Prepping your kitchen for the holiday season | Food & Drink | The ...

The holiday season isn't just the most wonderful time of the year - it's also the busiest, especially for home cooks and bakers. The kitchen can be a stressful place with an endless parade of holiday guests to feed during family dinners, office cocktail parties, friendly cookie exchanges and everything in between. That's why it's important to eliminate minor stressors, like making sure your pantry is fully stocked with all of your holiday meal essentials, before the hectic cooking and baking marathons begin.

- Take inventory: If you have certain recipes you know you'll be whipping up throughout the season, make an inventory of your current spice cabinet and what spices you'll need to stock up on for the season.

- Check dates: Spices, and other cooking and baking ingredients, lose potency and effectiveness over time, so don't let outdated spices compromise your signature holiday dishes. The first thing to do is look for best-by dates. However, if your spices don't have best-by dates, check the color and aroma. Fresh spices have a bolder color, and they should immediately give off a rich smell.

- Stock up on the essentials: There are some spices that are necessary for lots of holiday favorites. For baking, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves are used for pies, quick breads and spice cookies, while vanilla is used in everything from cookies to candied trail mix. For savory dishes think casseroles, stews, stuffing and potatoes you should have spices like poultry seasoning, bay leaves, garlic powder and thyme on hand. And don't forget to have plenty of salt and black pepper!

- Don't forget the kitchen utensils: While stocking up on ingredients is essential, don't neglect the items you need to put everything together, such as parchment for lining baking pans, plenty of re-sealable containers for leftovers, and utensils and tools unique to certain recipes, like a candy thermometer for homemade treats.

CRYSTALIZED GINGER SPICED MOLASSES COOKIES

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup white sugar, plus 1/4 cup extra for rolling

3/4 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup crystalized ginger, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.

2. Sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, salt and baking soda, and transfer to a large bowl.

3. In a stand mixer, cream together 1 cup of sugar and the butter for two to three minutes until pale and fluffy.

4. Add the molasses, egg and vanilla, and mix to combine, scraping down the sides as needed.

5. Slowly add the dry mixture and mix on low speed until the flour mixture is fully incorporated.

6. Add the crystalized ginger at the very end and combine.

7. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl.

8. Using a 2-tablespoon scoop, scoop 12 cookies onto each tray.

9. Using clean hands, roll each piece of dough into a ball and roll the ball around in the bowl of sugar.

10. Evenly space the cookies on a cookie sheet, place into the oven and bake for 11-12 minutes, until they begin to crackle in the middle and the edges are just golden brown.

11. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and let the cookies cool for a few minutes before transferring the cookies to a cooling rack.

12. Repeat the baking process for the remaining dough.

13. Once the cookies are cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container and store in a cool place.

About Spice Islands Trading Company

Spice Islands Trading Company has been stocking store shelves with high quality spices since 1941. The Company began by producing and packaging herbs, spices and wine vinegars. Today, the Spice Islands brand includes more than 100 different products, including dried herbs, seasonings, spices, spice blends and extracts. The products are distributed to an international audience in North America, South America and Europe. For more information, visit www.spiceislands.com or find us at Facebook.com/SpiceIslands

2012, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

Source: http://www.sunherald.com/2012/11/07/4288939/prepping-your-kitchen-for-the.html

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