Dark and spicy

« Molasses spice cookies have appealing cracks in the top and sparkle from the sugar they are rolled in before baking. Chewy and tasty with milk. »

It all started when Arabella sent me a link to a story in Time about boutique sugars' arrival in the US since I have been known to scoff at the idea of boutique or 'gourmet' salt. Sometime in the late 80s or thereabouts came the idea that for food to be 'gourmet' it had to have outrageously difficult to find ingredients and it had to be complicated to make thereby impressing the dining company that you had spent a lot of time and money on the meal. While I will concede that there are, indeed, differences in these 'gourmet' varieties of sugar and salt, much of the time their use is frivolous and just for show. What's more is that most of the sugars considered 'gourmet' in America, can be bought in most of the corner groceries even in Helsinki. It's just sugar. These days, I would also argue that just about anything cooked or baked at home without all the extra preservatives found in commercial foods could be considered 'gourmet'.

After reading the article, I found the Wholesome Sweeteners website and poked around for a while and found an interesting recipe for ginger citrus cookies taken from a so-called "New Scandinavian" cookbook called Aquavit. The recipe looked interesting because of the toasting of the spices and the candied orange peel. I also used the A9 search engine to see if the page in the Aquavit book containing the original recipe might be available on-line and it was which would prove very useful after making the first batch.

The recipe from the book notes, unlike the on-line version, that freshly made candied orange peel is best for use with these cookies which, after I bought some from the store, I couldn't agree with more. The problem was that neither the on-line recipe nor the A9 pages contained the author's recipe for candied orange peel so I had to go hunting for one. Surprisingly, there are dozens of variations for the recipe and nearly all of them had at least one common fatal flaw and that was boiling of the peel. Citrus oils are volatile which means that boiling the peel will boil away most of the compounds that make it smell and taste good. I finally found one recipe that had one water bath and two syrup baths, none of which included boiling so I took the recipe and reduced it from its gigantic industrial production size to something far more manageable. It doesn't take a lot of time and when you compare commercial (top) vs. fresh candied orange peel there really isn't any contest in how it looks, how it smells and how it tastes. It's simple to make and is worth the effort.

After making the orange peel, I decided to make the dough for the cookies so that it could sit in the refrigerator overnight while the peel was drying and develop the spicy taste a bit more. While they were baking I kept looking at the original photo of the cookies from the book (I might also add that after baking four batches of these cookies, I find it very unlikely that the photo from the book was of cookies made with this recipe given the cracks and lack of any evidence of citrus peel in the dough. Also, several of the reviews on Amazon note the problem of deceptive photos which, I think, is a very good reason to avoid buying the book.) which, even while in the oven, I could tell that something wasn't right. The cookies came out extra-soft and flat as a pancake. I began to consider that maybe my oven was running hot and that I should get a temperature gauge to set inside to make sure the dial and the actual temperature were correct. There was a tablespoon of baking soda in the dough so pancake cookies were not the desired result.

I tasted a cookie or two and decided to double-check the recipe and this is where the original recipe from the book became very useful because there was a typo in the online recipe in the amount of molasses to use. Instead of 3/4 cup, I should have only used 1/4 cup. (Actually, the scan from Amazon was fuzzy and my eyes are bad as I wrote to the company to mention the typo and they replied that it is, indeed, 3/4 cup molasses so I stand corrected. I did bake a batch with the 1/4 cup and, actually, I thought they were better. Of course this means I'm doomed to try yet another batch with the new cookie sheets to see if that was the whole problem all along.) So, I decided to make another batch. Again, they came out of the oven slightly puffy and then pancaked. When finished baking, I noticed there were a few cookies that hadn't totally pancaked. When I moved to Helsinki, I brought my much cherished shiny insulated cookie sheets and baking pans with me only to find that they didn't fit in my tiny euro-sized oven. I haven't baked many cookies so I didn't have a replacement set of cookie sheets and used a roasting pan and a lasagna pan in their stead. The roasting pan is a very dark colour and the lasagna pan is a lighter teflon colour. The dark pans run much hotter than the shiny silver cookie sheets intended for baking and it makes all the difference in the world when baking these sorts of cookies.

