Smoky Bacon-Ginger Cookies

It's that baking time of the year for me when it seems as if my kitchen is a non-stop flurry of activity!
I baked these cookies the night after Thanksgiving because I was bored and had the "hankering" to bake something!
The recipe comes from the new 2010 Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies issue that comes out each year in November.
Always looking for interesting and unique recipes, this one really proves to be unique.

These highly flavorful cookies build upon the bacon-for-dessert craze with a couple of other fashionable ingredients--sorghum and smoked sea salt. If you can't find sorghum, locally, which I could not find in my area, unsulfured molasses can be used.

For about 5 dozen cookies, you'll need:

8 oz thick-cut smoked bacon (about 6 slices)
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teas. baking soda
1 Tablespoon ground ginger
1 teas. ground cinnamon
1/2 teas. coarse salt
3 Tablespoons plus 2 teas. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Large Egg
1/3 cup sorghum syrup or unsulfured molasses
1/2 cup raw sugar, such as turbinado (Sugar In The Raw brand)
Smoked sea salt, for sprinkling, such as Maldon's

Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 14 minutes. Pour off fat and reserve (you should have 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fat and 3/4 cup bacon); transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate, let bacon and reserved fat cool.


Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk together flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat together butter, granulated and brown sugars on medium-high until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in reserved bacon fat. Add egg and mix until blended, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add sorghum (or molasses) and mix until blended. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, mixing until blended.

Mix in the reserved bacon.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll balls in the raw sugar to coat. Space 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment or silicone non-stick baking mats. Flatten balls using the palm of your hand or a spatula, sprinkle lightly with smoked sea salt.

Bake 1 sheet at a time, rotating halfway through, until edges are set and tops are cracked but centers are still soft, about 8 minutes. Let cookies cool completely on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies - Sinfully Delicious!

This Halloween I wanted to make up a special treat for my nephew and niece and their friends when they embarked on this special night of tricking and treating!

These Pumpkin Whoopie Pies are decadently delicious and can be enjoyed all throughout the Autumnal season, not just on Halloween!

A whoopie pie is a baked good made of two round chocolate, cake-like, cookies with a sweet, creamy frosting sandwiched between them. While considered a New England phenomenon and a Pennsylvania Amish tradition, they are increasingly sold throughout the United States. According to food historians, Amish women would bake these and put them in farmers' lunchboxes. When the farmers would find these treats in their lunch, they would shout "Whoopie!"

You can get this simple recipe here: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

The recipe is actually for a "Mini" version, but I made a larger, more regular sized version by using 2 Tablespoons of batter for each cookie instead of 2 teaspoons. The baking times remain the same. I also doubled the batch of filling.

First step is to get your oven preheating to 375° and then sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening, granulated sugar & dark brown sugar until smooth. Then you'll add one egg and continue to mix until pale and fluffy.

Mix in about half of the flour mixture, then a cup of milk, some pure vanilla extract and then the remaining flour mixture.

Drop batter, 2" apart, onto baking sheets lined with parchment or non-stick baking mats. Bake for 12-14 minutes, rotating the sheet pans halfway through baking, until the cookies are done.

Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool completely.


To prepare the luscious pumpkin filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, unsalted butter and confectioners' sugar, on medium speed, until smooth.

Add fresh pure pumpkin, a little cinnamon and nutmeg and continue to whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

Pipe or spoon the filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, flat side down. Enjoy one of these now because there won't be any of them left soon after you make them!!

Paczki - Such a Guilty Pleasure!

It's Fat Tuesday, and that means one thing to Metro Detroiters: Paczki!

Each year I cannot wait to sink my teeth into these caloric treats that make plain donuts look downright wimpy, and they are a part of living in Detroit that no Michigan resident or visitor should miss.

A paczki (pronounced: pawnch-kee or poonch-kee) is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with a confiture or other sweet filling. Paczki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol is added to the dough before frying; as it evaporates, it prevents the absorption of oil deep into the dough.

Although they look like Bismarck's or jelly doughnuts, paczki are made from an especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and cream fillings and can be glazed, or covered with sugar. Stewed plum jam, prunes or wild rose hip jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, chocolate, custard, raspberry, lemon, and apple.

Paczki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. Jędrzej Kitowicz has described that during the reign of August III, under the influence of French cooks who came to Poland, paczki dough was improved, so that paczki became lighter, spongier, and more resilient.

In the Polish community of Hamtramck, Michigan, a small enclave located within the city limits of Detroit, there is an annual Paczki Day Parade, which has gained a devoted following. Many Hamtramck bakeries open as early as 3 AM and have people lining up, as early as the night before, for paczki on Paczki Day. The Paczki Day celebrations are even larger than many celebrations for St. Patrick's Day.

