Tiny Bites

Ultimate Ginger Snaps

January 30, 2012

Ultimate Ginger Snaps

If you like Ginger Snaps, like I do, then you will love these. They are nice and chewy with just the right amount of ginger. You just might want to double the batch because they are sure to be a big hit.

INGREDIENTS

2 ¼ Cups Unbleached Flour

½ Teaspoons Ground Cloves

½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

¾ Cup (1 ½ Sticks) Softened Unsalted Butter

1 Cup Sugar

¼ Cup Dark Molasses

1 Large Egg

3 ½ Ounces Crystallized Ginger Chips

Preheat your oven to 375° F. Sift the dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Stir in the molasses and the egg. Add the dry ingredients to the ginger chips. For the best result, chill the dough for 1 hour. Form 1 inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Make sure that they are about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven while the cookies are still soft. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before removing and placing on a serving plate. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

San Francisco Sourdough Rolls

January 16, 2012

Sourdough Rolls

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Flour

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Cup Sourdough Starter

¼ Cup Melted Butter

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Mix well and make a hole in the center and pour in the starter. Knead the dough in the bowl for 3 minutes. Pinch off golf ball size pieces and shape them into biscuits. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the rolls on the baking sheet and brush the tops with the melted butter. Put in a warm place to rise for 1 ½ hours. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° F for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven sand serve warm. Makes 12 rolls.

Ginger Shrimp

December 28, 2011

Ginger Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

24 Shrimp With Shells On

1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil

4 Cloves Chopped Garlic

4 Tablespoons Julienned Fresh Ginger

1 Tablespoon Sugar

¼ Teaspoon Kosher Salt

¼ Cup Soy Sauce

¼ Cup Brandy

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over a high heat. Add the shrimp quickly and stir fry. When done remove the shrimp from the oil and set aside. Add the chopped garlic and julienned fresh ginger to the hot oil. Also add the sugar and salt to the wok. Add the shrimp back to the mixture and continue to stir fry. Season with the soy sauce. Add the brandy to flambé. Be very careful as the pan must be very hot in order for it to ignite and you are about to have a large flame coming out of your wok. Do not attempt to do this near any flammable materials or too close to your guests. Once the alcohol has cooked off the dish is ready to serve. You can serve this dish over rice, noodles or its own. Serves 2

English Toffee

December 8, 2011

English Toffee

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Unsalted Butter

1 1/3 Cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Light Corn Syrup

3 Tablespoons Water

1 Pound Bittersweet Chocolate

1 Pound Ground Pecans

Melt the butter and sugar in a medium size saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the corn syrup and water. Boil over a high heat until the candy thermometer reads 300° F. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet. Melt the chocolate over a low heat in a small saucepan. Evenly spread the toffee with the melted chocolate. While the chocolate is still warm cover with the ground pecans. Cool for 20 minutes and then cut into pieces. Serves 10

Christmas Sugar Cookies

December 7, 2011

Christmas Sugar Cookies

This is such a good basic Christmas cookie recipe. I’ve added a bit of spice that you can leave out if you like.

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Unbleached Flour

1 ½ Teaspoons Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ Teaspoon Allspice

¼ Teaspoon Cloves

½ Cup Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Egg

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Tablespoon Cream

Sugar For Decorating (optional)

Sprinkles For Decorating (optional)

Blend 1 cup of the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat with a mixer on medium speed. Beat in the egg, vanilla and cream. Next, add the 1 cup of flour & spices mixture to the wet ingredients. Combine, but don’t over mix. Finally add just enough of the remaining 1 cup of flour to make the dough stiff enough to roll. You don’t have to use all of the remaining flour if the dough is stiff. The idea here is less flour is better. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for 3 hours. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Place on a lightly floured cutting board and roll to 1/8 inch thickness. Use floured cookie cutters to cut into shapes. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar and/or holiday sprinkles. Bake for 8 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies depending on the size of your cookie cutters.

Peanut Butter Kisses

December 6, 2011

Peanut Butter Kisses

Simple to make!

