This Post is Brought to You by Gingerbread

To all the people who say gingerbread is for Christmas time only, I say gingerbread knows no bounds.  Here's the recipe:

2 & 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 cup softened butter
4 tbsp. molasses 
1 large egg
1/3 cup brown sugar

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
2. Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter, egg, molasses and sugar until smooth. 
3. Fold the dry mixture into the wet mixture 1/3 at a time.
4. On a clean, dry surface, roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut out your shapes.
5. Transfer the shapes to the baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes. 

I like to frost mine with white chocolate ganache (white chocolate melted with heavy cream,) but you can frost them with anything or leave them naked. What's especially fun is wrapping up these little beauties! I found this precious wax paper at Michael's craft store that I used with washi tape from Target. If you're feeling like you need to get a Texas shaped cookie cutter (and you should feel that way,) you can find that here.

If you're a home fragrance kind of person World Market is the place to go. I went there the other day and upon seeing incense and candles, I was throwing my money at it like it had no value to me. I had to remind myself that I didn't need 16 candles or 12 packages of incense.  I bought a Moroccan Spice candle along with some Frangipani (plumeria) and Herb de Provence incense. When I first started using incense I had no idea what I was doing and I don't want you to be in the same boat.

First, you'll need an incense holder; they're fireproof and keep ashes from getting all over surfaces. There's a small hole at the end of the holder for the incense to go into. Light the incense at the thick end of the stick and let it burn for a few seconds. Blow out the flame and the incense should be glowing. It's simple to do and and just really calming.

Gingerbread and incense is not a traditional pairing, it's also not a bad one.

Peace and love. XXX.

Sugary Rings of Sweet Joy

School starts back on the 13th and I'm trying to get aaaaallll the baking out of my system.  I received a doughnut pan as a Christmas gift and, oh my lanta, I've been itching to use it.  Of course you can always make doughnuts in a big pot of sizzling oil, I like mine baked.  Yesterday I made cinnamon sugar doughnuts and today was all about chocolate. You really need a doughnut pan to make these, otherwise they'll just be "buns."

The basic recipe is the same for both doughnuts: the only difference is in the topping.

For the cinnamon doughnuts, I melted two tablespoons of butter and brushed it over one side of the doughnuts with a silicone pastry brush.  I mixed 1/4 cup granulated sugar with a tablespoon of ground cinnamon and dipped the wet side of the doughnuts in to coat them. I also substituted granulated sugar for brown, and white vinegar for apple cider vinegar.

For the chocolate doughnuts I just dunked the tops in chocolate ganache. To make ganache, just melt 1 & 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 cup heavy cream over medium. Stir it until smooth and transfer it to a bowl for dipping. When you dip them in the chocolate, press the doughnuts face down and lift them up and out: don't twist them.  Adorn them with colorful sprinkles, coconut flakes, or chopped nuts (I went with sprinkles!) I also added 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg the doughnuts.  What's that? You have a lot of chocolate ganache leftover? Don't say it like it's a bad thing! It goes great with ice-cream or crepes.

What do doughnuts go great with? Coffee and friends! I got this precious giraffe mug at World Market and it comes in a set of four; enough for your friends. My favorite drink at Starbucks is a white mocha latte. Rather than spending 4-5 dollars on coffee everyday, I came up with a quick fix. I put 10-15 white chocolate chips in the bottom of my mug and pour the hot coffee over it. It's not quite the same thing as Starbucks, but it satisfies my craving. 

Oh la la. Doughnuts are easy to make and should be properly love and adored, otherwise you have no business making them in the first place. 

Peace and love. XXX.