Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins

Okay so these muffins are the definition of a delicious failure. I decided at the last minute that I wanted to add Hershey's cocoa powder to the dough to try to incorporate chocolate (you'll see why in the next post) and the muffins came out so densely that the lemon curd wouldn't go into them as filling. I abandoned that idea and just decided to run with the chocolate theme. It turned out really well, but I have ideas for next time I make them...

Chocolate Gingerbread Muffins

Adapted from New Recipes from Moosewood Restaurant

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 c. molasses
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c. hot, strong chocolate-flavored coffee
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. chocolate chips (for topping)

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line about 2 muffin tins with muffin liners.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat egg into molasses, then add the creamed mixture. 
3. Sift together all dry ingredients except baking soda, then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones.
4. Dissolve the baking soda in the coffee and add it to the batter, beating for several minutes. Place batter in muffin liners, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 30 minutes.
5. To make topping, melt 1 c. chocolate chips in a double boiler until melted. Spoon into pastry bag and decorate.

Some Notes:

• Next time I make these, I plan on adding 1 c. of chocolate chips, coated in all-purpose flour, to the batter for a more chocolaty taste.
• Instead of a pastry bag, you can use a ziplock bag as a decorating tool. Just place all the chocolate into the ziplock bag, cut the tip off and squeeze.

Ginger Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

These are not the prettiest cookies, but they are DELICIOUS! I was a little skeptical at first about the combination of candied ginger and chocolate, but I had some candied ginger to use up that I bought at Jungle Jims forever ago, and I hadn't made cookies in a while. This recipe is definitely a keeper. The cookies can be baked to your exact liking, which is really neat. My first batch came out pretty dark and crispy, the second batch (after reducing cooking time by two minutes) came out snappy and golden, and the third batch (after another minute reduction) turned out chewy... and all three batches tasted great! You don't find many cookie recipes that can do that.

Ginger Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 3 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c. (packed) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 c. chopped crystallized ginger

To Make:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil.
2. In a medium bowl, combine oats, both flours, salt and baking soda.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add dry mixture to the mixer bowl and combine. Stir in ginger and chocolate chips. 
4. Drop batter onto baking sheets by tablespoonful. Bake until golden brown (about 10 minutes in my oven).

Some Notes:

• Make sure your batter mounds are compact so that the cookies do not crumble when removing from the baking sheet.
• The timetable for my oven was like this:

chewy cookies: 9 minutes

golden cookies: 11 minutes

crispy cookies: 13 minutes

• These cookies brown a little after they are pulled out of the oven. Plan accordingly.