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ Cup Unbleached Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

½ Teaspoon Salt

½ Cup Softened Unsalted Butter

1 Cup Creamy Room Temperature Peanut Butter

½ Cup Sugar (Plus a Bit More For Coating)

½ Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar

½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1 Egg

36 Unwrapped Chocolate Kisses

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a separate medium sized bowl beat the butter and peanut butter for 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and the brown sugar and beat for 3 more minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat for 30 seconds. Slowly add the flour mixture beating for 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to a medium sized clean bowl and refrigerate overnight. You want to be able to roll into balls so the dough needs to firm up. When you are ready to bake the cookies preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls into the extra sugar. Set the dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Gently flatten the cookies. Bake for 18 minutes until they are just light golden brown on the bottoms. Remove the cookies from the oven and press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Return the cookies to the oven and bake for 1 minute. Remove from the oven and cool for 2 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 36 cookies.

Christmas Fudge

December 5, 2011

Christmas Fudge

INGREDIENTS

1 Pound Milk Chocolate Chips

1 Pound Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

2 ½ Tablespoons Butter

1 Pint Marshmallow Cream

2 Cups Chopped Walnuts

1 Twelve Ounce Can Evaporated Milk

4 Cups Sugar

Lightly butter one 9×13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl combine the milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, butter, marshmallow cream and walnuts. Set aside. In a large saucepan combine the evaporated milk and sugar over a medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil for 4 minutes. Pour the hot sugar mixture over the chocolate mixture and stir with a large spoon until well blended. It is best to do this quickly before the fudge begins to harden. Once this is well blended pour the fudge into the prepared baking pan. Spread out and smooth into the pan. Set aside for 6 hours to cool and harden. Cut into 1 inch squares when you are ready to serve. Makes 115 pieces.

Pumpkin Biscuits

November 30, 2011

Pumpkin Biscuits

These Pumpkin Biscuits are melt in your mouth good! Easy to make too!

INGREDIENTS

1 ¼ Cups Unbleached Flour

2 Tablespoons Plus 1 Teaspoon Sugar

1 Tablespoon Plus 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

½ Teaspoon Salt

¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

¼ Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

¾ Cup Pumpkin Puree

¼ Cup Melted Butter

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 450° F. In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add the pumpkin puree and melted butter to the flour mixture. Stir well. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 8 times until the dough is smooth. Roll the dough to ½ inch thick. Use a 2 inch round cutter or the mouth of a glass. Cut the dough. Reroll the scraps once. Place the biscuits on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until they are lightly golden. Serve warm with butter and honey. Makes 1 dozen biscuits.

Brownie Bites

November 29, 2011

Brownie Bites

All you need is a round biscuit cutter!

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Butter

2 ¼ Cups Sugar

1 ¼ Cups Cocoa Powder

1 Tablespoon Espresso Powder

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

4 Large Eggs

1 ½ Cups Unbleached Flour

2 Cups Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Chopped Pecans (Optional)

Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350° F. In a saucepan melt the butter over a low heat. Add the sugar to the melted butter and stir. Remove from the heat and stir in the cocoa, espresso powder, salt, baking powder and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs. Stir until smooth. Add the flour, chocolate chips and pecans (optional). Stir until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 minutes. The brownies should feel set on the edges and barely set in the center. Remove from the oven and cool for 1 hour. Using a 1 ½ inch round biscuit cutter cut out as many circles as possible. You should get about 38 circles. Wrap well to store. When you are ready to serve, garnish the Brownie Bites with whipped cream, cherry topping or shaved chocolate. You can save the scraps and crumble on top of ice cream for a whole different dessert. Makes 38 Brownie Bites

Potato Pancakes

November 27, 2011

Potato Pancakes

There are many versions of Potato Pancakes, but I think that mine is especially tasty. Make the batter just before you plan to cook the pancakes because if you let the batter sit then it will turn brown. Serve with applesauce.

INGREDIENTS

2 Pounds Peeled Potatoes

1 Cup Unbleached Flour

2 Large Eggs

1/3 Cup Thinly Sliced Green Onions

2 Teaspoons Minced Garlic

1 Teaspoon Salt

½ Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper

Vegetable Oil For Frying

Applesauce For Garnish

Grate the potatoes in a large bowl. Use the medium size hole on the grater. Mix with all of the other ingredients except for the applesauce. Mix well and cover completely with plastic wrap. The pancake mixture should be used within 10 minutes after preparing. Heat a large skillet on high heat and fill with at least 1/16 inch of oil. Scoop ½ cup of the batter onto the hot skillet. Spread the mixture out so that that pancake is ¼ inch thick. Do not overcrowd the pan. Lower the heat to medium and cook until one side is crispy and brown. Flip the pancake over and brown the other side. Transfer to paper towels to absorb excess grease. Keep warm and crisp. Makes 8 Potato Pancakes.

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