For Valentine’s day, I came up with the idea of giving out cookies to customers when they got their bill. I didn’t know how many people would show up so I made 120 which is double the usual amount on a weeknight. At the last minute, I decide to have write “luv sux” for the anti-valentine crowd. The reaction to the cookies were great! And they also happen to be delicious. I used the candied ginger from my last post. A whole pound of ginger for all those cookies and I still needed more. I made these 3 times because the recipe that I found was only for 15. They taste like shortbread with a nice ginger flavour. I felt that the ground ginger in the recipe wasn’t enough so I doubled it. They’re a bit difficult to roll out. They fall apart a bit so you can get it too thin. I baked them for 15 minutes. Here’s the recipe:

http://www.cherrapeno.com/2008/02/chocolate-ginger-biscuitscookies.html

Recipe from Green & Black’s Chocolate Recipes

This is the recipe and the way it’s supposed to look.

This is the first attempt at making anything from this book. Green & Black’s is a brand of organic Fairtrade chocolate based out of the U.K. It was the first product in the world to get the Fairtrade Mark and the world’s first organic chocolate. I’ve never tried Green & Black’s and I’ve never heard of them before seeing this book. Then I went into a health food store and saw them so I’m assuming it’s available at other stores as well.  I still haven’t tried their chocolate but I’m going to try their recipes. The book has amazing photography. Woven into the book are stories about the Maya in Belize and the cultivation and production of chocolate, as well as tips on cooking techniques and handling chocolate.

Here’s something that I didn’t know: “Conventionally grown cacao is still one of the most heavily sprayed food crops in the world.”

The shortbread turned out rich and chewy but it’s probably the last time I’m making shortbread. There’s too much butter and too much chocolate. I’m glad I only used half of the measurements. It’s still too much. I can’t imagine eating more than 2 cookies a day.

A cacao pod

Shortbread 1

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

Shortbread 2

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cocoa powder

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

one 3.5 ounce bar dark chocolate (minimum 60% cocoa content) I would use half of this amount.

Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

To make the first short, sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture combines. Knead lightly, then place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Follow the same step for the 2nd shortbread, but include the cocoa with the flour.

Roll out each dough on a lightly floored surface into equal sized rectangles about 1/2 inch thick. Place the plain shortbread on a sheet of waxed paper, place the chocolate shortbread on top of the plain one and then scatter the chocolate all over.

Carefully roll the shortbread, as tightly as possible, using the waxed paper to support it. Once rolled, pinch both ends together to prevent the chocolate falling out, then using both hands, squeeze until it is about 8 inches long.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into 1/2 inch slices. Lay the cookies on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 25 minutes, until the plain shortbread is a light golden color. Cool on a wire rack.