Brown Butter Cinnamon Cookies with Crystallized Ginger

The winter holidays are right around the corner, and I’ve been thinking a lot about cookies laden with cinnamon, spices, and all the other nice things (namely, butter). With the structure of Mexican polvorones in mind, I came up with these butter cookies, warming with the scent of cinnamon and the welcome spice of ginger. Taking a cue from my mother’s recipe for polvorones, I first browned the butter to add a nice nutty flavor to the cookies. I then added Korintje Cinnamon, which originates from Indonesia and is the most commonly used and familiar cinnamon flavor. Ceylon Cinnamon would also be delicious and would lend a slightly more complex and subtle flavor to the cookies. To make these simple slice-and-bake cookies a little more worthy of the holiday cookie plate, I studded the outside with crystallized ginger, giving the perfect unexpected kick to these buttery morsels. A dusting of cinnamon-kissed powdered sugar makes these cookies ready for any party.

One more thing: don’t let the amount of butter in these cookies scare you away. It’s the holidays, after all, and this much butter is acceptable but once a year.

Brown Butter Cinnamon Cookies with Crystallized Ginger Studs

adapted from The Troika Table

1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ teaspoons + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 ounces (about ½ cup) crystallized ginger, diced

2 tablespoons powdered sugar, for dusting

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until it is bubbling steadily. Continue cooking and stirring until the butter begins to brown and smell nutty. Watch carefully, as the butter can burn easily. Stir in the sugar and chill until the mixture is mostly solid (about 45 minutes), or let solidify at room temperature (this would take several hours).

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar mixture with the egg until it is lightly colored and fluffy. Add the vanilla, 2 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon, and pinch of salt. Mix in the flour until just combined.

Shape the dough into two logs, about 2 ½ inches thick. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour or overnight. After the dough has chilled, stud the dough logs with the crystallized ginger by scattering some of the ginger on your work surface and rolling the dough over it, gently pressing to make the ginger stick. You can also press the ginger into the dough with your fingers. Chill the dough for at least another 30 minutes to make it easier to slice. At this point, you can also freeze your dough, wrapped in plastic, for several months.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the dough ½ inch thick and place one inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, until lightly golden. The cookies will harden as they cool, so be careful not to overcook.

Combine the powdered sugar with the remaining ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and use a sifter or colander to dust the cookies with the mixture.

Yield – about 34 cookies

Happy baking,

Kara

Happy "Cinco De Mayo" Hour: Tamarind Rye Sour

It's Cinco de Mayo! Let's celebrate using a delicious fruit from Mexico! 

I love tamarind. Tangy, sour, and a flavor unlike anything else, tamarind is the fruit of the tamarind tree, native to tropical Africa. 

Tamarind pods

Over the course of its long history, tamarind has traveled to India, Thailand, the Middle East, Mexico and Latin America, among other places. In short, it’s everywhere. And do you know where else it should travel?

Into your drink.

Maybe you’ve encountered tamarind in block form at your local grocery store, or maybe you’ve even stopped by Bazaar Spices and seen the tamarind candy or tamarind powder. Hopefully you love tamarind’s sour bite, but there is a chance that you greet tamarind’s punch with more revulsion than fond feelings. It’s ok; tamarind is not for everyone.

But, if you want to step outside your norm for a bit, why not blend the sour tamarind with a woodsy, lemony rye whiskey? I recently came across a recipe for a Tamarind Whiskey Sour from Andy Ricker of Pok Pok, but, being more of a rye girl, decided to give it a whirl with tamarind powder from Bazaar Spices and a bottle of rye from Cordial. Although I made it on a rainy day, this Tamarind Rye Sour would be equally content being sipped on a hot summer’s evening. With the slightest tang from tamarind in the drink and a tamarind powder/sugar rimmed glass, this drink is at once bracing and refreshing. I thought about using a lime wedge to garnish, but really liked the sweet aroma from the orange slice as I drank the puckery concoction. Your call.

