Posted on 12/11/2010 3:53:08 AM PST by Daisyjane69
If the cookies are as good as the story, they’ll be divine! Can’t wait to try them!
Ooh, THANK YOU for this. And all your instructions, I now see some of the mistakes I’ve been making on other cookie recipes. The part about NOT refrigerating the dough until after rolled out and cut is BRILLIANT as is the square cookie cutter. AND the fresh spices....... I’d never considered that. AND how to keep spices fresh by putting them in the refrigerator. AND how to find them at reasonable prices.... in the Mexican section.
What a great Christmas present you have presented to us. You have absolutely made my day, week, year.
And now I know how my hubby’s ex makes those fabulous sand tarts so thin.
I LOVE these Swedish ginger cookies, plus I don’t have to cook:
http://www.annasthins.ca/
Swedish Cheesecake!
I wonder if they would be good on a bed of linguini?
Gonna have to try that.
Those cookies are good, if baking is not a good option. Everyone is so very busy during the holidays and these are time consuming to make. They are not quite as thin as homemade ones, but that is understandable, given the shipping issues. I know that I pack mine like the Hope diamond in order to ship them back to Ohio...and I pray a lot. And I warn my son that they might make a good pie crust just in case they don’t make it.
That said, it might be nice to be a little stinker, on the night you hostess the holiday party. Have a couple of cookie sheets of these in the fridge, ready to go, and pop them in as your guests are scheduled to arrive.
Your whole house will smell like CHRISTMAS when they come!
:)
I buy the majority of my spices from Penzeys. They comb the world for the very best of everything. I never knew how much difference a spice could make in a recipe until I was directed to Penzeys.
Daisy: I made these cookies and yes, they are very good, but I have a few questions and comments:
Are you sure about the 1 tablespoon of cloves? (3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon) Even with the 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and ginger, the cloves flavor is overpowering. I noticed it when they were first baked and now I’ve waited a day to let the cookies mellow and the clove flavor is a strong aftertaste.
Second question: Are these cookies supposed to be crisp? It’s raining here so that may be my problem as it’s pretty humid and they are somewhat crisp but a little chewy.
And, finally, third question: Do you have a technique for when you’re rolling them when they’ve gotten thin enough? My first rolling session left me with cookies about twice the thickness of a nickel. I finally settled on the technique of when I think they’re thin enough, I keep rolling and this seems to work, but it’s hard to eyeball it.
Oops, fourth question: When rolling, what’s the technique. Start from the center and roll outward, turning the parchment around?
Thanks for the recipe, even with the overbearing cloveness, they’re still quite good. I went out and bought all new spices except the cloves as that was one spice I had that wasn’t years old. I’m thinking of cutting the cloves to about 1 tsp. next time, it is THAT strong.
Let me go back and read. I hope I didn’t make a typo!
Wouldn't it just be simpler to use a ruler and a knife?
Okay, I went back and read.
First off, I learned something today. Never knew that 3 tsp were 1TB, so thank you. But yes, those three spices should be equal.*
Yes, they should be crisp. Nearly brittle, in fact. This is one of the reasons I have to pack them so carefully for the cross-country journey to my son. I warn him that he might have to make pie crust out of them, if I screw it up!
Rolling techniques...I’m in the same boat as you. I have to eyeball it. I do start in the middle and work my way out. Yes, I end up moving the parchment all over the place! And sometimes I actually stick a toothpick on the sheet to get an idea of whether the dough is thin enough.
Two things:
I finished the last batch for my son on Sunday night and noticed that I bake the sheet for 4 minutes (setting the timer) and then turn around the sheet for another 2 1/2 minutes. I am wondering if my oven is running hotter than usual.
Also, keep in mind that this is a family recipe. If the cloves are overpowering to your tastebuds, by all means, go online and type out the recipe (in your search) as I spelled it.(although I have cookbooks spelling it two ways. LOL) You’ll find many variations of it and one will be just perfect for you and your family. Some recipes include cardamom, and I’m anxious to try those, myself.
