Snickerdoodles

These are some of the most awesome cookies by any standard I’ve ever made.  I used the recipe from the awesome Cook’s Illustrated cook book “Bakers Illustrated.”  I *finally* got my Vietnamese cinnamon in the mail, and i figured this would be a perfect way to try out the potent spice.  My house smelled like cinnamon for a couple days after!  These cookies are so light and airy, with a nice chew, and a slight tang from the cream of tartar in the recipe.  And the essence of cinnamon fills your nose as bite into one.  I took them to work, and they were gone a couple of minutes.

Snickerdoodles

11.25 oz AP Flour (2-1/4 cup)
2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
12 Tbsp Butter
1/4 Cup Shortening
10.5 oz Sugar (1-1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp Sugar (for rolling)
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp ground Cinnamon

Oven at 400 F.

Whisk flour, tartar, soda, and salt together

Mix the 3 Tbsp of sugar, with the cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar.  Add the eggs, and beat until combined.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  Scoop balls of dough, roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture and bake 9-11 minutes.

Guinness Brown Mustard

I think mustard is one of my favorite condiments.  I don’t know why people don’t make their own.  It’s actually a lot easier than you may think.  Basically, you just soak all the spices in a liquid for a day or two and then grind it up.  The results are well worth it too.  The spices come through a lot stronger than anything in the store, and you can control the elements in the mustard.  I chose to use Guinness stout and Canadian brown mustard seeds.  This mustard has a substantial kick.  Right after I ground the mustard in my food processor, I made the mistake of taking the lid off and inhaling the mustard vapors that I had just released. It basically burned my face off.  So needless to say, you can go light on this mustard when first putting it on things like crackers and sandwiches.  It does tend to mellow with age.  I found this recipe on Saveur.

Guinness Brown Mustard

12 oz. Guinness Stout
1 Cup Vinegar (i used red wine, but anything would work)
10 oz. (1-1/2 Cup) Mustard Seed
1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper Seeds
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground Allspice

Place all ingredients in non-reactive bowl, with a lid.  I used a ziplock container.  Let the ingredients soak for a couple days, and then process in a food processor or blender.  Make sure you check the consistency of the mustard when you’re done, and add water if you want it to be a little more spreadable.  Mine is pretty thick.