Recipe: Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

This blog post was entered into the Christmas in July Cookie Contest through Eat In Eat Out Magazine in conjunction with the Food Bloggers of Canada. 

It's finally Christmas Eve! 'Tis the season for many delicious goodies and my kitchen has been doing its share (check out my Instagram feed for some pictures). From madelines, to macaron flavours, to gingerbread cookies. Which brings me to today's recipe which are some absolutely delicious chewy gingerbread cookies.

Personally, I love gingerbread cookies that are not only chewy but also ones where you can taste the ginger, cinnamon, and other spices. So, if you are looking for some chewy gingerbread cookies, then look no further!

Ingredients

• 3  1/2 Cups All-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1  1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon all spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup molasses, warmed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  1/2 teaspoons warm water
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup of sugar for dipping

Instructions 

1. Sift the flour, spices and salt together in a large bowl.
2. In the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachement or in a bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together (approx. 3 min)
3. Warm up the molasses in the microwave for approximately 10-15 seconds.
4. Beat in the egg and molasses to the creamed butter and sugar. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
5. Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water and to the molasses mixture. Beat until smooth.
6. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients (flour, spice, salt).
7. Cover and chill for a few hours; until the dough is stiff and can be molded.
8. Preheat the oven to 350F.
9. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon mats.
10. Once the dough is finished chilling, start to roll small balls of dough for cookies.
11. Flatten the dough with your palms to form a small disc.
12. Dip the dough disc into a small bowl filled with sugar. Ensure all sides are covered.
13. Place the cookie onto the baking sheet. Space the cookies about 2 fingers apart. 
14. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350F for chewy gingerbread cookies.

Coco Deep Fried Chicken - Newest Fried Chicken in Edmonton

Last Thursday night while our friend was over for dinner, he waxed lyrical about some Korean fried chicken that he recently tried in Edmonton. Needless to say my husband and I were intrigued! Not only was it any fried chicken, but he claimed it was fried chicken prepared the exact same way in Korea! 

So despite snowy weather the next night, we found ourselves heading out to try the newest Korean fried chicken in town - Coco Deep Fried Chicken. Coco is located in a strip mall on the south side of 34 Ave (3350 Parsons Rd) in Edmonton, between the chinese restaurant Tin Tin and the Korean butcher shop, Nice to Meat You. 

Coco Deep Fried Chicken seems to be more focused on take-out rather than sit down. There are about 6 tables in the space that can seat 4-6 people each. It seemed that most customers were either calling in their order and picking up, ordering take-out (like us), or sitting down for a quick meal. 

A sign near their cashier till displayed the "Coco Chicken Promise" to their customers. It was certainly nice to  know their mission statement. Originally, we wanted to order the "Half and Half Chicken - 10 piece" ($22.99) made of 5 pieces of regular crispy chicken and 5 pieces of sweet and hot sauce. Unfortunately, as it was near closing, they had run out of the sweet and hot sauce. The owner told us that they have to make the sauce from scratch each day. In the end, we decided to get the Family Crispy Chicken 10 piece pack ($21.99).

While waiting for our order to finish frying, I took some pictures of the open kitchen. It was good to see that each piece of chicken was not only fried individually but also checked with a meat thermometer.

After about 15-20 minutes of waiting, our order was finished. Here is a picture of our meal all ready to bring home. In the end, the owner managed to find some of the sweet & hot sauce for us to try. The Family pack also came with a container of pickled daikon and a can of coke.

The deep fried chicken at Coco is certainly amazing! It is likely one of the best Korean fried chickens that I have tried in Edmonton so far. The above picture was one of the pieces of chicken from our family pack. It was mostly meat with only 1 bone! The owner told us that all the meat is marinated for a full day before it is fried.

The long marinade definitely was evident in the taste of their chicken! Not only was the skin super crispy and thick, the meat of the chicken was very flavourful and moist. Without even realizing it, my husband and I polished off 4 pieces each in record time! I would definitely go back to Coco Deep Fried Chicken the next time I have a hankering for some fried chicken!

Next time, I would love to try the sweet & hot sauce chicken such as the one pictured below - from another customer's order.  The taste of the sauce that we got was great for dipping, but it would be nice to have a fully lathered hot and sweet sauce deep fried chicken.

Coco Deep Fried Chicken
3350 Parsons Rd.
Edmonton, AB

telephone: (780) 990-4304
Mon-Sat: 11-8pm
Sun: 2-7pm

Homemade Step By Step Guacamole

Homemade Guacamole is probably one of the tastiest and easiest items to make either as an appetizer with chips, or when you make home made tortillas such as my last post. To start, you will definitely need about 3-4 ripe avocados. Lately, we have been purchasing an entire bag of avocados from Superstore or Costco (depending on the price).

