- Grace got crutches. And no, she doesn't need them. WANTING them, however, was her constant refrain for almost a week before we finally found some at the Goodwill. I'm pretty sure she's thinking it's the best 6 bucks she's ever spent. She should also be thinking that she owes her mom {and dad} big time for hauling her first to St. Vincent de Paul's and then Goodwill -- on two separate nights and at very busy times {not to mention loaning her the money until payday} -- all to satisfy her "need" to keep off her "hurt" foot. Which technically was a little hurt, but I'm pretty sure it was the friend in her class with a walking boot that inspired her hunt for this latest accessory. Hahaha. :)
- We pulled cousin names for a Secret Santa! Although it's not really that big a secret as to who everyone got. :) Alex was SOOOOOO excited to pick out a present for Henry and then wrap it up and take it to the post office to mail.
- I tried and failed to perfect my Ginger Snap recipe. :( Anyone have some suggestions for my attempts at Cookie Chemistry 101??? These Ginger Snaps TASTE really good, but whenever I make them with butter they spread out super flat and thin and look weird. When I make them with oil instead, they LOOK perfect -- fluffy, puffy, crackly, and chewy -- but I don't think they taste as good. I've tried melting the butter, softening the butter, refrigerating the dough before baking, and using various proportions of a butter/oil combination, but they never come out looking how I want them too. :( So, if anyone has ideas, I'd love to hear them!
Jessica's Ginger Snaps
3/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. molasses
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cloves
4 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. ground ginger
2 1/4 c. flour
Roll balls of dough in sugar then bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.
- I finally settled on my ornament creation for my upcoming Exchange Party. It took me long enough, but I found inspiration (once again) from Jane's kooky cat dress in our family Christmas picture. :)
- We found the perfect Christmas puzzle to work on in all our non-electronic free time. Hahaha. Ethan set up camp yesterday after church in the Dining Room with the Elf puzzle and attempted to set up a time lapse video of our progress on his iPod, but I think the battery died shortly after we started. Wah Wah. Hahaha. We made some pretty good progress yesterday, and he got it almost finished completely after school today.
- And finally, I know you're all DYING to know which picture option I went with, so wonder no more! I had to go with the fridge magnets, of course. Hahahahaha. Ethan and Grace have already pilfered one to put in their locker at school, but Alex is jealously guarding the rest. Hahaha. He is one trip of a kid. :)
And that is all I've got time for tonight! Stay tuned for pictures and a recap of the kids' Ornament Exchange from this past Saturday...
6 comments:
Have you experimented with thr salt level? Half to a full teaspoon?
haha love the magnets of Alex! I'm super excited about the kids present exchange! only thing that would make it better is if we were all together to open them :)
that puzzle looks so fun, I actually really like doing puzzles!
I have the best ginger snap recipe. It looks really similar to yours. try it and see if they are more to your liking ;)
3/4 c softened butter
1 c brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 1/2 c flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
Roll into balls and then roll in sugar. Bake at 350 for about 8 or 9 mins and the trick is to not over bake them. If they look a little doughy after 8 mins, it's ok and that is what makes them soft and chewy and you don't want them to be crunchy, unless you like them that way. Anyways, enjoy!!
btw I bet all that molasses from the molasses and brown sugar is making them too wet, and making them spread. that looks like the main difference in our recipes. and mine has a little more flour.
Interesting about your ginger snaps. I forwarded this recipe to my email a few days ago. I love homemade cookies. This one has cardamom spice in it (you can get it already dried and crushed - it has a peppery/citrusy flavor. I'll let you know when I try them if it's worth buying the spice.
http://greatideas.people.com/2014/11/01/ginger-molasses-cookies-recipe/
i love a good puzzle!!!
also, is ginger snaps the same thing as ginger cookies?? bc i have the bomb diggity recipe from Mel - secret ingredient is "crystalized ginger" - and to make them even yummy/fancier you can dip a 1/3 of the cookie in white chocolate. I go bananas for this combo!!
oh how i wish we could have our own sister baking party, like we did that year you lived at your inlaws house. remember thats when you made up the white chocolate peppermint fudge recipe? and you did thumbprint jam cookies!! so good!!
Here's the recipe I was talking about. I think also another secret ingredient is using "Lyle's Golden Syrup" which is diff than molasses or corn syrup b/c of the refinery process from sugar cane.
Cornwall Ginger Cookies
3/4 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. Lyle's Golden syrup
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 c. chopped crystallized ginger (grind in a small food processor if you have one)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add Lyle's syrup, then beat in egg.
Combine flour with soda, salt and spices. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture. Fold in crystallized ginger.
Form into balls, roll in sugar, and place on parchment paper lined or greased cookie sheet. Flatten dough with bottom of glass, if you dip glass in sugar it doesn't stick.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
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