Chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies

I think this blog may need a new name, since I don't seem to talk about vegetables all that much. Right now, I am not going to break this trend, because I just want to take a moment to admire these cookies.



They're chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies, a Martha Stewart recipe that I found here. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except that I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt (because the recipe didn't call for any) and I skipped the 20-minute chill after shaping the dough (because I got impatient). In retrospect, I don't think the salt was necessary, although it didn't make the cookies too salty. The thing is, molasses has a fair amount of potassium, which tastes salty. So next time, I'd leave out the salt. As for the 20-minute chilling time, it seemed perfectly fine to skip that, even if you're not in a hurry.

I found the cookies to be exactly what it says on the tin: chewy, chocolatey, and gingery, with a little bit of crispness from the granulated sugar coating. These are not subtle cookies, but that's what I like about gingerbread anyway.

Also, they came out looking pretty much exactly the way they're supposed to. They didn't spread out too much, the top cracked, the sugary coating was still visible. I've made plenty of batches of delicious cookies that looked wrong, so this was kind of a moment of triumph.

Okay, so there's that. Next time, I will definitely write about vegetables. Probably.

Raspberry brownies

In lieu of my usual verbose introduction, I will just say this: if you like chocolate and raspberries, you will like these brownies. They're thick and moist, and they have a definite raspberry flavor. It's a little time-consuming to strain out the raspberry seeds, but it is definitely worth it. No photograph, once again, but you know what brownies look like, right?

Raspberry brownies
adapted from Fine Cooking and words to eat by

To substitute semisweet chocolate for unsweetened chocolate in this recipe, use 4 oz. semisweet chocolate and reduce the amount of sugar by 1/4 cup.

4 oz. (8 Tbs.) unsalted butter, plus some for the pan
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1-1/2 cups sugar
Scant 1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4-1/2 oz. (1 cup) flour
2 Tbs. natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
12 oz. frozen raspberries
optional: about 1/2 cup chocolate chips to sprinkle on top

1. Put the frozen raspberries in a small pot over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit has broken down and the volume has reduced somewhat, 20-30 minutes.

2. While the raspberries are cooking down, place an oven rack on the middle rung and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan (so that the parchment will stick), then line the pan with parchment and butter the parchment.

3. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double-boiler or in the microwave. Cool slightly, then pour into a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until completely incorporated.

4. Pour the cooked raspberries through a strainer to remove the seeds. Use a spoon or a spatula to force as much pulp as possible through the strainer; this should yield about 1/2 cup of raspberry pulp. Discard the seeds and thoroughly stir the pulp into the chocolate mixture.

5. Add the flour and cocoa powder to the chocolate mixture and stir until just incorporated.

6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the top, if you like. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with a few crumbs, 35-45 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool, then cut into squares.