Ingredients:

• 2-3 ripe avocados
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• ground fresh pepper 
• 2-3 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

1. Gather all ingredients together. Cut avocados in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the avocado flesh into a large bowl or into the bowl of the food processor. Juice the lemon.

Note: I often scrape away the rind of the lemon first and freeze the rind for other baked goodies.

2. Pour the lemon juice over the avocado flesh, place in the garlic cloves, add salt & pepper to taste. If mixing by hand, mince the garlic cloves into smaller pieces. 

3. Process the guacamole or using a spoon mash the items until it reaches your desired consistency. I tend to leave chunks of avocado for further texture. You can also add in cayenne pepper for an extra kick. Let the guacamole sit at room temperature and serve. Enjoy!

This Guacamole will also go well with corn tortillas! Recipe here. 

What do you like adding to your guacamole? Or do you do anything differently with your guacamole? Add a comment below! 

Quick and Easy Step By Step Homemade Tortillas

Homemade Tortillas are a great go-to meal for days where you have many random items in the fridge that could only be used for a stir fry. To start, make a stir fry with whatever items you may have in the fridge. Then, prep the tortillas.

Ingredients for Making Corn Tortillas (makes approximately 16 tortillas)

• 2 Cups of instant corn masa mix (I use MASECA)
• 1/4 Teaspoon salt
• 1  1/2 cups water

note: you can find MASECA (instant corn masa mix) at your local Superstore or online in bulk!

Directions:

1. Make the filling that you want for your tortillas. Here I made a stirfry of chicken, red peppers, tomatoes and onions. 

2. Combine two cups of the instant corn masa mix, salt, and 1  1/2 cups of water. Mix thoroughly for about 2 minutes to form a soft dough. If the dough feels dry, add more water (approx. one tablespoon at a time). Divide dough into 16 equal balls. Cover all the balls with a damp cloth to keep the dough moist. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom, then your ball of dough, then another piece of parchment paper. Taking a flat bottom pan press the ball until flat. Gently peel of the parchment paper.

3. Preheat a skillet (I used a cast iron pan) on medium-high heat. 

4. Cook tortillas on the pan for approximately 50 seconds on each side. 

5. Place cooked tortillas in a stack, and cover with a kitchen cloth in order to keep it soft and warm. I used a brie baker to keep the tortillas warm and wrapped a kitchen towel around it to keep the tortillas warm.

6. Prepare the rest of your fillings such as butter lettuce, mushrooms, avocado, tomatoes and lime.
Enjoy!

12th Annual Edmonton Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival & A Giveaway!

It's that time of the year again! For the 12th time in Edmonton, the Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival is back! As in previous years, the Shaw conference centre will be hosting Edmonton's Festival with an extensive variety of wines, scotch, premium spirits, imports and micro-brewed beers. Certainly, there will be food as well from hotels, local restaurants and local food purveyors! 

Liquor Depot will once again feature an on-site liquor store, where attendees can purchase their favourite finds from the weekend. Liquor Connect will also be available to demonstrate how LiquorConnect.com can help find sensational sips after the Festival. Additionally, Sunshine Village  will be sponsoring the Grand Prize All-Inclusive Weekend Getaway for two, including two nights accommodation at Sunshine Mountain Lodge, VIP parking, a $100 gift certificate for food and beverages, a couple’s spa treatment and next day lift tickets.

Last year when I had the opportunity to attend, I tried some delicious wines, beers, and food items. I hope you can attend! 

This year there are three times that you can attend.                          

• Friday, October 25, 5-10 p.m. New hours!
• Saturday, October 26, 12-4 p.m. New session!
• Saturday, October 26, 6-10 p.m. New hours!

Now, the exciting part! You too can attend as I have been given 2 pairs of tickets to give away for the Saturday October 26 afternoon session (12-4pm)! This is a new time and will be way less crowded! The tickets will give you entrance to the festival, but you will need to purchase sampling coupons for food and wine/beverages at $0.50. 

To enter the give away, please leave me a comment below about: "Which wine, beer or spirt you are looking forward to trying." Only those with comments will be entered into the draw. The comment box is below the Rafflecopter widgit.

Optional Additional Entries:

- Follow me on Twitter @beyondumami

- Follow me Beyondumami on Facebook

- Tweet "Enter @beyondumami's giveaway to win a pair of tickets to @RockyWineFood Fest Sat Oct 26 afternoon #yegfood". 

Winner will be chosen at random and announced on October 23. Good luck!

Things to Note: 

• Samples range from 1-20 or more coupons depending on the item. Prices per sample are set by exhibitors. Coupons must be purchased with cash only inside the hall. 
• Tickets are not transferable to another session. 
• This is an adult only event. All attendees must be 18 years or older.
• Minors (including infants) are not permitted to attend. 

