Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

7 oz bittersweet chocolate 

1 1/2 oz milk chocolate 

1/2 C whole milk 

6 egg yolks 

1/3 C granulated sugar 

2 C heavy cream 

Method:

Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit. Heat the water in a double boiler, add chocolate to upper pot and heat until melted, and remove from heat. In a separate pot, heat the milk. Place yolks and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk until blended. Slowly whisk the mixture into the warmed milk. Strain milk mixture into chocolate and stir until combined. 

Heat 1 c of heavy cream until simmering and stir into chocolate mixture. Stir in remaining cup of cream. Pour into a baking pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Place the pan into a larger baking pan and fill up with water until halfway up the pan.

Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until sides are set and center is loose and a bit runny. Whisk until smooth and strain again to make sure there are no lumps. Spoon into individual serving dishes and cool down in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Ingredients

Ingredients:

3/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

3/4 cup molasses

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon allspice or cloves

1 large egg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Method:

In a saucepan set over low heat, or in the microwave, melt butter, then stir in the brown sugar, molasses, salt, and spices.

Transfer the mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, let it cool to lukewarm, and beat in the egg.

Whisk the baking powder and soda into the flour, and then stir these dry ingredients into the molasses mixture.

Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a thick rectangle. Wrap well, and refrigerate for 1 hour or longer. The dough may be sticky and hard to roll if not thoroughly chilled, so make sure it’s cold before continuing.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Get out several baking sheets; there’s no need to grease them, though lining with parchment saves effort on cleanup.

Once the dough has chilled, take one piece of dough out of the refrigerator, and flour a clean work surface. Roll the dough 1/8″ to 1/4″ thick; the thinner you roll the dough, the crispier the cookies will be. Flour both the top and bottom of the dough if it starts to stick. Alternatively, place the dough on parchment, and put a sheet of plastic wrap over it as you roll, pulling the plastic to eliminate wrinkles as necessary when rolling; this will keep dough from sticking without the need for additional flour.

Cut out shapes with a floured cookie cutter, cutting them as close to one another as possible to minimize waste.

Transfer the cookies to ungreased cookie sheets (or, if you’ve rolled right onto the parchment, remove the dough scraps between the cookies). Bake the cookies just until they’re slightly brown around the edges 8 to 12 minutes, or until they feel firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for several minutes, or until they’re set. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Christmas Trees:

Stack decorated gingerbread cookies from largest to smallest (at top) while frosting is not quit set (it serves as the glue). Top with a star or angel shaped (or whatever you choose) gingerbread cookie.  Wow your friends and family.

Doughnut

2c AP Flour