Category Archives: Holiday

Gingersnaps

Updated 12/3/2018: this post was edited to add better photos and a minute to the baking time.For whatever reason, I associate gingersnaps with watching TV with my dad when I was five. After dinner, he’d grab a few and make himself a cup of decaf, park Eliot and me next to him on the couch, and flip on the TV. I think we watched CSPAN and Star Trek, but I don’t remember (probably because I was bored…CSPAN is a snoozefest). What I do recall is that he would dip each gingersnap in his coffee and share them with us. I just loved eating those coffee-soaked cookies and hanging out with my dad.Now anytime I eat a gingersnap, I go back to those days for just a second. I’m not sure if those memories took place around the holidays, but who cares. This is the time of year for ginger, cinnamon, cookies, and nostalgia. I’m not sure if most people consider gingersnaps a holiday cookie, but I do.
These gingersnaps, y’all. They’re amazing–way better than the storebought variety I grew up eating. Crispy, crunchy, and full of that classic ginger-molasses flavor, they’re guaranteed to be hit at all your holiday parties! The best part? They’re super easy. Once your butter has softened to room temperature, this recipe comes together in under an hour. Gingersnaps The dough is very straightforward. Flour, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper (don’t skip it!), baking soda, and salt are whisked together. Use an electric mixer to beat together your softened butter, a cup of sugar, an egg, and some molasses. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, and then scoop the dough by the tablespoon. No need for a chill or anything. Roll the dough into balls and place them on parchment-lined baking sheets before sliding them into the oven for 12-14 minutes. The cookies will spread a bit, but still be nice and puffy when they’re ready. They may feel a bit soft immediately after baking, but will harden as they cool.Once these gingersnaps are cool, good luck restraining yourselves. They’re delightfully crispy and the ginger-cinnamon flavor is just…everything. I can usually restrain myself around all my baked goods, but I’ve been snacking on these all day! Throw these gingersnaps on your to-bake list this holiday season.
Looking for more holiday treats? Check out my Hot Chocolate Mix (perfect for gifting!), Chai Whipped Shortbread, and Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms!

Gingersnaps
makes 3.5 dozen cookies

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/4 cup molasses (not blackstrap)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

In a medium-large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter until light and fluffy. Mix in sugar, followed by egg and molasses. Add dry ingredients in two installments, mixing completely after each addition.

Scoop dough in 1 tablespoon increments and roll into balls. Place dough balls at least 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake 13-15 minutes, rotating the pans from the top to bottom racks at the 7 minute mark. Gingersnaps will still feel soft in the middles, but harden as they cool. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely.

Gingersnaps will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms

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I spent this past weekend working on a huge tea party. I made vegetarian Cornish pasties, three kinds of pie (including this one), and two flavors of scones for 100 guests. I’ve done parties for 300+, but this event was my Everest. Note to bakers everywhere: if you’re making pastry for 100, spring for a sous chef. It’s been three full days since that party, and I still haven’t fully recovered.

Since I’m all pastried out, I’m keeping it simple today with these Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms. That’s right, classic Peanut Butter Blossoms are dressed up with milk chocolate Lindt Lindor Truffles!

The cookie base is rich, chewy, and chock-full of peanut butter flavor. And did I mention that it just happens to be gluten-free? That’s right–there’s no wheat flour in these little cookies 😊 The structure comes from a combination of creamy peanut butter, eggs, and cornstarch. Add a little baking powder, and the resulting cookies come out super soft and puffy.

Oh, I almost forgot the best part–these peanut butter cookies come together in less than half an hour and don’t require a chill!

While you could certainly serve the peanut butter cookies by their lonesome, it’s the holidays, so they are just screaming for a little something extra! Peanut Butter Blossoms are traditionally made with Hershey’s Kisses–and you may certainly go that route here–but why not try something a little more decadent? Lindt Lindor Truffles are everywhere this time of year. I’m not a huge candy person, but I can’t resist their chocolate shells and creamy ganache centers. Here, they’re pressed into the tops of our warm peanut butter cookies, making every bite creamy and luxurious. I prefer the milk chocolate variety, but you may use dark chocolate or any other flavor you like. A warning, however, that Lindor Truffles do contain gluten (a fact which I somehow overlooked until right before I hit publish today). If you or one of your guests must be gluten-free, I suggest using the traditional Hershey’s Kisses or any other gluten-free chocolate you enjoy.

