I have been scouring my cookbooks and the Internet for recipes. But not just any recipe; what I am looking for are scaled down recipes for my "evil pleasures"--mostly meaning things containing refined flour and sugar. While I have drastically cut the amounts of these ingredients that I consume, I find nothing wrong in eating treats in moderation.
However, it can be difficult to eat homemade goodies in moderation when a recipe makes enough to serve an army. For instance, I wanted to make my husband a batch of molasses cookies. Most of the recipes I looked at made around 4 dozen cookies. This means 12 cookies for each of us, since we're a family of four--not exactly eating in moderation in my opinion!
What I ended up doing in the end (since I could not find a recipe for a small batch anywhere) was modifying a bigger recipe. I was a little nervous about trying this, and I wasn't sure if it would turn out. I reduced each ingredient to 1/4 of what is was in the original recipe, aiming for a yield of one dozen, rather than four dozen. I was relieved, however, when the finished product turned out just fine: a chewy, yummy, molasses cookie. Except now, instead of 12 cookies apiece, it's a more moderate three.
Chewy Molasses Cookies
Yield: 1 dozen
Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 egg (the smallest one you have)
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon)
1/4 cup sugar (for rolling the cookies in)
1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses, and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients, mixing well.
3. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, or freeze for 15 minutes--until the dough can easily be handled without sticking to your hands.
4. Roll the dough into 12 balls of the same size (they will be approximately 2" balls).
5. Roll each cookie ball in the 1/4 cup sugar, and then place each ball on a cookie sheet, at least 2" apart.
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 13-15 minutes, or until tops are cracked.
7. Allow cookies to cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hopefully, I will be posting more "smaller batch" recipes in the future.
What I ended up doing in the end (since I could not find a recipe for a small batch anywhere) was modifying a bigger recipe. I was a little nervous about trying this, and I wasn't sure if it would turn out. I reduced each ingredient to 1/4 of what is was in the original recipe, aiming for a yield of one dozen, rather than four dozen. I was relieved, however, when the finished product turned out just fine: a chewy, yummy, molasses cookie. Except now, instead of 12 cookies apiece, it's a more moderate three.
Chewy Molasses Cookies
Yield: 1 dozen
Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 egg (the smallest one you have)
2 Tablespoons molasses
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of salt (1/8 teaspoon)
1/4 cup sugar (for rolling the cookies in)
1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and molasses, and mix well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Gradually add these dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients, mixing well.
3. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour, or freeze for 15 minutes--until the dough can easily be handled without sticking to your hands.
4. Roll the dough into 12 balls of the same size (they will be approximately 2" balls).
5. Roll each cookie ball in the 1/4 cup sugar, and then place each ball on a cookie sheet, at least 2" apart.
6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 13-15 minutes, or until tops are cracked.
7. Allow cookies to cool for a couple minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Hopefully, I will be posting more "smaller batch" recipes in the future.
sounds yummy...just enough to satify without over doing...I love your blog...
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb! Glad you enjoy :)
ReplyDeleteooh yum! i'll be trying this recipe this week!
ReplyDeletexo em
I am totally going to make these tonight! fewer leftovers = fewer temptations to avoid!
ReplyDeleteI just made these cookies and they turned out yummy! I love making smaller batches so I don't overdo it with the leftovers. If you like smaller portioned recipes, you could try 'Small Batch Baking' by Debby Maugans Nakos. It has great tested recipes that make enough for two or three large portions or four or five small. I found it in the library but finally just bought it after using it so much. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDelete