Hazelnut Molasses Sandwich Cookies with Chocolate Filling

This has been a pretty righteous month y’all. In spite of losing face, wallet, and phone, I’ve been having an absolutely necessary and excellent time freelancing and visiting buddies in DC. The city seems more vibrant than ever, thanks in no small part of course to the many exceptional folks who are organizing events and giving small businesses space to thrive. (Check out this baby recap of Emily Hilliard’s Pi[e] Day festivities for one such example!) And maybe you saw this on Facebook already, but DC’s city council just proposed an allowance that would give bakers and other food creators the ability to sell homemade goods to the public—if it passes, that’d be reason enough to move back.

At the moment, I’m still figuring out what’s next, but with a definite scheduled stop in Maine to help deliver baby goats and to hike that big ol’ mountain. And currently I’m resting my head in Philly, home to a few pretty sweet art exhibits and some of the best beer around (plus PRETZELS). But the wandering and the hubbub demand a return to basics—or well, deliciousness posing as basics—and this cookie recipe is more of a cathartic get-‘er-done thing than a big ol’ kitchen exertion; these felt good to make. Fairly fast and dead simple with a huge flavorful payoff, these cookies offered an eye in the storm of my roving. Slice, bake, fill, stack: a relieving and totally tasty way to chill out.

Hazelnut Molasses Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy by Alice Medrich

Medrich says this recipe makes 100 cookies and 50 sandwich cookies, but I preferred the thicker ones and, with that in mind, would say it's more like 75 cookies and 32 sandwich cookies. Depends on how thin you slice your dough!

1/2 cup raw hazelnuts, skins on
1 2/3 all-purpose cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Scant 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, for filling

1.  Place the nuts, flour, and baking soda in a food processor and run until the nuts are finely ground. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and zest, and beat with a handheld or KitchenAid mixer until fluffy. On low speed, beat in half the flour mixture, followed by all of the molasses. Beat in the remaining flour until just blended.

2.  Shape the dough into a cylinder about 14 inches long and 1 3/4 inches in diameter. (I rolled mine along a stainless steel counter, but you can use a longer sheet of wax paper to aid you instead.) Wrap the dough tightly in wax paper or plastic for two to three hours, or until it's firm enough to slice.

3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven. Slice dough log into quarter-inch rounds (Medrich recommends eighth-inch, but thicker was better for us), and place 1 1/2 inches apart on lined cookie sheets. Bake for seven to ten minutes (Medrich says ten to 12, but ours were done by eight), rotating pans halfway through. The cookies will puff up then settle down before they are done. Set the liners on a cooling rack, and cool all the way before stacking or storing.

4.  To fill, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Spoon about one or two teaspoons of chocolate onto the underside of a cookie, then top with a same-sized cookie. Allow chocolate to set for about 15 minutes. Sandwich cookies will keep for one week in an airtight container.

Molasses-Gingerbread Cupcakes with Coffee Icing

Forgive me for the unseasonably and unfairly long list of ingredients, but I promise these are totally worth it. You know the drill—punchy, no-bullshit flavors that I can't effectively persuade you into trying, partly because February is the longest month of all time and I'm completely exhausted, but mostly because: Molasses. Ginger. Coffee. Chocolate. There's not much else to say! So much love though, from my sometimes churlish kitchen to yours.

Gingerbread Cupcakes
Adapted from The Craft of Baking by Karen Demasco

3/4 cup stout beer, such as Guinness
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee
3/4 cup dark molasses, such as Grandma's
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
3 tablespoons Demerara sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
1 large egg
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Candied ginger, cut into thin strips, for topping

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Using two cupcake tins, line 18 cups with silicone or paper liners.

2.  In a large saucepan, bring the beer, coffee, and molasses to a gentle boil.  Whisk together to combine. Remove from the heat and whisk in the baking soda (it will bubble quite a bit); let the mixture sit for five minutes to cool.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, Demerara, and grated fresh ginger.  Whisk in the egg.  In another large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, white pepper, and salt.  In three additions of each, alternately whisk the flour mixture and the beer mixture into the brown sugar mixture to combine.

4.  Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling them about three-quarters of the way each.  Bake for 20 minutes without opening the oven.  Then, rotate the tins and bake until the cakes spring back to the touch or until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about five minutes more. Invert the cupcakes onto a rack, turn them top up, and let cool completely.  Proceed to icing!

Coffee Icing
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (I used 3/4 cups, see below)
4 tablespoons coffee (I used two of coffee and also two of heavy cream)
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  I'm not too into the taste of confectioners' sugar, so I used half of what KD recommended and made mine more of a glaze than a thick icing. I accidentally brewed my coffee too strong too, so I used cream for half the liquid to temper the taste.  Add your sugar to a mixing bowl and whisk in the coffee (cream), molasses, and vanilla.  Add more sugar if you want to thicken it up, or more coffee or cream if you'd rather thin it out.

2.  Dip tops of cupcakes in the icing, top with strips of candied ginger, and let icing set for 30 minutes.  Cupcakes will keep, covered, for up to three days.

P.S. I don't always redo my banner to match my most recent posting, just this once!

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

I'll just say it:  Chocolate has been surpassed by ginger as my unequivocal favorite ingredient to bake with. Maybe it's the winter doldrums, but dudes, these days it's all about flavors that punch you in the mouth. This recipe is for those of you fellow ginger fiends who love rib-sticking molasses baked goods and unabated intense flavors. The combination of molasses and stout beer seriously smacks, and while the cake is pictured here with a dusting of powdered sugar, I found it was even better when I swathed a slice in butter and sprinkled it with sea salt, serious as a heart attack.

Old-Fashioned Gingerbread

Adapted from Claudia Fleming of Gramercy Tavern

1 cup oatmeal or standard stout beer (I used Guinness, but I'd like to try Bell's Kalamazoo or something with a stronger flavor)

1 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons ground ginger (I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Pinch of ground cardamom

3 large eggs

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup granulated white sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Generously butter bundt pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

2.  Bring stout and molasses to a boil in a medium to large saucepan.  Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda (mixture will bubble up some).  Let cool to room temperature.

3.  Sift flour, baking powder, and spices in a large bowl.  In a separate large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugars.  Whisk in oil, then molasses mixture.  Add liquids to flour mixture and whisk until just combined.

4.  Pour batter into bundt pan, and rap pan sharply on the counter a few times to eliminate air bubbles.  Bake in the center of the oven until a cake tester stuck into the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs adhering, about 50 minutes.  Let cake cool for five to eight minutes, and then turn out onto cooling rack and let cool completely.  Serve dusted with powdered sugar and unsweetened whipped cream, or with unsalted butter and a smattering of salt on top.

*Some have said that this cake is best when made a day in advance.  I made mine the night before, and found it was ever-so-slightly more bitter the next day, which I was way into.