Spicy orange ginger cookies; Quebec tourtiere

[vaneramos]

trinker requested recipes for the seasonal deslights I mentioned in a post on Christmas Eve, so here they are.

This recipe won a Christmas cookie contest in Canadian Living in December 1991, from about 3,500 entries. I made them for Christmas in 1995, and they were immediate favourites. The recipe disappeared when my marriage broke up, and I gave it up for lost. It resurfaced in a file full of bread recipes a few weeks ago. As promised, I took some to Toronto, where danthered and djjo gave rave reviews before visiting raccoon_it and shadcub and their partners inhaled the rest. Anyone who likes ginger cookies will love these.

Spicy Orange Ginger Cookies (photo)

¾ cup butter or margarine, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup fancy molasses
4 tsp grated orange rind
1 Tbsp grated gingerroot
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
½ tsp ground cardomom
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup chopped candied ginger (one piece for each cookie)

In bowl, cream butter with granulated and brown sugars until fluffy. Beat in egg, molasses, orange rind and gingerroot. Stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cardomom and salt; stir into creamed mixture until well blended. Cover and chill for 15 minutes or until firm. Shape into 2.5 cm (1-inch) balls; place candied giner in centre of each. Bake 5 cm (2 inches) apart on greased baking sheets in 324°F (160°C) oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are firm (less time makes chewy cookies, more time makes crunchy). Let cool on racks. Makes about 4 dozen.

~~~~

This meat pie, traditionally served on Christmas Eve, is too easy and yummy to make only once a year.

Quebec tourtière

Lard pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie
1 lb. lean ground pork
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt & pepper
½ tsp savory
Pinch ground cloves
¼ cup boiling water

Mix meat, onions and spices in a saucepan. Add boiling water. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Skim off fat.

Roll out half the pastry (I used two store-bought frozen pie shells, one for the base and one for the top crust) and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place filling in pie plate and cover with the remaining pastry. Prick with a fork. Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes or until golden.

This comes from The Harrowsmith Cookbook Vol. 1, which recommends serving it piping hot topped with homemade tomato ketchup or chili sauce. Of course I prefer it with my favourite pork condiment, sweet peach chutney.

Comments

[rsc.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, I meant to ask about the Spicy Orange Ginger Cookies at the time, but somehow didn't get around to it. Thanks for reading my mind. :-)

They look and sound yummy. And they're made with fresh ginger, which is always a plus in my book.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

That's one of the things I like about them, too, besides the hint of orange.

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

I also have been interested in the ginger cookie recipe. Quite honestly, if fresh ginger had not been an ingredient, I would have passed them by. But they feature ginger root, AND cardamom, AND candied ginger! hooray, hooray!

I need to make a baking supplies expedition to the store. Will get back to you when I've gotten set up.

snuggly hugs, Shimmer

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Freshly grated ginger always makes me think of you.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

You're welcome!

[danthered.livejournal.com]

Yay, ginger cookies, w00t...

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed!