Odds and Ends

I have been running all day long and am just waiting for dinner to finish up. I spent the afternoon making gluten-free Christmas goodies - molasses cookies, fruitcake and poppyseed cake ( since my dear husband has to eat gluten-free.) The one that smelled the very best was the molasses cookies; they came out fabulous!

4 cups all-purpose flour
(OR 2 cups rice flour , 1 cup buckwheat flour & 1 cup masa harina & 1/2 tsp xanthan gum for a Gluten Free cookie)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 large eggs
Preheat oven to 325°F. and lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter, shortening, and 3 cups sugar until light and fluffy and beat in molasses. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture and combine well. In a small shallow bowl put remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Form dough into 2-inch balls and roll in sugar. On baking sheets arrange balls about 4 inches apart and flatten slightly with bottom of a glass dipped in sugar. Bake cookies in batches in middle of the oven 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden. (Cookies should be soft.) Transfer cookies with a metal spatula to racks to cool.

Recipe Party!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Yost household. Dan and Toni made Yule log cookies on Sunday and man oh man are they good. My mostly successful efforts to dodge sweets have softened (until after New Year's anyhow) into feeble efforts to eat minimal amounts of sweets. Try these on for a delicious holiday treat:

Yule Log Cookies
Yield: 28 servings
1/2 c Brown sugar, packed
3 tb Butter or margarine; -softened
3 tb Frozen egg substitute; -thawed Or 1 egg white
1 c All-purpose flour
1/2 ts Baking powder
1/2 ts Ground cardamom
1/4 ts Baking soda
1/4 ts Ground cinnamon
1/4 ts Ground cloves
1/4 ts Ground allspice
1/4 ts Ground nutmeg
Red and green decorator -icing
Recipe by: Fast & Healthy Magazine, Nov/Dec 1994
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and margarine until blended. Add the egg product; beat until well blended. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices; mix well. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough with your hands to make two 10 1/2-inch logs; flatten slightly to 1 1/4 inches in diameter. With a spatula, place the logs 2 to 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Dip a non-serrated knife in water; score each log diagonally at 3/4-inch intervals. Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until set and no longer moist. Cool for 1 minute. Remove from the cookie sheet; place on a wire rack. Cool for 5 minutes. With a serrated knife, cut the logs at the scored lines. Cool completely. Decorate each cookie with decorator icing to resemble a holly leaf and berries. ~ Penny Halsey
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