Friday, April 22, 2016

Brown butter ginger snap cookies

I'm going to experiment with this cookie which I just found on Pinterest. I think it can be made softer and richer, and I'm going to try my chocolate chip cookie technique of using more, melted butter, two eggs and two egg yolks, and more brown sugar than white.

Let me know what you think..

Ingredients

2 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, browned and brought back to room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup molasses (mild, not blackstrap)
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
*extra sugar for sprinkling (coarse sugar works great here, but granulated will do the job)

Instructions

To make the dough:

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

Place butter in a small sauté pan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring frequently, until the butter has completely melted and taken on an amber/light brown shade. It will smell slightly nutty. Once it's reached this stage remove the pan from heat RIGHT AWAY - brown butter can go from good to burnt in seconds.

Scrape butter and any brown bits into a small heatproof bowl and transfer bowl to the refrigerator (or freezer if you really want to speed it up). Allow butter to come back to room temperature (it should be solid, but soft enough to hold the impression of your finger when you press it into the top).

When the butter is ready…

Add butter and sugars to the body of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; beat on medium-speed until light and fluffy; about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides as needed.

Add the molasses and orange zest and beat until combined. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients, beating just until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least one hour (or up to one day).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F) 30 minutes prior to baking. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Roll the dough into 1" balls and arrange on prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Lightly press down on the center of each cookie. Sprinkle each top with about 1/4 teaspoon extra sugar, and bake, one sheet at a time, for 9-10 minutes, or until puffed and lightly golden.

Remove pan from oven and allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Eddie Bravo Invitational 6-- free livestream!



I just heard about FITE, a free mobile app dedicated to fighting sports. This Sunday April 24th’s Jiu Jitsu event – The Eddie Bravo Invitational 6-- will feature a 16-man bracket tournament with submission-only rules. All submissions are legal. No draws!, No judges! All for a $50,000 purse.

The EBI 6 is available on FITE TV which is available anywhere in the world that has WiFi internet connections. This app allows you to watch the matches live on the screen of your TV with just the use of your phone and app. As long as you have WiFi connection (on your phone and TV) it should be easy.

In addition to the EBI 6, on FITE TV you can watch MMA, wrestling, boxing and traditional martial arts - live and on-demand. FITE is a Free download from iTunes and Google Play.

There’s also a big red floating button on the app home screen which allows you to upload your own videos - workouts, training sessions, workshops, demonstrations or fight footage - for fans around the world to see.