Kitchen Adventures: Gingersnap Cookies!

Finally another installment of Kitchen Adventures! This one wasn't too daunting, cookies seem basic enough right? Well they are..thank god. The first time I tried to make gingersnap cookies, not only were they hard as rocks but they were burnt on the bottom and somehow I feel like the process was a lot more difficult than the recipe I tried tonight.

Overall the recipe was pretty easy, it was fun to mix it by hand, nothing like getting all gooey when you bake lol! One thing that I don't like about this recipe (which can be easily fixed) is that there isn't a lot of ginger and if you're like me and you LOVE gingery gingersnaps then I would put in extra for sure!! However, the redeeming factor for these cookies is that they're lovely and soft and chewy. Believe me, I've had four already! And they were delicious! SO, by all means give this recipe a try, I think it needs some tweaking before it's worthy of anyones recipe box, but I think with a little extra ginger they might be just perfect!

I got my recipe from Food.com and Katherine from Alberta recieves full credit for this recipe, here's the link if you care to peruse the reviews and ratings, or other recipes of hers: http://www.food.com/recipe/gingersnap-cookies-soft-chewy-98652.

But to make life easier I'll put the recipe below...

Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger (add more! lol)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 cup sugar
1 cup margarine or butter
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup sugar on a plate for later

1. Mix the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and cloves well and set aside.
2. In another bowl mix with a beater 1 to 2 minutes the sugar, margarine, egg and molasses.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix by hand.
4. Take one good size tablespoons of dough (or more to make a bigger cookie) and roll into a ball.
5. Roll the cookies in the sugar on the plate

6. Bake at 350 on an ungreased cookie sheet (air-insulated type is best) for 10-12 mins

Holly's Kitchen Adventures: The Perfect Pancakes!!

Have you ever tried to make pancakes and failed miserably? Probably not, because only I could ruin pancakes to the point where they are completely inedible. However, I have now become the master of pancakes and today I'm going to share my delicious recipe with you!! Both my roommate and I could live off of these pancakes, and I make them as often as I can, with tons of different fillings!

This recipe was actually found on the website http://www.allrecipes.com/ and the original recipe can be found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pancakes-i/detail.aspx and it's creator deserves all the credit for my success as a pancake master! I used the original recipe and added to it a little bit using comments from other people who have tried it and tweaked it a little to suit their tastes and now I have the most amazing pancake recipe. So here is my(slightly) adapted version of the original recipe:

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 10 min
Ready in: 20 min

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or 1/2 teaspoon if you don't like too much cinnamon)
1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or melted butter)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Preheat griddle over medium high heat. (I find that between 4 and 5 works the best)
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Make a well in the center. In a separate bowl beat together egg, milk, oil and vanilla and pour into the dry mixture. Beat until smooth.
3. Pour or scoop the batter onto the hot griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot!

Filling Ideas:
Grated apple
Banana and chocolate chips
Blueberries
Walnuts
Lemon zest and juice

So there you have it! The most amazing pancakes you will ever eat. And believe me if I can cook it, you can too because I am the most inept person in the kitchen. Hence the title "Kitchen Adventures" haha! So, these pancakes have been one of my greatest successes in the kitchen and I hope that you enjoy the recipe (for those of you who try it). I hope the filling ideas give you some inspiration to try your own and if you find something that is absolutely delicious PLEASE come back and share it with everyone!

Happy Breakfasting!

-Holly