TWD: World Peace Cookies

World Peace is within our reach!

At least World Peace cookies are within reach, thanks to this TWD pick by Jess at cookbookhabit (visit Jess to get the recipe). These were a big hit with the TWD bakers, crumbly dough and all. I didn't have a problem with the dough, actually, and hardly a BHMOTW (bone head move of the week) worth mentioning (but will, just because it's a regular feature now).

These cookies were incredibly easy. I've occasionally had problems with the directions from the book "Baking from My Home to Yours" by Dorie Greenspan. Most of it is due to my limited culinary knowledge. Happily since baking with the TWDers that knowledge has grown, and these cookies were a success.

Although I love eating chocolate, I'm not as big of a fan of working with chocolate. It is messy and temperamental. Did I mention it is messy? Anyway, the chopping of the chocolate was the most difficult part. After that I was home free.

I did not purchase the fleur de sel sea salt that was recommended in the recipe. I didn't see it at my local store, though I did see it at my favorite cooking store in town (this is a very dangerous place - avoid if you don't want to spend hours of your time and many of your dollars on all the wonderful things they have for sale. And the staff there are so incredibly helpful!). Their price was about $14, and for 1/2 teaspoon I thought I'd skip it and go with sea salt. I cleverly used my Trader Joe's Sea Salt Crystals, and then put them through a sieve to get them extra fine. The salt taste wasn't super strong, but just enough to be intriguing. I like intriguing, so it worked for me.

Here it is - time for the BHMOTW. Not all of the salt made it out of the sieve. I moved on to other things. I forgot about the salt in the sieve and moved it. Here is the result (too bad you can't hear the sound of it falling like sand on the chocolate). Not nearly as bad as tossing a whole cake against a refrigerator, but it still made me laugh at myself.

I had no trouble getting the dough into logs (perhaps because I used Dutch processed cocoa which Dorie says may be the key to success here). I made the log smaller than I thought it should be, to compensate for my lack of math skills. Between the two - success! After an overnight in the refrigerator, the logs cut up nicely (a little crumble, but no big deal) and the house smelled soooooo good while the cookies were in the oven!

These were a huge hit with the co-workers, and me for that matter, so they will definitely be made again. I'd make them daily if I thought that they really would expand peace throughout the world. Unfortunately the only thing they would do is expand my waistline, I think.

TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread (aka the Gingerbread too tough to die!)

If I were to pick a "Bonehead Move of the Week" (or "BHMOTW" - a new feature I think I'm going to run with), it would be very, VERY difficult to pick just one. How this week's pick (courtesy of Heather at Sherry Trifle) turned out so good is beyond me. It must be due to a great recipe. Many TWDers said they would have passed it up and were so grateful they made it instead.

This was my first time using fresh ginger (BHMOTW #1 - wondering what fresh ginger tastes like. Yikes!). I'm glad to know that it freezes so I can put the leftovers away for a bit and try something else later. The recipe is straightforward and easy (assuming you get your butter to room temperature correctly - BHMOTW #2. Otherwise you'll spend a bunch of time messing around with your mixer getting everything to the correct temperature). Dorie recommends a true 9x9 pan, or to use less batter, but I decided to just go with the 8x8 pan that I had a see what happens (oh yes, that would be BHMOTW #3). It took longer to cook than suggested (no surprise) and I probably should have factored that in when I was letting it cool before taking it out of the pan (part of the still-warm bottom stayed behind - BHMOTW #4. That did give me a chance to sample the cake, however, and it was quite good).

After a cool down over night I made the frosting, which generally turned out okay. Frosting it was quick, and since I had to go to work, but wanted to take a picture before I let my co-workers devour it, I popped the gingerbread in the freezer to set up quickly. As I was taking it out of the freezer, somehow the gingerbread and cutting board it was on got away from me. Happily I caught it in time, but only after it landed against the refrigerator (say it with me -- BHMOTW # 5. My personal favorite). Somehow it had set just enough to have no negative effect on the gingerbread, except for a dollop of frosting left behind (pictured here).

Despite it all, I must say that I really liked this dessert! The cake was moist and flavorful. The frosting was a nice complement to the gingerbread (it made a pretty good gingerbread into a really outstanding gingerbread). The folks at work really enjoyed it, and I'm most happy to have one last piece to enjoy this evening. The recipe says to cut it into 9 pieces which I think is too big. I went the 16 piece route. I've heard it's even better with the ginger-infused whip cream, but I'm pretty content as is. All in all, this is a definite keeper.