Candied Ginger Cookies

Another entry from my Spice Cookie Baking Day with Ericka.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE ginger!

What's spicier than Candied Ginger?

I wanted to try it in a cookie. I love to just snack on little pieces of it. But I've never had it 'in' anything.

So another search of the interwebs turned up this recipe!

Moxie's Crystallized Ginger Cookies from recipezaar.com.



Moxie's Crystallized Ginger Cookies
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 TBLS sesame oil
1/4 C dark molasses
1 C granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 C flour
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 ounces candied ginger, coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 375F.
Cream butter& sesame oil with molasses sugar and egg.
Sift together dry ingredients (except candied ginger) and add to creamed mixture.
Blend well.
Fold in candied ginger.
Chill for one hour.
Form into 1-inch balls, roll in granulated sugar.
Put cookies about 2 inches apart from each other on a greased baking sheet (or one you have lined with parchment paper).
Bake 8-10 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cream butter, sesame oil, sugar, egg and molasses.


Mmmmm... the sesame oil smells AMAZING!!!

Whisk together dry ingredients (except ginger)


Chop candied ginger...


Chop it much finer than this...

My step-by-step pics are missing quite a few steps this time!

Fold in candied ginger and refrigerate for one hour.



Roll into one inch balls... and roll balls in granulated sugar.


Bake for 8 - 10 minutes.




These cookies totally ROCK!



Even Mr SpiceCookieHater like them.

The sesame oil gives them a really amazing nutty flavor that really compliments the candied ginger.

Plus these cookies are nice and chewy... and they stay that way!

Definitely a keeper!!

Masala Chai

I LOVE Chai.

I order it often when I'm out. But I'm going to guess that it's not usually made from beautiful whole spices.



I decided I wanted to make it at home.

Chai is made from four things.

• Tea
• Milk
• Spices
• Sweetener

Tea...

What kind to use? My regular everyday tea, for iced tea, is just plain old Lipton, which I love. But I think this calls for some nice strong Indian black tea leaves.

So I consulted some friends who work for Teavana. I let them know I wanted a strong tea to stand up to all of the spices. They suggested Assam.

Assam it is!

Milk...

Most of the recipes I looked at called for whole milk. I always order a non-fat Chai, but this was an experiment, so I decided to go with the flow and used whole milk.

Spices...

This was the most versatile part! There were a tons of different spices. Two seemed to be in almost every recipe. Cardamom and Cloves. YUM!
I ended up choosing Cardamom, Cloves, Allspice, Star Anise, Cinnamon and Fresh Ginger.

Sweetener...

I just used honey. =)

Ready!

So I gathered my spices.


2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 almost whole Star Anise
about a dozen whole Cloves
8 or so Allspice Berries
3 Green Cardamom Pods
about an inch and a half of sliced Ginger Root.

Add that to a cup of water and bring to a boil.


Let is steep for 20 minutes.


I tried to kinda crush some of the spiced with the handle of a wooden spoon... but they really weren't having it.

After steeping... add 5 cups of whole milk and bring that to a boil.


Time for the tea.


Add tea leaves.


Steep for 10 minutes.




Add honey.


Strain out spices & tea leaves.










That's it!


Plus we added cinnamon sticks to our mugs.

So for a first try, this came out really good.

Jon & Ericka had never had Chai and both really liked it.

Ericka and I agreed that next time definitely NOT whole milk. WAY too thick and creamy. Who would ever think that thick & creamy would be a bad thing? While it wasn't really bad, it just had too much of a mouth coating thing going on, know what I mean?

Also, it could have been hotter and spicier and stronger.

So next time, I'd add more spices in general and up the ratio of Cardamom a little while I was at it.

I'd also add a little more tea.

Instead of steeping the tea off the heat, after the last boil, I think I'd just turn the fire down to low to keep it hotter and maybe make it a little stronger.

Do you make Chai at home?

I'd love to hear how you do it!

Domaine de Canton ~ Ginger Liqueur

Have you ever tried a ginger liqueur?

If you LOVE ginger... you MUST try Domaine de Canton!!!!



When I opened it, I couldn't stop smelling it.

It smells just like freshly peeled ginger root!

Fresh Vietnamese Baby Ginger and VSOP Cognac combined with Tahitian Vanilla Beans, Provencal Honey and Tunisian Ginseng... shaken w/ice and strained into a brandy snifter... YUM!!!!

Check their website for collection of delectable ginger cocktails.

Definitely store this in the freezer for a spicy delicious night cap!!

Cheers!