the cake was devoured and not one complaint!

My friends aunt asked me for this recipe one year after our Thanksgiving get together. Aunt Betty is a teetotaler. She spent the better part of 30 minutes hunting for Kahlua in the local Albertsons. Finally, she asked a clerk where exactly was the Kahlua? Of course, he explained to her that it was alcoholic and she would have to go to the liquor store to purchase it. To our surprise, she sent her son to the liquor store to buy it for her! Apparently the Kahlua cake had left quite an impression on Aunt Betty!

It is so good and it is wonderful warm. I have even taken a tablespoon of Baileys Irish Creme and sifted confectioners sugar and made a glaze to drizzle over this cake. Oh my...it just rocks! Enjoy!

Kahlua Cake

1 Swiss chocolate cake mix (Use Duncan Hines...Devils Food if you can't find Swiss)
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups sour cream (do not use the less fat or lite version...you need the fat to make this cake work well)
3/4 cup Kahlua
1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients and bake for 50-60 minutes in 350 oven. Use bundt/tube pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Glaze

1 cup sifted confectioner sugar
2 Tbsp warmed Baileys Irish Creme
1 tbsp melted butter

Add a little more confectioner sugar if necessary to get the desired consistency. I have taken a fork and poked a few tiny holes in the top of the cake before pouring this glaze over it.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

I have a confession to make....I love making this pudding but I don't like to eat it. I don't like anything that implies "custard" because I don't like eggs very much. Now with that said, I will make chocolate custard pie and eat it without a second thought. I love chocolate that much!

Aunt Byd Bailey requested I make this pudding for her when she was sick and in the last days of her life as she battled cancer. I was scheduled to go out of town but as soon as I got back, I whipped up this pudding and took it to her house. Well, I was too late. Aunt Byd was in a coma and she never did wake up. We lost her later that night. But I always felt so awful that it was the one food she thought she wanted to eat and I couldn't get it to her in time. On the brighter side, the family that came to the home in the following days did get to enjoy it and Aunt Byd would have been pleased by that. She was all about her family!!

This makes a small pudding, about a 2 quart casserole dish size. Double it if you want a 13 x 9 pan.

Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

1 cup of sugar
1 3/4 cups of milk
2 Tbsp +1 tsp corn starch OR flour
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp butter
Ripe bananas--about 3 medium or 4 small
Box of vanilla wafers
Cool Whip or Meringue

Mix the sugar and corn starch into a 2-3 qt. saucepan. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the milk. Add the milk/egg mixture to the sugar mixture. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. It will begin to hold its shape a little when dropped from the spoon. I always use a wooden spoon to stir this. Approximately time to cook is 15-20 minutes on medium heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Stir until the butter is melted.

Layer first the custard, then bananas, then vanilla wafers ending with custard. Top the custard with Cool Whip, whipped cream or meringue that you've made from the egg whites.

NOTE: I rarely make meringue, although I can, because honestly, no one in our bunch likes meringue. My daddy used to call is "cow slobber". That might be part of the reason I don't care for meringue! BUT, it does look nice and I will add a good recipe for meringue for those who do like it. The bananas must have some dark spots which means the sugar is coming up into the fruit. Otherwise, the flavor will not be the same. Adding the bananas to the warm custard really does bring out the flavor of the bananas. Let this stay in the frig a few hours or overnight before serving.

Banana Pudding--The Summer Version

I have two banana pudding recipes that I use all the time. That's because I'm not so keen about standing over the stove stirring the custard base for the old fashioned banana pudding. So I call this recipe my Summer Banana Pudding.

Banana Pudding - No Cooking required

1 large pkg instant vanilla pudding OR 2 small pkgs.
2 1/2 cups of cold milk

Mix the pudding with the cold milk until it begins to hold its shape.

Add 1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk and 8 oz thawed Cool Whip

Alternate layers of pudding with sliced bananas and vanilla wafers; top with remaining cool whip and a pretty layer of whole vanilla wafers.

Refrigerate and chill several hours before serving.

 TIPS:
I typically will use 4 large bananas. You want to use bananas that are just beginning to get the dark spots on them. If not, they'll be green and the pudding will be flavorless. If there are too many spots, the bananas will just mush up and that's not good.

I use either/or vanilla, french vanilla, banana, cream cheese flavored puddings. I think my favorite is to use one small pkg cream cheese instant pudding and one small pkg of the banana flavored instant pudding.