Gingerdead Men

I love these!  They're so fun.  And surprisingly easy.  They came as a box mix, complete with cutter, that I bought at Cost+ for about $6.  (The company is Brand Castle, but I can't find this particular product online.)   I tried to buy a similar cutter last year for much more (JUST the cutter!), but they were sold out everywhere. 

The dough is actually chocolate, but I spiffed it up a bit with some cinnamon and ginger.  Nonetheless, the actual cookie was less than stellar (although some people really liked it.)  The package made 10  cookies with a little dough left over (for about 1/2 a cookie.) 

This is the imprint side of the cutter.

The cutter is two-sided -- one side cuts the basic outline, and the other side makes the imprint.  Much of the imprint was lost during baking because my cookies were thick.  However, this imprint makes it much easier to conform the icing to the image.  I highly recommend it if you don't have good hand coordination.

Conclusion:  The cookies tasted generic, but I'll definitely be using the cutter again with my own dough.

October ABC challenge: Crusty Apple Pie

Like Mr. Cratchit, I'm behind my time.   There are two types of people:  crust people and filling people.  I solidly fall into the first category.  So late or not, I didn't want to miss out on this month's challenge.  The idea is brilliant:  just enough filling for flavor and interest, and all the rest a rich, buttery, crust!  The problem here is that it's almost too good.  I found I could pick it up and nosh my way through slice after thin slice, just like pizza.  I think I might have to stick with traditional deeper-dish apple pie, just so each piece actually registers as a dessert serving.

Fortunately, I saved myself a few pounds by making only half the recipe.  I didn't want a mini pie, so I rolled out the full 13" and folded it over on itself.  That way each slice was a normal serving.  (Like "normal" even came into it once the eating began!)

Dulce de leche spread on half the crust.

I had an open jar of dulche de leche in the refrigerator and thought that would be a good additional to the pie.  I just spooned it out and spread on what seemed like a good amount.  (I didn't want it oozing out of the crust if there were too much.)

Keeping the peel adds nutrition and flavor.

I ended up using only one medium-sized apple.  That's less than half the recipe, but it seemed sufficient.  I never peel apples for a baked product.  So far neither I nor anyone else has noticed.  I think peeling the apples is a throw-back to when serving highly refined foods was a sign of wealth and gentility.  We're over that now.  In the same vein, I also substituted half the flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

Artfully decorated, it's ready for the oven.

A few decorative cutouts, and it was ready to go.















I baked it the first 15 minutes at 425, as directed, but when I checked on it the temperature was 475.  That's probably why, after turning the oven temperature down, it was a little over-browned after only 20 minutes.  (I have a temperamental oven.)  It was still delicious!

Conclusion:  This was very good, and came together so easily.  (Especially since I eliminated rolling out a second crust.)  But despite being an avid crust fan, I think I find traditional pie more satisfying.  However, that won't stop me from perhaps trying this again with a layer of cheddar cheese in the bottom.

Recipe:   Crusty Apple Pie via King Arthur Flour