Gingerbread Cookies

One of Emmett and Isla’s favorite activities after school is looking through all of the catalogs that are sent to the house.  They love to sit at the kitchen table while I make dinner and take turns flipping through catalogs, pointing out ALL of the things that they want. These days, because retailers are sending out Holiday catalogs, they keep noticing gingerbread cookies displayed prominently on trays, in jars, on cookie sheets  - think Crate & Barrel, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams-Sonoma etc. Having promised Emmett we would make our own gingerbread cookies, last weekend we finally did.

Emmett and Isla enjoyed using the rolling pin and trying to eat as much raw dough as they could (Eew!) and of course, cutting out the cookies with their cutters on parchment paper. I used dark molasses instead of light, only because that is what I had in the house.  I was worried that the flavor would be too strong for the kids, but they didn’t seem to mind and gobbled up all of the cookies in no time.

I used this recipe from King Arthur Flour and didn’t change a thing. I froze half the dough so that we can do this all over again in a few weeks and possibly decorate the cookies next time (they were gone too fast to frost)! I love the idea of making our own version of these mug toppers, or ornaments out of gingerbread.  

It’s almost Thanksgiving.  What are you cooking? We’re having turkey, ham, gravy, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, kale salad, corn pudding, rice and pumpkin pie.  I can't wait! 

Teddy’s Apple Cake

Apples? Again? I know, I know. In the fall, I seem to have a near constant appetite for apples, but come spring I am always dying for other kinds of fruit to start appearing at the market. Did you know that apples have been growing in Ireland for at least 3000 years? Early monastic records show that apples were served to monks with their meals and Brehon laws (originating between 2000 and 1000BC) included harsh punishments for cutting down apple trees.  Eating, cooking and cider apples are all still grown in Ireland and much research has been done to find varieties best suited to Irish growing conditions. There are all kinds of apple varieties in Ireland that I’ve never even heard of; Discovery, Orange Pippins, Howgate Wonder, Greensleeves, James Grieve, Charles Ross...the list goes on and on. The most popular type of apple in Ireland is called a Bramley’s Seedling, or Bramley, which is mainly grown in Armagh, Louth, Meath and Dublin.  Bramley’s are usually used for cooking due to their sour flavor.

While I would love to try some Irish varieties, there are so many apples here in the States that are great for both eating and cooking.  The other day I was buying a bag of Honeycrisps at the grocery store and the guy at the register was a wealth of knowledge about the history and origin of Honeycrisp apples.  He knew exactly when and where they were developed (at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, released in 1991), and more details than I can remember about their meteoric rise to the top of the apple hierarchy.  He really would have made a very good lobbyist, if Honeycrisp apple growers needed a lobby.

Honeycrisps are sort of like peaches to me, so good raw I almost feel bad cooking them - but then, they are great in baked goods as well. Because my kids are always looking for a reason to get out the apple corer-peeler, I decided an apple cake would make a nice birthday cake for my father-in-law this year. The kids poo-pooed this idea because they wanted something chocolate and frosted with layers. I had to point out to them that Grandpa never has those types of desserts at his house and instead favors fruit desserts - pies, strudels, etc. Despite his desire to help with the apples, Emmett was disappointed with the prospect of apple cake. He proclaimed a boycott of all cake eating festivities that evening but proceeded to peel my apples anyway (until Isla came over and demanded a spot on the chair to finish the job).

As tempted as I was to make Dorie Greenspan’s amazing French apple cake, again. I decided to try something different and make Teddy’s Apple Cake, another long-time favorite of the New York Times’ food section and its readers. I’ve seen the recipe countless times in the past several years and always planned on trying it one day. Well, carpe diem. This cake was super simple to throw together - and made the house smell delicious. I served it with custard and to everyone’s surprise, especially his own, Emmett LOVED it!

Teddy’s Apple Cake

adapted slightly from the New York Times

• Butter for greasing pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting pan
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced sweet and tart apples like Honeycrisp or, tart apples like Granny Smith
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• Bird’s custard to serve (you can find a how-to on that here)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan or 2 6-inch cake pans. Beat the oil, sugar and maple syrup together in a mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment) while assembling the remaining ingredients. After about 5 minutes, add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy.

