Guess Who's Back!?!

Hi Familia,
I've been bit with the recipe blogging bug again...and based on that exchange of e-mails that I've yet to read, some of you are too!

Here are some fun substitutions I've been using on my soy/dairy & nut free diet.

- Coconut yogurt - a little sweeter than regular, but an excellent substituation
- Palm Oil Shortening - in my opinion better than Crisco, b/c there is no weird flavor
- Oatmeal in Place of Nuts - you can toast, grind, and basically use oatmeal to replace nuts in all sorts of recipes - especially baked goods.

Here's my favorite holiday cookie recipe:
Chewy Ginger Cookies
(based on BHG Giant Ginger Cookies, but there recipe makes 25 cookies, this version makes 50)
- 4 1/2 C AP Flour (use the scoop & level method, not a scale - the dough will not be dry enough if you use precisely weighed flour)
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cloves
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 C shortening
- 2 C sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 C molasses
- 3/4 C coarse sugar or granulated sugar

- Set oven at 350 degrees
- Whisk dry ingredients
- Cream sugar and shortening, add in eggs and molasses
- Stir / beat in dry ingredients
- Roll cookies into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in sugar - different sizes of sugar create different crunchiness and aesthetic.
- Place balls on parchment paper
- Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes until cookies are puffed. Cookies will seem under done, but do not over cook or cookies will not be chewy.
- Cool 2 minutes on the sheet and then transfer to rack
(You can play with the spices & make these molasses cookies with less ginger, or add candied ginger for even more awesome ginger-ness.)

Here's another -
Stained Glass Cookies
(Inspired from BHG, but I use the sugar cookie recipe from KAF but omitted the spices.)
Cutout cookies using linzer tort with center of cookie removed. Place cookies on tinfoil on baking sheet.
Crush hard candies and place crushed candy in center of cookie cut out. Bake as usual and allow to cool on tinfoil until candy is hard in the center and gently remove from tinfoil.
Candy will be rock hard at first, but after being boxed for a day it will soften slightly.
Sugar Cookies aren't my thing, but this was still pretty tasty.

Creamy Mint Brownies

My AMAZING  King Arthur's Flour Cookbook has a recipe for Faux-Reos that I have been dying to make but too lazy to make...Oreos have soy in them, so I've been looking forward to an alternative, mostly so I can just eat the filling.
These brownies are an alternative route to that goal.

I made Heiress Brownies (courtesy Namo!) and then topped them with the filling from the Fauz-Reos recipes, which I made minty, and then drizzled melted chocolate on them.  (Trader Joe's Organic Semi-sweet Chocolate - The Bomb.com!!!!)

I might make the topping green next time for fun.

Here's the recipe:

From the Kitchen of Namo:
Heiress Brownies (Sooooooo Rich!)*
Pre-Heat Oven to 375 F
- 4 Squares  of Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
- 2 Sticks (1 C) unsalted butter (shortening works too)
- 4 Eggs
- 2 C Sugar
- 1 C Flour
- 1 C Chocolate Chips

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat.  In a bowl mix eggs and sugar and then add chocolate butter mix and stir.  Once mixed, add flour and chocolate chips.
Pour in tinfoil lined, greased 9x13" baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Topping:
- 1/2 Envelope (1 tsp and 1/4 heaping tsp) unflavored gelatin
- 2 T (1 oz) cold water
- 1/2 C (3 1/2 oz) shortening
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 2 1/2 C (10 oz) confectioner's sugar
(You could replace the peppermint with any extract - vanilla, raspberry, coffee, etc.!)

Combine gelatin and cold water in a small dish, then place the dish in a larger dish of hot water until the gelatin dissolves and is transparent.  Once dissolved, remove from dish and allow to cool to room temperature, but not until set.

Meanwhile...cream shortening and extract and add confectioner's sugar gradually and then beat in gelatin.  The result is almost fondant like.  You could use less sugar for a fluffier result.  Once mixed place between two sheets of wax paper and roll out.  Place rolled out topping on cooled brownies and drizzle melted chocolate over topping.

* (When I am making Heiress Brownies without all the extras mentioned above, I add 3/4 tsp vanilla and 1 C toasted walnuts.  Not part of the original recipe, but a tasty addition!)