More information about the event can be found here:

@RockyWineFood

www.rockymountainwine.com

www.facebook.com/Rockymountainwineandfood

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Step by Step Homemade Pumpkin Spice

Ingredients for pumpkin spice: ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg 

Now that it's Fall, I've been playing around with making my own pumpkin spice at home. Super easy to make and was perfect for making pumpkin pie or incorporating into the buttercream for pumpkin spice macarons! 

Ingredients for Homemade Pumpkin Spice

• 2 Tbsp. (15g) Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. (7g) Ground Ginger
• 2 Tsp. (5g) Ground Nutmeg
• 1//2 Tsp. (1g) All Spice
• 1/2 Tsp. (1g) Ground Cloves

Directions for Homemade Pumpkin Spice 

1. Measure out all the spices. I use a scale to measure it out to the exact g. Measuring with a tablespoon or teaspoon works nicely too.
2. Mix all the ingredients together. 
3. Store in an air tight container until you are ready to use.

This pumpkin spice smells really good! Look for the next post where I make macarons with this pumpkin spice mix.

Delicious Corn Cookies - Momofuku Style

A stack of soft corn cookies.

Corn cookies. Who would think that these two little words would make so many people crave a bite of these soft corn cookies. The recipe for these particular corn cookies comes from the creative mind of Christina Tosi from Momofuku's Milk Bar. Their headquarters is located in New York City, but they recently opened a store in Toronto which is where I visited.

Corn Cookies from the Momofuku Milk Bar

Menu board at Momofuku Milk Bar

The most exciting part of the visit - a walk in refrigerator where all the baked
goods and cookie mixes are held! Every item is baked in the NYC bakery and then shipped
to all of their locations or even personally shipped to you if you so desired. 

All the ingredients for making corn cookies.

Ingredients for Corn Cookies (12-15, depending on size)

• 225g butter (2 sticks) at room temperature 
• 300g (1  1/2 cups) sugar
• 1 egg
• 225g (1  1/3 cups) flour
• 45g (1/4 cup) corn flour 
• 65g (2/3 cup) freeze-dried corn powder 
• 3g (3/4 tsp) baking powder 
• 1.5g (1/4 tsp) baking soda 
• 6g (1  1/2 tsp) kosher salt 

Baking Notes:

• Freeze-dried corn can be found at health food stores, MEC, Amazon, or from the Milk Bar's online store. If it comes whole, just process the corn through a food processor until finely ground. Keep it in the fridge in a air tight container.
• Corn flour is finely ground corn meal. I found my corn flour at Bulk Barn here in Edmonton or the Rob's Red Mill brand carries it as well. 

Directions for Corn Cookies

Sugar and butter inside the bowl of a stand up mixer. 

1. In the bowl of a stand up mixer, combine the butter and sugar using a paddle attachment.

2. Cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes. It should start to look fluffy and well combined.

Creaming the butter and sugar together on high speed for 2-3 minutes.

3. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the egg. 

Add 1 egg into the creamed butter and sugar. 

4. Beat the mixture for another 7-8 minutes. According to Christina Tosi, this is the most important step towards ensuring that the corn cookies you make at home look and taste exactly like the ones from their store. 

On high speed cream the sugar, butter and eggs for a total of 10 minutes.

The 10 minute creaming process yields this visual result.

5. Once the mixture is fluffy and white, reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the freeze dried corn powder, corn flour, four, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 

Add in the freeze dried corn while the mixer is on low speed.

Add in the rest of the dry ingredients. 

6. Mix until the dough comes together (about 1 minute). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and transfer the dough to a work surface.

Transfer the dough to a work surface.

7. Using a 1/3 cup measure, portion out the dough.

Measure out the dough using a 1/3 measuring cup.

8. Roll the dough into balls, then place them onto parchment paper. Leave space (at least 4 inches apart) between the cookies in order for them to expand in the oven. Pat the tops of the cookies flat. 

Roll out the measured dough into balls, then place onto baking pan (approx 4" apart).

 9. Cover the sheet pans tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (up to 1 week is possible). Again, Christina Tosi advises that these cookies been put in the fridge prior to baking in order to ensure that they bake properly. Do not bake from room temperature.

Cover the pan with saran wrap, then place the trays in the fridge for 1 hour.

10. After the cookies have been in the fridge for 1 hour or more, turn the oven on to 350F. Bake the cookies for 15-18 minutes. They will puff up and spread. They will be done when they are are still yellow in the middle, but has a bit of brown on the edge. Allow for another minute or two if they don't look completely baked.

Corn cookies expanding in the oven.

Corn cookies finished in the oven. 

11. Allow the corn cookies to cool completely on the pan before transferring them to an air tight container.

Corn Cookies cooling on the pan.

12. These cookies can be kept at room temperature for at least 5 days. They can also be frozen in the freezer for at least 1 month.

Finished corn cookies. Don't they look beautiful? Super tasty! Try them out!