2. Sift together 3 cups of flour, the salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir into the batter. Add the vanilla, apples and walnuts and stir until combined.

3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan before lifting out. Dust with powdered sugar and serve at room temperature with custard, if desired.

The original recipes calls for 2 cups of sugar and a cup of raisins.  I reduced the sugar and subbed some maple syrup for a portion of it because maple syrup screams fall to me and because I was using Honeycrisps instead of super-tart apples.  I also omitted the raisins because I thought they might make the whole thing too sweet and because I never know when the kids will refuse to eat something due to the presence of raisins. I stop catering to the tastes of others when it comes to nuts however, and I’m glad I kept those in.  

I made two of these cakes in my 6-inch cake pans.  One of them was gone post-breakfast the following day and I’m quite happy to know that the other one is well-wrapped in my freezer for a future “NEED CAKE NOW!” kind of day.

Irish Food Before Potatoes and Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

Oats must be one of the most ubiquitous Irish ingredients of all. Showing up in griddle cakes, breads, sausages - oats are everywhere in Irish cuisine. Due to lower summer heat requirements and greater tolerance for rain, oats have always been an important crop in Ireland where they grow better than other grains such as wheat, rye or even barley. Historically, oats, along with dairy products were the main sources of sustenance for the Irish, pre-dating the widespread consumption of potatoes that Ireland is known for today. Potatoes, which originated in Peru, were not introduced to the Irish until the late 1600s. Of course, it would be hard to imagine Irish food without Shepherd's pie, fish and chips, colcannon and so many other potato-based dishes, but the fact remains that before potatoes there were oats.

I love oats in both savory and sweet preparations (so it’s fortunate for me that I’ve got a hook-up in the oats department).  Granola, oatmeal cookies, porridge, white pudding, plain with butter and a little salt (like my mom), I even put oats in my meatloaf for body and to help everything stick together. In the summer, I make overnight oats, pack them in single serve jars and eat them straight out of the fridge. I also enjoy them the way they are most commonly served here in America, with fruit, nuts and brown sugar for breakfast.  Baked oatmeal is just a twist on regular breakfast porridge with toppings. I like how it bakes up a little custardy from the eggs, which, incidentally, provide some extra protein and help keep me (and the kids) full for longer.

More apples? Yeah, I know. Truthfully, I’m not getting that into fall yet, especially given the 80 degree weather, tomatoes and peppers still growing in the backyard and the grill still our primary method of getting dinner on the table. The reason I’m cooking with apples again this week is simply that I had a few leftover from last week.  And while they weren’t very good for eating out of hand, they were great in a fruit crumble.  Naturally, I figured they would work in baked oatmeal as well. I haven’t made baked oatmeal for ages and I have to say I’m loving that I made this big batch and have breakfast set for the week. Less thinking, less to do, especially in the morning, is always a good thing.  Consider this recipe a gift to your future self.

Here it is just before baking, the white chunks are coconut oil that hardened because the milk and eggs were cold.  This didn't cause me any problems and now that I think about it, a pineapple-coconut version of this would be delicious. 

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal

• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons apple pie spice
• 2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
• ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ cup coconut oil (or butter), melted
• 4-5 medium apples, cored, peeled and sliced

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray large baking dish with cooking spray or coat with butter and flour, tapping excess flour out of the pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix oats, sugar, apple pie spice, salt, baking powder, baking soda, walnuts and raisins until thoroughly combined.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, maple syrup, eggs and coconut oil.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to combine.
6. Allow oat mixture to rest while you peel, core and cute apples.
7. Layer apple slices along the bottom of baking dish.
8. Top apples with oat mixture.
9. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.
10. Uncover and continue to bake for 15 minutes.
11. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can make this with any type of fruit you have on hand, fresh or frozen. Sometimes I make it with frozen peaches and cardamom instead of apples and apple pie spice. Cranberries and orange zest would be great. Even though this dish doesn’t have very much sugar or fat in it, it still makes a nice dessert with a little whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It also travels well.  What more can you ask of the humble oat?

Toasty. Oaty. Healthy.