Spiced Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 tsp Kashmiri Garam Masala

2 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp salt

¾ cups softened butter

¾ cup brown sugar (packed)

¼ cup molasses

1 egg

Procedure:

1. Whisk the flour, ginger, Kashmiri Garam Masala, salt, baking soda, and cayenne in a medium bowl.

2. Beat the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the molasses until combined, then the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Wrap the dough in wax paper, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Preheat to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Use cookie cutters to cut out individual cookies, and line them up on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Freeze the cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.

5. Bake for about 12 minutes or until cookies are slightly firm to the touch but not browned at the edges.

6. Let the cookies cool, and add icing if you’d like.

Spiced Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1/4 cup dried cherries or currants

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/2 tsp Kashmiri Garam Masala

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup organic white sugar

1 banana, very ripe and mashed

1 plantain, very ripe and mashed

1 tbsp wheat bran (optional)

Cook’s Notes: Kashmiri Garam Masala is replaceable by 1 tsp of ground cinnamon. For more richness, remove 1 tbsp of oil and add 1 tbsp of ghee.

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch metal loaf pan.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/4 cups of flour with the baking soda, salt, garam masala, and dried cherries or currants.

3. Slit the plantain and take out the middle black seeds before mashing.

4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with the avocado oil, sugar and mashed banana and plantain. Stir the banana and plantain mixture into the dry ingredients.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the center of the oven for about 50 minutes, until the bread is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

6. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes, then turn the bread out onto the rack and let cool completely.

Plum Cobbler Tart

Ingredients:

For the Filling:

2qts. Plums, seeded and cut into ½ “ slices

1c. light brown sugar

1ea. Granny Smith apple, cored, peeled, and coarsely grated

3 tbs. cornstarch

1 tsp. Kashmiri Garam masala

For the Topping:

3c. all-purpose flour

4 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1 ½ c. butter, cubed and chilled

Puff pastry squares, as needed

Procedure:

Method for the Filling:

1. Combine all the ingredients and reserve.

Method for the Topping:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and either rubbing the butter and dry ingredients together, or using a pastry blender, blend the ingredients until a coarse mealy texture is attained.

3. Add the cream and gently mix just until the ingredients are moistened.

Assembling and Baking:

1. Place a 3” square of puff pastry dough in each mold. Using a fork or small knife, poke some holes in each piece.

2. Place in the oven – after 5 mins check to see if the dough has set and begun to rise. When this happens, remove from the oven and using a dry kitchen towel, gently press down to deflate the pastry.

3. Fill each shell with enough filling just to reach the top. Sprinkle the topping over each tart. Place in the oven and bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling (approximately 45 mins.)

Gingery Spiced Molasses Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup wheat bran (unprocessed)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp fresh finely grated ginger

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp kashmiri garam masala

1 stick unsalted organic butter at room temp.

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 unsulfured molasses

1 large egg at room temp.

1/3 cup hot coffee (freshly brewed or espresso)

1 tbsp confectionery sugar (for decoration)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in the center of the oven.

2. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan and prepare the pan by lining it with the parchment paper.

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, finely grated ginger, and kashmiri garam masala. Keep aside.

4. Using a stand mixture with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and the brown sugar together on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the molasses and beat for another 2 minutes. Add eggs and mix for another 2 minutes.

5. Add the flour mixture and pulse to incorporate with over-mixing the flour.

6. On low speed, add hot coffee and mix until the batter comes together. Scrape the batter into the pan.

7. Bake for 28-33 minutes.

8. Take the cake out into a rack, and gently peel off the parchment paper.

9. Invert out into another rack and cool to room temperature.

10. Dust with confectionery sugar.

Spiced Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bark

Procedure

1. Fit a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Fill the bowl with your dark chocolate pieces and stir until melted, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl and stir in most of the crystallized ginger and Kashmiri Garam Masala (saving a bit for the end).

2. Line a cookie tray or baking sheet with parchment paper and pour the melted chocolate onto the sheet. Using a spatula, smooth out the chocolate into an even layer about ¼ inch thick. Add the cranberries and nuts, and finish it off with a sprinkle of Garam Masala.

3. Chill or refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes or until firm. 
    

Ingredients

5oz of Dark Chocolate (60% Cacao or better)
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
½ tsp Organic Kashmiri Garam Masala
½ cup dried Cranberries
½ cup of your favorite Nuts

Garam Masala Spiced Cranberry Cake

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

2 cups/8 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 stick, unsalted butter
2⁄3 cup light brown sugar
1⁄2 cup whole milk
1⁄2 cup maple syrup
1⁄4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon Kashmiri Garam Masla
1⁄2 teaspoonbaking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (from 1-inch piece)
1 tablespoon orange zest

Procedure:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9-inch square or round baking pan with parchment.

2. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, stir together cranberries, granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Stir the mixture over medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the cranberries form a sauce that is syrupy and bubbling thickly, about 10 minutes. Do not crush all of the cranberries but have about half of the cranberries more or less whole.

3. For the batter, stir together the butter, brown sugar, milk, maple syrup and molasses over medium heat in a separate saucepan. Bring the mixture to just barely a simmer and then remove it from the heat. Do not let it come to a boil, or the mixture may curdle.

4. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, garam masala, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Beat in the butter-maple syrup mixture and then beat in the eggs. Stir in the ginger and the orange zest.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Drop large dollops of cranberry sauce onto the surface of the cake batter. Drag a long, slender knife through the batter in a swirly design, as if you are marbling a cake and tracing large "S"s in the batter. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake it until the top is firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire baking rack and let the cake cool completely before eating it.

Spiced Molasses Cookies

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, Garam Masala spice blend and salt. In a shallow bowl, place 1/4 cup sugar; set aside.

2. With an electric mixer, beat butter and remaining cup of sugar until combined. Beat in egg and then molasses until combined. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in dry ingredients, just until a dough forms.

3. Pinch off and roll dough into balls, each equal to 1 tablespoon. Roll balls in reserved sugar to coat.
   Arrange balls on baking sheets, about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake, one sheet at a time, until edges of cookies are just firm, 10 to 15 minutes (cookies can be baked two sheets at a time, but they will not crackle uniformly).

5. Cool 1 minute on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoon Kashmiri Garam Masala
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1/4 cup molasses