Recipes are introductions to a dish, but not the final word. They are to be tinkered with and cajoled into what’s right for YOU and your family.
When you find another good one (and they are all good!) post it here, and ping me, will ya?
:)
(When you think of all that rolling into thinness, don’t you just roll your eyes thinking of a kid eating them in a 4 inch stack? I do. LOL)
Yes it would be. But, I’m “off” according to my previous managers. Most people are. LOL
Human beings are not set to perfectly line up things. I once had a boss who could tell exactly WHO unloaded and displayed plants, simply by how they appeared on the floor of the nursery. heh Some of us leaned our plants too far left or right (in rows. Mine to the right, of course!) Some left too much space in between them, others not enough space. It was the funniest thing. We used to take bets to see if we could trick him.
The square cookie cutter is fast. And I mean fast. This was the first year I tried it and I was thrilled. To make them identically, you would not only need a ruler and knife, but also prolly a level to make sure things were straight and even. That’s too much work for me. I had the entire sheet scored with my square cookie cutter in less than two minutes, with no measuring!
WOOHOO!
*smartass*
;)
Thanks, Daisy, yes, you’re right, recipes are a starting point and everyone’s taste is different, although I was wondering if some cloves are stronger than others. I got really good my last three oven batches on rolling thin. I think you would be proud. However, if you hadn’t given all those tips about rolling and cutting before chilling it would have been a disaster and has been in the past for other recipes. These tips will make me famous for other recipes now, I hope.
Funny you mention cardamom, it’s a spice I really love. What do you think about if I cut the cloves to 1 tsp and make the missing 2 tsp cardamom — I suppose this is a rhetorical question, I’ll know when I give it a try.
I, too, switch my cookie sheets around about halfway or so through the baking process and I, too, a couple times used a toothpick to test for thickness when rolling out the dough. I think what worked best for me was not putting too much dough down at a time to be rolled. Of course, it was only at the end when I really got the hang of the rolling out thin. It took me the course of two days to get all rolled and baked (I finished up after my last post to you).
This recipe also makes a LOT and my husband likes them a LOT. I am so very grateful to have this recipe. You and your story, your mother-in-law and the very important comments about spices, etc. are now down for posterity in my recipe book.
Thank you and MERRY CHRISTMAS!
what a lovely story and what a great recipe! thanks so much for this!
No kidding. I could post my recipe for our homemade family spaghetti sauce here, and it would be good: as would the other 120 recipes that followed! There is really no right or wrong; it gives us a place to start, however.
I’m absolutely positive your rolling technique was magnificent. We FReepers are a stubborn bunch, lol.
I’m glad you’ve taken my cutting, chilling tips to heart, because I’ve done it the way the “experts” tell me....and have met nothing but disaster. It’s almost like they’ve been reading from a book and posted the instructions, without every trying them out. Kinda like Congress. LOL I ruined a lot of dough and time doing it the way the experts told me. And they were wrong!
I like cardamom too. If you find a recipe that really floats your boat that includes it, HOLLER!
I’m glad the things I mentioned were helpful. That’s a Christmas present right there, it says here. You’re very kind.
Now, your funny story from me to you:
Called my son tonight. Told him he had TWO 12x12” boxes of cookies coming to him (this is because I made a recipe mistake and ended up having to double a recipe). Plus I had to find space for the boxers and socks I was including. heh ;) Normally, he gets one box of cookies.
Here’s what I get:
“That’s great Mom. Hey, by the way, you didn’t put anything like really gay on the box or anything, right?” I shipped to his office address, as he requested.
“Like what, honey?”
“You know. Like you didn’t label the box ‘Mom’s cookies’ or put those smiley faces or those little teddy bear stickers on it, right?”
I tell ya, he’s taking the fun out of my life. LOL
Hahaha. (You didn't, right?) ; - )
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