Gingernuts... It's Downton Day!!

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The third episode of Downton Abbey this season left me a little, well, flat.  Anna's agony continued quietly.  The storyline for Lady Edith and Rose were just starting to do something, and Lady Mary was had to endure some awkward moments.  I am still smiling about Mrs. Hughes' moment in the sun... and soo hope she and Mr. Carson hit it off romantically.  Wouldn't that be just wonderful?  

Okay, onto food.  Since last week's Downton viewing recipe was more elaborate, I wanted go a little more low-key this Sunday.  I found this recipe for gingernuts, an English ginger snap cookie that is perfection with tea.  Harboring a deep seated love for all things gingerbread, I had to give it a go.

Gingernuts

Ingredients:

2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup fine sugar 
1 Tbsp molasses
1/2 cup golden syrup (I got mine at Cost Plus World Market)
2 cups flour
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Use a baking stone or line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.  Place the brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and fine sugar until light.  

Add the molasses and golden syrup. Continue beating the mixture until well incorporated. Aren't the colors stunning?

In another bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, allspice, coriander, baking powder, and baking soda.  The scent is intoxicating!

Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture to form a soft dough.  

Form dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll the balls in brown sugar.  

Place 2-inches apart on the baking sheet.  Press down gently to flatten slightly.  

Bake  5 minutes at 350 degrees F, then reduce heat to 325 degrees F and bake another 10-15 minutes.  The cookies are done when they have cracked, are slightly firm to the touch and golden brown all over.  

Cool on the sheet for few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an air tight container.  Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

This spicy cookie has a crunchy outside, a soft inside, and is absolutely delicious with tea and a little Downton drama.  While the cast attire was stunning yet again, I am just in agony for Mr. Bates and Anna.  Let's hope she is on her way toward healing and he doesn't murder Mr. Green.  I am excited to see how Mary handles this new guy... and what was the deal was with Edith and the doctor's office?  Until next week!!

Valentine's Day Celebration!

How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?  Here is what we did.

First, I decorated.  I set everything up the night before.  This way, when they woke up and headed downstairs, they walked into a Valentine's Day dream!  They squealed with delight.  Sister even said, "This is beautiful!"  Warmed my VERY tired heart.

Next, I set up a treasure hunt.  The kiddos LOVE treasure hunts.

 

 

  
Success!  They found the treasure!  See's chocolate foil hearts and an outfit to wear on Valentine's Day!

 

She found it!!!  Oh, and brother just HAD to bring that hanger with him.

 

Cutest little Valentine in red pajamas no less!

Running with chocolate.  Smart boy!  Sister will likely try to eat his too!

 Love the "bed head."

Chocolate in the morning?!  You bet!

 

Made a breakfast of champions...

Mmm....

 

And packed up a LOVE-ly lunch!

 

Once ready for school, we grabbed the valentines for our classes and headed out.  Sister had brownie pops and brother had Goldfish crackers.

And a LOVE-ly dinner!  Mini heart pizzas anyone?  The kiddos helped add all of the toppings... and brother helped himself to whatever was added.  Who am I kidding, he also tore off pieces of the dough.  He doesn't discriminate.  He apparently couldn't wait for it to be baked.  (I am also noticing the heart cookie cutter got quite a workout!)

 

 Oh, and red Jello with peaches too.  We spared no expense.

 Modeling their Valentine attire at the end of the day...

 

 
And a little homemade chocolate pudding with plenty of whipped cream for dessert. We love pudding around here.

 

After bath and putting brother to bed, we looked at all of the class valentines.  I also got to learn about all of her friends and hear some funny/interesting stories.  Happy moment!

A closer look.

My personal favorite.  Good job, Everett's mom!

My least favorite.  This was a glitter bomb.  Inside this sweet little box was a TON of gold glitter and stickers.  Ugh.  ALL over the carpet.  No bueno.  This mom is NOT my friend right now. (Insert grumble, over the big mess and glitter in the eyes, here.)  At least Sister enjoyed the surprise.

Happy Valentine's Day!  

Hope you spent it with the ones you love.

Valentine Brownie Pops

In an effort to provide a Valentine my daughter could help make, while still being unique, I thought cake pops would be a fun addition to the class haul. 

I also wanted to use a cake pop pan as opposed to the rolling method because there is less "junk" added.  Having never made cake pops before, I charged ahead... confident in my baking skills.

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!  

I really hated this entire process and plan to never do it again... at least that is my feeling at this point in time.

Here is the whole nightmare-ish process.

First, I made cake pops.  Actually, I made brownie pops because I purchased a Nordic Ware Cake Pop pan and found they recommended using the recipe on the packaging.  Well, I didn't have any chocolate chips (Thank you, Hubs for eating them all.) so I thought homemade brownies would work just as well since dense cakes work better when using the cake pop pans.

The recipe I used...

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325F.  In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs well.  In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.  Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, blending well but not over mixing.

Spray both sides of the cake pop pan very well with cooking spray.  Fill each divet (on the side with no holes) with 1 tablespoon of batter.  Secure the top lid and place into the oven for 15 minutes.  Brownie balls are ready when an inserted toothpick comes out fairly clean.  A few crumbs is fine.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool for 2 to 3 minutes.  Then, remove the top pan and turn the brownie balls out onto a wire rack to cool completely.  Once cooled, remove the excess ring of brownie with a sharp knife or kitchen shears to smooth.  If still pliable, gently press the excess in to save time and hassle.

Before (Notice the ring around the center)

 After (No ring... or at least less of one)

If any of the brownie balls are cracked or broken, they will not hold up through the coating process.  So, enjoy!

If you have more to make, wash and dry the pan and begin again. 

The Pop-ification  process...

Ingredients:

• Almond Bark  (for 24 brownie pops, use only 1/2 of the package)
• Sprinkles
• 24 cake pop sticks
• Brownie balls (be sure they are not cracked)

Remove the Almond Bark from the package and place into a glass dish.  Melt in the microwave starting at 90 seconds, stir, then continue to melt at 10 second intervals... stirring each time.

Dip a stick into the melted candy and insert about 3/4 of the way into the brownie ball.  Continue until all have sticks.  Place the dish into the freezer for a few minutes to give the melted candy time to set.  This will make certain the stick is secure.

Begin dipping the brownie pops into the melted candy.  It is helpful to use a spoon or spatula to coat the pop rather than twisting it around in the candy.  This will prevent the brownie ball from coming off of the stick or breaking apart in the candy.  Allow any excess to drip off.

Immediately add sprinkles to the melted candy coating for a festive touch.  My daughter had a blast performing this step... at least for a little while.  Place the pop onto a plate or baking sheet lined with plastic wrap and place into the freezer for a few minutes to set.

 

Once set, remove from the freezer and package into pretty cellophane bags.  Keep away from heat!  These can be made a week in advance.

My issues...
While these pops were DELICIOUS, they took a lot of time to prepare.  I also became frustrated with the fact the sprinkles wanted to slide off of the pop after dipping.  To help with this, I made sure all of the excess had completely dripped away and once the sprinkles were added, they went into the freezer right away.  These tips helped a bit.  I would even recommend working with cold (but not frozen) brownie balls.  This way, the candy begins to set rather quickly.

Maybe some time away from this project will make me want to do it again... but I am not confident about that.  At least not yet.

Enjoy!