Tamarind Rye Sour

Note: To make simple syrup boil 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Let boil for a few minutes then remove from heat and cool. Syrup will keep in a sterilized jar in the refrigerator for a really long time. (I’ve had mine in there since January.)

For one drink:

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon tamarind powder

1 orange slice

1/2 ounce simple syrup (see note)

1/4 teaspoon tamarind powder, or more to taste

Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste

2 ounces rye (I used Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye, but use your favorite)

Lots of ice

Mix the sugar and 1/8 teaspoon tamarind powder in a small bowl. Squeeze a bit of juice from the orange slice onto a plate. First dip the rim of a short glass into the juice, then into the tamarind sugar, and set aside.

Stir the simple syrup and ¼ teaspoon tamarind powder together. Taste and, if you want more sour, add a little more tamarind powder. Add the simple syrup mixture, lime juice, and rye to a cocktail shaker, fill with ice, and shake for about 15 seconds. If you don't have a cocktail shaker, just stir everything together in a separate glass. Fill you drinking glass with ice and strain the contents of the shaker into the glass. Top with the orange slice and serve.

Cheers!

Kara

Graham Mom's Day

Ok, I admit I love graham crackers or at least I used to love them. I mean, who doesn't? Honey and cinnamon mixed in a crunchy wafer-like shell. I say "used to" because the more I looked at the ingredients, the less I was convinced that my graham crackers actually contained any of the things I loved about it: Cinnamon - nope; honey - nope; sweet brown sugar - nope..... Anyway, it's been my quest to make my own graham crackers and recently I did just that.

How did I make them? Well I will tell you, but before I do, a brief history lesson on graham flour thanks to our friends at about.com. Graham flour was created by "Sylvester Graham... in 1829. Graham was a Presbyterian minister and avid vegetarian, who promoted the use of unsifted and coarsely ground wheat flour for its high fiber content. The flour was nicknamed "graham flour" after Minister Graham, the main ingredient in Graham Crackers."

There's a little more to Sylvester as he was a pretty interesting character who had quite a following and influenced the likes of J.H. Kellogg and John D. Rockefeller. If you want to read more about him check out the link. 

Now with our history lesson done, on to the recipe. I had to adapt several recipes I found online because some were overly complicated and very few of them actually used graham flour. Why some recipes did not call for graham flour is a mystery - not sure how you call a graham cracker a graham cracker without graham flour - but hey, to each his own.  I used the Barry Farm Graham Flour sold by Bazaar Spices, brown sugar, butter (a lot of it), honey, a little bit of sea salt, and Korintje cinnamon. Overall the preparation was about 15 minutes. It would have been shorter had I been able to find the ingredients in my spice cabinet! I let the dough chill for two hours, give or take, for the first batch and about 24 hours for the second batch.

The taste was FANTASTIC: slightly crunchy, cinnamon-ny, light. It took me back. Once you try this recipe you will never, and I mean never, go back to those bland tasting box graham crackers again.   I think this may be my new go to recipe when I am craving a little snack. There are some variations of the recipe that I have seen such as using milk and eggs which the next time I make I may try, just to see how that alters the flavor and texture.

I am so glad I finally had the chance to make my own graham crackers. Once you give it a go you'll be glad you had the chance to make them as well.

Graham Crackers
Hands on time 15 min plus another 15 minutes after dough has chilled to cut and place into oven

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2  cups graham flour
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or other quality salt kosher is fine)
1 1/2  tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened
2 tablespoons honey - or little more wouldn't hurt!

Gather your dry ingredients and stir in a bowl until mixed well, then add the wet ingredients. Blend gently until consistently mixed throughout.

Form the dough into a ball and wrap in wax or parchment paper and roll the dough until about 1/8 to 1/4 inch in thickness.  Place in the refrigerator to chill for an hour or so. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, take the dough out of the refrigerator and let sit for a few minutes to soften. Then cut into squares and put on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes and that's it!