chewy gingerbread cookies (final week baking frenzy continued)

Eating our people

Last year, I made gingerbread cookies that were dark and molasses-y and snapped with every bite. This year, I wanted a cookie that was chewier - as in, they weren't meant to build houses with. That's when I saw a recipe for Super soft gingerbread cookies by Emily from Layers of Happiness, which she describes as "Tender and slightly chewy...Packed with ginger, cinnamon and molasses flavor...Seriously addictive." Gee, it's like she read my mind.

These are indeed soft and chewy, spicy and absolutely scrumptious. I toned down the spices from the original recipe, and I've included my changes below. Even then, the cookies still tasted like Christmas, and I'll be making them again for sure. (Shhh...My father even said they were better than the gingerbread cookies the lady from his office makes!)

chewy gingerbread people (slightly altered from Layers of Happiness)
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 Tbs unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup molasses
1 tsp vanilla

Yields ~20 gingerbread men, with leftover scraps to get creative with

gingerbread [vegan]

Today, I walked out of my last final exam of the semester. No matter how many times I've done that before, I'm never prepared for how surreal it feels to suddenly be free from academic obligations. When you're caught up in the tornado that is finals week, losing sleep over papers and cramming biology vocab and physics equations into your brain, it's so easy to lose track of time and forget what's happening outside the college bubble.

If there's anything alerting me to the approaching holidays, it's the return of pumpkin spice and gingerbread items at the campus coffee shop. Nothing sets me in the mood for wrapping presents, stringing lights and anticipating snow more than the scent of warm spices does.

gingerbread [vegan]
1 1/4 cup all-purp flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil (I used corn oil)
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fancy molasses
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs brown granulated sugar

Yields 1 loaf

1. In a bowl, mix the flours, baking soda, salt and ginger/nutmeg/cinnamon.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, warm water, molasses, vinegar, vanilla and sugars.
3. Fold the wet and dry mixtures together until just combined.
4. Pour into greased baking pan, and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

This gingerbread was spicy and sweet and delicious, and what's even better is that it still retains a great flavor and texture even after being in the fridge for a few days.

My friend Joy enjoying a slice of vegan gingerbread. Teehee.

double chocolate cookies

Let's be honest - you could stop right here...

We made these cookies for a potluck in our dorm, and they were uber chocolate-y and very delicious. Somehow, these taste even better during finals week. The only thing better than chocolate is more chocolate, right?

double chocolate cookies (adapted from Very Best Baking)
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, softened at room temperature
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Yields 2 dozen cookies

1. In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. After the butter and sugar are mixed, add in the egg and vanilla, and mix until lighter colored.


2. In another bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.
3. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. If you are not baking the cookies immediately, cover and refrigerate the batter.
4. When you are ready to bake the cookies, scoop ~1 Tbs of cookie dough for each cookie onto a greased cookie sheet, keeping them about 1 inch apart. Gently flatten each cookie dough scoop with the back of a spoon or a fork.
5. Bake at 380 F for 12-15 minutes.*
*The recipe does say to bake the cookies at 375 F for 8 minutes, but our cookies were still raw.

These cookies disappeared fast.

feeding my new obsession/winter break adventures: polymer clay

Three weeks of break from college doesn't sound like a lot, especially when many colleges are closed for twice as long. Between recuperating from semester finals, busy with holiday shenanigans, and visiting old friends and teachers, hour-for-hour, I spend most of my time planted on the living room rug, eyes glazed over in front of the very device I am typing this blog post on.

Even my inner sloth couldn't bear it anymore. This is what led me to pull out the tray of polymer clays that had been collecting dust on our basement shelf for years.  They were a Christmas present from my high school days, at the height of my obsession with all things "kawaii", during which I was inspired to make mini clay figurines. At nearly 20, I have yet to outgrow that phase- I bought a panda trash can for my dorm, for goodness sake - and lately I've rediscovered polymer clay-ing as a fun and creative outlet to help pass time.

I recently purchased some materials to feed my addiction. Let the crappy phone pictures ensue.

Translucent liquid sculpey is an incredibly versatile tool that can be used by itself, as a glue, and as an image transfer medium. I purchased it here.

I also purchased gold and silver headpins to turn creations into charms. The best deal I found was on Amazon from "RockinBeads", who was selling packs of 500 headpins for less than $10. The gold ones (found here) arrived in perfect condition, but for some reason, at least 50 of the silver headpins (found here) were warped to a certain degree. Hmmph. Not happy about that. But worst comes to worst, I will cut the warped areas with pliers and make the best of it.

I don't have glaze yet because I am waiting for the prices of this one, hailed by polymer clay artists across the great interwebs as the ~*holy grail*~ of glazes, to drop.

I'll be moving back to school very soon, and I'm looking forward to finally declaring my major(s)/minor(s). After I figure them out first. Ha. In the meantime, the clay-ing continues...