A favorite Hamtramck bakery of mine and one of the more popular places to get your paczki at is "The New Palace Bakery" located at 9833 Joseph Campau Street in Hamtramck.
"A Hamtramck staple, the New Palace Bakery has been peddling paczki for nearly 90 years. Their plum, apple, blueberry and raspberry paczki will tempt you. New palace has a dizzying selection of polish pastries, including babkas, fruit pies, dumplings, danishes and doughnuts. They make their own Moon Pies, and one can't help but stifle a giggle at their chocolate and vanilla "boy cookies," literally shaped like little boys."

Here's a look at the crowds early Tuesday morning as people lined up for hours!

It was even snowing!

The line extended all the way around the block and even more people were approaching to get their place in line!

People braved the cold temps and snow just for these tasty little buggers!

On Paczki day I also make a stop and my absolute favorite Italian bakery for more paczki, but paczki of a different kind! Tringali's Bakery in Warren MI, famous for their Italian Cannoli make their version of a Paczki filled with that rich, creamy and delicious cannoli cream! These are beyond heavenly!

For those who want amazing pie and a paczki-like experience, Michigan's own Achatz Handmade Pie Company , featured many times on The Food Network, has a special pie just for Fat Tuesday. The Paczki Pie features a crispy sugar glazed pastry shell filled with their famous vanilla cream and topped with their signature Michigan 4-Berry pie filling. This pie is just as good as the little packzi themselves!

Another unique Fat Tuesday treat comes from a local BBQ restaurant; Lazybones Smokehouse, has a created a "BBQ Pulled Pork" Paczki for today and are selling them for a $1.00 each. I haven't not tried or seen these, but curiosity may have me visit there today.

Holiday Baking 2009!!

As much as I love baking throughout the year, no other time of the year is my baking more prominent than during the Christmas Holiday Season. I love giving gifts of cookies and other treats to friends and family and since this year was dedicated to the "homemade" and the "handmade", gifts of homemade sweets just seemed like a "good thing"!

I generally pick a few recipes from literally hundreds that I have saved, online or in recent publications I receive. The following is a sample of some of the items I did this year:

Candy-Cane Biscotti

Chocolate Truffles dusted in gold luster dust

Chocolate-Cherry Pinwheels

Festive Holiday Bars

Italian "Oil" cookies (an old family recipe)

Here are some treats boxed up for my employees and friends. Made up 60 of these altogether consisting of 4 different items each!

I was also asked to bake and donate an item to be sold at a Charity Bake Sale. The item I made was the "Gingerbread House" Cake featured in the 2009 Martha Stewart Living Holiday Baking Issue.

This consisted of a gingerbread cake with chocolate butter cream icing and adorned with actual gingerbread pieces for the roof shingles, trim, windows and door. Though the version in the magazine had a more "log cabin" look, I was going for a whimsical, cartoonish look!

Happy Holidays To You All!

Sending out Holiday wishes to each and everyone of my friends and family, and looking forward to a wonderful New Year full of good things!!

John

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving is a time to be with loved ones. A time to think and a time for self growth. Everyone has something to be thankful for.

This year I am trying to put my energy into thinking about what I am thankful for.

I am thankful I am alive! I'm a simple guy, that doesn't own a whole lot but there's a ton to be thankful for.

I am thankful for the friendships I have and for the family that loves me.

I am thankful for the friendships I have made online and for knowing each and everyone of YOU!

I am thankful for the job I have, which (barely) pays my bills. I could go on but I will stop there.

Life brings meaning when you take the time to stop and think, "What do I have to be thankful for?"

Of course, my love for cooking is fully expressed during this time of the year. Though I miss the days long gone of my Grandmother cooking Thanksgiving dinner, along with my Mother and my Aunts, I truly enjoy taking on this task. Though traditional foods are there each year, I try to "jazz" things up with a new twist on old favorites.

My turkey, each year, is consistently prepared the same way. I order a FRESH Turkey from Peacock's Poultry Farm. The turkey is brined for about 18 hours and prepared using Martha Stewart's "Turkey 101" recipe. It's always perfect without fail! My sister even tried the "Turkey 101" method for the first time this year, and was also quite pleased with the results.

The sides are from the November 2009 issue of Everyday Food Magazine, and consist of Bread Stuffing with Sage, Pan Gravy, Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta (from the Martha Stewart Thanksgiving Hotline Downloadable cookbook), Green Bean Casserole, Balsamic-Glazed Onions, Orange-Scented Cranberry Sauce, and finished off with my favorite Pumpkin Pie recipe!

Everything here is done and ready to be transported to my sisters house. Thank goodness she just lives across the street!

Of course, with all the leftovers, each year I turn them into "Thanksgiving Leftovers Shepherd's Pie" and we look forward to that more than the main dinner!

For more great ideas on what to do with your leftovers click here: What To Do With Thanksgiving Leftovers.