After trying TWO more batches of these cookies, one with 3/4 cup and one with 1/4 cup, I have no other choice but to conclude that the 3/4 cup is a typo as the 3/4 cup cookies were just a gooey disaster even when baked on the right pan, the dough itself was much like very moist and sticky natural peanut butter, while the 1/4 cup cookies were puffy and perfect (from the left are the batch made with 1/4 cup and baked on the wrong pan, baked on the right pan but not rolled in sugar and right pan with sugar coating). While this could be the result of muscovado sugar having more molasses in it than regular brown sugar, I really doubt it. One curious discovery was that I found that rolling the balls of dough in super fine sugar not only made for pretty, sparkly cookies but also encouraged the development of cracks like the molasses cookies. I might also add that even after very carefully measuring 1 tablespoon of dough for each cookie, the recipe never yielded more than 3 1/2 dozen rather than the 5 dozen that the recipe claimed it would.) I often find recipes that are absurdly bad and just obviously wrong with mismatches in ingredients and directions and quite frequently they are copied all over the web by people who obviously haven't ever tried to use them. The net is a great place for recipes, but you have to be discriminating in your choices and trust most those who have actually taken the time to make the recipe and possibly comment on it and photograph the end product. I bake from the recipe after typing it first and only then post it which, hopefully, reduces typos, omissions, additions and other sorts of frustrating types of errors.

After two depressing failures, I decided to make a batch of cookies that the ginger cookie is derivative of; the molasses spice cookie. There are no requests for sea salt or raw sugar in this cookie and it takes about half the time to prepare. After baking the first batch which, again, pancaked, I decided to go get a few baking sheets just to make sure that it was, indeed, the dark colour of the baking pan killing my cookies. It was. :) You can see the difference clearly between the cookie baked on a proper sheet (top) and the cookie baked on a dark roasting pan (bottom). Use a baking sheet and evenly sized cookie dough portions and you'll get lovely, appetizing cookies instead of flat, unappealing ones.

As for the sugars, I'm still not entirely certain if there are any important differences between muscovado sugar and brown sugar or tumma siirappi and molasses since muscovado and the molasses-like syrup are readily available here and seem to substitute well. I seem to vaguely remember molasses cookies being much darker in colour, but my memory isn't reliable and google photos show them in various shades of brown.

Both of these cookies are very tasty, good for the holidays and disappear quickly. Be sure to have fresh spices on hand. As a rule of thumb, if you can't remember when you bought your spices or last used them it's probably a good idea to buy fresh stock. Aside from fresh spices, letting the dough cure overnight, using shiny baking pans, portioning the dough evenly and using the right temperature will make them both look and taste yummy.

I would have tried the dark rum glaze, but I drank all of the rum before I finished making the cookies. :)

Molasses Spice Cookies

Makes about 2-2 1/2 dozen cookies
Time: 15 minutes dough prep + baking time
Source: CI

• 2 1/4 cups or 5,25 dl unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves  (neilikka)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (maustepippuri) 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black or white pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt 
• 1/3 cup or 0,75 dl granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup or 0,75 dl packed dark brown sugar (muscovado)
• 1 1/2 sticks or 170g unsalted butter, softened but still cool
• 1 large egg yolk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup or 1,20 dl dark molasses (tumma siirappi)

Dark Rum Glaze

• 1 cup or 2,25 dl confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 - 3 tablespoons dark rum 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375F/190C degrees. Grease, or line with baking paper, 2 aluminum/light coloured cookie sheets.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium bowl until combined; set aside.
3. With a mixer, cream together butter with brown and granulated sugars at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed and add yolk and vanilla; increase speed to medium and beat until incorporated, about 20 seconds. Reduce speed to medium-low and add molasses; beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once with rubber spatula. Reduce speed to lowest setting; add flour mixture and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl down once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Dough will be soft. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight to allow the spices to permeate the dough at this point if you like.
4. Using tablespoon or rounded coffee measure, scoop dough and roll between palms into a ball; drop ball into a bowl filled with about 1/2 cup fine or regular sugar. Roll balls in sugar to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are browned, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 11 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do not overbake. If using chilled dough, reduce oven temperature to 300F/150C and bake for 17-24 minutes.
5. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature and serve. (Can be stored at room temperature in airtight container or zipper-lock plastic bag up to 5 days.)
6. If adding the dark rum glaze: Place cookies on a sheet of baking paper. Whisk confectioners' sugar and dark rum in medium bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, whisk in an additional tablespoon rum. Dip spoon into glaze and then move spoon over cookies so that glaze drizzles down onto them; repeat as necessary. Transfer cookies to wire rack and allow glaze to dry for 10 to 15 minutes.

