Expectations

Since the last post a lot has happened, well mostly I just turned 30!  So unbelievable.  I don’t know about you, but my entire life I’ve always looked to the next milestone and said, “I’m going to be like that,” or , “I’ll be here in my life…” as I got closer to 30 I realized that I was not where I thought I would be growing up.  (Side note: Are you still growing up when you’re 30!?!)  We all set expectations, or dream of what our future will be.  Sometimes our lives exceed our expectations and sometimes we fall short of our goals.  Both prove to be opportunities for us to learn about ourselves and how far we are willing to push our limits.  Do you look at your past and think that you could have pushed yourself harder, or are you content with how far you have come?  As I turned 30, I was determined to set a whole new set of expectations for my life going forward.  My 20s were a time of immense growth, and not just in terms of intelligence and well…ahem…weight…but it became a period of time where I made a conscious decision to be who I am and to be content with that.  There have been a lot of hard days, and some hard years (29 was a doozy!) where things just didn’t turn out right, like the gingersnaps below.  Life was great, spicy (cayenne), soft (12 tblsp butter!!) and somehow in the end came out rock solid-a good thing in life, not so good if you’re a cookie!  

With all this being said, the recipe below was not good!  Great right out of the oven, but as they sat overnight hardened like rocks.  Feel free to try, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you! J

Gingersnaps:

By: The Best of Americas Test Kitchen

2 ½ C All-Purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

12 tblsp unsalted butter

2 tblsp ground ginger

1 teasp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp pepper

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 ¼ C packed dark brown sugar

¼ C molasses

2 tblsp finely grated fresh ginger

1 large egg plus 1 large yolk

½ C granulated sugar

1.     Wisk flour, baking soda and slat together in a bowl.  Heat butter in 10 inch skillet over medium heat until melted.  Lower heat to medium-low and continue to cook, swirling pan frequently, until foaming subsides and butter is just beginning to brown, 2 to 4 minutes.  Transfer butter to large bowl and whisk in ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and cayenne.  Let cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Add brown sugar, molasses and fresh ginger to butter mixture and whisk to combine.  Add egg and yolk and whisk to combine.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. 

2.     Adjust over racks to upper-middle and lower middle positions and heat over to 300 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place granulated sugar in a shallow dish.  Divide dough into heaping teaspoon portions; roll dough into 1 inch balls.  Working in batches of 10, roll balls into sugar to coat.  Evenly space dough balls on prepared baking sheets, 20 dough balls per sheet.

3.     Place 1 baking sheet on upper rack and bake for 15 minutes.  Transfer partially baked top sheet to lower sheet until they just begin to darken around the edges, 10-12 minutes longer.  Remove lower sheet of cookies and transfer upper sheet to lower rack rotating 180 degrees, and continue to bake until cookies begin to darken around edges, 15017 minutes longer.  Slide baked cookies, still on parchment to wire rack and let cool completely before serving.  Let sheets col slightly and line with parchment again.  Repeat step 3 with remaining dough balls.