It's Not Too Late for a Very Important Date...

I think dates are some of my favorites in the vast world of dried fruit. While figs are charming, there are seeds to contend with. While raisins are workhorses, especially when soaked to proper plumpness in either liquor or boiling water, they can err on the side of sweet. Dates, however, are perfectly palatable in sweetness and texture when properly stored. In either sweet or savory application, there is no better candidate for versatility either. Tagines with lamb and dates are perfection in my mind, and these cookies that I'm about to share with you are now officially on the Food Obsessions list in the sweet category.

One of my favorite new blogs is innBrooklyn, which is a design/food/green living/technology/knitting blog run by Noerah and Talia. They began late in December, and have a number of good ideas - and all of it makes for a unique experience each time you visit. I couldn't wait to try these Date Biscuits that were posted on Jan. 30th, but I made myself wait judiciously until the very last piece of my chocolate cake was gone. For those of you keeping track, I actually kept a chocolate cake on my counter for 8 days. Boy-O and I were the only eaters, and though it wasn't my favorite recipe, it got the job done in the dessert department.

Now this will tell you something, since normally, I would have made the date biscuits anyway and then tried not to eat two desserts simultaneously. I'm well on the road to reducing my consumption by just simply making less food. This is hard for me! I love to bake especially, and to not turn on my oven is excruciatingly hard. But not only did the day finally come that my cake was gone, in true innBrooklyn green living fashion, I didn't even need to turn on my oven to make these amazing "cookies".

This recipe melts butter stovetop, and adds the remaining ingredients without heat involved: a no-bake method. I'll let you look over at the link for the proper recipe, but will note that it calls for British Marie Biscuits, which you may be able to find in a specialty foods store, but are very closely related to Maria cookies, which are widely available in the Hispanic food section of many stores. I weighed a package on my digital scale, and removed just one cookie to get the 200 grams called for in the recipe. Bet you can guess where that one went...

At this point, I'd have to say that SOMEone NEEDS to make a pie filling based on this date/butter/cocoa powder filling! My first choice would be none other than Gina, the Goddess of Pie. If the GOP can't find a way to turn this recipe into the most delicious pie ever made, I'd be surprised. The only other alteration I made to the recipe was to let the date mixture cook just slightly after I added the egg to make sure it got hot enough, since I melted my butter at a pretty low temperature. After adding the hot mixture to the Maria cookies, I found it near impossible to stop "sampling", hence my dreams of a forthcoming pie.

We had pretty snow globe snow most of the day yesterday, and as I used the remaining afternoon light to photograph these roly morsels, I thought how perfect to make such snowy looking things on a day like this. Promptly after photography, the eating ensued. Bite sized things are always hard to resist, and these are deservedly no exception. Boy-O loved them, and I had to be a good example and not eat them all in one sitting. My confession is that they are probably almost half gone, and that just thinking about them makes me want to go and sneak another. But like I said to Lo earlier, they can be nearly be construed as healthy, what with all of the fiber packed in there svelte, round selves, so why not?

Guinness Stout Ginger Cake, or in Which I have rediscovered my most favorite ginger recipe of all time.

I have had a long weekend, fun and full of kitchen work, but very long. I am proactively drinking echinacea tea as I write this, since I know that it would be just my luck to be down on my sleep enough to be full out sick for Christmas...

I had the opportunity to help someone out by making desserts and bread, two of my most favorite things to make, for a family event she was hosting this weekend. I was making her my favorite gingerbread, but had forgotten what size pan I used to use since I haven't made it in a few years. (I know, how then could it really be my favorite?) Just the excuse I needed to make a trial for myself! It turns out that I like to make it in a bundt, but I only have a 12 cup bundt pan. It bakes up a little shy of that pan's intended capacity, but is so much prettier than using the suggested loaf pan. Just be sure you liberally coat the pan and flour it very generously, since it does tend to be a bit sticky coming out.

It really is just the best cake in general, let alone gingerbread cake, that I've ever had. It's nearly black and insanely moist, and keeps a full week! It could be politely spiced the ordinary way, but a full T. of grated fresh ginger assures you of surprising bite - easily balanced by all the other spices that would otherwise seem outnumbered. A full 1/4 t. of those fresh Spice House cloves almost seemed like it could be a mistake, but the ginger stands up to it.

As near as I can tell from the date stamp on the bottom of the purply paper I know was a by-product of my copy shop days, I think I was sent this in an email message from none other than GOP herself and must have printed it off on 12/24/2002. I would have to ask her to see if she remembers, or perhaps she will grace me with a comment! The most notable thing about the recipe is that its liquid comes from equal parts Guinness and molasses. The second most notable thing is that when the recipe tells you to heat them to a boil together in a LARGE saucepan, it isn't kidding around.

The first time I made this, I used a normal sized pot and the addition of baking soda caused a science experiment of epic proportion to slowly erupt over the sides and ungracefully coat everything in a beery, sticky mess. I deemed it worthy of the clean up since it was so delicious, but you should probably spare yourself the trouble.

(By the way, if you think you must invest in the Guinness to try this recipe, you must also make GOP's Guinness Oatmeal Stout Pie! Yes, you read correctly, I noticed she posted it on October 7 for a customer. It was always one of my favorites, and I think the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel even requested it for a reader and printed it awhile back. Click the GOP link above to connect.)

I'm surprised that the Guinness makes that much of a difference in the end product, but it truly does. I'd imagine that you could have better-than-average results with strong coffee as well, so don't let the absence of a beer in your pantry staples keep you from this amazing cake.

A quick Google search found the recipe that was no doubt attached to my original email, at Epicurious. I'll allow you to link up directly to the printer version, since that website takes quite a while to load sometimes since they have a lot going on. The last time I enjoyed a cake as moist and rich, it was no doubt the Mostly Foodstuffs Honey Cake. She even calls it the "Majestic and Moist Honey Cake", and I'm telling you I am looking forward to making that one again.

So, cake and breads are done and I am now moving onward and upward. Tamale "pasting" will begin directly after breakfast tomorrow. I was able to get to el Rey today to restock on my Guajillos that now along with garlic, are permeating the house, not that I'm complaining. I'm thinking I may just have to sample them for dinner tomorrow night if I get that far. I have a pound of Rancho Gordo's soaking to be transformed into a soup and a freezer stocked with baked goods to travel west along with us on Wednesday.

I can not really believe it is the end of December. I always lose track of the date, but I really thought I had an extra week in there somewhere that mysteriously evaporated. I wish I could slow it down a little, but I know as soon as Wednesday evening hits, it will. And I also know that I will not be sorry I'm making time to make the tamales.