A food blogger I am not. In
fact, as I built my Pinterest boards, I decided not to save recipes except
those from recognized test kitchens for the simple reason that I just don’t cook
/ bake that much. When there are just two of you, you don’t need much food. But
here I go – trying and posting mid-century recipes.
I like variety in my diet, so
constantly baking gingerbread might not be to my liking. However, today I’m
trying a recipe for a molasses refrigerator cookie, but since they are to remain in the fridge for 3-4 hours, I won’t have time to
bake them until tomorrow.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have
gingersnap recipes from both of my grandmothers – Nina Saunders Portfors and Ina
Dickson Dobson. The recipes are similar – both rolled. I don’t recall that Mother
ever used the Saunders’ recipe. My dad, however, loved his mother’s gingersnaps
and made them frequently, storing them in a tin can. We used to laugh that Daddy
would change any recipe, often before he even tried the original, and yes, he
changed the gingersnap recipe by adding an egg. Actually, as I’ve researched
more modern gingersnap recipes, it appears the addition of an egg is the main
difference. Perhaps my dad had done his homework.
At Thanksgiving, I made a
batch of the Dobson gingersnaps, using my turkey-shaped cookie cutter. Years
ago, I vowed that when I could afford it, I would have a collection of
wonderful cookie cutters. Wouldn’t you know it, when I finally “arrived,” I no
longer cared about cookie cutters? I now collect patterns of a different sort.
And when I searched for the
perfect ginger cookie to frost, my dad's comment was, “Why not just frost the cookies from the
old family recipe?” Frankly, I just think time goes on and there are probably tastier recipes, so my quest for the
perfect frosted gingerbread boy is ongoing.
Reading
recipes you see a lot of variation in the amount and type of spices. Both ginger and molasses are strong flavors (and expensive, too, by the way.)
Oh! I almost forgot -- I also tried
a recipe for molasses oatmeal raisin cookies last month, but I didn’t care for them. No
one else raved about them either, so I won’t make that recipe again.
Of course, my favorite cookie
is your standard Tollhouse Chocolate Chip. Sometimes I substitute M&Ms.
Sometimes I add Rice Krispies. But -- the men in my life prefer any other kind
of cookie and preferably without candy, with the exception of toffee bits. KW
3 comments:
Coworkers frequently bring in baked goods to share. One day, someone brought in chocolate chip cookies. One person offered that her favorite recipe included the addition of some unusual thing (butterscotch? Peanuts? I can’t remember). When I mentioned that MY favorites included rice crispies for a nice crunch, there were actual oohs and ahhs in wonderment!
I had (and still have someplace) a recipe brochure from Kellogg's Rice Krispies ("Snap, Crackle, Pop"). That's were I found the recipe for chocolate chip cookies with Rice Krispies. I think it lightens the cookie, adds crunch, and also stretches the batch. Whatever the Kellogg's recipe, there's no mystery with me. I just add Rice Krispies -- as much as four cups -- to the cookie batter.
Adding the rice krispies sounds delicious! What a great idea. (And I do remember listening for the snap, crackle and pop in my cereal bowl!)
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