« Ginger citrus cookies, an orange variation on the molasses cookie. It is a little softer and the candied orange peel adds a bit of chewiness. »

Marcus's Ginger Citrus Cookies

Makes: about 3-3 1/2 dozen cookies
Time: dough prep, 20 minutes + baking time; citrus peel, ~1 hour and a half
Source: Aquavit by Marcus Samuelsson

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (neilikka)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 1/2 cups or 8,25 dl sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 1/4 sticks or 140g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup or 2,25 dl raw cane sugar
• 1/2 cup or 1,25 dl packed dark brown sugar (muscovado)
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons (3/4 cup or 1,75 dl** see above) dark molasses (tumma siirappi)
• 1 cup or 2,25 dl finely chopped candied citrus peel (see recipe below)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/175C.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 
2. Toast the ginger, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant. Remove from the heat. 
3. Sift flour into a bowl and measure out into another bowl. Add toasted spices, baking soda, salt and white pepper to the sifted flour, lightly stir with a fork and sift together. Set bowl of sifted dry ingredients aside.
4. In a large bowl, beat the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Beat in the molasses. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the candied citrus peel. 
5. Drop tablespoons of the dough onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Roll gently between palms to create evenly-sized balls and roll in super fine sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops feel firm when lightly touched. Cool for 2 minutes, transfer to a wire rack covered with baking paper to cool completely. 
6. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

« Freshly made candied orange peel sparkles in the sunshine. »

Candied citrus peel

Makes: about 2 cups or 4,75 dl
Time: about an hour and a half
Source: various

• 200g or 7oz of orange peel (about 3 large valencia oranges or other oranges with a thick peel)

water bath:

• 3 dl or 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt

syrup:

• 3,25 dl or 1 1/3 cup water
• 4,5 dl or 1 3/4 cup sugar

finish:

• powdered or super fine sugar for dusting

1. Preparing the peel: Peel fruit leaving as much of the white pith attached to the skin as possible.  Cut peel into 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) or thinner strips, cut again into small squares.  Reserve the fruit for other uses like fresh orange juice.  While peeling and cutting fruit peel, make simple syrup and start salted water for water bath. 
2. Preparing the syrup: In a tall saucepan (to reduce sugar splatter and burns), pour the sugar into the center of the pan and pour water gently around the side of the pan taking care not to pour it over the sugar. Set saucepan over a medium-high burner, cover with a lid and boil the water and sugar until it either reaches ~235F/455C or forms a soft ball when a small amount is dropped into a glass of cold water. Do Not Stir. This will take about 35 minutes, more or less. When done, set aside but keep warm.
3. Cleansing water bath: Place prepared peel into a pot with hot, but not boiling, salt water. As soon as the water boils, remove from heat and drain water. (DO NOT BOIL. The compounds that make citrus smell and taste good are volatile oils and will evaporate quickly with boiling.)
4. First syrup bath: Ladle just enough hot syrup over drained peel to cover (a little less than half of the prepared syrup).  Simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes until the peel starts to turn translucent. Test for doneness by removing a piece with a slotted spoon, allow it to drain and check for an even translucency. Drain peel and do not save the syrup from this bath as it will be bitter.
5. Second syrup bath: Return peel to pot, pour the remaining syrup over peel. Simmer (do not boil) until peel is clear and looks like a transparent jewel when held up out of the syrup for about a minute. This step can take up to 30 minutes. Drain syrup into a container and reserve for later use on cakes or in glazes/sauces.
6. Pour hot candied peel onto a baking sheet with sides covered with baking paper that is topped with super fine/powdered sugar. Spread peel evenly around the pan and dust top with more sugar. Allow to dry for an hour or two and toss a bit with a fork to spread the sugar around and to help dry the peel more evenly. Let dry for another hour or three and place in an airtight container for storage. Keep refrigerated if you don't plan on using it within a week or two.