On the Eleventh Day of Cookies...

I was originally going to make Martha Stewart's Chocolate Gingerbread Bars, but I realized at the last minute that I forgot to buy sour cream and had to quickly come up with something else along the same line. After doing a quick search online, I found this recipe and it was a done deal. These bars are moist with the perfect amount of spiciness.

Gingerbread Bars
(Source: Culinary in the Desert Country)

2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium bowl, add flour - scoop out 2 tablespoons of the flour and place into a small bowl to reserve for layer.

3. Into the flour, whisk in ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt.

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar and 6 tablespoons granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each. Mix in vanilla and molasses. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

5. Scoop batter into a 10 x 15 baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading the top smooth with an off-set spatula. Sift reserved 2 tablespoons flour evenly over batter, then sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

6. Place into the oven and bake until the bars are golden brown and a toothpick placed into the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 24 minutes. Remove and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.

Makes about 24 to 32 bars.

On the Second Day of Cookies...

If you are unfamiliar with these cookies, they are of German origin, very spicy, with molasses and black pepper in them. The translation of Pfeffernussen is “pepper nuts”, although my recipe doesn’t call for nuts I understand that some do. The snowy sugar surface of Pfeffernussen contrasts nicely with the spicy, sweet, soft, crisp crust of the cookie. A perfect addition to your holiday spread.

Pfeffernussen
(Source: Martha Stewart)

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioners' sugar in a brown paper bag.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pepper, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Place butter, brown sugar, and molasses in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add flour mixture; beat until just combined. Pinch off dough in tablespoon amounts; roll into 1 1/4-inch balls. Arrange balls 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Dough can be frozen at this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap, up to 1 month.)

4. Bake until cookies are golden and firm to the touch with slight cracking, about 15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer sheets to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Working in batches, place cookies in paper bag; shake until well coated. Let cool completely on wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

A lot of pumpkin cookies, while very good, are very cakey. These pumpkin cookies, however, are moist and have the perfect texture. Because of the molasses, the pumpkin flavor isn't as pronounced as I would like it to be, but they are still delicious and very, very addicting.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies
(Source: Beantown Baker)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rolling
1/3 canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1. Beat the butter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup sugar, pumpkin, molasses, and egg and continue beating until well combined and fluffy.

2. Sift together remaining ingredients and gradually add to wet ingredients, beating on low speed until thoroughly incorporate. Refrigerate for up to one hour or until batter can be handled.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Place remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a pie dish. Form the batter into walnut-sized balls. Roll in sugar and arrange on cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.

4. Cool for a few minutes on sheets and then remove to wire racks to continue cooling.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I wish I would have baked an additional batch of these, because the first batch was gone in the blink of an eye. I think it's safe to conclude that these scones were pretty good. I opted to only make the cinnamon icing, but I definitely try these again with the ginger molasses icing. Unfortunately, because these disappeared so fast, the only photo I got was with my iPhone. I guess that gives me another reason to make these again!

Pumpkin Spice Scones
(Source: Pinch My Salt)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup raisins (optional - I omitted)
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup heavy cream
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refrigerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Bake scones for about 15 minutes. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Ginger Molasses Icing
1 Tbsp molasses
1-2 Tbsp milk
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ginger (to taste)

Stir ingredients together. Adjust the amount of sugar or milk to make the icing the consistency you want (It should be pretty thick).

Cinnamon Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 – 1/2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together. Again, adjust amounts to change consistency. Icing can be brushed on or drizzled.

Frosted Jumbo Molasses Cookies

Truth be told, I was a little disappointed by this recipe. Though I chilled the dough for well over the three hours recommended, I found the dough sticky and extremely difficult to work with. The dough was impossible to roll out and it was even trickier to transfer the cut-out cookies to the baking sheet. I think the dough is much more suited for simply rolling into balls and placing on the cookie sheet

Having said that, the cookies themselves were delicious, especially when topped with the Vanilla Frosting recipe below. They were soft and chewy, and full of yummy molasses flavor.

Jumbo Molasses Cookies
(Source: Betty Crocker Cookie Book)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening

1 cup dark molasses

1/2 cup water

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground allspice

1. Beat 1 cup sugar and the shortening in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours until dough is firm.

2. Heat oven to 350°F. Generously grease cookie sheet.

3.Roll dough 1/4 inch thick on generously floured cloth-covered surface. Cut into 3-inch circles.

4.Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains wen touched lightly in center. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Top with Vanilla Frosting recipe below.

Vanilla Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2-3 tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients until smooth and spreadable.