Seriously, y’all. These little cookies are so good–perfect for all your holiday parties and cookie swaps. Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms are guaranteed holiday crowd pleaser ❤️💚

Lindor Truffle Peanut Butter Blossoms
makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups creamy-style peanut butter* (almost an entire 16.3 ounce jar; I used Skippy)
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/8 teaspoon baking powder
24-25 Lindt Lindor Truffles (I use the Milk Chocolate variety), unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat peanut butter and light brown sugar until combined. Mix in egg and yolk, followed by vanilla. Beat in cornstarch and baking powder.

Scoop dough in 2 tablespoon increments and roll into balls. Place dough balls at least 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake 8-9 minutes, until no longer shiny. Let cool five minutes on the pans before pressing one Lindt Lindor Truffle into the top of each cookie. Let cool and additional ten minutes before removing to a rack or serving plate.

Truffles will re-solidify after several hours at room temperature. They are best eaten with a napkin handy to catch any drips from the ganache centers. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Note:

Do not use natural peanut butter here. These cookies need the homogenous texture of creamy-style peanut butter.

Chai Shortbread Snowballs

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Sometimes I make a recipe and like it enough to post it, but then, when I go to make it again, I am disappointed. I feel that way about a few recipes on this site and will be posting better alternatives as we move into 2017.

One that I am out to fix? My Whipped Shortbread Snowballs. They are super buttery and delicious as written, but they are also incredibly fragile. So fragile that coating them in confectioner’s sugar is near impossible. Forget about stacking them in a container or putting them on a cookie tray–they’ll all break. There’s nothing wrong with delicate cookies (I love these Apple Cider Snaps), but I don’t want to make cookies that fall apart the second I go to eat one.

So, how am I going to fix that recipe? Like I do most cookies: I’ll add cornstarch. I love cornstarch. It keeps chewy cookies soft, gives my cakes a tender crumb, and it makes my Chocolate Cream Pie nice and sliceable. Here, it adds just enough structure to these cookies to keep them from crumbling without fundamentally altering the crispy, melty texture. Cornstarch is magic, I tell you. If you want to make a better, sturdier version of my Whipped Shortbread Snowballs, add 1/4 cup of cornstarch when you add the confectioner’s sugar, then follow the recipe as written. Voilà! They’ll still melt in your mouth, but they won’t crumble all over your floors.

I could leave it at that, basically posting the same recipe twice in a year, but that’s not really my style. Today’s shortbread take that classic recipe and turn it up a bit with the addition of chai. Black tea leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and black pepper (yes, black pepper!) are blitzed into the flour before its mixed with the whipped butter, confectioner’s sugar, and cornstarch. The resulting cookies have all the flavors of your favorite chai tea latte. Coat them in more confectioner’s sugar for that signature holiday cookie look and watch them disappear at your next holiday party!

Chai Shortbread Snowballs
makes about 2 dozen cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon black tea leaves (I use PG Tips)
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Coating:
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 275F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine flour, tea leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, black pepper, and salt. Process about 15-20 seconds, until tea leaves are broken down. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 1 minute, until light and fluffy. Add confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch, and mix for 1 minute. Turn mixer to high and beat for 6 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Mix in vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in two installments.

Scoop dough in 2 tablespoon increments and place them at least 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake 14 minutes before rotating pans from top to bottom racks. Bake an additional 12-14 minutes.

Let cookies cool on pans for 5 minutes. Place confectioner’s sugar in a small-medium mixing bowl. Gently coat each cookie in confectioner’s sugar before placing it on a rack to cool completely.

Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

Hot Chocolate Mix

Sausage & Mushroom Biscuit Stuffing

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Thanksgiving, y’all. It’s happening in eight days. Are you ready? I know I am.

See, aside from taking a bus to Boston, there’s nothing I need to do. My parents are coming up to spend the holiday with my little sister and me, and we’ll be having the traditional turkey dinner at a restaurant in Brookline, Massachusetts. No muss, no fuss. All we need to do is dress nicely and show up. It’s pretty great, especially if the idea of making a huge dinner doesn’t appeal to you. But, as you may have gathered by my having a food blog, the marathon cooking very much appeals to me.

