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Tag Archives | winter 2012 recipe

CHOCOLATE-GLAZED LEBKUCHEN

This recipe is adapted from Classic Home Desserts by Richard Sax (Chapters, 1994), a treasury of wonderful recipes. Lebkuchen can be labor-intensive and elaborate, but his version, containing honey rather than molasses, is quite manageable. It is dense, rich, redolent with spices and gilded here with bittersweet chocolate—so cut the servings small.

Makes 5 or 6 dozen servings.

For the cake:

¾ cup sugar
½ cup + 1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut in pieces
¾ chopped blanched almonds
1/3 cup finely chopped candied or dried fruit, such as pineapple
2 tablespoons preserved … Read More

BILL YOSSES’S GINGERBREAD BUNDT WITH FRESHLY GROUND SPICES

Reprinted from The Perfect Finish by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark (c) 2010 by Bill Yosses

Bill Yosses, who lectured again this fall in Harvard University’s Science and Cooking series, is the executive pastry chef at the White House. He has the distinction of being hired by the Bush Administration and staying on with the Obamas. His gingerbread has the distinction of freshly ground whole spices including star anise and cardamom, which impart an intoxicating aroma. The directions call for an electric mixer, but hand mixing works fine. Unsalted butter, for the pan All-purpose flour, for dusting

Gingerbread:
3 green … Read More

OLD-FASHIONED GINGERSNAPS

This recipe, from my friend Margaret McCormick, makes a traditional homemade gingersnap cookie with real snap both in texture and spice. For extra zing from your Zingiber officinale, consider tripling the ginger quotient by using ground dried ginger, minced preserved ginger and grated fresh ginger root all together. These cookies keep well in a tin with an airtight top.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

¾ cup unsalted butter or shortening, softened
1 cup sugar + more “sand sugar” for rolling the cookie
dough (about ½ cup)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup molasses
2 cups flour, sifted
1 teaspoon … Read More

FANNY FARMER’S 1896 SOFT MOLASSES GINGERBREAD

In the first edition of Fanny Merritt Farmer’s The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896) she gives eight different recipes for gingerbread, the first suggesting clarified chicken fat instead of butter, plus several ginger cookies.
Ginger was clearly a favorite! In this close adaptation for a dark, moist, molasses-rich cake, I’ve kept her wording where possible.

Makes 12–16 servings.

1 cup molasses
1/3 cup unsalted butter (5 1/3 tablespoons) + more for pan
1¾ teaspoons soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups flour, sifted
2 teaspoons dried ground ginger, sifted
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. … Read More

Chocolate Truffles

Adapted from EHChocolatier

Makes about 50 balls

If you want to try your hand at chocolate confections, truffles are a good place to start. These are easy and delicious and are always welcome gifts—if you can bear to give them away. The quality and cocoa content of the chocolate you use will have a huge impact on the final product, so choose carefully.

10½ ounces (about 1½ cups) chocolate (your favorite), chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons light corn syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft but not melted
Cocoa powder, for coating

Line the bottom … Read More

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