Recipe

Recipe: Gingerbread Cookies

This is an egg free recipe so a large batch can be made and stored in the fridge all season without fear of it going bad!

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cup molasses

2/3 cup cold water

1 tsp vanilla

6 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cloves

1 1/4 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees farehneight.

  1. Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add molasses, water and vanilla and set aside.

  2. Sift together dry ingredients and add to the liquid mixture.

  3. Mix well and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

  4. Roll out, cut and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 7-10 min

Enjoy then as is or add your favorite icing for an extra sweet touch.



Happy Holidays!



Recipe: Lemon Meringue Pie

Since it’s my birthday month I decided sharing my favorite birthday treat was appropriate. I’m not a big cake person- never have been and it didn’t get better as I got older and progressed in my pastry chef career. So I’ve always requested a lemon meringue pie on my birthday.

Just as an FYI- In recent years I don’t really celebrate my birthday. Generally I’ll hit up an art gallery or museum with my beau and mother buys me a pie- that’s about it.

Reason? On April 19th 2020, we woke up to find out 22 Nova Scotians were murdered. Not really a happy day.

 

But I digress! Below is my absolute favorite Lemon Meringue Pie recipe from the “Cooking for Geeks” cookbook.

Step 1: Make a pie dough of your choosing. Revert back to the pie dough recipe I shared in February, find one on my blog here: https://www.creatingwithnicole.com/blog/perfect-pie-crust or message me for the one on page 225 of Cooking for Geeks (warning: I’ve never made it)

You will want to pre-bake the shell for this recipe. Follow the appropriate cooking times for your recipe.

Step 2: Make the filling

2 ½ cups of Sugar

¾ cup of Corn Starch

½ tsp Salt

3 cups of Water

6 egg Yolks (saving the egg whites for later)

1 cup of Lemon juice (about 4 lemons worth)

 

-Place the sugar, cornstarch and salt into a saucepan off heat. Add the water and whisk together. Place over medium heat once whisked.

-Stir until boiling and the cornstarch has set. Remove from heat.

-In a separate bowl, whisk together the 6 egg yolks. Slowly add about a quarter of the cornstarch mixture to the egg yolks while whisking continuously (we’re tempering everything so we don’t just cook the eggs).

-Transfer the entire egg mixture back into the saucepan and whisk in the lemon juice and zest.

-Transfer the filling to your pre-baked pie shell.

 

Step 3: Make the Meringue

1 cup of Sugar

½ cup of Water

6 egg whites

 

-Create a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water in a saucepan over low/medium heat. Set aside once all the sugar is dissolved and you have a few simmer bubbles. Don’t overcook it- we’ll make candy another time.

-In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until you get stiff peaks and then slowly add the simple syrup while whisking continuously. You should have a beautiful shiny and stiff meringue once it’s completed.

-Cover the pie with the meringue (spoon it on or pipe it- dealer’s choice)

 

Step 4: Bake the pie at 375 degrees F/ 190 degrees C for 15 minutes until the meringue turns brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool for 4 hours at least before serving (Unless you want lemon pudding).

Serve and enjoy!