Ginger Snaps My OMG Way Cookies

OMG is the only way I can describe these cookies...  I thought I would treat my husband to a batch of his favorite cookies.  He has been working so hard these days and he took time off to help me out yesterday for the Art Wine and Chocolate Festival that I participated in.  He did all of the unloading and reloading and you all know what a chore that is.  I also had some help from a friend, but I was not able to treat her to cookies just yet.  But I will...

Anyway, these cookies turned out soooo dang good I decided to share it with you.  I also had made this frosting earlier in the week for the class I work in and added that to the cookies...OMG..they are sooo good.  I didnt do a  step by step tutorial but its easy enough to follow...

 ENJOY!!!

DOWNLOAD PDF CLICK HERE...

Ginger Snaps My OMG Way Cookies

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

1 egg

½ cups packed brown sugar

2 tbsp. fresh pureed ginger (in the refrigerated vegetable section at Raley’s) you could use finely chopped dried ginger or freshly grated ginger as a substitute.

2 tbsp. pumpkin spice schnapps (optional)

1 tsp. almond extract

3 ½ cups white flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

¼ cup molasses

1 tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Soften butter by whipping with your mixer.  Once the butter is nice and fluffy, add sugar, egg, molasses, pureed ginger and brown sugar.  Mix well.  Then add almond extra and pumpkin spice schnapps.  In a medium bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix well with a hand whisk.  Add dry mixture to wet mixture one cup at a time. Use a large cookie scooper and put dough balls about 1 ½ inches apart.  I put 12 on a large cookie sheet.  Bake 10 minutes.  Let cool at least 3 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet or they may fall apart if take off too soon.

NOTE: My recipes are all made from scratch; I do my best to calculate the exact measurements.  Add your own spices to bump up the flavor to your taste!

Makes approximately 3 dozen

For that added extra wow power, I made this awesome frosting.

Maple Brown Sugar My OMG Way Frosting

1 cup softened butter

¼ cup Maple Syrup (I used Mrs. Butterworth’s)

1 cup unpacked Brown Sugar

5-6 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup Whipping Cream

1 tsp salt

Whipping cream as needed

Works best with a Kitchen Aid mixer

In a small pan, melt brown sugar with whipping cream on low heat.  Bring to a slight boil then quickly remove from the stove and pour into a large bowl.  I have a kitchen aid mixer and it works great for this frosting.  I use a plastic paddle which scrapes the sides really well.  Put on high speed and cool down the mixture.  Add syrup and a small amount of whipping cream and whip some more.  The mixture may stick to the sides of the bowl, don’t worry, you can scrap it off with a scrapper. Once the mixture is cooled all of the way, you can start adding the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time.

NOTE: My recipes are all made from scratch; I do my best to calculate the exact measurements.  You may need to add more powdered sugar, cream or maple syrup.  You can substitute syrup with maple flavoring, but the syrup gives the frosting a nice creamy texture. 

By Christina Miles 2013

Blueberry Syrup

So, now for the really yummy stuff, the syrup!
I did make this a little too sweet I think, but syrup is sweet anyways. Here are the ingredients:

Blueberry Syrup

1 cup water
1 1/c cup powdered sugar
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed, rinsed and drained

In a medium sauce pan, put the water, sugar and vanilla extact in.  Bring to a boil and let it cook for about 5 minutes.  I like to make sure you get a nice thick sauce.  You can test this with a candy themometer but I usually just test mine by taking a taste...let it cool slightly on the spoon before you take a taste..you could burn your tongue, plus its thinner when its hot, and you are checking to make sure it is thick enough.  If its not thick enough after 5 minutes, continue to boil until you get the results you want.  Dont boil too long or you just might get jelly instead...LOL
After  you have the right consistency, add your blueberries.  Again, bring them to a boil, and continue for a couple of minutes.  Test your syrup, and it should be ready to go!  I put mine in a jar and let it cool some before serving.

This is a quick and simple recipe!  Hope you love the pancakes and blueberry syrup if you give them a try.  Drop me a line too if you do!! 

Yummy Pancakes and Blueberry Syrup

Ok, so normally I dont put recipes on my blog...but hey, why not!  This morning, a beautiful morning in Northern CA, after getting a really good nights sleep (no dreams or nightmares..LOL) I decided to make something yummy for breakfast.  Hubby was still in bed, my youngest is still snoring, so it was up to me and my 2 kitties to put something together!  I didnt have any pancake mix, besides I dont usually like the stuff, so I did the hunt online to see what I could find.  I found a basic recipe, nothing exciting, but it gave me the basic idea of how to make home made pancakes....So this is my recipe.  Now mind you, I cook by scratch, I never measure anything when Im in this mode!  So the measurments are not accurate but approximate. But I think they are close enough to what I used....and I also used my new Kitchen Aid mixer...LOVE IT!  Why didnt I buy this thing years ago I will never know...LOL  Ps, I am trying to go the healthier route in life, so this is my version of a healthy pancake!

As always with anything I teach...read the entire directions before you begin to make....  :-)

Almond Pancakes
1 C. white flour
2/3 c. wheat flour
2/3 almond flour
1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder

Mix these all together, then add:

1/4 cup raw sugar (I think I put more and they were a tiny bit too sweet...so less is better in this case)
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (I think I used a tad more than this, I emptied what was left in my container)
1/2 n 1/2 milk  -  I used about 1 - 1 1/2 cups, not exactly sure because I added this in as I was mixing to get a nice consistency. So, put one cup in first then as you are mixing, keep adding the milk until you are happy with the consistency.  Should be almost like cake batter thickness, not too runny and not too thick!

I used Half N Half because I think it adds a nice richness to the pancakes.  You can also use Almond milk or regular milk.  I dont suggest water, I think the pancakes would be a little bland and not as fluffy
Mix well but don't over mix.  Even though I used my Kitchen Aid, I still mixed the wet ingredients by hand.

Once you get all the ingredients mixed, start cooking away!  Makes about 15 pancakes approx. 3 inches in diameter and 1/2 inches thick...