For years I’ve said that my idea of the perfect day is preparing a Thanksgiving dinner all by myself. I know–I’m insane. Hear me out though. I have been obsessively reading recipes for years and have catalogued an extensive collection of Thanksgiving recipes. Given the chance to host Thanksgiving, I know every detail from how I’d serve Artichoke Dip as an appetizer to how I’d dry brine the turkey to which of my mother’s sweet potato recipes I’d use and how many pies I’d make. And of course, I know what kind of stuffing I’d serve–one made with biscuits and studded with sausage and mushrooms. Since it doesn’t appear I’ll be preparing any large turkey dinners anytime soon, I went ahead and tried my ideal stuffing recipe on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. After eating four servings over the course of the day, I can safely say that the Sausage & Mushroom Biscuit Stuffing I’d been imagining for years is just as good as I had hoped. Crispy on top, moist in the middle, and made out of the perfect food (biscuits, duh), this is the stuffing of my dreams.

Sausage & Mushroom Biscuit Stuffing starts with a batch of cream biscuits. These biscuits require less work than their buttermilk-based counterparts and are just as delicious. They’re great with butter and jam or made into little sandwiches, but here they’re cut into small pieces after baking and left at room temperature until stale (12-48 hours). If you’re working on a tight deadline, I’ve written a shortcut for this step into the recipe.

Once the biscuit pieces are dried out, the stuffing assembly can begin. Brown some sausage. I like breakfast sausage because the sage flavor goes so well with other parts of the Thanksgiving meal, but use whichever variety you like.

Sauté some diced mushrooms, followed by onion and celery. Add the biscuits, sausage, and vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Toss in some herbs–parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (just as Simon & Garfunkel intended). Throw in a little salt and pepper and moisten everything with melted butter and chicken stock.

Pile it into a casserole dish (or your trusty cast iron skillet) and drizzle it with a bit more stock. Lay parchment and foil over the top to keep the stuffing moist, and bake for half an hour. Then remove the foil and parchment and bake for fifteen more minutes, just long enough for the top to get brown and crispy.

This stuffing, y’all. It’s freaking delicious. Deeply savory with tons of meaty sausage, earthy mushrooms, aromatics, herbs, and butter (always butter), it’ll be perfect alongside your turkey. The top is brown and crisp-crunchy, while the middle stays soft and moist. Oh my lord, is this good. Try it, and you will be wondering why we save this for one or two days per year. I know I am.

Sausage & Mushroom Biscuit Stuffing
biscuit recipe from Dinner with Julie
makes about 8-10 servings

Cream Biscuits:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
2 cups heavy cream

Stuffing:
1 recipe cream biscuits (or other good biscuits), cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb breakfast sausage, removed from casings
6 tablespoons butter, divided
8 ounces cremini or other mushrooms, diced
2 cups diced white onion (about one large onion)
2 cups diced celery (about 6-8 stalks)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1/2-1 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock, divided (I like Better than Bouillon)

Make the biscuits. Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to stir in heavy cream. Knead a few times to incorporate any extra dry ingredients. Press biscuit dough into prepared pan and score with a sharp chef’s knife (I usually score 20 rectangular biscuits). Bake 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through and starting to turn golden. Let cool in the pan on a rack until the biscuits reach room temperature.

Use a sharp chef’s knife to cut the biscuits into 1-inch pieces. Place pieces in one layer on a baking sheet and leave uncovered for 12-48 hours, until stale. Alternatively, you may dry out the biscuit pieces by toasting them in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.

Make the stuffing. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large casserole or other ovenproof pan. Set aside.

Place stale biscuit pieces in a large mixing bowl.

Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook until browned. Remove sausage to the mixing bowl that contains the biscuits.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon of sausage fat from the pan, and return to the heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and melt. Sauté mushrooms 7-10 minutes, until cooked but not browned. Add them to the sausage and biscuit pieces.

Return pan to the heat and reduce heat to medium. Add celery and onion and sauté until translucent but not brown, about 10 minutes.

Add vegetables to the large mixing bowl, along with thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Toss all ingredients together. Pour in 2 cups of chicken stock and continue stirring until everything is moistened (there may be a bit of excess liquid–this is fine). Taste for salt and add 1/2 teaspoon more, if desired.

Press mixture into prepared casserole dish. Drizzle with an additional 1 cup chicken stock. Cover with a layer of parchment, followed by a layer of foil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove parchment and foil. Bake an additional 15 minutes until browned and crispy. Serve immediately.

Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days.

e2 bakes brooklyn

sweets & sass from a baking brooklynite.