Ginger Hermits

I never thought I liked gingerbread cookies or anything with a really spicy flavor. To tell you the truth, I really dislike ginger as a flavor overall, even though it's used a lot in the Korean cooking I grew up with.

Which is why it was a surprise when I liked these cookies so much. A coworker brought in a batch of Ginger Hermits to a work potluck and I was in love. Moist and flavorful, they are the perfect cookie to have with a cup of tea which is why I thought it would be a good recipe to share on a day like today - kind of a consolation prize to have when the first day of Spring is marked with cold weather and an inch accumulation of snow.

This is Sue's mom's original recipe. Of course, I couldn't resist tinkering with it a little bit - I did my usual swap of cranberries for raisins and I made these as drop cookies rolled in sugar. I must say that either way of making the cookies (rolling into logs and slicing into biscotti shapes or drop cookies).  The biscotti shapes come out almost gooey soft while the drop cookies have a perfectly crisp exterior with a chewy center.  I made these as a part of my annual cookie swap, and when one of my friends brought these into her workplace, one of her coworkers begged for the recipes, describing them as "perfectly balanced in flavor and texture".  Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

So while we're "enjoying" the remnants of winter weather, make these cookies, grab a cup of tea, and sit down and enjoy!

Ginger Hermits

Ingredients
3/4c. shortening
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. raisins (or Craisins)
3/4 c. white sugar (plus another 1/4 - 1/2 cup for rolling)
1/2 tsp. ginger
2 eggs
3/4 c. brown sugar
1tsp. ground cloves
1/4 c. molasses
3 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbl. water
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions
1. Mix shortening and sugars. Blend in eggs. Add dry ingredients and spices.
2. Mix water into the molasses add to dry mix. Add (c)raisins.
3. Make 4 long strips on lightly greased ( use Pam) cookie sheet. (I used my large tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to form uniform cookies and used my Silpat to line the cookie sheets)
4. Sprinkle top lightly with sugar. (I rolled the top of each in the extra white sugar)
5. Bake at 350F for 15 to 20 min. they will be soft as they come out of the oven but they will harden as they cool - stay on the 15 minute side for softer cookies!!
6. Slice into cookies.

Ready to go into the oven:

Yummy goodness waiting to be enjoyed!

Magic Seven Layer Bars

I don't know why it's taken me so long to make magic bars (aka seven layer bars). I've always loved eating them when people have made them in the past - after all, they contain an amazing combination of coconut, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. I adore anything with butterscotch chips in it. And the best part is, they are amazingly easy to make.

It was Sunday morning and I knew I wanted to make something to take with me to my cousin Andrea's facial party. My eye happened to catch a can of Eagle condensed milk in my cupboard, then I checked and found half a bag of sweetened coconut in the freezer and a half used box of graham cracker crumbs and decided it was time to try making them.

Magic Bars (recipe from the Eagle can of milk)
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I decreased this to one cup and added a cup of butterscotch chips)
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (I went with my favorite baking nut, pecans - toasted, of course)

I'm not quite sure where the seven layer name comes from because there's technically only seven "layers" or ingredients when you count butter as a layer and use two types of chips. I like the name "Magic Bars" since they do taste good enough to earn that title!

I also have to add that this recipe would be great to make with kids, since I can imagine them having as much fun as I did scattering the different ingredients.

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan (I used the back of a spoon):

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. I put a lot of thought into what order my ingredients should go.

First came the butterscotch chips:

Next came the toasted pecans:

A liberal sprinkling of coconut on top - I was worried that I wouldn't have enough but a half bag of the standard size was the perfect amount. Having it on top would allow it to get toasted.

Finally, some chocolate chips on top to melt and hold down the coconut. Don't forget the important step of pressing down on the layers firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds. 

What you will end up with is chewy perfection - Andrew and I could not stop eating these. I kid you not, after taking most of the bars to the party, there ended up being only one bar left by the time I could take a picture. And that's only because I warned Andrew to leave at least a bar for a picture!

Next time, I'll do as the Eagle recipe suggests online and line entire pan with foil, and coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. I think this will make it easier to pry the bars from the pan.

Easy Four Layer Marshmallow Bars

I've been busy the past couple of days, as I've been in frantic, clean-the-house-from-top-to-bottom mode to prepare for my parents' arrival on Wednesday night. As I have a business trip to Syracuse tomorrow through Wednesday afternoon, I had to get the cleaning done this weekend and tonight. On top of this all, I wanted to bake something to bring with me as I have coworkers that have gone above and beyond to help me prepare for this trip.

As I didn't have much time, I went back to a tried and true recipe that Heather had given me when we worked at Monster together - Easy Four Layer Marshmallow Bars. For some reason, I hadn't made this recipe in almost two years and I had almost forgotten how easy they were to make!

Here's what you need:

• 1 package cake mix (yellow or chocolate) - I've always used yellow.
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine - I used butter.
• 1/4 cup of water
• 3 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/2 cup flaked, sweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Mix cake mix, butter and water until blended.
3. Pat into greased 9" x 13' pan (I used Pam baking spray with flour).
4. Bake 20 - 22 minutes (only 15 minutes in my old oven).
5. Layer marshmallows, chocolate chips, coconut and pecans over crust. Bake 2 -3 minutes or until marshmallows begin to melt.
6. Cool and cut into bars.

The only problem was that I was out of coconut and pecans - as a coincidence, I used the last of my industrial size bag of pecans from BJ's and the last bag of coconut on German Chocolate frosting that I made yesterday for the Mother's Day cake we brought over to Plymouth. So I improvised.

Here's the cake layer after cooking in the oven - you want to remove it when it's golden and just starting to get brown around the edges:



I topped one half with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and the other half with marshmallows, milk chocolate chips and almonds for a "rocky road" type topping - this is how busy the pan looked after I layered the different ingredients:



After going back into the oven for another five minutes, I pulled the pan out once the chocolate chips looked melted and the marshmallows were puffed and toasty on top. This is what it looked like from the Rocky Road side:



And the white chocolate chip/macadamia nut side - I hope it tastes better than it looks, it's looking a bit too monochromatic for me:



Bonus for me is that my Syracuse coworkers are going to think I made two different recipes! I'll keep you posted on how they ended up tasting, I'll put Andrew to work as the official taste-tester tomorrow.