Ginger cookies with a kick!

These are seriously delicious ginger cookies. And fairly healthy for you too! It has been adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe.

One note: consider substituting the chocolate chips for dried cherries, cranberries or raisins. This would also be delicious. Also, considering adding almond or vanilla extract, if you feel so inclined.

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups white whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, minced very finely
1 cup chocolate chips

Adjust oven racks to low and middle positions; heat oven to 350 degrees.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time.

Mix flour, salt, baking powder, ground ginger, nutmeg, and oats together. Stir them into butter-sugar mixture in the electric mixer. Remove the dough from the mixer and put into a bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips and crystallized ginger.

Form dough into balls, placing each one onto parchment-covered cookie sheets. Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Dunk into milk and enjoy.

Greek Style "Pizza" Quiche

This is a wonderful quiche recipe, which I definitely like. I called it "pizza" style because the crust bakes up very hard and crisp like a pizza, and the toppings are pizza-esque. You should give it a try : - )

A few tips:

• The dough is going to shrink on you, so just be warned.
• The custard (i.e., the egg and milk mixture) may seep out of the crust if there are any holes, so you want to bake this quiche on a cookie sheet.
  
• It is really key that you keep the dough nice and cold. The reason why is that you want the butter to stay in its solid form until it goes into the oven. The reason for that is that when the butter melts it will actually create steam in the dough, and this is what gives the dough its nice flaky texture. If you don't mind your dough tasting like cardboard, then don't bother keeping everything cold. But I don't think you'll like that.
• You can substitute milk (even skim milk) for the half-and-half, but it won't taste quite as rich. You can also substitute cream for the half-and-half, but I find that a bit too rich.
• This crust recipe is a little bit more involved b/c it is designed to make a really crisp crust. Too often the crust gets water-logged while baking and ends up really mushy, which I find not too appealing. Thus, I borrowed the crisp crust recipe from Cook's Illustrated.
  
• About a pound of dried beans make an excellent pie shell weight. The reason for these weights is to prevent the dough from puffing up while it is prebaking (this is the same reason we poke it with lots of holes before putting it in the freezer).
  

And here's the recipe! The crust is an adaptation of a Cook's Illustrated crust, but the toppings are my own creation. Enjoy : - )

6.25 oz unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
8 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into 1/4” x 1/4” pieces, frozen
2-3 Tbsp ice water
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup half-and-half
3 eggs
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh oregano, minced
8-10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half or thirds (depending on how big)
4 oz feta cheese, preferably sheep’s milk, crumbled
5 oz frozen spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained

Put the flour and food processor bowl/blade into the freezer at least 30 minutes prior to making the dough. Also put a medium mixing bowl into the freezer.

Put the flour, salt, and sugar into the food processor fitted with the chilled blade and bowl. Pulse together with three 1-second pulses. Add the butter and pulse together with five to ten 1-second pulses, or until crumbly.

Add 2 tablespoons of the ice water. See if the dough, when pressed in your hand, stays together. If not, add one more tablespoon. Test again. If still not, add one more tablespoon. Move the pieces to a chilled bowl. Without kneading the dough, press into a ball and immediately wrap in plastic wrap and put into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

Take dough ball out of refrigerator and put on a well-floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the ball into a 13-inch diameter circle. Place this circle into the tart pan and press down. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Take out of freeze, unwrap, and poke the dough all over with a fork to create lots of small holes. Put a double layer, extra-wide sheet of tin foil that has been sprayed with oil over the tart pan, making sure to cover all the edges. Place pie weights (e.g., 10 oz of dried beans is good) on the tin foil. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the surface of the dough begins to look dry.

Meanwhile, fry to onions in the garlic for approximately 7 minutes in the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and fry for an additional minute. Set aside to cool.

At this point, take the pan out of the oven, remove the tin foil and weights, and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown. Pull it out and let cool partially.

Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, pepper, and oregano together. Add the onion mixture, spinach, feta, and tomatoes into the tart pan. Pour the custard over this.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the center of the tart feels firm to the touch and the crust is nicely browned. Cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. When ready to serve, remove tart pan ring, and gently slide thin-bladed spatula between tart pan bottom and crust to loosen, then slide tart to