delvious

I am a victim of seasonal cravings.  It was particularly bad in 2009:

• Last summer, I was only interested in peach cobbler and plum kuchens.
• Fall arrived, and I forgot about the summer stone fruits to focus on pumpkin loaves and apple cakes.
• This winter, the gingerbread cravings hit me hard.

Thoughts of gingerbread guinness cakes, gingerbread pancakes and adorable gingerbread men panini distracted me.  Finally, I came across a recipe for gingerbread butterscotch cookies.  I had never considered gingerbread paired with butterscotch, but I do have a theory about butterscotch morsels:  they make anything infinitely more delectable.

Recipe

These cookies uphold The Butterscotch Morsel Theory.  The gingerbread was almost too spicy, really; but luckily the butterscotch morsels step in to balance out the cookies with super intense sweetness.  This recipe may not be delvious in a peanut-butter-sauerkraut kind of way, but they are a unique (and delicious) cookie for wintertime.

Gingerbread Butterscotch Cookies

Adapted from Baked Perfection

Printable recipe

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 large egg

1/3 cup light molasses

1 (11 ounce) package Butterscotch Flavored Morsels

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt in small bowl.  In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg and molasses until creamy.

4.  Gradually beat in flour mixture until well blended. Stir in morsels.

5.  Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

A few thoughts on cloves

I have been anti-cloves for awhile.  I have long blamed cloves for pumpkin pies that I didn’t like and have refused to buy a tiny jar of them in whole or ground form.  My assumed dislike of its flavor and its perpetual absence from my spice rack has encouraged me to omit this spice from any recipe I’ve made recently, including this one.


But, I’m planning to re-embrace cloves for 2010.  Did you know cloves are the dried flower of an evergreen tree native to India and Indonesia?  I didn’t.  Did you know it is a key spice in chai tea?  I didn’t, and I really like chai tea.  It’s time to give in, go to the grocery, and seek out a clove-y recipe in an attempt to accept this spice.  What do you think of them?

In: Cookies, Dessert | tags: butterscotch, gingerbread. | #